In partnership with Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P), BMW is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to explore and create art with the powerful and luxurious BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe as a unique canvas. This film–produced by GS&P Films, directed and shot by Mark Sandhoff–explains the “The Ultimate AI Masterpiece” project.
“BMW has a rich heritage in art and innovation that is always moving forward and evolving. Our task was to reimagine how we showcase this in 2021,” said Rich Silverstein, co-founder and co-chairman of GS&P. “Art, design and the automobile are all pivotal in the world of BMW, and they came together in a totally new way here.”
Using a unique data set consisting of nearly 50,000 paintings that cover over 900 years of art history, the AI will find, generate and project ever-evolving forms and textures onto the 8 Series Gran Coupe’s elegant surface. In essence, by learning from the history of art, the AI will be turning the 8GC into a constantly changing work of art itself.
“All the generated imagery shows what the AI has learned about art but is also totally unique. We are thrilled to be exploring an entirely new medium,” said Nathan Shipley, creative technologist at GS&P.
However, the AI art exploration doesn’t stop there. The expertise of art collector Gary Yeh has been solicited in order to help guide the AI art model in a more modern and intentional direction. This collaboration has enabled the AI to further learn from works by modern working artists, such as Hugo McCloud, Kyungah Ham and Lee Bae, to name a few.
“What’s incredibly fascinating to me is being able to witness the intersection of innovation and art in real time with living, breathing artists. What better canvas than the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe—a true intersection of innovation and design,” said Yeh, founder of ArtDrunk.
"The Ultimate AI Masterpiece" launches in May as a digital experience.
