LOOK: This Immersive Da Vinci AI Art Exhibit Is Now In Manila

(SPOT.ph) In today's modern age, there are more ways to enjoy fine art than just heading to museums and galleries. To bring art appreciation closer to Filipinos, more exhibits are employing a mix of technology to bring masterpieces of artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci to our shores. A perfect example of this would be the newest AI immersive art experience to grace the Metro. We're talking about Wisdom of Da Vinci: An Immersive AI Experience, which runs from August 5 to sometime in October at BGC Immersive in One Bonifacio High Street. 

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Here's everything you need to know about Wisdom of Da Vinci: An Immersive AI Experience:

Data nerds and art buffs will have a bangin' good time at the Wisdom of Da Vinci. This art exhibit brings together data processing, artificial intelleigence algorithms, and the majesty of art and music all in one harmonious visual and auditory display. This state-of-the-art display was brought to our shores from Istanbul, Turkiye, by art collective Ouchhh. In a speech to members of the press, representatives of the brand shared that they spent over 14 years developing the code, curating the output, and teaching the machine learning algorithms employed in this tech-meets-art exhibition.

How Ouchhh Is Shaping the Global Art Scene

ICYDK, Ouchhh is a global creative new media studio known as the pioneer of data paintings. They employ a mind-driven approach, discovering new technological models to go deeper into the roots of art, science, and technology.

Amid growing concerns about how AI is taking over the creatives industry, Ouchhh and Wisdom of Da Vinci director Ferdi Alici told SPOT.ph in an interview that there is room for both technology and artists to co-exist. "It is still the artist directing the algorithm on what to do. What you see in front of you today is not the raw output of AI but curated pieces by a team of data scientists, academics, engineers, and artists."

The process of creating these artworks makes use of different data sources, from traditional CSV files, to data from telescopes and NASA, to art history records and paintings to help the algorithm learn new strokes, color combinations, and other techniques. Traditional statistical techniques like principal components analysis or PCA and more machine-learning-centric processes like Auto Encoders are employed to create "classifications" from the various data inputs and make the data visible and appealing to the human eye. "Data goes through different workflows of AI algorithms coded in Python and other software to make the art you see in front of you," Alici tells SPOT.ph.

Alici goes on to describe the output as one that was created with "data as the paint and the algorithm as the brush," further highlighting the rare symbiotic relationship displayed in the Wisdom of Da Vinci: An Immersive AI Experience.

Navigating the Wisdom of Da Vinci: An Immersive AI Experience

Don't worry about getting lost in the exhibit. The layout is straightforward, and ushers are always around to guide you through. The space is divided into three main sections: the Curator's Lobby, the Digital Garden of Dreams, and the Wisdom of Da Vinci. 

When you first enter the exhibit space, the first display you will see will be the Curator's Lobby. Think of this as your sneak peek into what is coming. This space features two artworks, the "Poetic {AI}," which draws on theories, articles, and books of famous scientists like Einstein and Galileo, and the Philippine-exclusive "Manila Realtime."

"Manila Realtime" is a custom art piece that utilizes agriculture, fisheries, budgets, and other national statistics data to weave a tapestry of soundscapes and kinetic structures. 

Take your time to experience this spot but know that there is more to come. 

In the next hall, you'll experience the Digital Garden of Dreams. Make sure to stay for all four major displays: "Atlas," "DataGate," "Superstrings," and a data painting based on Filipino master Juan Luna's artworks.

"Atlas" is inspired by Da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" and is a visualization of the human cells influenced by Da Vinci's study of the human body. 

"DataGate," on the other hand, is a collaboration with NASA. It contemplates and visualizes the mysteries of the universe based on the data gathered by the Kepler telescope. Ouchhh's algorithm analyzed data from more than 500,000 stars, 2,500 planets, and 60 supernovas to create this visual attraction.

In "Superstrings," we see how music changes the mental landscape of musicians change as they perform. This cognitive display visualizes brain waves based on auditory and neural mechanisms as collected from members of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. The display aims to solidify the connection between human creativity, emotions, and reasoning.

Last but not least, in Filipino Masters, we get a new data painting based on all of Juan Luna's paintings in his lifetime. Using artificial intelligence trained on Luna's work and algorithms that reflect human thought, we get new works and paintings that give us a brief look into how the world might've looked like from the perspective of this revered Filipino artist.

But the star of the show and the namesake of the entire exhibition follows in the hall—the Wisdom of Da Vinci.

Dubbed a journey into the mind of a genius, this 360-degree exhibit uses data from various historical images from Da Vinci's machine sketches, inventions, plans, and paintings. The AI learns from 15 billion brushstrokes obtained from various art paintings throughout history and creates its own abstract aesthetic that fills the entire space. The experience is made even better by the addition of music curated and performed by world-famous Ludovico Einaudi, composer of the Oscar-winning movie Nomadland, and the legendary Mercan Dede. 

All in all, it should take you a minimum of an hour to experience the entire AI exhibit. Note that re-entry to the exhibit is not allowed, so make sure you're done experiencing everything and nerding out with art and data before moving on from one hall to the next. 

Tickets and Entrance to Wisdom of Da Vinci: An Immersive AI Experience

All guests are advised to book their tickets ahead. Tickets can be purchased online at the BGC Immersive website. If you choose to buy tickets on-site, the ushers and guides will simply help you book the experience online. Buying on-site does not guarantee immediate entry to the exhibit nor a pass for the same day. This is why we highly recommend booking prior to heading to BGC Immersive. 

Tickets are priced as follows:

• Regular Pass - For P975, this pass gives you full access to the exhibit.
• Student Pass - Students with a valid primary, secondary, and college ID can avail of a discounted rate to the exhibit at P780
• PWD, Senior Citizen Pass - Discounted rates for guests aged 60 and above and PWDs are at P695

Make sure you book the correct date and time, as only a specific number of people will be allowed to enter the space for the most optimal experience. Schedule changes may be accommodated, granted you submit a change request to BGC Immersive's concierge at least 48 hours before your original ticket date. Rebooking is subject to a fee, so check your selected date and time before checking out.

First Look at the Wisdom of Da Vinci: An Immersive AI Experience

Photography is allowed in the exhibit, so feel free to interact with the projections and strike your best pose. 

Wisdom of Da Vinci: An Immersive AI Experience runs from August 5 to October at 3/F One Bonifacio High Street, 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Tickets,priced at P975 for adults and P780 for students can be bought online. For more information, visit BGC Immersive's website.

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Photos by Jilson Tiu