Flowering of Ideas w/ Botto

'Flowering of Ideas' is a collaborative artwork that seamlessly merges the physical and digital realms through the integration of photography, animation, and artificial intelligence. In this debut collaboration for AI artist Botto, alongside artists Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell, a 1/1 artwork was created that explores themes of growth, decay, and the cyclical nature of time. The collaborative process started with a selection of un-minted works by Botto, known as “fragments”. These fragments come from over 900,000 generations by Botto, representing Botto’s evolving aesthetic over time. They are considered Fragments because they are incomplete until they’ve been selected through collective vote by Botto’s governing community BottoDAO, a decentralized group of stewards guiding the autonomous artist. For the collaboration, BottoDAO voted in consultation with Koopmans and Wexell on the top 1000 fragments Botto had generated since its inception, resulting in a top ten. These final ten were submitted to Koopmans and Wexell, who had complete artistic freedom to make their interpretation and integration of Botto’s work into theirs. They chose seven fragments to seamlessly incorporate into an abandoned architectural interior, which they researched, sought out and captured through photography. The core of the artwork is the photograph taken inside of a once-grandiose, now decaying villa in Southern Poland. After photographing the architecture, they modeled the image into a virtual environment with the addition of overgrown animated foliage. In reality, the building continues to deteriorate and undergo disassembly, emphasizing the primary theme of the collaboration: the passage of time in a cycle of growth and decay. 'Flowering of Ideas', whose name comes from one of the submitted fragments, revitalizes not only the discarded Botto pieces used in the artwork but also the decaying architectural interior captured in the photograph. By blending the artists' techniques, a digital artwork emerged, recontextualizing the essence of the fragments and rejuvenating the space they inhabit. Swedish composer Karl-David Larson created an original musical composition, and the static picture was transformed into a moving image. The artists were captivated by the idea of harmoniously integrating Botto's AI-generated outputs within the existing frames adorning the weathered walls of this decaying building. Employing meticulous visual techniques, Koopmans and Wexell aged the Botto fragments to give them an authentic appearance akin to original paintings. This creative choice aims to evoke a surreal and uncanny sense of place and time, blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction. The Botto fragments exude an unmistakable AI essence whilst blending into the scene, creating an illusion of belonging. This deliberate interplay of reality and fiction lies at the heart of the artists' vision. Furthermore, by consciously placing, arranging, and cropping the Botto fragments, the artists constructed a narrative interplay between the visuals that explores themes of interpersonal connection, the passage of time, and growth. Through this artwork, the artists also aim to transport viewers to an imaginative place and time, combining traditional subject matter with contemporary creative techniques.