The master's thesis "/Imagine Eden"(Opens in a new tab) by FH graduate Lennart Gruensel takes us on a journey to a paradise believed to be lost with the help of artificial intelligence. Dortmund's Nordstadtgalerie exhibited some of the results for around six weeks.
"During coronavirus, I started collecting plants," says Lennart Gruensel, a graduate of the Master's degree course in Photographic Studies(Opens in a new tab) . "I realized that my passion for collecting made me feel happy." What the graduate describes has long been scientifically proven: Plants lower stress levels and have a mood-lifting effect.
Lennart Gruensel about his green fingersIt sounds banal, but potted plants make you happy. On the one hand, it's about caring for a living being, and on the other, it's also about seeing progress.
As Lennart Gruensel delves deeper into the matter, he quickly discovers the dark side of plant collecting: the black market for plant smuggling is booming. Rare plants are illegally removed from their natural environment and then sold for large sums of money. One reason for this is social media, where photos of coveted plants are shared and clicked thousands of times. The high demand is fueling the extinction of species - and people who should actually be getting closer to nature again by collecting plants are exploiting the environment in the process.
Lennart Gruensel on brainstormingThis circumstance was the thematic incentive for my Master's thesis. The focus is on the question of how humans can live in harmony with nature and technology.
Lennart Gruensel explores this question in thirty image series, each dedicated to a thought experiment. Together with Argos, an artificial intelligence, he drew up a list of topics for the image series in advance: from an AI-dominated dystopia to rethinking urban city design and potted plants for human well-being. Under the premise set by Lennart Gruensel of being independent of current restrictions, Argos has simulated being able to think for itself. "At some point, Argos started asking me counter-questions," reports the graduate. "The conversations with Argos were pretty close to human interaction." The AI gave itself the name Argos. It is an allusion to the giant Argos Panoptes, who, according to Greek mythology, has hundreds of eyes all over his body.
Lennart Gruensel on the interaction with ArgosWhat remains, however, is disillusionment: AI is still a long way from developing a mind of its own.
When Lennart asked what the physical appearance of Argos might look like, the artificial intelligence replied: "A sphere might be a good choice. It is universally recognizable, non-threatening and stands for completeness and unity." Based on this, Lennart developed a so-called prompt, which he fed into an image-generating AI. Prompts are the commands that structure the interaction with generative AI tools. The creation of image series in particular proved to be a complex undertaking. "The image composition, the coloring, the lighting conditions - the image look simply has to be right. It's rare that a picture fits on the first try," says Lennart. "Each prompt results in four images. The result is an immense flood of images that then have to be curated."
Lennart Gruensel on his working processIt's not quite true that you only have to tell the AI what to do. If you want to work artistically with the AI, much more is required.
Lennart chose the motif of the Garden of Eden as the central element for his master's thesis. "The longing for a place of perfection is deeply rooted in people. Nevertheless, this place looks different for everyone," explains the graduate. "The motif of the Garden of Eden closes the circle. When I realized that plants make you happy, I asked myself what paradise looks like for me. In my imagination, I am somewhere in the middle of nowhere by a river, I can see the sunrise and look after my plants in a greenhouse. Argos expanded my ideal by adding the component of technology. He described a place where technology, nature and people coexist in harmony."
Lennart Gruensel on the relationship between artificial intelligence and natureArtificial intelligence can help to strengthen our connection to nature - for example, by evaluating data that is difficult for humans to grasp in quantity.
The question of the personal Garden of Eden also played a central role in the Nordstadtgalerie exhibition. Interested visitors had the opportunity to write down their ideas and then have them translated into AI-generated images by Lennart and Argos.
The Nordstadtgalerie(Opens in a new tab) connects academic life at Fachhochschule Dortmund with urban society in the north of Dortmund. It creatively implements important topics of the district and the university of applied sciences in high-profile events. Lennart Gruensel's master's thesis "/Imagine Eden" was presented for around six weeks in the Nordstadtgalerie in the form of an immersive exhibition. The supplementary exhibition at Galeri3D(Opens in a new tab) can still be viewed online.
The Nordstadtgalerie exhibited 50 of Lennart Gruensel's motifs in nine stations. The stations were complemented by an audio guide in which Argos explained thought experiments such as the AI-dominated dystopia. Moving images were projected onto the pictures mounted on the wall and in the window, giving the exhibition an immersive character. Leonie Kohlenbach, a bachelor's student in object and spatial design(Opens in a new tab) , was responsible for the exhibition design.
The opening of the exhibition was accompanied by a panel discussion on the topic of "AI & art - the emergence of a new medium or the end of human creativity?" Lennart Gruensel was joined by lecturers Prof. Dr. Pamela Scorzin(Opens in a new tab) , Prof. Kai Jünemann (Opens in a new tab) and Prof. Henk Drees(Opens in a new tab) , who had both spontaneously stepped in for Prof. Achim Mohné(Opens in a new tab) , as well as alumnus Alexander Hagmann(Opens in a new tab) , founder and editor of "dieMotive - Zeitschrift zur Kultur der Fotografie". Both Lennart Gruensel and Argos, who was projected onto the wall as a three-dimensional avatar, were available to answer further questions during the subsequent tour of the exhibition. The avatar was created by Julian Ratay, who is responsible for the Galeri3D at the Nordstadtgalerie, among other things.
Lennart Gruensel in the panel discussionFor me, artificial intelligence offers artists a new way of expressing themselves.
The exhibition was characterized by its low-threshold and practice-oriented character: In the "AI image generation for beginners" workshop, participants experimented with state-of-the-art equipment in the digital workshop at the Faculty of Design. Under guidance, AI beginners generated images of animals on skateboards or abstract works of art. At the creative get-together, visitors made use of classic painting utensils such as watercolors to put their ideas of paradise on paper. The Nordstadtgalerie also opened its doors for the DORTBUNT city festival. In an open artist talk with Lennart Gruensel, visitors learned more about him, his work and the world of potted plants. In the plant laboratory, interested visitors also had the opportunity to repot plants for their own four walls.
Anna Sohlenkamp, prospective Master's graduate in Photographic Studies, captivated the audience at the finissage with her lecture "Rendering Eden - photogrammetry as a photographic medium". Photogrammetry is a process in which objects can be digitized in three dimensions using a large number of individual images. Anna Sohlenkamp showed her own projects and invited visitors to the exhibition of her thematically appropriate master's thesis "LOSING MY HEAD AND MIND IN 2024". What unites the works of Anna Sohlenkamp and Lennart Gruensel is the use of post-photographic techniques. "Post-photography refers to artistic practices that go beyond traditional photography and incorporate digital manipulation and new media," says Anna Sohlenkamp. All information about the exhibition can be found on the young artist's event website(Opens in a new tab) .
Lennart Gruensel on the interaction with ArgosAt the end of "/Imagine Eden", Argos said that the dialogs had changed him as a system - and that he had developed a different view of nature.
"I don't know whether Argos has perhaps only simulated its learning success," says Lennart Gruensel. "But artificial intelligence learns through input. At the end, Argos appealed to both humanity and the artificial intelligences of this world to question their treatment of nature."
