This week the citizens of Ekaterinburg will be able to visit the exhibition that was brought from Moscow. The project shows how the art of photomontage developed in Russia and in the world. Neural networks were involved in the creation of some of the exhibits.

Artworks created by artificial intelligence were shown at «Hermitage-Ural».

The «Hermitage-Ural» Cultural Center is ready to present to the citizens of Ekaterinburg a major exhibition project "Photomontage. Corrected Truth". The exhibits for it were brought from Moscow. More than 60 canvases are presented in the halls, they were provided by the Béton Center of Visual Culture. 

"Our exhibition is a set of authors, works through which we show the development of this genre. Today it is often perceived through the prism of digital technologies. For example, they compare it to photoshop. Meanwhile, we wanted to show that these technologies have been developing since the appearance of photography," said Alexey Loginov, a historian of photography and art director of the Béton Center of Visual Culture.

Walking through the exhibition halls, the visitors will be able to trace how the art of photomontage has evolved through the centuries. The oldest exhibit dates back to 1867. It depicts the family of Alexander II. However, there is one nuance - each hero was shot separately. The fact is that at that time it was not possible to bring together all the members of the "august family". Therefore, the photographer had to literally collect the picture in parts. So, Alexei Loginov argues, photomontage is a tool for creating a work of art.

Then the audience can see how this genre was used later on. For example, it can be found in advertising, propaganda, agitation, children's literature, fashion photography. Works can be printed on metal plates, silk and other most unexpected surfaces.

"There are works about the beauty of industrial objects, about the vices of society. We wanted to show that photomontage is a powerful tool in the hands of a photographer, an artist, with the help of which you can solve different problems. To do it in a very expressive way. What we cannot express through one frame, we can show through hundreds of layers", - added the art director of the center.

After diving into the history of photomontage, the guests of "Hermitage - Ural" will get acquainted with contemporary artists. The authors offer other versions of reality, combining allusions to general cultural themes and references to the history of world art with the technical possibilities of the 21st century. These include artificial intelligence. For example, the exhibition includes a work created with the help of neural networks. The artist set the necessary parameters, set AI tasks, and, having obtained the desired result, inserted it into his canvas.

According to Olga Michi, Creative Director of the Béton Center of Visual Culture, contemporary artists are not afraid of the development of technology, but, on the contrary, are happy to use it while creating works.

"If there appears a tool that takes you to new frontiers, allows you to fantasize without limits, to develop creatively, why not? Artificial intelligence will not be able to set tasks any time soon; today it solves them. The author sets the AI a task, and it chooses an acceptable option from the received information," Olga Michi concluded.

The exhibition will be opened at the Hermitage-Ural Cultural Center on September 30. It will run until December 3. There will be an educational program during the exposition. For example, a lecture by Alexei Loginov. The speaker will talk about artists of the mid-nineteenth century, as well as contemporary authors using digital image processing technologies.

We would like to remind you that earlier we told you that paintings by Ural artists will be shown at an exhibition in Moscow. In Ekaterinburg, citizens can visit an exposition dedicated to the architecture of Khimmash.

"Global City" online magazine. Polina Popova

Photo: Global City/Ivan Kabanov