AI artworks at Guggenheim look to light up LG's OLED ambitions

LG Electronics is converging art and AI to promote the high quality of its OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels as it attempts to nestle into the premium market.

Visitors look at artist Stephanie Dinkins' artworks dubbed "The Stories We Tell Our Machines, work in progress" displayed through LG's OLED panels presented at the New York-based Guggenheim Museum. [ED MARSHALL]

LG Electronics is converging art and AI to promote the high quality of its OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels as it attempts to nestle into the premium market.

Six units from LG’s latest TV lineup, such as the LG OLED evo, LG Objet Collection Pose and LG Transparent OLED Signage were utilized as digital canvases to premiere AI artist Stephanie Dinkins' latest three works at New York-based Guggenheim Museum last Thursday, according to the company on Monday.

LG Corp and the Guggenheim Museum formed a partnership last year, dubbed the "LG Guggenheim Art & Technology Initiative," to find and create new opportunities for technology-based art. Dinkins is the first recipient of the 2023 LG Guggenheim Award, which recognizes modern artists who have done innovative artwork using new technology.

Dinkins’ work centers around AI and she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in AI.

Three of Dinkins’ new works in progress are titled: “Not the Only One Avatar image 2023 brain (N’TOO),” “The Stories We Tell Our Machines” and “WisdomBot.”

The award is part of the five-year LG Guggenheim Art & Technology Initiative where LG Electronics, LG Display and holding company LG Corp partnered with the museum to find and create opportunities where art and technologies merge.

“I am excited to have activated the Guggenheim’s rotunda as a machine learning laboratory, sharing works in progress that highlight the imperative,” Dinkins said. “These works in progress inform AI systems with a broad spectrum of ideas, wisdom, cultural touch points and stories that have sustained our communities for millennia.”

LG and the Guggenheim Museum will continue with the initiative and announce the winner of the 2024 LG Guggenheim Award this year. The initiative also sponsors this year’s Young Collectors Council (YCC) Party which will be hosted in April. YCC is a committee that discovers and supports up-and-coming artists to cultivate the next generation of talent in fine arts.

“As audience members willingly engage with artificial intelligence entities in this unique event, their interactions serve as valuable contributions,” said Noam Segal, LG Electronics associate curator. “These contributions, coined by Stephanie Dinkins as 'Data Gifts,’ play a crucial role in enriching the AI's learning data sets, particularly in filling gaps where information, historical knowledge or intricate concepts are absent.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]