Roope RainistoRainisto Variations

Roope Rainisto’s trio of AI video artworks offers a deep dive into the heart of generative creativity. Besides showcasing algorithmic ability, these works explore the dialogue between textual cues and visual outcomes, a concept initially introduced by alignDRAW.

His three video works revisit a primal form of digital expression. Each work is created using its respective title as the basis for generative methods, with no additional modifications to the prompts, echoing the vigorous simplicity of Mansimov’s originals, while challenging himself to gain control over the artworks not through the prompt but through all the other settings and controls available to the artist.

Rainisto’s work channels modern generative methods to mirror the aesthetics of the 2015 era. With the same titles acting as both the seed and the narrative, he challenges the commonly held notion that prompts are merely starting points. In doing so, he not only recreates but rethinks the straightforwardness of the early generative art era. This approach counters the scepticism around the importance of prompts, showcasing their potential as catalysts for pure creativity. The triptych is an exploration into the core of digital creation, investigating the dialogue between text and image, between prompt and creation, and between man and machine.

The videos serve as an exploration into the “digital unconscious” - a term used to describe the elusive aesthetics embedded within algorithmic processes. Each piece, while narrating a story from its title, envelops the viewer in a meditative experience. The repetition of words from the title, voiced over the visual narrative, serves as a mantra, anchoring the viewer to the essence of the unfolding visual narrative.

Amidst the abstract imagery of the videos, a narrative dictated by the algorithm’s understanding of the textual prompt unfolds. This nod to Mansimov’s raw aesthetic is a conscious homage to the unrefined style of earlier AI-generated artwork, yet with Rainisto’s signature layer of contemplation.

His practice revisits and revitalizes the pioneering spirit that alignDRAW encapsulated, unleashing the imaginative capabilities of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) within motion media. This isn’t just about creation; it’s about conversation, a quest to unravel the narrative potential entrenched within a few simple strings of text, and exploring what it means to create in the digital realm.