What does the future of art look like? Fellowship is a photography organisation daring to answer this question. With the mission of bridging the gap between tradition and innovation, they connect the past, present, and the future of art through an initiative funded in 2021 by artists, collectors, and Web3 pioneers. The organisation aims to link the rich history of art to break down barriers between the traditional and the new, paving the way for an inspiring and vibrant future. And now, they announce the artists who will represent their cause at Paris Photo 2023.

This year, the exhibition prominently features esteemed photographers who have embraced innovation, merging tradition with the transformative power of technology. In this context, we had the opportunity to connect with Laurie Simmons. Through her work, she explores the intriguing intersection of language and images, highlighting the potential of AI-driven image generators while challenging preconceptions about AI’s impact on art, and showcasing the creative possibilities of this technology.

Read the full interview…

How did you get connected with Fellowship and what was it about the initiative that initially resonated with you?
I’d been invited to participate in a fair number of NFT projects, but nothing triggered any new or exciting ideas. I wasn’t interested in trying anything just for the sake of operating in that space. When Alejandro Cartagena reached out it was clear he had a strong grasp of both historical and contemporary photography. Fellowship made the first offer of a project that appealed to me.

When did you first start working with AI and how has it enhanced or offered a different angle to your work?
My first AI experiments were in August 2022. Initially, I had no intention of working with AI programs, I just wanted to try something new. I immediately began to get results that excited me. They felt oddly familiar and comfortable at the same time I felt like a stranger in a strange land. That kind of disjointedness is a place or mood that I look for in my work, so it was fine for me. I had already put my camera down in favor of other modes of working, so making pictures without a camera wasn’t a new idea. It almost felt like I was waiting for the text to image possibility when AI became accessible to me.

What about AI’s impact on art do you think gets misunderstood and how can artists use it to their benefit?
I think it’s too soon to answer any of those questions. I see AI being misunderstood as both the great beginning of a new world order and the end of life as we know it – and I don’t mean that in a positive way. On any given day you can find articles in the news that announce the great strides that AI will potentially make in the worlds of medicine, science, etc., as well as media projections about AI’s impact on the environment and people across multiple sectors losing work. For someone like me, who approaches AI as one tool in a diverse artistic practice, it can work very well. But for illustrators or literary journals, for example, it could be a real threat if publications stop hiring creative people.

Can you speak about your work In and Around the House II (2023)? What was the inspiration behind it?
The concepts for this work were the same that I’ve been exploring for 40 years. I always say I have one subject and I make thousands of pictures about it: Women in interior space, or conversely, a woman’s interior space: a snapshot of one’s inner mind.

What was the creative process like of creating the work?
I imagine prompts and sentences, about subjects that I’d like to explore. AI (specifically Dalle2 and Stable Diffusion) takes these written prompts and translates them into pictures that look and feel to me like they’re part of my work. This collaboration between me and the AI programs results in a visual language that feels compatible with the imagery I’ve created and established over 40 some odd years.

How have you seen the art world change since you first started working?
That’s a complicated and ultimately two-part question.

Creatively, there are always dominant styles, ideas and modes of production that reign for a few years and then lose their mojo, stop looking fresh and are shelved. (Shelved by viewers and collectors, not necessarily by makers.) I’ve seen painting as a medium, for instance, die and be reborn several times.

Then there are the careers and the economics of the marketplace, which are very separate from art, though artists often become very confused about that. High prices do not mean great art, but in recent years those distinctions have become blurry. I do see artists becoming less infantilized and becoming greater advocates for themselves and their work.

Is there another artist involved in Fellowship that particularly excites or inspires you?
I was thrilled to connect with Claire Silver through Fellowship. I find her and her images and particularly the way she talks about her work all very inspiring. One of the things that’s appealing about both the NFT world, and the use of AI tools is that it feels really new, actually Brave New World-ish. I’m getting to speak and understand a different language and meet artists who don’t share the same history I do. The so called “legacy” artworld can feel claustrophobic and turned in on itself at times.

What is next for you?
I’m doing a solo project with a non-profit organization called Young Arts in Miami in December. Part of the project involves mentoring a younger artist and asking a lot of questions similar to what we’ve been speaking about. I’m looking forward to that. The artworks I’m presenting there originate with AI imagery. They’re printed on silk and linen and are painted on, collaged and embroidered on. I’m excited about the mashup of new technologies and an analogue sensibility for lack of a better word. I like how multi layered these works are