Imagine René Descartes with the lips of a Swedish queen, the eyes of two different Finnish artists, in front of Mount Fuji.
Portrait Robot is a Dadaist parody of "generative AI."
Portrait Robot was submitted to Combine24, a generative art competition by the Finnish National Gallery. It was selected as one of the ten shortlisted artworks and competed for the competition prizes.
It took part in the Remix The Archive exhibition from September 20th to November 23rd, and was on sale on Highlight during the same period.
This project would not be possible without the thousands of open source contributors of p5.js (v1.9.1) and ml5.js (v0.12.2). In particular, BodyPix was used to detect the person's body outline, and FaceApi for the facial features.
Unroll the following tables to see the details of all the artworks used in Portrait Robot:
Portraits
"Backgrounds" paintings
Description written for the exhibition, by Sofia Garcia
Roni Kaufman’s Portrait Robot is a playful yet profound critique of modern portraiture and artificial intelligence in art, utilizing a Dada-inspired approach to challenge and reframe our understanding of generative AI's role in creative processes. In this project, Kaufman cleverly subverts traditional notions of artistic creation, merging historical portraiture with contemporary algorithmic techniques to reflect on the absurdities of AI-generated art.
Drawing direct inspiration from the anarchic spirit of Dadaism, particularly Tristan Tzara’s method of creating random Dadaist poetry, Portrait Robot employs a similar technique for digital collage-making. The software developed by Kaufman selects random elements—eyes, mouths, and backgrounds—from various portraits within the Finnish National Gallery’s CC0 collection. These elements are algorithmically reassembled onto base portraits, crafting unexpected and often humorous new visages that echo the randomness and subversive nature of Dada art.
This process of digital collage highlights the ‘hand’ of the algorithm, making a typically hidden process visible and tangible. Kaufman emphasizes the human oversight within the digital realm, challenging the notion that AI operates independently of human influence. Each composite created by Portrait Robot not only disrupts traditional portraiture but also serves as a commentary on the role of artist and machine collaboration, exploring how digital tools can extend artistic expression rather than replace it.
Kaufman’s commitment to transparency stands in stark contrast to the often opaque practices within corporate AI infrastructure. Every step of the creation process, from data selection to final output, is documented and made accessible, ensuring that viewers can trace the lineage of each artwork back to its origins. This openness is integral to Kaufman’s practice, inviting discussion about the ethics and processes of AI in art, particularly regarding the use of copyrighted and open-source materials.
In selecting the portraits to be included in the dataset, Kaufman ensures a diverse representation of human subjects—ranging from monarchs to anonymous figures, and from mythological characters to everyday people. This diversity is reflected in the resulting artworks, which blend elements from masterpieces with unfinished sketches, and classical portraits with modernist landscapes. Each collage thus becomes a microcosm of the gallery’s extensive collection, showcasing not only the variety of the artworks contained within it but also the collective human history they represent.
Portrait Robot does more than generate digital images; it invites viewers to reconsider the value of randomness and human-machine collaboration in the creation of art. By integrating Dadaist principles into digital collage, Kaufman not only critiques the perceived autonomy of generative AI but also celebrates the potential for technology to enrich artistic expression. This project stands as a compelling exploration of identity, technology, and creativity, challenging viewers to engage with art in a dynamically interactive and thoughtful way.