Patrick Tresset

Belgium

Patrick Tresset is a Brussels-based French artist known for performative installations that explore humanness through computational systems, AI, and robotics. At the centre of his practice are robots, which Tresset calls "stylized actors," programmed with artistic, expressive, and obsessive behaviours that evoke distinctly human traits. Working from research into how humans make marks, perceive artworks, and relate to machines, he crafts computational systems that produce portraitsand still lifes with a quality that is at once mechanical and strangely intimate. "My work is not at all about technology," Tresset has said. "It is about humanness." He holds a Masters and MPhil in Arts and Technology from Goldsmiths College, London.

His installations have been presented in solo and group exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou and Grand Palais in Paris, the Prada Foundation in Milan, the V&A in London, the MMCA in Seoul, Bozar in Brussels, and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, among others. His work has been recognised by Lumen, Ars Electronica, the Liedts-Meesen Foundation, and the Japan Media Arts Festival, and in 2017 he was nominated as a WEF Cultural Leader. A monograph, Patrick Tresset: Human Traits and the Art of Creative Machines, was published in 2016. Although Tresset has focused exclusively on his art practice for the past decade, his earlier research is referenced in over 300 academic publications.


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The Sea 1

The_Sea_1_Patrick_Tresset_Illustration.mp4

The only presence of the sea and a cloudless sky makes this perspective timeless. This scene might as well predate human existence or linger long after the end of humanity. Tresset presents his perspective on a striking yet mundane, meditative human experience. One of standing on the shore and looking out. This twelve-frame video loop depicting the Atlantic Ocean shows traces of influences from impressionists, abstract expressionists, and minimalist artists.

This series is produced with a guided computational system seeded with images from a video. The underlying algorithms were developed by Tresset for his autonomous drawing robotic systems. Here instead of the system working by itself, it is an instrument with little freedom but played by the artist to produce multilayered animations. 

technique

generative art

format

portrait

duration

02:34

year

2023

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Generative art
Generative art refers to a way of creating artworks using an autonomous system. In digital art, these are usually generated from code and algorithms created by the artist, often with certain predefined parameters or systems. Although these parameters guide the final outcome of the work, generative art is generally a surprising way to create artworks, as the results are often unexpected and the number of possible outcomes can be infinite.
AI
AI art is a branch of generative art that uses artificial intelligence. Unlike other generative artworks, AI artworks use specific complex algorithms and models derived from machine learning. The most common methods for creating AI art today are GANs (generative adversarial networks) or proprietary prompting platforms such as ChatGPT, Sora, Midjourney, or Dall-e.
3D
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Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is a specialized 3D technique that allows 3D objects to be created from numerous photographs taken of an object or scene from multiple angles. These photos are then compiled to determine the specific positioning, shape, and dimensions of the object in space, and then converted into a 3D model. Initially developed for engineering and urban planning, photogrammetry has become a way for artists to produce extremely accurate 3D models from real-life images.
Collage
An extension of the traditional, plastic approach to collage, digital collage involves searching for and cutting out multiple images, extracting them from their original context, and recomposing them in a new arrangement to create a work of art. Artists can use their own photographs or find images on the internet.
Illustration
Digital illustrations are created using software such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or Procreate. As with drawing on paper, the artist uses a stylus to sketch a figure or object, usually on a tablet, to construct a scene or artistic universe. Unlike traditional drawing methods, digital illustration is much more forgiving, as mistakes can be easily corrected and drawn elements and objects can be easily moved around within a scene.
Video
Video artworks primarily use a recording camera, but may sometimes include additional post-processing or editing to distort, modify or add additional elements to the image. Some artists use state-of-the-art recording equipment to create macro zoom-ins or time lapses, privileging fidelity to the subject matter. Others use additional softwares to significantly modify or warp the video, creating an alternative perspective on the world that surrounds us.

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