In this project, I developed an interactive artform named “Deep Neuro Artist” using deep-learning neural networks. This work transforms images from a camera into an artistic style movie in real time using deep neural networks that have learned various styles of painters in advance. This work has been exhibited at several galleries and festivals. It has achieved stable performance and a good reputation.
Painters express what they see with their own eyes as a painting based on their own unique sensibility. They cannot explain it in words, because it is beyond the algorithmic process and reflects the unique visual experience that painters have been exploring. This work is an interactive painting form, which creates an image input from the camera with artistic styles featuring the characteristics of various painters using artificial intelligence called deep learning. When a viewer performs various actions, they are transformed into images expressed in a painting style in real time, and this is reflected on a display panel. This style transformation is performed by a convolution neural network learning visual perception such as object and face recognition.
In the following examples, the right-hand side is the style image and the left-hand side is the generated image. We can understand that the original image is repainted with the style image, and not only color sense but also fine space patterns are expressed according to the painter's style. Works used for learning are Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Renoir, Munch, Cubist, Matisse, Mondrian, Sharaku, and Hokusai, as well as ancient Egyptian mural paintings. Viewers can take various poses in front of the camera and enjoy their own figure drawn in a particular painting style.
I attended the rotating exhibition entitled “Explorer of Color” of the International Research Center for Color Science and Art at Tokyo Polytechnic University. In this exhibition, I exhibited the first version of this work, named "AI Artistic Neuro Painter". This exhibition was held from September 15, 2018 to April 19, 2019. Every month, two or three hundred visitors including students from preschool to high school visit our gallery and enjoy this exhibition.
I attended the annual art event “Gather Art! Spread Art! ” of the Faculty of Arts at Tokyo Polytechnic University. I exhibited the new version of this work renamed "Deep Neuro Artist", which was improved in training data, artistic expression, response time, etc. This exhibition was held on October 7 - 24, 2018. More than two thousand visitors enjoyed this exhibition. (web site)
Responding to a request from Atsugi City, I exhibited this work at Chika Fes of Atsugi City on November 10 and 11, 2018. Chika means an underground pavement. At this festival, many families, children, and adults, accounting for 975 visitors, watched it and enjoyed their figures transformed into artistic style.
I exhibited this work at Emil Cedercreutzin Museo in Harjavalta of Finland on August 16 - 18, 2019. At this musuem, many families, children, students and adults, accounting for more than 300 visitors, watched it and enjoyed their figures transformed into artistic style.
I exhibited this work at Robot Festival 2019 in PACIFICO Yokohama on September 7 and 8, 2019. At this festival, many families, children, and adults, accounting for 4600 visitors, watched it and enjoyed their figures transformed into artistic style.
~~ Yasuo Kuhara
Department of Interactive media, Faculty of Arts, Tokyo Polytechnic University