BMW Art Car Created with AI

BMW debuted today the “The Ultimate AI Masterpiece,” a unique exploration of art and technology that uses artificial intelligence to generate entirely new works. The virtual art installation debuts in conjunction with Frieze New York 2021, as well as the 50th anniversary of BMW Group Cultural Engagement. Content and videos documenting its creation process are available today online via BMW USA’s YouTube and Instagram channels.

“The Ultimate AI Masterpiece” virtual art installation was created in partnership with creative technologist Nathan Shipley of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, and Gary Yeh, art connoisseur/founder of artDrunk. The duo leveraged the NVIDIA StyleGAN artificial intelligence model to cross-reference over 50,000 images of artwork spanning 900 years of history and a curated set of 50 works from renowned and emerging contemporary artists BMW has worked with over the past 50 years. Using these inputs as a basis for understanding art, the artificial intelligence then generates entirely new works of art, merging what it learned classical art and the styles noted from the contemporary artists. These new works have been projection-mapped onto a virtual rendition of BMW’s range-topping 8 Series Gran Coupe.

“For 50 years, BMW has supported the arts and culture through numerous initiatives as a way engage and interact with consumers around the world in an authentic way,” said Uwe Dreher, vice president of marketing, BMW of North America. “As we continue these efforts into 2021, and look for new and creative ways to engage audiences, we shift to a virtual setting where we are combining centuries-old art and the latest AI technology to create something completely new and exciting.”