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Altea Federico “Give me more” 2023 / Polaroid XS-70

Altea Federico: “I took this and my other pictures wearing nothing but a pair of red boots - and of course: Polaroid only.”

The notorious KitKat Club is celebrating its 30th birthday this year. That makes the club five years older than the photographer Altea Federico. Selected guests celebrate sex, their fetish and electronic music in the legendary club and many other venues in Berlin. Guests give up their normal lives for a while and move into the twilight, a jungle. It is a world in which the outer attractions are key. This provokes or inspires - depending on one's standpoint. The kinky community is exciting and Altea Federico tells us about this world with her pictures and texts from an inside perspective.

Her work also raises new questions about feminism and patriarchy. It is the devotion and celebration of sexual fantasies that requires strict rules. Altea does not want to be accused of promoting sexism and sexualizing women. She wants to live out her passion for darkness and borderline territories and works for this with great dedication and ambition.

Altea learned how to take Polaroid photos from her father, the fashion photographer Tony Federico, who gave her a camera at an early age. Altea Federico moved to Berlin when she was 22 and soon started working at KitKat Club. First at the wardrobe, then as a manager. This is how she became part of a community that doesn't like to be photographed. However, Altea's cautious approach and the analogue medium allowed her to build enough trust. The Polaroids are unique, and the protagonists were always offered the picture as a gift. But some of the pictures remained with Altea Federico - with the permission to show them as part of a series. In collaboration with the event series "Raum 4", Altea Federico's second photo project was created - including the picture “Give me more”. According to Altea Federico, it is one of her favourite images. Since 2024 Altea Federico has been working on new projects outside the Kinky Community. To avoid the puritanical rules and arbitrary moods of the social media algorithm, she has set up her own website: 

www.mullstudio.org/

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Tony Federico “Donatella Versace" 1999 / Polaroid i-Type 600

Portrait of designer Donatella Versace taken at Milano Fashion Week, 1999. Tony Federico took the Polaroid as a backstage photographer two years after the murder of Gianni Versace, Donatella's brother. In these times of grief and tragedy, Donatella Versace has taken responsibility for the company and her brother's legacy. And these years were tough for Tony Federico as well: he was overworked, lonely and had developed a dangerous drug habit. He wanted to take back control and Donatella Versace's courage motivated him. Soon later, Tony Federico moved to Berlin and left the fashion business for good. Donatella Versace has made a comeback despite personal tragedy and the seemingly impossible task of following in the footsteps of a legend. A strength captured as one of the Polaroids in Tony Federico's series. More images & Interviews in which Tony Federico tells his story as a backstage photographer:

https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/BKpsv5wWrkS0o

Contact:

https://www.tonyfederico.it/

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Casa De Balneario "Quiero otro" 2021 / Ink on paper "This work is about a person who always wants more. I think she wants something that she can only get with money. She lives in a world of material values and is therefore slightly stressed. The fact that there is a woman in this picture is a coincidence. I started the work with the two words "Quiero otro" (I want more) and tried to write them on a black background. The large black area became the hair of a woman. Consumerism, which gives many people a bad mood, affects all genders equally." Casa De Balneario's works deal with consumerism and materialism. They are ironic comments that he leaves wherever he goes. In his hometown Montevideo, in Buenos Aires or Barcelona. And also in Berlin, one of the capitals of street art. But the police arrested him when he was about to glue a paste-up at Warschauerstrasse. He spent six hours at the police station and his work was closely inspected and confiscated. He was told that his posters were anti-capitalist and posed a problem. Dangerous irony, on.

Contact: https://www.instagram.com/casadebalneario/

"CASI GRATIS" at Kaffeemitte: https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/YXv573Z2bsQW6

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Eva Contreras "A hard night's day" 2020 / Analogue photography

G: When and where did you take this photo? E: It was a nice summer day in 2020, only weeks before the pandemic and the enigmatic 2-year period that would change everyone’s lives. We didn’t know it then. Ina certainly didn’t know it: she was having fun by the pool in Buenos Aires, a long way from Finland. It was the blue in her eyes matching the blue in the water, and I thought it would end up being a very harmonic tonal range. I had no idea that an aggressive light leak would paint half the picture yellow over my expired Fujicolor 200 film, creating a whole new colour palette that would forever evoke the nuances of summer: the sun, the water, the friendship and the smiles.

G: Why do you like analogue photography? E: The reason I shoot film instead of digital is not because I like how it looks (which I do, obviously). It is because of the suspense, the surprise, the never-knowing: surrendering myself to chance and chaos. G: Is there a difference in what femininity means in Argentina and Germany? E: In Argentina, femininity has become strongly attached to feminism. The feminist movement there is one of the strongest and most organized that I’ve seen in all the places I have visited. Women are not afraid to step up, speak their minds, and go out in the streets to make their voices heard, to make space for them in a system that has been male-focused for way too long. In Argentina, the movement is solid and bold. I am not saying the system is now right, and the problems have been solved. There is a long way to go. But I have to say, even if I dare not speak about this aspect in Berlin, that the time I spend abroad always makes me feel proud of Argentina and how far we’ve come as a community.

Contact:

https://evaporada.com/

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Paul Rosenbauer "Simple.Woman" 2024 / Acrylic wall painting

Paul Rosenbauer's letter-art is all about reducing words and symbols to a minimum. Some of his beautiful calligraphy was shown at the exhibition FÄRBER at Kaffeemitte in 2023 - more on www.we-do.de Paul Rosenbauer came to calligraphy through graffiti and traditionally, the letters go with a character. „Simple.Woman“ was made in 2017, originally painted with pen and ink on a small sheet of paper. It was once made for a woman the artist was in love with: a woman with long hair, either walking forwards with big steps or standing there as if firmly rooted. The mural at Kaffeemitte is a reproduction of this drawing, it is over 1.20 meters high and painted on the wall in acrylic. Paul Rosenbauer: "I painted a lot of different figures back then. For example, dancing figures, which at some point were just one single line. More and more reduced forms - that was my style then and it still is today".

Contact:

https://www.instagram.com/paulrosenbauer/

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Vassilis Konstantinou "Persona" 2012 / digital photography

This photograph is part of Vassilis Konstantinou's first image series. It is the portrait of his wife, from the series "Common People" from 2012. As in his later works, Vassilis Konstantinou prepared and staged the motif and the setting. Thematically, Vassilis Konstantinou often refers to the great dramas and myths. In this case, the inspiration is the movie "Persona" by Ingmar Bergman.

The film from 1966 is about two women in a house by the sea and the complex relationship that unfolds between them. One of the two women, Elisabet, does not speak, but the audience understands her feelings and follows the narration through metaphorical scenes and intense close-ups of the actors. Alma, the nurse caring for the mute Elisabet can speak - but Ingmar Bergman makes it feel as if the listener says more than the person speaking.

The reference in Vassilis Konstantinou's photo is aesthetically and formal, with the choice of the lens and the framing, the shadows and a high contrast. It is the enigmatic expression and a somewhat nostalgic look. And like the protagonist in the film, the woman in Vassilis Konstantinou's portrait cannot speak. As with Bergman, the face speaks by showing feelings that words cannot express. Words that are part of a defensive system are removed.

"Ingmar Bergman explores the female psyche and identity. It is not about the differences between men and women and he is not interested in defining any boundaries. His focus is on exploring the female mind and the complexity of female emotions. Men play no role in the masterpiece Persona."

Contact: http://vassiliskonstantinou.com/

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Lucille Guder "Steffi"

Berlin / 2022 / Dry flowers & felt pen on paper

The soft lines, colours and floral motifs in Lucille Guder's paintings and collages are the result of courage and - female - self empowerment. Lucille Guder's artistic theme is the visibility of women and their body confidence. This is reflected in her paintings but also in the approach she takes to her work and life in general. Lucille Guder looks for dialogue and organizes various projects in which she communicates about her topic and invites others to participate. Therefore Lucille Guder shows her work at markets, fairs and at numerous exhibitions.

Lucille Guder describes her painting "Steffi": "This collage is the second artwork in a series titled 'Your Body is Art,' where I invited my Instagram followers to share pictures of their bodies. When Steffi sent her photo, she shared with me her personal journey of struggling to accept her body's changes over the years, emphasizing the need to make peace with it. In this piece, I chose to highlight certain body lines in gold, symbolizing these lines as precious marks of the life we've experienced together and as beautiful in my eyes."

The creation process is integral part of the finished painting - this is distinctly evident in Lucille Guder's work.

Contact: www.lucilleguder.com

Interviews and more images by Lucille Guder: https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/kIPncuLYbj6J3

Video: https://youtu.be/z7xhVwsGZh4?si=9ZE1K_6FWEYjwC3U

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Lou Held "Carmen" Berlin / 2024 / Acrylic on paper Carmen is one of the oldest and best friends of Lou Held - this painting is for her. The two have known each other since their school days and although two very different life plans evolved from there, their friendship has remained.

"Carmen can give me advice in such a way that I can take it well. She is a spiritual and very emphatic person and her courage to rely on her intuition has been an important inspiration. Carmen was always there when I needed her - she is a sister to me."

It was a day in spring 2024 when Lou Held thought of her dear friend and reflected on their memories - a desire that motivated her to paint again after a long time. It is the first artwork Lou Held has painted in the last years and it stands for the importance of this friendship. A friendship that can endure over the years, even if life takes very different directions. Carmen lives in a monastery in Asia and Lou has hardly painted since her exhibition at Kaffeemitte in 2021 - she is now a full-time paramedic.

Group show: Woman Portrait Gallery V.2 April - June 2024, Kaffeemitte

More: https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/fLbA1XYDBGk8h

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Group show: Woman Portrait Gallery V.2 April & May 2024 at Kaffeemitte

01 Altea Federico “Give me more” 2023 / Polaroid XS-70

02 Paul Rosenbauer "Simple.Woman" 2024 / Acrylic wall painting

03 Vassilis Konstantinou "Persona" 2012 / digital photography

04 Tony Federico “Donatella Versace" 1999 / Polaroid i-Type 600

05 Martin Krusche "Madame" 2020 / Stencil printing

06 Casa De Balneario "Quiero otro" 2021 / Ink on paper

07 Dared "Faye - Its been a long time" 2024 / Acrylic PasteUp

08 Liliana Rasmussen "Free Palestine" 2023 / Digital Gouache on Paper

09 Lou Held "Carmen" 2024 / Acrylic on paper

10 Lucille Guder "Steffi" June 2022 / Dry flowers & felt pen on paper

11 Macarena Cox "Safe Place" 2024 / Linocut Print

12 Pongsuang Choop "The Woman in Nighthawks" 2024 / Acrylic on wood

13 Sunny Strange "EpigeneticS" 2024 / AI generated

14 Alex Zika "Feeding Grapes" 2005 / Watercolor on paper

15 Eva Contreras "A hard night's day" 2020 / Analogue photography

All artworks, artists and contacts

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Filipe Nascimento Images for STOP LOOK GO taken in Holland / 2020 - 2023

In the exhibition STOP LOOK GO, Filipe Nascimento shows examples of his black and white photography - and also describes the individual steps between taking the picture and a framed image. Filipe is not interested in the finished picture but in the process of getting there. He talks about the careful planning and preparation that comes before most of his pictures. And about the most important moment to him on the way between shooting and the picture. The moment when the photo appears from the developer liquid, often weeks after Filipe has taken the shot. It's about patience and mastering the tools as good as possible.

More

Contact: nascimento.filipe@gmail.com

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Alexander Sokolov

Images for STOP LOOK GO taken in Berlin / 2020 - 2023

The second interview for the exhibition Stop Look Go is now online. Alexander explains how he created the light leaks, double exposures and panoramic images that make up his series in the exhibition. Alexander explains his long exposures, the different types of film and the different cameras. And he talks about the excitement of experimenting with analogue photography and the lesson he learned along the way: trust the process.

More

Contact Alexander Sokolov

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Eric Götz Images for STOP LOOK GO taken in New York / June 2023

The interview with Eric Götz is now online. He describes how he takes snapshots of strangers and how he decides who to photograph and how. He talks about the search he goes on when exploring a city he hasn't been to before - like last summer in New York. And Eric Götz describes what analog photography has taught him about patience...

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Contact Eric Götz

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Letzten Sommer haben wir einen kurzen Dokumentarfilm über die Künstlerin Marion Dieterle gedreht. Nach einer Karriere als Tänzerin in Köln ist sie 2021 mit ihrer Familie nach Umbrien aufs Land gezogen. Welchen Einfluss hat das neue Umfeld - die Natur - auf ihre künstlerische Praxis? Wie kann sie ihre Arbeit sichtbar machen, wenn es vor Ort doch kaum Publikum gibt? Antworten gab zum Teil die Ausstellung "98 Hektar“: Malereien, die wir im Kaffeemitte ausgestellt haben...

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STOP LOOK GO Analogue photography by

Alexander Sokolov / Eric Götz / Filipe Nascimento

February & March 2024 / KAFFEEMITTE

The title of the group exhibition is a quote from David Steindl-Rast, a hermit and spiritual teacher. In one of his first publications from 1983, "A Listening Heart“, the author explores methods of contemplative practice. The expression „Stop Look Go" sums up what mindfulness means for him. Children learn to cross a road safely using this method. By transferring this simple concept to other areas of life, it can become a memorable and far-reaching principle. As we walk through life, we constantly come across new situations that require a reaction from us. This could be a busy road or an emotional decision that we are faced with. We have been practising to stop at the side of the road and to look before we go on. However, we don't always realize that we act impulsively in other situations, guided by our fears and fixed assumptions. Stop Look Go can be a useful piece of advice to help us better recognize our impulses and make more considered decisions.

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Teaser for the exhibition "98 Hektar" by painter and performance artist Marion Dieterle at Kaffeemitte.

Shot in: Greppolischieto / Italy / 2023

Music: Eluzai "Stompin Demons"

https://eluzaiofficial.com https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/arti...

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Interview with photographer Vassilis Konstantinou

"Eros & Thanatos" August & September 2023, Kaffeemitte

We are very happy to have Vassilis Konstantinou come to Berlin for the opening of his show. Besides the pictures, the artist himself has a lot of interesting things to tell. The understanding and the detailed exploration of the great stories of ancient Greek mythology are encoded in the 14 prints of the exhibition - but become vivid when Vassilis tells us about the ideas and images that lie in the cradle of European art and culture. During a walk through Berlin, we talked about examples in which we may recognize archetypes and universally valid human behaviours, as described by Greek mythology, between Alexanderplatz and Ostkreuz.

2. August 2023 10:00 Kaffeemitte / Weinmeisterstrasse

Gregor Welcome to Kaffeemitte, Vassilis Konstantinou! What is this show all about? Can you describe the concept of Eros and Thanatos?

Vassilis I started delving into this topic after reading Freud’s “Beyond the Pleasure Principle”. It got me thinking that Eros (Love) and Thanatos (Death) aren’t opposites but two sides of the same coin. What really grabbed my attention were those moments when they fused, becoming one. There are plenty of examples that hint at this connection. Take, for instance, the fleeting loss of consciousness during orgasm, which echoes the permanence of death. It’s intriguing that the French even call the orgasm “Petite Mort”. Additionally, the myths of Orpheus and Eurydice and Romeo and Juliet, in which love passes through death. Beyond that, I found myself drawn to the power of Greek myths that weave Eros and Thanatos into their stories. So, I tried to capture these moments by creating a series of symbolic and perhaps enigmatic pictures.

11:00 / Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse

We left Kaffeemitte and walked in the direction of Alexanderplatz. We stopped below the “Pressecafé” and looked from Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse across the intersection, towards the East. It’s the centre of former GDR, the huge mosaic on the walls still shows the aesthetics of those years.

Gregor We passed some hip stores and we saw teenagers waiting in a long queue, trying to buy a pair of limited edition sneakers. Can these people be a link to one of your pictures? In the photo “The Bacchae” there is a head with an iconic leaf garland. The title comes from the eponymous Greek drama. Why are people so dedicated to a pair of shoes that they run after them like a group of Bacchae? 

Vassilis Euripides tells us about the organized cult of Dionysus. And as with all great myths, the drama is about universally valid principles. In the case of the Bacchae it’s about an extreme appearance of trance. The Maenads, that is, the “followers of Dionysus,” run into the mountains at night, go hunting and eat raw meat. The ecstasy that arises when you get hold of a pair of sneakers is properly not so much the spiritual, anarchic energy described in the Myth. But there are parallels nonetheless. People still gather in groups today and these groups have their symbols, their cult objects. According to the description, there was ecstatic trace, even perversion and this led to the implicit rejection of state practice and state values in general. 

Gregor Alternative life - the rejection of state practice for some - and the desire for ecstasy have certainly attracted several people to the city. How does the drama by Euripides end? Is there anything contemporary followers of Dionysus should know?

Vassilis Certainly, individuals often try to go beyond what we call “just being themselves.” Some people use conventional methods like meditation, while others, like the Bacchae, go for something a bit more unconventional. During my time in Berlin, I got the feeling that the city is a haven of freedom. People come here expecting to find a way to break free from their usual selves and they are accepted by being themselves.

12:00 / Karl-Marx-Allee

We walk on towards Strausberger Platz. We pass more examples of GDR design, passing Haus des Lehrers. Opposite, at the Haus der Statistik, we see scaffolding. Vassilis is surprised that decades after the fall of the Wall, construction is still going on in such a prominent place.  We walk by the Kino International and Cafe Moskau. In Karl Marx Allee we move into one of the building entrances because it started to rain. Vassilis notices the columns that decorate many of the houses in the street. They are buildings in the so-called “Zuckerbäcker” style - an example of socialist classicism from the 1950s.

Vassilis These are typical Doric columns, you can see them similarly in Metapont and on many other temples in Greece and Italy. The materials, and the whole feel of this street, are based on the beauty ideal from the ancient Greeks and Romans. One finds this principle in the symbols too, i.e. in the themes depicted on the mosaics - even if implemented in a more modern way. A beautiful harmonious world with workers like Demeter, scholars like Prometheus and of course Apollo, the god of the arts. In quite an organized manner Dionysus, the god of wine and ecstasy has his place. The oversized proportions of this road suggest that something epic was planned. 

15:00 / Warschauer Straße

It has stopped raining and we reach Friedrichshain. We walk past a squatted house and I tell Vassilis about the punk culture that was once at home in the area.

Gregor Around 2005, when I moved here, these houses were grey and many stores were closed. Punks and their dogs, squatted buildings and open-air parties made the atmosphere - a district with an aura of great freedom. The downside was that in winter we had to heat with a coal oven. The streets were poorly lit at night and large bushes grew along the sidewalks. When my aunt from Munich visited me once, she was scrounged for a cigarette by two punks. When my aunt politely said she didn’t have one, the punks shouted at her to fuck off! It felt a bit like a lawless space here.

Vassilis A famous rebel, Princess Antigone struggled with the question to what extent people should follow the law. She defied King Creon by demanding to give her brother Polyneikes a proper burial. Antigone is committed to divine law, while Creon embodies state law. The author Sophocles addresses the friction between morality and law. An inner voice can lead us to violate state order. Sophocles also addressed the fact that man can act not only good but also evil. However, if he does so within the framework of the law, he is still respected. The drama “Antigone” ends in a catastrophe: Antigone hangs herself.

Gregor If Friedrichshain used to be Antigone 20 years ago and now Creon is getting stronger, will it end as a drama?

Vassilis The play is more complex than that. Creon sees that Antigone was right with her rebellion! But unfortunately too late! What we can learn from this for a city is perhaps that neither one nor the other should become too dominant. A police state is not worth living in, but if safety is no longer ensured by the state, for example, your aunt feels threatened, then it is also not right.

We end our walk at the Warschauer Brücke. The general theme of the exhibition - and our conversation - is a concept that can still be inspiring to us today: harmony between the different pairs of opposites. Rebellion and conformity, chaos and order, emotional and rational. Eros & Thanatos.

Contact

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Tin Brain

Solo show by photographer and AI artist Matus Toth

July - August 2023 at Kaffeemitte / Berlin

In July 2023, we are showing TinBrain - an image series generated with Artificial Intelligence. Nine free works by Prague-based photographer and artist Matus Toth.

The debate about machine intelligence affects large parts of society. For labour and for science, there is talk of a quantum leap. The Chat GPT text generator is compared to the invention of printing. And the development is still very dynamic!

AI also affects art and the idea of creativity quite fundamentally. Questions of basic principle arise when, for example, the incomplete 10th and last symphony of Beethoven is finished by a software.

For image creation, Midjourney, DALL-E and the AI applications by Adobe and others are what Chat GPT is for text creation. 

Based on the nine works in the exhibition, we ask Matus Toth about his approach to AI. Which programs does he use and what were the prompts for each art work? How does the “new tool” AI affects his style as a fashion photographer? Is there a renaissance of surrealism? 

The exhibition is extended by a conversation between Matus Toth and a computer specialist. A nerd from the field of "neural networks" helps Matus Toth - and us - to better understand the tools and production processes. A dialogue about technical, aesthetic and social issues.

We are happy if you visit our exhibition at Kaffeemitte, if you like the artworks by Matus Toth and if you are interested in the theoretical discussion.

Interview:

Matus Toth: I have been a photographer for 20 years, I studied in Prague, and I mainly do fashion photography. I make a living from commercial work like fashion editorials and advertising, but I have always done independent work as well. I'm interested also in documentary photography and digital art. For about a year now, I have been creating images with various AI applications. Making images with AI feels very playful. I guess the image generators have built-in adjusting screws for coincidence. It turns out that with the same prompts, the same image never appears. There are not two times the same picture. This element of surprise is fun, great fun. And working with AI can be inspiring. When thinking about a concept for a shot, my thoughts take completely different paths because I think less about technical limits. Consequently, I've been more and more combining AI elements with photos from my camera, which are commissioned for fashion editorials. 

Gregor Hutz: Do you feel that you understand how AI works, how the machine works?

MT: Too little. To understand everything about, say, Midjourney, requires a very different level of know-how. And even people who deal with the programming are surprised themselves and admit that they don't fully understand how machine intelligence "thinks". Often the results make me curious, I would like to know: how are these crazy images created? What processes happen when a stunning atmosphere appears or how can the AI come up with such unpredicted interpretations? But it's not necessarily important for my actual work. AI is more a part of the production process - between idea and final retouching.

GH: Do you talk to computer experts, nerds and software engineers?

MT: Yes, I try to understand what's happening technically. Because the better I understand how A.I. works, the more fun it is. So I keep up with it, even if the next new thing is announced every few weeks and it's a highly complex system. 

GH: Are there specific things you would like to understand technically? 

MT: For me, a crucial question is: how does AI understand what I want to tell it? Especially when I write complete sentences, I can no longer follow what the AI understands - what do my words mean to the program? How can I explain myself? As humans, we spend our whole lives learning to understand what the other person is trying to say. But the computer understands us in a completely different way. Why does it understand me so well sometimes and sometimes not at all? 

GH: Can you give an example of that?

MT: I wanted to portray a woman in the water and I wanted to put some shoes on her head. The AI then portrayed the woman in the water perfectly, but couldn't put the shoes on her head. I tried for hours, but it didn't work. So in the end I had to put the shoes on her head in post-production. Fortunately, Photoshop's AI is also pretty smart now. The program is not as creative as Midjourney, but for fixing things, it's a power tool. In the past, when we wanted to publish an image in different formats, it was always a problem. On set, you might have to move the camera further away and bear in mind that all formats can be cut out of the same shot. But that changes the focus effect etc... With Photoshop AI, I can simply adjust the format by letting the software fill in empty areas. Nevertheless, I still use classic tools such as brush or stamp. That requires some know-how and experience. But if the technical development continues like this, soon we will only write: "Draw skin softer" or "Make pullover fuzz-free" - and the software will implement it.

GH: Please describe your production process.

MT: Most of the pictures I make start with a concept. An idea for a little story, for which I then think of an image. Like a still from a movie. I do research and look for old photographs or images that might fit. In the past, I used a pen, a camera and models. Today I also use prompts to describe my idea to MidJourney. This happens via the Discord software. The prompting is extended when I use the /blend command. I then load existing pictures into the AI and combine them with prompts. I have the impression that the AI then produces somewhat less at random and I get a result more quickly. But the result is not always the most important! Sometimes AI comes up with something completely different from what I wanted. That inspires me and I forget the old concept and come up with a new story. This wow-effect is great fun. Nevertheless, the finished picture is not "just" what AI suggests, but the result of working with various software. Research, prompts, my own photos and detailed post-production - that's more or less the way. 

GH: Has working with AI changed your style as a commercial photographer? 

MT: In the last 20 years I have seen a lot of technical developments in my field, and each time the style has changed. Not only mine, but the look that defined a certain time is also a consequence of the tools.

GH: The surreal element, the surrealistic tone from AI can be seen in your work and some of your colleagues in advertising and fashion photography. Could it be that there is a renaissance of surrealism? 

Salvador Dali: It's about time.

GH: What will be the consequences for you as a photographer and for your industry? For models, make-up artists or set designers? I know a man who just finished his training as a speaker. That is now obsolete. There are zero jobs for him anymore. 

MT: In fashion photography, there will hopefully still be productions with humans in the near future. The models are often famous and people want to see the real person. Simple stock photography has a harder time - Midjourney can already replace that quite well. For example, a happy family in the sunset. The client doesn't have to pay buyouts and the picture is practically just as good. At the beginning of this year, there was a lot of hype, and amazing pictures popped up everywhere. But it also shows that the creators are not all equally good. The constant work with the medium and the constant production of images is still a demanding process.

GH: The author Yuval Noah Harari has warned of a tsunami that awaits us. There have already been many layoffs, and the worries go further: all the way to the extinction of humankind as we know it. If artificial intelligence will soon be much more intelligent than humans, will humans extinct? 

MT: For me, AI is first of all a tool, just like my camera. Of course, any tool can be misused. And it's already being misused - for example, with emotionalized spam. Or calls are made where the person no longer recognizes that he is talking to an AI. Deep fake is dangerous. And the speed at which technology is advancing is impressive. Every few weeks, the next incredible development...

GH: What do you think about the EU's AI Act, which calls for regulations on the use of AI? 

MT: I like technology, but I think there should be rules for AI. The question, of course, is whether the politicians who should be taking care of it are doing the right thing - and doing it fast enough. I'm afraid the legal regulations are not coming behind, it's like with the other digital technologies. Politics can't keep up.

GH: What are your hopes? What are you looking forward to when you think about the future of machine intelligence?

MT: Maybe when we are old, there will be robots that wash our hair and cook our food. But there is still some time to go. And I think it's good when no one has to do monotonous, senseless work anymore. Like following a truck for hundreds of kilometers, or writing boring marketing prose that no one reads. Also for medicine it has great potential. It's ambivalent. Imagine if an AI could answer your questions better than I could do myself. And maybe an AI could also interview me better than you can? In that case, it would be reasonable if the two AI's would just write this interview directly with each other. But what do we do then?

FAZIT: 

Machine intelligence is a transformative technology and will have far-reaching implications for all areas of life. What these implications are is not yet decided. 

We must address policy and decision-makers. For example, on the question of "post copyright" rules. If the AIs are trained with our images and data, then we should participate financially. Who is allowed to make money with images and texts if the machines have not respected copyright when learning?

Or should the machines themselves be recognised as creators? 

In any case, there have to be democratically legitimised rules for dealing with big data sets. Companies like Spawning (https://spawning.ai), help with a disclaimer that prohibits the crawlers from using the content for deep learning. This opt-out option is certainly only an in-between solution, but it asks the right question. 

It is much more a social than a technical issue.

Artists approach their topics playfully and do not think with efficiency in mind. This view is important and perhaps art can decisively complement one of the greatest developments of our time. As in the Renaissance, when science and art were closely linked and this union triggered significant changes - right up to the Enlightenment of the 18th century. That is why Matus Toth's exhibition is meant to be an incentive for further image series and interviews.