In 2018, Christie’s auction house in New York sold a portrait of an anonymous figure to a Chinese art collector who paid $432,500 for it. This sale transformed into a watershed moment because the work, in fact, was created with the help of AI (artificial intelligence): A pencil, brush, and colors were replaced by an algorithm that scanned 15,000 portraits created between the 14th and 20th centuries and yielded the work.

The protagonists of this film, three young Frenchmen – Hugo, Gauthier, and Pierre – created the portrait, even though they had never studied art: Two studied business administration, the third was an AI researcher. They say they never intended to become artists and knew very little about the art market, but they see themselves as pioneers of an artistic revolution that happened by chance. The trio founded a collective called Obvious and began to play with the creative possibilities that AI offers, leading to commercial success. Since then, they continue to create art using the same method, while a debate swirls around them that asks: Is this art?

Opening lecture: Tal Lanir, Curator for Special Projects, Tel Aviv Museum of Art.