Almost 6,500 artists requested in their open letters that Christie’s first show from the fine art auction house dedicated solely to works created with AI. However, the show was augmenting intelligence, but reportedly surpassed expectations.
According to Christie’s, the show has brought in over $700,000, and many lots have reached beyond their high estimates. The top sale was Refik Anadol’s “Machine Hallucinations – Iss Dreams – A.” This was a dynamic painting that algorithmically rethinks data from the International Space Station and satellites. He won $277,200.
Nicole Sales Giles, vice president of Christie and director of digital art sales, told ArtNet that the show’s success “confirmed” collectors were aware of “creative voices that push the boundaries of art.”
Many artists don’t feel that way.
In the aforementioned letter, the signed signatories accused of featuring artwork created using an AI model that they are known to be trained in copyrighted works. They use their works without the license to “abuse” human artists and without permission to build products that compete with them.