Wednesday 11 December 2024
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is pleased to announce Colin Beardon as the winner of the 2024 Michèle Whitecliffe Art Writing Prize for his essay “Notes on the Transit of the Artificial”.
Beardon will receive a $2,500 prize and his winning entry has been published in the December issue of Art Toi, Auckland Art Gallery’s magazine. The two runners-up, Angus Graham and Kenneah March Demacali, will have their entries published as articles on the Gallery’s website.
This year’s prize was judged by Dr Mi You, a professor of art and economies at the University of Kassel / documenta Institute. Dr You selected Beardon’s essay for its thoughtful exploration of this year’s theme Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Visual Arts.
In her judge’s comments, she notes: “Amidst the outcry, awe, and self-doubt from art producers in the face of AI, ‘Notes on the Transit of the Artificial’ offers a sober and yet heart-warming analysis on what AI means for the arts. Rather than identifying AI as the future horizon we are helplessly drawn to, the author posits that we need to understand the histories of artificiality and artificial intelligence, as well as the conditions and possibilities of making and disseminating art and culture."
Beardon, who earned a PhD in Artificial Intelligence in 1976, has worked in both computer science and the creative arts across the UK, Sweden, Finland and New Zealand. He was the founding editor of the international journal Digital Creativity. Now retired, Beardon remains an active participant in community arts.
“Artificial Intelligence is a mechanisation whereby traditional skills are embedded in machines. The result is that art is reduced to a commodity. I have long argued against this and that artists need to become guardians of the genuine in a predominantly artificial world. I am honoured to receive this award and to know that these concerns are recognised,” says Beardon.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Director of Auckland Art Gallery, Kirsten Lacy comments: “It is fantastic to read exceptional essayists, deeply thinking through critical issues, providing thought provoking ideas and for the prize to be supporting new voices in art writing finding an audience through the gallery’s work.”
The Michèle Whitecliffe Art Writing Prize, established in 2020 by Auckland Art Gallery and Michèle Whitecliffe, encourages critical thought about New Zealand’s visual arts. The prize is awarded annually in memory of Greg Whitecliffe, a passionate advocate for the arts.