Meet Anne Rogers, Culture A, London

Step by step, could you describe the creative process? 

To start, I researched art movements and aesthetics connected to wellness and color psychology, then created mood boards in response to themes and workshopped storytelling exercises to establish the kind of art I wanted to achieve. 

Next, I collaborated with a computer vision engineer, who built an algorithm (specifically, a Generative Adversarial Network, or GAN) and trained it on a dataset of over 10,000 open access art images. These images were primarily landscape and color field paintings. 

For over six months, we refined the criteria of the images produced by the AI to achieve color, composition, and subject matter inspired by impressionist landscapes and abstract art. The AI learns the dataset’s artistic styles at an accelerated rate, so it’s fascinating to see what elements the machine chooses to mimic from the data, but also how you can set parameters to help focus it on certain colors or forms. 

When the AI began producing higher quality art (around Month 4 and 5), I created an online survey that asked people to rank around 100 pairs of images. The online survey did not reveal that any of the art was created by AI, and was instead used to test image preferences. I saved the feedback to assess against the next batch of art.

Around Month 6, I saw an exciting batch of appx. 5,000 images that resembled the type of aesthetic and style I had hoped to achieve. I selected 30 and began testing the images on various print materials, including wool/silk, velvet, linen, and fine art paper. Ultimately, I selected 10 final images that would become “Meditative Landscapes” based on the resulting quality tests and what felt like a comprehensive series.

Human and Nature, Nature and Machine. Interconnection, tension, evolution. How do you, as a creative, engage with technology? and the natural world?

I see technology as a tool. Sometimes it helps me work more efficiently. Sometimes – like with “Meditative Landscapes” – it helps me create something surprising and new. The natural world – its colors, shapes, and textures – remains my primary design inspiration. 

In “Meditative Landscapes”, the scenes are completely fictional: it’s a machine’s understanding of an artist’s understanding of the natural world, but despite this layered separation, there is still something so curiously relatable in each artwork. You look at the images and your brain understands the natural composition of a seaside or colors of a sunset, even though the scenes are 100% artificial. It’s a fun dynamic to explore.

Can you tell us more about Culture A Editions? 

I started Culture A Editions as a platform to inspire product collaborations with artists and creatives in my network. Most of my projects are determined by a client brief, so this platform is an opportunity to work on more passion projects that experiment with technology or new production methods.

Do you remember an art piece from a hotel that particularly touched you? 

The Jaume Plensa sculpture in the lobby of the At Six hotel in Stockholm is striking and thoughtful. I think its elegant and feminine form works well against the more brutalist architecture. 

Could you tell us about your future projects?

The next iteration of AI-generated design! Our studio is developing new artwork and patterns for textile and upholstery use. We’re also working on art experiences for a few upcoming public projects, including property developments in Washington DC and NYC, as well as a hotel renovation in London.