Post Photographic Perspectives II: Acceptable Realities is Fellowship's second group show celebrating a new wave of innovation in AI video and photography.

"Overpopulated Symphonies" is a collection of AI post-photography that immerses viewers in a commentary on the contemporary human condition. Through sprawling images of densely populated urban landscapes and human gatherings, the collection reduces individuals to minuscule points, forming an overwhelming sea of indistinguishable dots.

Beyond the literal portrayal of overpopulation, this collection utilizes the metaphor of crowd density as an analogy for the inundation of information in our modern era. It poses questions about identity, individuality, and the struggles faced by the human mind in processing and prioritizing the relentless surge of data we encounter daily. The figures in these photographs transcend mere physical bodies; they represent thoughts, ideas, and information, all vying for recognition and space.

Overpopulated Symphonies by Alkan Avcioglu

"Overpopulated Symphonies" is a collection of AI post-photography that immerses viewers in a commentary on the contemporary human condition. Through sprawling images of densely populated urban landscapes and human gatherings, the collection reduces individuals to minuscule points, forming an overwhelming sea of indistinguishable dots.

Beyond the literal portrayal of overpopulation, this collection utilizes the metaphor of crowd density as an analogy for the inundation of information in our modern era. It poses questions about identity, individuality, and the struggles faced by the human mind in processing and prioritizing the relentless surge of data we encounter daily. The figures in these photographs transcend mere physical bodies; they represent thoughts, ideas, and information, all vying for recognition and space within the confines of our mental landscapes. With humans depicted as dots in a chaotic neural network, these artworks serve as an allegory for the phenomenon of information overload.

The title "Overpopulated Symphonies" intends to evoke the intricate and often overwhelming nature of our current reality. "Overpopulated" alludes to the physical density of human gatherings depicted in the collection, but also metaphorically refers to the overflow of information and ideas that bombard us incessantly. The term "Symphonies" suggests a sense of harmony and order, offering an optimistic counterpoint to the chaos portrayed. It hints at the potential for synchronicity to arise from apparent disarray.

Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 96, Andante: "The Browns"

CryptoFootball2021

Fantasy Football meets NFTs. By minting a Team you get an NFT that will have a random collection of 1 QB, 3 RBs, 3 WRs and 1 TE. Every week the top 5 and bottom 5 scorers (no losers in this league!) will be airdropped a prize.

Team #931

Team #930

Team #929

Team #928

Team #927

Our signature commission awarded to world renowned photographers to help them create new work for the Obscura platform. 2 photographers per month are selected for their outstanding contributions to the medium of photography. We offer the artist a curation team to assist in the selection of the final pieces. Each artist will produce a collection of 55 NFTs.

55 Season Passes will be sold for the Curated Commission. Each pass guarantees 8 NFTs, one from every curated artist. Sold once per season.

purchase your season pass on the secondary market: https://opensea.io/collection/obscura-mint-pass or stay tuned for the season 2 primary sale at: http://obscura.io in May 2022

Obscura Curated

Ursula 3 #47 by Hannah Whitaker

This collection of photographs expands on a character who has been the focal point of my work for a few years: Ursula. I leave ambiguous exactly who and what she is. Her nature is something between an AI, a fictional character, an avatar, a product of the collective imagination, and a living, fully dimensional, being. 

I have previously made two bodies of work with her. The first I published with Image Text Ithaca Press in a book called Ursula. These photographs also comprise my genesis NFT drop. The second I showed recently at Galerie Christophe Gaillard in Paris in an exhibition called Shadow Detail. This third body of work is the first made specifically for the NFT space. Im calling it Ursula 3, as the third iteration of the project, and in a nod to Web3.

These photographs incorporate some of the photographic techniques that I have used in the past in cultivating the mystique of Ursulasilhouettes, special effect lighting, and printed backgrounds. For Ursula 3 I combined these techniques with a more hands-on approach to set building. I had several props and set materials fabricated out of mirrored plexi, including patterned screens, Ursulas profile, and her hands. I also had made a turtleneck, gloves, and hoods in reflective materials. In addition to using these props, I incorporated rear projection, a technique used in a pre-digital era of Hollywood filmmaking. 

The sets are more complex than I had done previously, with the intent of making the space in the photographs stranger, more layered, and more difficult to decipher. The resulting photographs evoke the established language of the Ursula lineage but usher her into an increasingly synthetic universe.

Edition: 1 of 1

Commissioned by Obscura

Ursula 3 #47 by Hannah Whitaker

Ursula 3 #14 by Hannah Whitaker

This collection of photographs expands on a character who has been the focal point of my work for a few years: Ursula. I leave ambiguous exactly who and what she is. Her nature is something between an AI, a fictional character, an avatar, a product of the collective imagination, and a living, fully dimensional, being. 

I have previously made two bodies of work with her. The first I published with Image Text Ithaca Press in a book called Ursula. These photographs also comprise my genesis NFT drop. The second I showed recently at Galerie Christophe Gaillard in Paris in an exhibition called Shadow Detail. This third body of work is the first made specifically for the NFT space. Im calling it Ursula 3, as the third iteration of the project, and in a nod to Web3.

These photographs incorporate some of the photographic techniques that I have used in the past in cultivating the mystique of Ursulasilhouettes, special effect lighting, and printed backgrounds. For Ursula 3 I combined these techniques with a more hands-on approach to set building. I had several props and set materials fabricated out of mirrored plexi, including patterned screens, Ursulas profile, and her hands. I also had made a turtleneck, gloves, and hoods in reflective materials. In addition to using these props, I incorporated rear projection, a technique used in a pre-digital era of Hollywood filmmaking. 

The sets are more complex than I had done previously, with the intent of making the space in the photographs stranger, more layered, and more difficult to decipher. The resulting photographs evoke the established language of the Ursula lineage but usher her into an increasingly synthetic universe.

Edition: 1 of 1

Commissioned by Obscura

Ursula 3 #14 by Hannah Whitaker

Whirlpool #55 Melissa, Jess Norman Post 166 American Legion Hut by Jim Goldberg

This project, Whirlpool, began in 2019 from a commission by the High Museum of Art as part of their Picturing the South collection. The Obscura Curated commission has allowed me to continue this project and go deeper.

I worked in a small, racially mixed, and working-class town by the name of Augusta, AR. Located along the White River in Arkansass Delta region, its heyday had long passed with the gradual decline of steamships and use of the river. I was fascinated by the small-town life and its history, the landscape, the hunting culture, the complicated familial ties, and the delicate dynamics of race and economic status that lived there. It was complex and stood out to me as a true reflection of contemporary American consciousness at this moment.

The work received its name from the White River, which at one time was the lifeblood of Augusta. In the river, many literal and metaphoric whirlpools are created by opposing currents, and tensions within the community and in the country at large.


Edition: 1 of 1

Commissioned by Obscura

Whirlpool #55 Melissa, Jess Norman Post 166 American Legion Hut by Jim Goldberg

90 Miles

FAB DAO

Embracing pure geometric abstraction, Giving Shape employs tangible formal elements to give shape to intangible concepts. With a double entendre at play, Giving Shape refers to both the generative algorithms construction of striking abstract compositions and giving back through a revenue share to support other artists.

Giving Shape #82

The Fellowship Patron Pass is an annual membership valid April 1st 2023 - March 31st 2024.

Benefits include:

- Early access to our future releases
- Rewards including airdrops and discounts
- Voting rights for our charity that supports historically marginalized artists

The pass artwork was designed by generative artist and engineer Steve Pikelny:

"The Fellowship Patron Pass art is an exercise in minimalist on-chain generative art, in which each token transfer adds a new dot and each mint pass use adds a new square. As a result, each artwork is unique and on-chain."

Fellowship Patron Pass

The Fellowship Patron Pass is an annual membership for photography lovers [valid April 1 2023 - March 31 2024]

Fellowship Patron Pass #631

Fellowship Patron Pass #630

Fellowship Patron Pass #223

Fellowship Patron Pass #222

Dreams by Joshua Bagley

Dreams is an exploration of uneven subdivision. It focuses on the interaction between uniform and crooked lines, and the complex structures that can emerge from simple rules. Each iteration of Dreams is unique, with characteristics determined by the hash created at the moment of transaction. Created by Joshua Bagley

Dreams #273

Renders Game by MountVitruvius

Renders Game is a note to myself on creativity.

I will often believe strongly in an idea, yet, once realised, and I"m confronted with the reality of the output, it leaves me unsatisfied.

So I take it apart, find a detail that I love, and grow something new from that tiny piece. It"s a constant process of discovery. Eventually, I"ll find a result that feels right  but only once it"s staring back at me.

The name of this piece is a tongue-in-cheek nod to Orson Scott Cards 1985 science fiction novel, *Enders Game*, as well as to the countless outputs Ive produced during this creative process. In the book, Ender trains relentlessly. Only once he"s completed his final exam (what he believes to be another simulation) does he discover that it was actually real  the final battle to save humanity.

In my own creative process, most of the steps along the path likewise feel like practise, with the satisfaction of achievement only revealing itself after the work stares back at me, complete.

This has been one of my longest running creative processes to date, having been re-written and re-conceived many times over.

It"s worthy of the name.

## About

This piece treads a balance between the abstract and the literal.

The generative structure draws inspiration from cubism - procedurally generated curves of various complexity are grown, layered, intersected, and then broken into fragments of constantly shifting scale. 

Painting each fragment in turn reveals an abstraction of the original curves and lines, viewed through the algorithm"s interpretation.

Each fragment is illustrated using prominent, simple lines - a nod to the literal. These are rendered using ink-like outlines and bold, loose colour application. It draws inspiration from contemporary ink illustration, balanced against the natural precision of digital tools. Not completely organic, yet not completely digital.

## Keys:

Number keys 1-4 - Debug views
Number key 5 - Re-render from seed
s - Download rendered image