Travel Through Your Own Memories With The Immersive Alex Israel And BMW Experience ‘Remembr’

The 21^st edition of Art Basel Miami Beach is now in the books – a whirlwind week of parties, dinners, DJ sets, brand collaborations, product launches, restaurant openings and, fortunately, great weather. But at the center of it all, of course, was the art – presented in every form all throughout the Magic City.

Not surprisingly, Artificial Intelligence featured prominently at this year’s Art Basel (where have you gone NFT art?), and this hot new art genre was at the center of one of my most memorable experiences during this year’s fair – titled, rather fittingly, REMEMBR. This AI-powered participatory video installation was a unique collaboration between renowned LA-based contemporary artist Alex Israel and BMW, a longtime sponsor of the arts in general and Art Basel in particular, in large part to promote its new fully electric BMW i5 sedan.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Alex through mutual friends throughout the years and have always loved the way he uses his art to show how he sees the world around him. Israel’s work, which includes paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media installations, often explores the intersection of pop culture, art, and technology – and so his involvement with BMW on this AI project was an ideal fit, synergistic well beyond the artist’s fortuitous initials.

“I was really interested in doing a project with artificial intelligence. I was trying to figure it out… and then I got a call from BMW asking if I want to do a project with artificial intelligence for Art Basel Miami Beach? And I said, ‘Yes, actually I do!’ We decided to jump in the deep end, and here we are. I went to Munich and met with the head designer at BMW, Domagoj Dukec, and he showed me this new all-electric BMW i5.”

Incorporating artificial intelligence in a variety of ways, the electric BMW i5 “played a significant role in the conception of this project,” said Israel. “I always say that my real studio is my car. I get most of my ideas while I’m driving around LA and my memories stream and fuse with my imagination to bear new ideas as the radio shuffles and the city passes me by.”

“There are a lot of things about the car that are really interesting to me, that I felt aligned with. One of them is that when you are in the car you can select from a series of atmospheric, environmental modes called My Modes – there’s one for sport, there’s one for expression, there’s one for relaxation. When you pick one of these modes, all the colors in the car change, and they are really meant to elevate your mood, enhance your experience. BMW and I see eye to eye on this… color can really enhance and change your mood and your vibe.”

_{“My phone is like an external hard drive for my brain”- Alex Israel}

For the REMEMBR installation, Israel sought to embody the intersection of humans and technology by using personal photos to create art. “The technology in the car… is designed to merge man and machine into a closer connected unit. I think we are all experiencing that with our phones. My phone is like an external hard drive for my brain. Specifically, when it comes to pictures – I have like one hundred thousand pictures and videos on my phone. I thought, ‘what if there is a way to go through all these pictures and look at your life that wasn’t totally tedious, that was maybe a little entertaining or fun?’”

In seeking that goal, Israel and BMW certainly succeeded. The REMEMBR installation took place in a large room in the exhibition’s Collector’s Lounge, with curved walls bearing 7 extra large video screens in the shape of Israel’s iconic profile-in-shades logo. At the center of the room was one of the BMW i5 vehicles, in a custom mat-blue color conceived by Israel.

Participants in the experience were asked to download a special app (and sign a waiver) which uses artificial intelligence to access all of the photos on the user’s phone, and within a few minutes creates a 2-minute montage organized thematically to be played on the video screens along with choreographed music. While the AI technology filters out inappropriate or hidden photos, for volunteers (like myself) there was certainly a bit of anxiety waiting to see what a video snapshot of my life might look like, given that a room full of strangers would be viewing it along with me.

I enjoyed seeing the videos produced from Israel’s photos and from those of some of the others in the room. And when it was time for my montage, it was truly a treat – nothing embarrassing, just an entertaining trip down memory lane, featuring friends, family, foods, and fun times going back many years. It may not have been a masterpiece, but for me, it was an AI art experience to REMEMBR!