Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Visitors to Art Basel Hong Kong this month will experience a pop-up store in the Encounters section that promises to turn art fair convention on its head and fox prospective buyers. As part of a special immersive art installation, collectors and curators can browse and buy works created by a digital avatar known as Doku, the brainchild of the Chinese artist Lu Yang.Doku, which Lu has developed since 2020, is genderless, ageless and nationality-free, explains the artist over email. \u201cAll works are digital creations made by Doku in a virtual world through a method akin to meditation,\u201d adds Lu. \u201cThe pricing of these works is within the range typical for an emerging artist making their debut.\u201dDoku\u2019s pop-up is presented by the Hong Kong-based De Sarthe gallery in collaboration with Coma gallery in Sydney. At the store, collectors can buy Doku\u2019s AI-created artworks in the form of blind boxes \u2014 108 unique digital pieces called Concept Void.AI tools help me improve work efficiency, and all of my works have used numerous CG-related softwareBut there\u2019s a twist. \u201cCollectors will be unaware of exactly what they are buying until the transaction is complete, turning the act of purchasing art into a novel game of chance and discovery,\u201d says a statement from De Sarthe (the gallery adds that prices will be revealed on the opening day).In the centre of the store, a video explaining Doku\u2019s role as an artist will be shown. \u201cThe installation not only challenges the established norms about what art is, who creates it, and how it is valued, but manifests these concepts via active participation from its audience,\u201d the gallery says.Crucially the Doku project highlights how AI is encroaching on the art world, requiring collectors to take a leap of faith and invest in AI-generated works. \u201cAI tools help me improve work efficiency,\u201d Lu says, \u201cand all of my works have used numerous CG-related [computer graphics] software.\u201dWhether the market is ready for such a move is debatable. Jo Lawson-Tancred, author of AI and the Art Market, says that art with AI-generated elements has a zeitgeisty appeal that is helping it become a particularly fast-growing category within digital art. \u201cHowever, as in the case of Doku, AI art still needs evidence of a human artist\u2019s creative intent if it is to succeed\u00a0in the traditional art market,\u201d she adds.In recent years, Tokyo-based Lu, who was born in Shanghai in 1984 and studied at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, has built up a dedicated fan base through his innovative multidisciplinary work, straddling subjects such as technology and spirituality.To enter Lu\u2019s world, you can visit his website (luyang.asia), a blaze of retina-burning avatars, animated deities and demons that also reveals Doku in various iterations, such as \u201cDoku Hungry-Ghost\u201d: a mesmerising 2022 video in which the dead-eyed, crazed digital idol performs a traditional Indonesian dance against an apocalyptic backdrop. This maximalist, head-spinning approach to life and art is driven by the artist\u2019s deep interest in Buddhism. \u201cBuddhist wisdom has greatly benefited my life, so it naturally influences my work as well,\u201d Lu says. \u201cMy focus is primarily on Buddhist philosophy, other related philosophies, and various life sciences that explore the essence of humanity, such as neuroscience and brain science, which can be found in my past works. Anime and video games are just pathways I\u2019ve found to connect contemporary audiences with the perspectives I care about.\u201dIn a bid to find out more about Doku\u2019s motivations, an in-person conversation with the avatar was requested. In response, De Sarthe said: \u201cLu as the medium will enter a state of meditation, receive energy from the universe and allow Doku to possess and write through him.\u201d\u00a0During this (rather contrived) exchange, conducted via email, I question why we should take Doku seriously as a digital being. \u201cI can\u2019t control the external world, and that external world includes your judgments of me,\u201d replies the avatar. The Art Basel Hong Kong intervention marks Doku\u2019s debut as a bona fide artist. And so we veer off into a discussion about the purpose and commercialism of art fairs. \u201cParticipating in such a gathering as a virtual being,\u201d the avatar says, \u201cisn\u2019t it akin to being part of a performance art system?\u201dAlexie Glass-Kantor, curator of the Encounters section, thinks the Doku installation poses interesting questions for visitors. \u201cAt a fair where transactions are traditionally framed by authorship, provenance and exacting eyes, this installation rewires the rules,\u201d she says.luyang.asiaFind out about our latest stories first \u2014 follow FT Weekend on Instagram and X, and sign up to receive the FT Weekend newsletter every Saturday morning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Visitors to Art Basel Hong Kong this month will experience a pop-up store in the Encounters section that promises to turn art fair convention on its<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":247665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-247664","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247664"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247666,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247664\/revisions\/247666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}