New Exhibit, "Art with Watson: Hidden Portraits" Spotlights How Cognitive Computing Inspires Creativity

NEW YORK, April 22, 2017

The show includes portraits of pioneers of science, society, business and design -- including Marie Curie, Nikola Tesla, Charles Darwin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Josephine Baker, Thomas J. Watson and Paul Rand -- all created by modern artists with the help of IBM Watson technology. Watson provided the artists with unusual insights into each subject – from Nikola Tesla's patents and journals, to Marie Curie's correspondence with her children. 

IBM's cognitive platform, which is already being used to help experts in industries such as healthcare, financial services and retail, has inspired artists to create original works in film, architecture, music, and fashion. 

According to Ann Rubin, IBM Vice President, Branded Content & Global Creative, "Like the cognitive dress and song, these works show how artists can interact with Watson to inspire human creativity. The portraits provide unexpected insights into some of the most familiar subjects of our time, and they enable artists to create things they wouldn't have created without Watson."

"Art with Watson" displays portraits by contemporary artists including Evan Stebler, Sean Freeman, Craig Cutler, the James Taylor collective, Gwen Vanhee, Wim Vanhenden, Trevor Gureckis, Peter Hahn, Chris Rowson, Bastien Baumann and Robyn Makinson.

The exhibit also features a "cognitive photobooth" that puts Watson in the hands of individual attendees. Based on responses to a series of questions, Watson creates a personal portrait with the same APIs used to create the gallery portraits.