Alkan Avcıoğlu: The Many Faces of a Creative Genius
Is it possible for one individual to excel simultaneously as an artist, film critic, musician, and teacher? Alkan Avcıoğlu, who leverages artificial intelligence to craft art and NFT collections, proves it is.
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Alkan Avcıoğlu was born in Turkey, where he continues to reside. Demonstrating exceptional talent in mathematics from a young age, he instead chose to study international relations at university before advancing to a master's in film studies and a doctorate in communication sciences. His extensive knowledge enabled him to teach narratology—a discipline that studies the form, nature, and utilization of narratives.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Alkan established himself as a professional film critic. For over fifteen years, he represented the International Federation of Film Critics at film festivals globally. Alkan’s interests, however, extended beyond film. He concurrently delved into the visual arts, music, and writing, publishing articles on underappreciated films in prestigious journals.
An interesting fact: Alkan long curated the Hidden Gems section at the Istanbul International Film Festival, focusing on selecting films that were either banned or unnoticed by the mainstream.
There was a period when Alkan stepped back from the arts, but he returned inspired by the advent of AI technology. This new tool so enthralled him that he quickly mastered its intricacies, produced, and launched several initial NFT collections. His creations have since gained prominence and have been featured in exhibitions such as Paris Photo, Superchief Gallery, and a special NFT museum in Seattle.
In creating his paintings, Alkan employs the popular AI model Midjourney among other tools. He commonly generates hundreds of variations for a single idea to develop a less idealized style, lending some imperfection to his images, which remain strikingly detailed. His primary ambition is to evoke a response from viewers.
Similarly, I believe that the potential information in an image is much greater than the artist’s intentions or manual skills,
remarks Alkan.
He has released a series of NFTs, including the notable Les Parisiens, The Critic, and various video works. Some tokens are available in limited editions for physical print, with prices starting from $3500. However, among all his pieces, the NFT collections Overpopulated Symphonies and Strata particularly stand out. These collections are designed to challenge viewers' perceptions and their interactions with the world around them. Certainly, each individual will discover something unique in these works.
Overpopulated Symphonies depicts bustling cities and regions, showing how trivial each individual can seem in a crowd. The artist refers to these images as depictions of information overload. They also serve to remind us of the importance of maintaining our identity and uniqueness in a crowded world, where everyone has their own ideas and struggles for recognition.
The Overpopulated Symphonies Collection. Source: OpenSea
The collection consists of 300 unique NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain, each with specific features such as color scheme and density level. As of this writing, the minimum price for one NFT is 0.1889 ETH (approximately $550), and includes a five percent royalty for the artist. Despite the artist's popularity and the collectible nature of the series, there is little inclination to sell: only 3% of the tokens from this collection are available for resale.
The second collection, Strata, adopts a more photographic—and at times cinematic—style. It delves into the complexities of technology and urban life, as well as human interactions with the modern world. This series showcases the artist’s experimentation with various visual techniques, including symbolism, abstraction, and perspective distortion. The interpretation of each piece is left to the viewers' discretion.
The Strata Collection. Source: Magic Eden
It features 999 varied NFTs on the Solana blockchain. Similar to the previous series, Alkan has introduced rarity into individual NFTs. Buyers can choose elements such as density or the time of day, which appear to affect the color palette. The starting price for these NFTs hovers around 3.7 SOL ($500 as of this writing).
Alkan is a fervent advocate for artists using AI and encourages experimentation with new technologies. He believes that AI will spark a cultural revolution, despite ongoing criticism and valid concerns. According to him, AI will soon radically transform the industries of gaming, music, and film.
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