Promptitude: “We are analog animals in the digital age”

Jean-Michel Jarre: between music and visual arts

Jean-Michel Jarre, pioneer of electronic music and precursor of large-scale multimedia performances, continues his artistic exploration in the visual realm with Promptitude, his first visual arts exhibition. An evolution that is also a natural extension of his work as a composer and multimedia performer. Jarre has always given a central role to the visual part of his performances, considering them an integral part of his artistic expression, whether they are real or virtual sets.

The concept of “Promptitude”: a Man-Machine dialogue

“Promptitude” expands Jarre’s work to a new creative collaboration between human and machine. The prompt becomes a haiku, a short, illuminating poem that artificial intelligence translates into portraits of hybrid creatures.

These figures stand in a liminal space, suspended between human and machine, embodying the tension and possible harmony of this relationship. The dialogue between human intention and algorithmic execution becomes the heart of the artistic process, emphasizing the fundamental role of human language, in its highest expressions, in guiding AI algorithms toward meaningful artistic results.

Prompts in Haiku Form

Jean-Michel Jarre’s prompts are preludes constructed as “haiku instructions”- short but evocative textual sparks that ignite the generative process of AI. “A prompt is to AI what a haiku is to poetry, a short but powerful essence that opens a world in a few words. A haiku captures the moment, a prompt captures the intention, both turn a few words into an unexpected vision.”

This analogy tells of the function of a “technological” poem in different ways. Mysterious synthetic and evocative tool for humans and generative power in guiding creative processes for the machine. Jarre’s insight is illuminating: to become more human, creative, poetic in our interactions with AI.

Artist-IA synergy as creative expansion

Jean-Michel Jarre with “Promptitude” expresses a very clear idea about artificial intelligence, opening up unexpected explorations. The human contributes with creativity, intention and aesthetic sensibility, while the machine offers execution possibilities and new perspectives. A relationship that expands possibilities when well controlled by a clear idea and refined intuition.

The process of generating the exhibition took place in two stages: the first one creative, during which the artist refined his prompts until he saw the beings he had imagined emerge. It’s this final prompt, a kind of haiku 3.0, that is presented here. Then, in an inverted game of mirrors, the AI was asked to generate a prompt from the image. Explains Jarre, “This additional title and phrase complete each work as an attempt at spontaneous interpretation, as if the AI was questioning the identity of these creations. This creative ping-pong gives rise to ambiguous, poetic and sometimes absurd titles”.

The Temporal Paradox: reflection and instantaneity

“Promptitude” evokes the temporal paradox inherent in AI-assisted creation: the tension between the time of human deliberation (the thoughtful processing of prompts) and the almost instantaneous speed of artificial production. This temporal contrast becomes a mirror of the contemporary human condition, in which millennia-old biological rhythms and dizzying technological acceleration coexist. Jarre investigates this duality, which shapes a creativity at the intersection of these seemingly incompatible temporal regimes.

The Sound Experience – EŌN: The Acoustic Complement.

“Promptitude” is enhanced by EŌN, a generative sound creation designed by Jarre himself. A true work in continuous evolution, EŌN unfolds endlessly without ever repeating itself exactly, creating an immersive and fluid experience where each sonic instant is unique. Like an echo to the visual creations in the exhibition, this constantly changing composition accompanies and amplifies the reflection on the dialogue between the human, the machine and the unpredictable, extending the concept of generativity from the visual to the acoustic in a complete sensory experience.

Note: EŌN is available as an app on Apple’s iOS platform.