A Burst of Inspiration

After several dark, rainy weeks, I fired up my creative engine with a visit to NYC’s MoMA to see Refik Anadol’s Unsupervised. This large-scale digital installation uses artificial intelligence to interpret and transform MoMA’s catalog of works, evolving in real time.

Unsupervised felt threatening and inviting at the same time, and I was drawn in by the shapes and images, while also left with a sense of vertigo. My mind tried to make sense of what I was seeing — an elephant’s ear, a baby’s elbow, a zucchini blossom — while the vibrant colors seemed to flood out of the frame, spilling toward me.

Considering all the artworks that fueled this exhibit and how Anadol might have conceived of it was an interesting meditation on creating and content. Unsupervised’s AI even takes into account the weather outside and the crowds inside the museum.

My takeaway? I was reminded of the saying, “there are no new stories, only new ways to tell them.” As writers and creators, our job is to filter the world around us in new and unexpected ways. My visit also reinforced something I already knew: immersing ourselves in innovative works enhances our own creative process. I came away feeling contemplative, excited, inspired and glad to have made the trip.

Thanks to MoMA and Refik Anadol for this dose of inspiration!