Ian Chapman - A Midsummer Night's Dream

For August 2024, Zimmerman Art Gallery is delighted to introduce a series of sculptural works by Masterton artist, Ian Chapman.

The exhibition features 11 wall-mounted robot busts. Each is 3D-printed from Ian’s original designs, then hand-painted with acrylic, enamel and oil paints, making every robot distinctive and unique.

Here the robots are cast as characters from Shakespeare’s comedy play, "A Midsummer Night’s Dream". The actors assembled for this show include the impish Puck, the strong-willed fairy queen Titania, the fiery Oberon and the comic Bottom.

Ian says “An infinite number of typing monkeys, given an infinite amount of time, will eventually type the works of Shakespeare.

Note that I say type and not create. The creating is what is important.

AI may be able to produce art, but will it ever be able to truly create original works?

Will it understand what it is to create - or what indeed it has created - and what it may mean to another?

The robots in this show are actors portraying characters.

They may deliver the lines perfectly, but may never understand the nuances, humour and imperfections of the people they are portraying - and is it even their place to do so?

I want robots (AI) to do the jobs that I don’t want to do, so that I have more time to create - not the other way round!”