Charting a Paradigm Shift: The Impact of Christie's Auction of AI-generated Edmond de Belamy on the Evaluation of Art

Abstract

The following analysis explores debates sparked by Christie's auction of Obvious’ Edmond de Belamy, questioning the change in traditional notions of art, authorship, and creativity, tied to the conception of value (creation) of an artwork. These debates prompted a critical inquiry into the applicability of Kuhn’s concept of a paradigm shift to the auction. Moreover, this inquiry leads to the identification of the new meanings these notions have acquired following the event, drawing insights from different fields of research, mainly philosophy, art history, and media studies. Furthermore, this event is found to parallel the shift in the acceptance of photography as an art form, as for the shift in the significance of the same notions. Consequently, a comparative analysis of Edmond de Belamy to Eadweard Muybridge's Animal Locomotion photographic series displayed at Swann Galleries’ auction in 1952 further underscores the occurrence of a paradigm shift in 2018, together with drawing attention to Christie’s influence in driving this shift. Last, the inquiry paves the way for interdisciplinary research, particularly its link to the political economy, to better understand the evolution of value creation, and the varied perspectives through which it can be observed.