30 years after his death, A.I. brings Salvador Dali back to 'life'

In an apropos move, master of surrealism Salvador Dali has come back to life to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of his death. Through A.I. technology, The Dali Museum in Florida and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners have created “Dali Lives,” an installation that resurrects the artist so he can play "host" to visitors of the institution. Beginning in April this year, the virtual Dali will greet patrons on a life-size screen as they enter and then “follow" them on more screens throughout the museum as he shares stories of his art and "thoughts" on modern day events. Upon exit, he'll bid them farewell. According to agency co-founder Jeff Goodby, GSP used what’s called “deepfake” technology to resurrect Dali. It involved pulling content from millions of frames of interviews with the artist and overlaying it onto an actor’s face--a digital mask, of sorts, that allowed the actor to appear as Dali whatever expression he made. The agency also cast another actor from Barcelona to ensure that the voice matched the countenance. “Dali was prophetic in many ways and understood his historical importance,” said Dr. Hank Hine, executive director at The Dali in a statement. “He wrote, ‘If someday I may die, though it is unlikely, I hope the people in the cafes will say, “Dali has died, but not entirely.”’ This technology lets visitors experience his bigger-than-life personality in addition to our unparalleled collection of his works.” “Dali Lives” is the latest tech-driven project from GSP and The Dali. Previously, they debuted "Dreams of Dali," a captivating VR experience that took viewers into the world of Dali’s paintings as well as “Gala Contemplating You,” which turned visitors’ selfies into a full-scale replica of Dali’s 1976 painting “Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea Which at Twenty Meters Becomes the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln (Homage to Rothko).”

30 years after his death, A.I. brings Salvador Dali back to 'life'

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