Reimagining Duncan with Iregular
A conversation with Iregular, the digital art studio that used artificial intelligence to reimagine the pictorial universe of James Duncan.
Atop the 5-story building that hosts the offices of Iregular, the digital art studio behind Mental Maps, the installation that stands as the vibrant epilogue to Becoming Montreal: The 1800s Painted by Duncan, a terrace overlooks the meeting point of Mile End, Outremont, Little Italy and Parc-Ex. Soft brushstrokes of light grey cover the sky, concealing the sunlight and depicting the otherwise busy crossing of Avenue du Parc and Van Horne as peaceful, and unassuming.
A few metres away, under the same diffused light, which rushes through the same clouds and through the wide windows of the photo studio where I meet the creative team behind the piece, we delight in conversation and try to capture a more figurative portrait of their reimagination of classical art through the eyes of tomorrow.
A digital landscape generated with artificial intelligence from a simple group photo of the Iregular team.
To enlighten readers who may not have experienced Mental Maps yet, how would you explain the project?
Alice: Mental Maps is an immersive installation that recreates a landscape, using an algorithm, based on what James Duncan painted in the 1800s. It’s composed of two projections: one with a 3D version of the landscape paintings, and another with their graphical interpretation. As you move around the space, your shadow blocks the projection to reveal other hidden layers.
Was the installation designed for public participation?
Daniel: We wanted people to experience our piece from their own point of view. We initially tried for something focussed mainly on how you could influence what you saw, depending on where you were standing. That was sort of the first idea we presented to the Museum. It later evolved to include artificial intelligence that influenced the experience wherever you stood.
What was it like to work with the McCord Stewart Museum?
Daniel: The museum briefed us, and then we started working with Catherine K. Laflamme (the exhibition’s Project Manager), and Stéphanie Poisson (Head of Digital Outreach, Collections and Exhibitions). They trusted us and gave us complete freedom. It was very important that our piece conveyed the vision of the exhibition, so it was very interesting to be able to consult.
Alice: We would meet every week. They came here [to the studio] to experience every prototype.
