Ian Cheng

Cheng was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1984. Cheng attended Van Nuys High School. Cheng graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 2006 with a dual degree in cognitive science and art practice. Cheng worked at Industrial Light & Magic, George Lucas's visual effects company.{{cite web|last1=Greenberger|first1=Alex|title=THE CYBORG ANTHROPOLOGIST: IAN CHENG ON HIS SENTIENT ARTWORKS|url=http://www.artnews.com/2016/03/31/the-cyborg-anthropologist-ian-cheng-discusses-his-sentient-art-works/|website=Artnews|date=31 March 2016|accessdate=19 January 2017}} Cheng attended Columbia University, where he earned his MFA in 2009. Cheng worked in the studio of artist Pierre Huyghe from 2010 to 2012 and also worked as co-director at Paul Chan's independent New York based publishing company, Badlands Unlimited, founded in 2010.{{cite web|last1=LATITUDES|title=Expanding the Book: An Interview with Badlands Unlimited|url=http://www.walkerart.org/magazine/2012/books-expanded-field-interview-badlands-unlim|accessdate=19 January 2017}}

Cheng popularized the use of simulation as a medium available to artistic practice, capable of composing together both man-made and algorithmically generated content that together produce emergent behavior over an infinite duration. Cheng's work highlights the capacity of simulation to express the unpredictable dynamic between order and chaos in a complex system. Cheng coined the term “live simulation” as a subset of simulation that is presented in public in real-time without regard for an optimal outcome or pre-defined fitness criteria. Since 2013, Cheng has produced a series of simulations exploring an AI-based agent's capacity to deal with an ever-changing environment.

From 2015 to 2017, Cheng developed Emissaries, a trilogy of episodic live simulations that “explore the history of cognitive evolution, past and future.”{{cite web|title=IAN CHENG: EMISSARY FORKS AT PERFECTION 13 OCT 15-14 NOV 15|url=http://www.pilarcorrias.com/exhibitions/ian-cheng/|website=Pilar Corrias Gallery|accessdate=27 January 2017}} Unlike previous simulations, Emissaries introduced a narrative agent, the emissary, whose motivation to enact a story was set into conflict with the open-ended chaos of the simulation. Cheng describes the archetype of the emissary as one who "is caught between unravelling old realities and emerging weird one," an embodied way to explore the relationship between meaning and meaninglessness.{{cite book|last1=Obrist|first1=Hans Ulrich|title=EMISSARIES GUIDE TO WORLDING|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b2bntwEACAAJ|date=April 2018|publisher=Serpentine Galleries |isbn=9783960982760}} Cheng drew inspiration from the narrative nature of consciousness described by Julian Jaynes in The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

At Serpentine Galleries in 2018, Cheng premiered BOB (Bag of Beliefs), an AI-based creature whose personality, body, and life script evolve across exhibitions in what Cheng calls “art with a nervous system.”{{cite web|last1=Huyghe|first1=Pierre|title=Hans Ulrich Obrist: secrets of a super-curator|url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/interview/hans-ulrich-obrist-spills-the-serpentine-s-secrets|website=Art Newspaper|date=3 October 2018 }}

BOB premiered in the United States in 2019 at Gladstone Gallery.{{CN|date=December 2023}} BOB features a unique model of AI that combines an inductive engine for the learning of rule-based beliefs from sensory experiences with a motivational framework composed of mini-personalities called "demons". Each demon competes for control of BOB's body in a "congress of demons", and each utilizes the inductive engine to identify affordances in the environment relevant to its motivations. Viewers were invited to send their own stream of stimulating offerings to BOB through BOB Shrine, a mobile app. Viewers could attach a "parental caption" to each offering, thereby forcing a correction to BOB's beliefs.

At LUMA Arles in April 2021, Cheng premiered Life After BOB: The Chalice Study, the first episode in a planned anime series built in the Unity game engine and presented in real-time.{{cite web|last1=Rose|first1=Frank|title=Very Personal Computing: In Artist's New Work AI Meets Fatherhood|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/arts/design/ian-cheng-shed-life-after-bob.html|website=New York Times |date=Fall 2021}} Life After BOB toured through 2022, showing at LUMA Westbau, The Shed, Leeum Museum, and Light Art Space.

Cheng's work is collected by institutions including Museum of Modern Art, New York;{{cite web|title=From the Collection – Ian Cheng|url=https://www.moma.org/artists/49573|website=MoMA|accessdate=27 January 2017}} Whitney Museum of American Art, New York;{{cite web|title=COLLECTION – IAN CHENG|url=http://collection.whitney.org/artist/16784/IanCheng|website=Whitney Museum of American Art}} Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles;{{Cite web|url=https://www.moca.org/collection/work/bob-bag-of-beliefs|title=BOB (Bag of Beliefs)|website=www.moca.org}} Migros Museum, Zurich;{{cite web|title=Works in the Collection – Ian Cheng|url=http://www.migrosmuseum.ch/en/collection/works-in-collection/?no_cache=1&tx_museumplus%5Bartist%5D=6303|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210002147/http://www.migrosmuseum.ch/en/collection/works-in-collection/?no_cache=1&tx_museumplus%5Bartist%5D=6303|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 10, 2018|website=Migros Museum fur Gegenwartskunst|accessdate=27 January 2017}} Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris; Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Julia Stoschek Collection,{{cite web|title=Artists in the Collection|url=http://www.julia-stoschek-collection.net/en/collection/artists.html|website=Julia Stoschek Collection|accessdate=27 January 2017}} Düsseldorf; Yuz Museum, Shanghai.

In 2023, Museum of Modern Art acquired tokenized editions of Cheng's 3FACE, a dynamic generative artwork that analyzes the blockchain wallet data of its owner to “generate a visual portrait of the forces that compose the owner’s personality.”{{cite web|url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/moma-acquires-refik-anadol-unsupervised-digital-art-nfts-1234681622/|website=MoMA|accessdate=10 October 2023 |title=MoMA Acquires Refik Anadol's Popular Generative Artwork 'Unsupervised' |date=10 October 2023 }}

Cheng directed the music video for American band Liars' "Brats" in 2012.{{cite web|last1=Amidi|first1=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi|title="Brats" By Ian Cheng|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/music-videos/brats-by-ian-cheng-67255.html|website=Cartoon Brew|date=30 July 2012|accessdate=22 January 2017}}

At Frieze London in 2013, Cheng premiered Entropy Wrangler Cloud, one of the first artworks made for virtual reality, using first generation Oculus Rift headsets.{{cite news|last1=Luke|first1=Ben|title=WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL WORLD|url=http://theartnewspaper.com/features/welcome-to-the-virtual-world/|accessdate=22 January 2017|date=January 2016}}

Cheng developed Bad Corgi, an iOS app commissioned by Serpentine Galleries, which has been called a "shadowy mindfulness app for contemplating chaos."{{cite web|last1=Khan|first1=Nora N.|title=Trust Issues|url=http://rhizome.org/editorial/2016/may/03/trust-issues/|website=Rhizome.org|date=3 May 2016 |accessdate=19 January 2017}}{{cite web|title=Ian Cheng Digital Commission|url=http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/ian-cheng-digital-commission|website=Serpentine Galleries|accessdate=19 January 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Holmes|first1=Kevin|title=A 'Bad Corgi' Misbehaves in Video Art Game about Anxiety|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-bad-corgi-misbehaves-in-video-art-game-serpentine-gallery/|website=The Creators Project|access-date=22 January 2017|date=March 1, 2016}}

• Entropy Wrangler Off Vendome, Düsseldorf, 2013 {{Cite web|url=https://www.offvendome.com/IAN-CHENG|title=IAN CHENG - Off Vendome|website=www.offvendome.com}}
• Entropy Wrangler Cloud, Frame, Frieze London, London, 2013 {{Cite web|url=http://formalistsidewalkpoetryclub.com/_/13.html|title=13|date=June 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611143956/http://formalistsidewalkpoetryclub.com/_/13.html|archive-date=2015-06-11}}
• Ian Cheng, curated by Filipa Ramos, Triennale Di Milano, Milan, 2014{{cite web|title=Michael E. Smith e Ian Cheng|url=http://old.triennale.org/it/mostre/future/3327-ian-cheng-2|website=triennale.org|accessdate=21 January 2017}}{{cite web|title=South likes: Michael Smith and Ian Cheng at La Triennale di Milano, Milan|url=http://southasastateofmind.com/south-likes-michael-smith-and-ian-cheng-at-la-triennale-di-milano-milan/|website=south as a state of mind|accessdate=27 January 2017}}
• "Real Humans", curated by Elodie Evers, Irina Raskin, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, 2015{{cite web|title="Real Humans" at Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf|url=http://moussemagazine.it/real-humans-kh-du%CC%88sseldorf/|website=mousse magazine|date=8 April 2015 |accessdate=21 January 2017}}
• Emissary in the Squat of Gods, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, 2015{{cite web|title=Ian Cheng. Emissary in the Squat of Gods|url=http://www.fsrr.org/mostre/ian-cheng/?lang=en|website=fsrr.org|accessdate=21 January 2017}}
• Emissary Forks At Perfection at Pilar Corrias, London, 2015{{cite web|last1=Mclean|first1=Matthew|title=Ian Cheng's "Emissary Forks at Perfection"|url=http://www.art-agenda.com/reviews/ian-cheng%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cemissary-forks-at-perfection%E2%80%9D/|website=Art Agenda|accessdate=27 January 2017}}{{cite web|title=Ian Cheng: Emissary Forks at Perfection|url=http://www.pilarcorrias.com/exhibitions/ian-cheng/|website=Pilar Corrias|accessdate=20 January 2017}}
• Stranger, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, 2016{{cite news|last1=Chen|first1=Holly|title=Head Uptown for spring art exhibitions|url=http://observer.case.edu/spring-art-uptown-cleveland/|accessdate=27 January 2017|date=February 5, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Stranger at MOCA Cleveland|url=http://www.mocacleveland.org/exhibitions/stranger|website=MOCA Cleveland|accessdate=20 January 2017}}
• Suspended Animation, curated by Gianni Jetzer, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, 2016{{cite web|title=Suspended Animation – Hirshhorn Museum|url=http://hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/suspended-animation/#collection=suspended-animation|website=hirshhorn museum|accessdate=20 January 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Droitcour|first1=Brian|title=Bodies in the Expanded Field: Animation at the Hirshhorn|url=http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/news/bodies-in-the-expanded-field-animation-at-the-hirshhorn/|website=Art in America|date=12 February 2016 |accessdate=27 January 2017}}
• WELT AM DRAHT, Julia Stoschek Collection, Berlin, 2016{{cite web|title="WELT AM DRAHT" at JULIA STOSCHEK COLLECTION, Berlin|url=http://moussemagazine.it/welt-am-draht-at-julia-stoschek-collection-berlin-2016/|website=Mousse Magazine|date=30 October 2016 |accessdate=27 January 2017}}{{cite web|title=JSC Berlin – Welt Am Draht|url=http://www.jsc.berlin/en/weltamdraht.html|accessdate=20 January 2017|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202104022/http://www.jsc.berlin/en/weltamdraht.html|url-status=dead}}
• Liverpool Biennial 2016, Liverpool, 2016{{cite web|last1=Westall|first1=Mark|title=Artist Ian Cheng has created a VR 'Pokémon Go-like' installation for The Liverpool Biennial|url=http://fadmagazine.com/2016/07/18/virtual-reality-dog-game-created-for-liverpool-biennale/|website=Fad magazine|date=18 July 2016|accessdate=27 January 2017}}{{cite web|title=Liverpool Biennial|url=http://www.biennial.com/2016/exhibition/artists/ian-cheng|website=Liverpool Biennial|accessdate=20 January 2017}}
• Take Me (I’m Yours), Jewish Museum, New York, 2016{{cite web|title=Take Me (I'm Yours)|url=http://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/art/take-me-im-yours|website=New Yorker|accessdate=20 January 2017}}
• Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art 1905–2016 at Whitney Museum of American Art, 2016{{cite news|last1=Hale|first1=Mike|title=A Retort to Shrinking Screens, in an Ultra-Immersive Show at the Whitney|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/movies/a-retort-to-shrinking-screens-in-an-ultra-immersive-show-at-the-whitney.html|accessdate=20 January 2017|date=October 16, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Delson|first1=Susan|title=At the Whitney, a Different Take on the Moving Image|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-the-whitney-a-different-take-on-the-moving-image-1477413775|accessdate=22 January 2017|date=October 25, 2016 }}
• Forking at Perfection at {{ill|Migros Museum|de|Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst|vertical-align=sup}}, 2016{{cite web|title=Ian Cheng Forking At Perfection February 20 – May 16, 2016|url=http://www.e-flux.com/announcements/4946/ian-chengforking-at-perfection/|website=E flux|accessdate=20 January 2017}}
• "Ten Days Six Nights" at Tate Modern, 2017 {{cite web|last1=Harris|first1=Gareth|title=Tate Modern launches ten-day live art exhibition in the Tanks|url=http://theartnewspaper.com/news/news/tate-modern-launches-ten-day-live-art-exhibition-in-the-tanks/|website=The Art Newspaper|accessdate=3 April 2017}}
• Emissaries at MoMA PS1, 2017 {{cite web|title=Ian Cheng April 9 – September 24, 2017|url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/3656?locale=en|accessdate=20 January 2017}}
• Ian Cheng at Carnegie Museum of Art, 2017{{Cite news|url=https://cmoa.org/exhibition/ian-cheng/|title=Ian Cheng|work=Carnegie Museum of Art|access-date=2018-07-02|language=en-US}}
• Being There at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2017{{Cite news|url=https://en.louisiana.dk/exhibition/being-there|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204223735/https://en.louisiana.dk/exhibition/being-there|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 4, 2017|title=BEING THERE|work=Louisiana|access-date=2018-07-02}}
• Etre moderne: Le MoMA à Paris at Fondation Louis Vuitton, 2017{{Cite web|url=http://www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr/en/expositions/exposition-moma0.html|title=Exhibition Being Modern: MoMA in Paris|website=www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr|language=en|access-date=2018-07-02}}
• Emissaries at Julia Stoschek Collection, 2018{{Cite web|url=https://www.jsc.berlin/emissaries.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702204829/https://www.jsc.berlin/emissaries.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 2, 2018|title=JSC BERLIN - IAN CHENG: EMISSARIES|last=FOUNDATION|first=JULIA STOSCHEK|website=www.jsc.berlin|language=de|access-date=2018-07-02}}
• BOB at Serpentine Galleries, 2018{{Cite news|url=http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/ian-cheng-bob|title=Ian Cheng: BOB|work=Serpentine Galleries|access-date=2018-07-02|language=en}}
• BOB at Gladstone Gallery, 2019{{CN|date=December 2023}}
• New Order: Art and Technology in the Twenty-First Century at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2019{{Cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5033|title=New Order : Art and Technology in the Twenty-First Century {{!}} MoMA|website=The Museum of Modern Art|language=en|access-date=2020-04-20}}
• May You Live in Interesting Times at 58th Venice Biennale, 2019{{Cite web|url=https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2019/artists|title=Biennale Arte 2019 {{!}} Artists|date=2019-05-13|website=La Biennale di Venezia|language=en|access-date=2020-04-20}}
• If the Snake at Okayama Art Summit, 2019{{Cite web|url=http://www.okayamaartsummit.jp/2019/en/artist/|title=Artists｜OKAYAMA ART SUMMIT 2019|website=www.okayamaartsummit.jp|language=ja|access-date=2020-04-20}}
• Mud Muses at Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 2019{{Cite web|url=https://www.modernamuseet.se/stockholm/en/exhibitions/mud-muses/participating-artists-mud-muses/|title=Participating artists in Mud Muses|website=Moderna Museet i Stockholm|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-20}}
• Uncanny Valley: Being Human in the Age of AI at de Young Museum, 2020{{Cite web|url=https://deyoung.famsf.org/press-room/uncanny-valley-being-human-age-ai|title=Uncanny Valley: Being Human in the Age of AI|date=2019-09-25|website=de Young|language=en|access-date=2020-04-20}}
• Emissaries at Fundacion Fernando de Castro, 2020{{Cite web|url=http://www.fernandodecastro.org/index.html|title=Fundación Fernando de Castro|website=www.fernandodecastro.org|access-date=2020-04-20}}
• Life After BOB: The Chalice Study at Light Art Space, Berlin, 2022{{Cite web |last=updated |first=Will Jennings last |date=2022-09-16 |title=Artist Ian Cheng explores the technological and aesthetic potential of AI |url=https://www.wallpaper.com/art/ian-cheng-life-after-bob-halle-am-berghain |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=wallpaper.com |language=en}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{commons category-inline}}
• {{Official website|http://www.iancheng.com}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150501221631/http://www.pilarcorrias.com/artists/ian-cheng/ Pilar Corrias Gallery]
• [https://gladstonegallery.com/artist/ian-cheng Gladstone Gallery]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140305085049/http://www.standardoslo.no/en/artist/ian_cheng Standard(OSLO)]

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Category:1984 births

Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni

Category:Artists from Los Angeles

Category:Living people

Category:Columbia University School of the Arts alumni

Category:Van Nuys High School alumni