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The Intersect of Tech and Art

Juergen Berkessel

Curious about how technology and art collide, spark, and sometimes totally confuse each other? The Intersect of Tech and Art is your backstage pass to the wild, weird, and wonderful world where digital innovation meets creative expression.

Created by Juergen Berkessel—a lifelong artist, technologist, and enthusiast for all things experimental—this podcast is for anyone who loves art, design, tech, or just a good story about the creative process. Whether you’re a digital artist, designer, tech enthusiast, or simply fascinated by how artificial intelligence, digital tools, and new technologies are shaking up the arts, you’ll find real-world insights and plenty of inspiration here.

Each week, The Intersect dives into everything from digital art and AI in art to creative technology, design trends, and the latest breakthroughs in art technology. Expect lively features about artists and innovators, hands-on explorations of AI creativity, algorithmic art, and musings on how blockchain, augmented reality, and digital culture are transforming the art community. Episodes are packed with honest conversations, practical examples, and a healthy dose of friendly curiosity—plus a few laughs along the way.

What sets The Intersect apart? It’s guided by Juergen’s unique perspective as someone who’s been both a practicing artist and a digital strategist since the days when floppy disks were still cool. The show was born out of the same curiosity and tension that drives the art-tech world: how do we balance human creativity with the possibilities (and pitfalls) of technology? That’s what keeps our community of artists, technologists, and innovators coming back—and keeps our newsletter subscriber numbers growing strong (with almost nobody unsubscribing, which is practically a miracle).

Episodes run 20–30 minutes and drop weekly, making The Intersect a perfect listen for your coffee break, commute, or creative session. You’ll hear a mix of in-depth interviews, solo commentary, and the occasional panel-style discussion—always with a light, friendly tone that makes even the most complex tech trends feel accessible.

A little transparency: this podcast is produced with the help of AI voice technology and synthetic voice tools. Why? Because frankly, the only way to bring this carefully researched, lovingly curated content from the newsletter to your ears each week is by experimenting with the very tools we talk about. Every episode is crafted, written, and reviewed by Juergen and a human team—AI is just our sidekick, not the boss. We see this as part of the ongoing conversation (and sometimes the tension) at the heart of art and tech today.

Ready to join the fun, learn something new, and be part of a growing community at the intersect of art, design, and technology? Subscribe now to The Intersect of Tech and Art and don’t miss a single episode. For all the latest and to explore the full archive, visit theintersect.art.

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#86
September 2 · 12 min
Built to Last, Designed to Vanish
The companion podcast to Issue No.86 of The Intersect. Chelsea and Georgia sit with an uncomfortable question: when did the work we make digitally become more fragile than a photographer's glass plate, and what would it actually take to design something meant to outlive us? A conversation about permanence as a deliberate act, not a promise the cloud quietly keeps. Contents 00:07 Permanent by Design 00:51 Cage's 639-Year Piece 05:39 Saving Artists’ Websites 07:37 Building Your Own Archive 09:59 Copy That Floppy In this episode Cage's 639-Year Piece An organ in a small German church just changed chords for the first time in over two years, and nobody in the room will live to hear the piece end. Chelsea and Georgia get into the strangest part: the inheritable tickets to a finale six centuries away. Saving Artists' Websites An artist's site is no longer a business card. It's the whole record of a life's work, and it can blink out overnight. There's a quiet rescue effort underway, and it isn't only chasing the famous names. Building Your Own Archive For the rest of us who will never be famous enough for anyone else to build the lifeboat. One question from the piece lingers: which drive in the drawer would you grieve if it never spun up again? Copy That Floppy Three decades after a campaign told kids not to duplicate discs, a university is now begging people to do exactly that. The delicious irony carries the sting of the whole issue. Stay in the loop If these are the conversations you want in your week, follow along and help keep The Intersect going. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#85
August 26 · 15 min
Prove You're Human (And Dumb It Down to Do It)
The companion podcast to Issue No.85 of The Intersect. Chelsea and Georgia sit with a strange inversion: original human work now needs a hall pass while the machine-made flood walks right in. When did proving you wrote something start to mean making it worse? Pull up a chair for the messier version of this week's reckoning. Contents 00:15 Human Work on Trial 02:27 Writers, AI, and Backlash 05:34 Apple’s Photo Proof Push 08:20 Substack’s Humanity Test 11:55 The Detector Arms Race In this episode Human Work on Trial A celebrated novelist walks into OpenAI expecting to talk craft, then aims the microphone right back at the people who handed it to him. What Chelsea and Georgia make of that catastrophic line is worth staying for. Writers, AI, and Backlash One generation folds AI in as an editor and calls the work better; another treats any trace of it as disqualifying. The split runs deeper than tools, and the closing question lands hard. Apple’s Photo Proof Push Your phone maker may soon offer to certify that your photo is actually real. Relief or quiet defeat? The line between edited and generated turns out to be blurrier than anyone wants to admit. Substack’s Humanity Test An optional scan that some treat as a purity test, and the false positives that land on people writing every word by hand. Where the honest writer gets caught is the part nobody has answered yet. The Detector Arms Race Machines built to catch machine text, and other machines built to hide it. Most people are betting on the wrong mouse, and there's a genuinely clever workaround that removes the thing there was to detect in the first place. Stay in the loop Follow along and help keep The Intersect going. We would love to have you in the conversation. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#84
August 11 · 17 min
Already Somewhere Else
The companion podcast to Issue No.84 of The Intersect. While an auction house spends a whole summit guessing what the newly minted AI rich might one day hang on a wall, Chelsea and Georgia sit with a sharper question: what if the tools those fortunes were built on are more interesting in the hands of the people pointing them the other way? A conversation about who's actually studying whom. Contents 00:00 AI Wealth and Wall Art 00:04 The Coat That Blinds 00:09 Malware Garden Protest 00:11 Scanning Wrong on Purpose 00:14 Listening to the Quiet In this episode AI Wealth and Wall Art A summit billed as art plus tech turns out to be something closer to a sales forecast. Chelsea and Georgia unpack why the aperture felt so narrow - and whose mind might have been the real story on that stage. The Coat That Blinds A garment wrapped in AI-generated noise that quietly refuses to be read as a human figure. Elegant judo, or a workaround for a problem that was never ours to wear? The full context is in the issue. Malware Garden Protest Code that locks your machine for a day and grows a garden instead of demanding a ransom. We ask whether forced disconnection still means anything in an age when we pay to do it to ourselves. Scanning Wrong on Purpose A school chair, a scanner fed only fragments, and a Golden Nica for the sculpture built from everything the machine couldn't see. When did a perfect scan become more truthful than an honest one? Listening to the Quiet Magnetized needles tapping glass, letting you hear the Earth's magnetic field - but only if you slow down enough to bother. The gentlest thing in the issue, and maybe the most pointed. Stay in the loop If this conversation left you curious, follow along and support the work - the newsletter is where the links, the curation, and the full context live. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#83
July 9 · 13 min
The Satellite Is the Camera
The companion podcast to Issue No.83 of The Intersect. Chelsea and Georgia chase one nagging question across the week's stories: when does a machine built to measure or manufacture quietly become a machine for feeling - and who gets to decide? It's a conversation about the friction, the honesty, and the doubt behind that move, not a tidy recap. The full issue waits at theintersect.art. Contents 00:00 Satellite as Camera 00:03 Listening to Plants 00:05 Hockney's Machines 00:08 Crystal Synth Experiments 00:10 3D Printing on Runways 00:12 Tools for Feeling In this episode Satellite as Camera Six uneventful days of water vapor, 22,000 miles up, turned into drifting brushstrokes. Chelsea and Georgia ask what else we've been staring at for years without realizing it was footage waiting for an editor. Listening to Plants A fern wired into a synthesizer hums a drone - but is the plant telling us something, or are we finally quiet enough to listen? The most refreshing part might be how willing these artists are to say they don't know. Hockney's Machines Fax machines, photocopiers, Polaroids - the proof that "tech in art" meant something long before it meant a glowing screen. And a question about the friction we may have traded away. Crystal Synth Experiments A microscope, a Moog, and real solar wind data, all patched together in 1982. When one curiosity reaches across that many fields, is it still one discipline or four pretending to be one? 3D Printing on Runways Here's where the hosts genuinely disagree - a couture printer that makes each garment singular, or pure runway spectacle? They're honestly torn, and they're turning the question over to you. Tools for Feeling The thread that ties a satellite, a fern, a fax, a microscope, and a printer together - and the wondering it leaves behind about the measuring instrument sitting right next to you. Stay in the loop If this is your kind of thing, come follow along and help keep The Intersect going. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#82
July 1 · 17 min
Happy 250th: Five Dispatches From Everywhere Else
The companion podcast to Issue No.82 of The Intersect. Chelsea and Georgia shut the curtains on the fireworks next door to ask a quietly provocative question: does great work require leaving home, or just knowing exactly where home is so you can leave it on purpose? An hour of looking everywhere but here - and wondering whether that's the most patriotic move of all. Contents 00:00 Birthday Curator's Outward Eye 00:01 Bjork Beyond the Album 00:04 Aurora Turned to Sound 00:07 Silent Lives in the Frame 00:11 Rippled Glass and Credit 00:13 Resistance Abroad in LED In this episode Birthday Curator's Outward Eye Why an issue with zero American stories - released on America's 250th - might be the most earned kind of celebration. Chelsea and Georgia trace the curatorial logic back to a Brooklyn courthouse and a deliberately outward gaze. Bjork Beyond the Album Reykjavik hangs Bjork on a gallery wall as painter, video artist, and musician all at once. When a song stops being only a song, where does the artwork begin? Aurora Turned to Sound A Norwegian artist builds her own crystal radio to transpose the northern lights into sound - and the result raises an uncomfortable question about the gap between a compelling concept and a compelling experience. Silent Lives in the Frame Photographs of extinct birds, lit so tenderly they seem to breathe, with the stitches left visible. A deliberately non-AI pick that asks when technology has to look like technology to count. Rippled Glass and Credit A Brisbane theater whose facade ripples like water - and a thorny question about who gets to claim a vision when a new tool makes it thinkable for the first time. Resistance Abroad in LED Jenny Holzer stages American political resistance in Porto, in spinning LED and stone. When does a word stop being a word and start becoming a machine for moving people? Stay in the loop If this conversation sparked something, follow along and help keep The Intersect running. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#81
June 24 · 14 min
Credibility Is the New Craft
The companion podcast to Issue No.81 of The Intersect. Chelsea and Georgia chase a single unsettling idea: the moment a tool gets frictionless, the hardest thing left to generate isn't the work - it's belief. What happens when skepticism arrives before anyone's even looked? Pull up a chair for the conversation behind the issue. Contents 00:00 The Story Before the Work 00:01 AI in the Back Office 00:02 The Middle Ground Matters 00:04 Grimes and the Wrong Platform 00:06 Soderbergh's Meta Disclosure 00:08 AI Art, Under Suspicion 00:10 Betting on Art's Value 00:13 Trust Arrives Too Late In this episode The story before the work Chelsea and Georgia open on the reflex of the moment - judging the company an artist keeps before anyone's seen the thing itself. Why has craft quietly migrated from making something well to getting anyone to believe in it? AI in the back office The least dramatic AI story in the issue, and on purpose. There's one corner where nobody's storming out of the gallery - and it might tell you more than all the outrage combined. The middle ground matters Forget back-office plumbing and front-end image generation. Where exactly does the tool stop being a tool and start becoming a collaborator? That's the part that actually earns scrutiny. Grimes and the wrong platform A line about boomer grandparents that lodges itself like a bad jingle. When the only platforms left with reach are built for corporate networking, what happens to the trust we extend to art made for them? Soderbergh's Meta disclosure He called himself his own whistleblower - and then took the heat twice over. Two backlashes happening at once, and a question about what we're really praising when the bravest move is naming the vendor. AI art, under suspicion A magazine devoted entirely to AI art that refuses to worship its subject. Why launching it now means starting from the deepest hole of all. Betting on art's value A live betting line where the price tag used to be. When the wager becomes the product, does value still mean anything - or is this just an old, very human game in a new costume? Trust arrives too late Chelsea and Georgia sit with the gap the whole issue circles: can trust ever move as fast as the tools, and what would it take to change a mind that decided in advance? Stay in the loop If this tension is your kind of thing, follow along and help keep The Intersect going - there's a new issue every week. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#80
June 16 · 12 min
Contrast Is Meaning, Not Just Style
The companion podcast to Issue No.80 of The Intersect. Chelsea and Georgia sit with one uncomfortable idea: a thing is only what it is in relationship to what it's not - so when everything is technically correct and tonally identical, who's left to tell you what actually matters? Pull up a chair and argue along. Contents 00:00 Contrast Sets the Theme 00:01 TV's Gray Sameness 00:04 Weaponizing Color Contrast 00:06 Focus and Flatness 00:09 AI and Lost Distinction In this episode TV's gray sameness - Somebody finally named the problem with how modern prestige television looks. Chelsea and Georgia trace what happened between early Game of Thrones and the tasteful gray that came after - and wonder whether the tools, not the auteurs, drained the color out. Weaponizing color contrast - The opposite gamble: one stubborn splash of color aimed at your eye like a flashlight. From a red dress in a sea of code to Almodóvar's red phone on a green table, this is meaning before a single line of dialogue - the honest kind of manipulation. Focus and flatness - Same wound, different instrument. Why does so much contemporary cinematography feel weirdly flat? A conversation about creamy bokeh, deep focus, and what gets lost when portrait mode becomes the default grammar of prestige film. AI and lost distinction - Is AI sanding originality off the internet, or freeing creators up? Chelsea and Georgia chew on the difference between AI assistance and what Juergen calls AI abdication - the choice to skip having a point of view at all. Stay in the loop If this kind of conversation is your thing, come follow along and support The Intersect. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#79
June 10 · 9 min
What the Building Knew First
The companion podcast to Issue No.79 of The Intersect. Chelsea and Georgia chase a slippery question: when did fragility - the fact that a work would fall apart if you moved it across the street - become the whole point? They sit with the idea that a building, a light angle, or a tree might be the real collaborator, and the artist's job is just to finish its sentence. Contents 00:00 Fragility Becomes the Point 00:00 The Glass Cloud in Manila 00:04 Bowie in a 360 Room 00:05 Nature Finishes the Art 00:07 Cathedrals as Instruments In this episode The Glass Cloud in Manila A Guinness-record glass cloud, eight stories tall and woven by hand from 16,000 tubes - built with custom robots and a parametric welding jig, yet it only reads correctly under one atrium's light. Chelsea and Georgia unpack why "amazing but harrowing" might be the recipe for the best work. Bowie in a 360 Room Finally, an immersive room that isn't another painter on rotation. What changes when you build a space around a musician instead of projecting a canvas - and why sound carries a kind of site-specificity an image can't. Nature Finishes the Art Street art that isn't finished until a leaf, a weed, or a fallen log joins in. The wager: hand the final move to nature and trust it to do better than you would. Cathedrals as Instruments Moment Factory tuning light and sound to a cathedral's own ten-second echo - the building composing alongside the artist. A personal story about Sagrada Família and the feeling that gets bolted to one exact place and light. For the full context, the links, and the curation, read the issue at theintersect.art. Stay in the loop If this conversation is your kind of thing, follow along and help keep The Intersect going. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#78
May 19 · 13 min
Going Backward to Go Somewhere New
The companion podcast to Issue No.78 of The Intersect. Chelsea and Georgia sit with a question the newsletter only gestures at: when artists deliberately slow down - soldering their own synths, drawing with pendulums, dressing new software in 1970s clothing - is that creative progress, or just well-designed comfort in the face of AI? Pull up a chair for the friction. Contents 00:00 Slow Tools, New Costumes 00:01 The Software That Feels Old 00:04 Build It Yourself Synths 00:07 Innovation Meets Countermovement 00:09 The Harmonograph Mystery 00:12 What Deliberate Inefficiency Means In this episode Slow Tools, New Costumes - Three very different objects, one suspiciously similar gesture. Chelsea and Georgia open with the hunch that's about to run through the whole conversation. The Software That Feels Old - Giorgio Sancristoforo's Homework runs on Apple Silicon but looks like it crawled out of a 1973 studio. Why do musicians keep choosing virtual patch cables when cleaner interfaces exist? The answer isn't really about sound. Build It Yourself Synths - The Music Thing Workshop Computer arrives as a bag of components. Thonk can't keep them on the shelves. A conversation about why people who grew up on plugins are now reaching for a soldering iron - and what that says about innovation in instruments versus innovation in sound. Innovation Meets Countermovement - Ellen McGirt's Design Observer piece traces a pattern older than any of us. Photography didn't kill painting; synths didn't kill acoustic music. So what becomes retro when AI image generation matures? The Harmonograph Mystery - Raf Jakob's wooden side table makes one drawing in ten minutes and then it's done. Is calling it furniture a meaningful gesture, or well-designed cope? Maybe both. What Deliberate Inefficiency Means - Four objects, one gesture. Chelsea and Georgia land on the honest answer - and on what the counter-movement to AI might actually look like when it arrives in full. Stay in the loop If you want to sit with these questions every week, come find us - no hype, no doom, just the friction. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#77
May 12 · 19 min
The Same Sky, Two Feelings
The companion podcast to Issue No. 77 of The Intersect. Chelsea and Georgia sit with a question that doesn't resolve cleanly: when wonder and surveillance share the same infrastructure, does knowing that change what you felt before you knew it? The conversation keeps circling back - and it's worth following it all the way around. Contents 00:00 Introduction to Aerial Perspectives 00:00 Aerial Photography Competitions 00:03 The Bittersweet Progress of Technology 00:04 The Internet's Changing Nature 00:06 The Arc of Technology 00:08 Record-Breaking Drone Displays 00:11 The Duality of Drone Art 00:13 Absurdity in Drone Displays 00:15 Sound and Surveillance Art 00:17 Patterns of Technology and Control 00:18 Conclusion: Coexisting Realities In this episode Seeing the world from above. DJI's SkyPixel competition is in its 11th year and has handed out nearly $200,000 in prizes - but the real question is what happens to the joy of a perspective when the tool that unlocks it also coordinates strikes. The internet's familiar arc. The web's journey from liberation to lock-in maps onto the drone story with uncomfortable precision. Chelsea and Georgia trace a pattern that, once you see it, is hard to stop seeing everywhere. 22,582 drones, one computer. A new Guinness World Record for simultaneous airborne drones is genuinely awe-inspiring - and genuinely unsettling for exactly the same reason. Drift's Franchise Freedom at LACMA. A swarm-based drone performance that deliberately evokes starling murmurations raises a harder question: can art reclaim an image once its shadow has been cast? Skeletor trolls the freeway. A lighthearted pop-culture drone stunt turns out to be a useful measuring stick - for just how wide the gap has grown between what's possible here and what's possible elsewhere. The Harbinger: sound and surveillance. An art installation shifts the medium from the visual to the audible, asking when exactly we stopped noticing the surveillance creeping in - and what it sounds like when care and control become the same thing. Stay in the loop If this conversation stayed with you, follow The Intersect for the full newsletter, the images, and Juergen's curation - weekly, free, and worth it. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#76
May 5 · 11 min
The Medium Always Survives Its Own Funeral
The companion podcast to Issue No. 76 of The Intersect. We sit with a question that refuses to stay still: if photography keeps surviving every medium that was supposed to kill it, is it actually the thing we thought it was - or something stranger and more stubborn? Listen before you read; the newsletter has the links, the curation, and the full context. Contents 00:00 Photography's Unending Cycle 00:02 The Return to Old Techniques 00:03 Modern Interpretations of Historical Methods 00:05 The Impact of AI on Photography 00:07 AIPAD's Omission of AI 00:08 Film History and Its Parallels 00:09 Photography's Evolution, Not Death 00:11 Embracing Ambiguity in Art In this episode Lartigue's color rebellion and the pattern it set. When Jacques-Henri Lartigue turned to color, purists called it treason. Chelsea and Georgia trace how that moment rhymes uncomfortably well with arguments happening right now - and what it suggests about which side of history tends to look foolish in retrospect. Cameras optional: the return to pre-lens chemistry. Some photographers working today have quietly put their cameras down and gone back to 18th-century light-sensitive experiments - photograms, expired paper from 1946, iodine-drenched skylights. The question isn't whether it's nostalgic. It's why it feels so urgent right now. AIPAD's conspicuous silence. Seventy-seven galleries, work stretching back to 1917, and not a word about AI-generated imagery. Chelsea and Georgia weigh whether that's principled confidence or something closer to whistling past a graveyard. What early film history is quietly telling us. A kaleidoscopic Aeon video about forgotten film pioneers lands differently when you're watching visual language shift in real time. The parallels are hard to ignore - and oddly steadying. Digital Doubles and the pleasure of not knowing. Carlo Zapella's Budapest show mixes analog photographs, 3D renders, and sculpture until you genuinely can't tell which is which. Chelsea and Georgia find it less unsettling than liberating - and maybe a preview of where photography goes from here. Stay in the loop If these conversations are your kind of thing, follow The Intersect and help keep the curation going. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#75
April 28 · 12 min
Wrenches, Paper, Waste: Organic Holds its Ground
The companion podcast to Issue No. 75 of The Intersect. Chelsea and Georgia sit with a question that runs underneath every story this week: in a world that rewards speed and automation, what does it mean - and what does it cost - to insist on doing something the hard way? Listen before you read, or read before you listen; either way, the newsletter at theintersect.art has everything they couldn't fit into the conversation. Contents 00:00 The Hard Way: An Artistic Choice 00:04 Nostalgia and Technology 00:07 Transforming Waste into Art 00:10 The Power of Industrial Waste 00:11 The Value of Difficulty in Creation In this episode Paper cameras that move - Manabu Kasaka builds hyper-realistic paper replicas of vintage cameras - film advance lever and all - by hand. Chelsea and Georgia dig into why artists keep returning to obsolete technology through the most labor-intensive methods imaginable, and whether that's nostalgia or something more pointed. Boomboxes, hand-cut from colored paper - Zim and Zoo reconstruct dead audio technology from layers of cut and folded paper - no digital fabrication, no shortcuts. Is it preservation, mild defiance, or process as protest? The conversation goes somewhere unexpected. Plastic waste as coral - Artist collective Rasheera melts and casts discarded plastic into organic, coral-like forms. The objects are genuinely beautiful. Georgia isn't sure that makes her feel better about any of it, and Chelsea doesn't entirely disagree. Wrenches as furniture - Iyo Hasegawa stacks offset wrenches into chairs and tables held together by nothing but nuts and washers - no glue, no welding, fully reversible. Juergen's curatorial note about AI and job security gives this one an extra edge worth hearing. Fashion waste as sculpture - Issey Miyake's studio compresses the pleating paper from its own production waste into log-like furniture. Chelsea and Georgia ask whether quiet transformation is enough, or whether it just makes consumption feel more poetic than it should. Stay in the loop If these conversations matter to you, follow The Intersect and support the newsletter that makes them possible. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#74
April 21 · 9 min
Meaning at the Threshold
The companion podcast to Issue No. 74 of The Intersect. Chelsea and Georgia sit with a question that doesn't resolve neatly: when technology shows up at the most unrepeatable moments of human experience — the most intimate, the most historic, the most vast — does it bear witness, or does it intrude? Read the newsletter for the full context; listen here for the conversation. Contents 00:00 Heavy Questions and Threshold Moments 00:02 Life, Inc. and Brainwaves 00:04 From Authority to Communal Participation 00:05 Ethics in AI and Education 00:07 Capturing the Moon: Astronaut Photography 00:09 Technology as Witness to Human Experience In this episode A printing press at the bedside. An Irish artist built a mobile printing press designed to be wheeled right up to a hospital bed in palliative care. Chelsea and Georgia wrestle with whether that's a profound gift or an unbearable ask — and why the answer might depend entirely on what you still need to say. Brainwaves made visible. A project turning bodily signals into three-dimensional forms has been running since 1979 — long before most people owned a computer. What does it mean to make the invisible electrical life of the body into something you can actually see? From temples to communal polyphony. An academic paper traces the shift in how cultural meaning gets made — from institutional authority to something far more participatory. The example it uses to make the case might surprise you. AI, history, and the education secretary. When a senior government official posts AI-generated images of real historical women without disclosure, it stops being a question about art and becomes a question about trust, accuracy, and who sets the standard. Astronauts learning to see. The Artemis II crew trained as photographers before heading to the moon — composition, framing, contrast, all of it. Georgia and Chelsea dig into what it actually takes to document something no one has witnessed in fifty years. Technology as witness. The thread running through every story: technology keeps arriving at moments almost too big or too intimate for words. Sometimes it rises to them. Sometimes it doesn't. Stay in the loop If these conversations make you think differently about art, technology, and where they collide, follow The Intersect and help spread the word. Website: theintersect.art Instagram: @theintersectnews Threads: @jberkessel BlueSky: @polymash.bsky.social Substack: The Intersect on Substack LinkedIn: Juergen Berkessel
#73
March 25 · 18 min
Tools in the Back Room, Not on the Wall
In this episode of The Intersect podcast, hosts Chelsea and Georgia explore Issue No. 73 of The Intersect newsletter, diving deep into how technology operates as invisible infrastructure in the art world rather than the main attraction. From deepfake interviews to magnetic camera modules, discover how artists and institutions navigate the rapidly evolving technological landscape. Episode Highlights Deepfake Sam Altman Interview: Filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough creates "SamBot," a deepfake of OpenAI's CEO, to explore AI's existential questions when the real Altman won't return his calls Refik Anadol's 'Unsupervised' at MoMA: An AI-powered installation that transforms 138,000 MoMA artworks into morphing abstractions, sparking debates about AI as art versus data visualization Artsy Gallery Survey: 57% of galleries use AI for admin tasks, but only 9% consider AI-generated art legitimate - revealing a stark divide in technology's role Trevor Paglen's Ironic Award: The surveillance-critical artist wins a $100,000 prize sponsored by LG Corporation, highlighting the complex relationship between art and corporate power Xiaomi's Modular Camera Innovation: Magnetic camera lenses for foldable phones promise to revolutionize mobile photography Nicole Nikolich's Crochet Nostalgia: Six-foot yarn recreations of Windows 95 and The Sims interfaces transform obsolete technology into textile art LA's Museum Explosion: Multiple major museums opening in 2026, including LACMA's revolutionary approach to curation organized by oceans rather than periods Key Themes The episode examines how technology serves as infrastructure rather than inspiration in contemporary art. Through stories ranging from AI-generated museum pieces to crochet computer interfaces, we explore the negotiation happening in real-time about where technology belongs in creative practice. The conversation highlights how artists struggle to keep pace with rapidly evolving AI, while galleries embrace tech for productivity but resist it as an artistic medium. About The Intersect The Intersect is a weekly newsletter and podcast examining how technology shapes artistic practice and how creativity informs technological development. Each episode provides nuanced analysis, case studies, and practitioner perspectives from the intersection of art and technology. Subscribe & Connect Subscribe to The Intersect newsletter at theintersect.art for weekly insights into technology's impact on artistic practice and creativity's role in technological progress. Follow the conversation across social media and join our community exploring the dynamic relationship between art and technology.
#72
February 24 · 21 min
When Everything Works Too Well
In this thought-provoking episode of The Intersect, hosts Chelsea and Georgia dive deep into Issue #72 of The Intersect newsletter, exploring the paradox of hyper-efficiency in creative systems. When technology becomes too seamless and systems work too well, what essential human elements might we lose? From BAFTA's new 'human creativity' awards to the emergence of 'visual elevator music' from AI experiments, this episode examines the delicate balance between technological innovation and authentic human expression. Episode Highlights BAFTA's Human Achievement Awards: The film academy introduces 'human achievement' as a guiding principle, explicitly banning AI-generated avatars from acting honors while acknowledging AI's growing role in production. Truth in Photography Reimagined: Exploring how the inability to distinguish real photos from AI-generated ones might be an opportunity to rethink visual storytelling rather than a crisis of authenticity. Visual Elevator Music: Researchers create an endless loop between text-to-image and image-to-text AI systems, resulting in pleasant but utterly generic visual content that reveals what AI preserves without human intervention. The Recursive Aesthetic Paradox: How AI feeding on its own output leads to 'model collapse' and design homogenization, making human imperfections increasingly valuable. The Color Blue's Non-Existence: Maria Popova's exploration of how blue exists only through absence, challenging our assumptions about perception and reality. Cosmos Exhibition: Artists merge technical processes with creative vision at Bristol's Royal West of England Academy, featuring 18-month sun exposures and recycled solar panels fused with Neolithic imagery. Berlinale's Political Controversy: Wim Wenders' comments about artists staying out of politics spark major backlash, revealing deeper questions about cultural institutions' independence when funded by government and corporate sponsors. Key Takeaways The episode challenges listeners to reconsider what happens when efficiency becomes the enemy of authenticity. As Juergen notes in the newsletter, we're at a moment where baseline assumptions about creative work are shifting beneath our feet. The conversation explores whether predictable mediocrity might actually be the less frightening outcome of AI development, and whether genuine political independence is possible for publicly-funded cultural institutions. About The Intersect The Intersect is a weekly newsletter and podcast exploring the convergence of art and technology. From analog processes to generative design, sound synthesis to interactive installations, we provide nuanced analysis that doesn't take sides. Our goal is to help creative professionals and technologists understand how technology shapes artistic practice and how creativity informs technological progress. Connect With Us Subscribe to The Intersect newsletter at theintersect.art for weekly insights into the evolving relationship between art and technology. Join our community of creators, technologists, and thinkers who are navigating this fascinating intersection.
#71
January 27 · 19 min
Banned, Withdrawn, and Refused: The Art We Don't See Shapes Everything
In this powerful episode of The Intersect, Chelsea and Georgia explore how the art we don't see—the banned, withdrawn, and refused—shapes our cultural narrative. From Amy Sherald's bold withdrawal of her entire exhibition to protect a single trans-affirming painting, to Comic-Con's dramatic 24-hour reversal on AI art policy, we examine the forces that determine what art reaches the public eye. 00:00:45 Exploring Banned Art and Its Impact 00:02:43 The Intersection of Art and Technology 00:06:31 Juergen’s Personal Journey 00:10:25 The Techno-Sublime and Its Significance 00:12:08 The Power of Human-Centric Design 00:13:41 Amy Sherald’s Bold Statement 00:14:38 Cultural Reflections from Greenland 00:16:24 Future Predictions for Art Episode Highlights African Weaving Meets Technology: Discover how traditional African weaving reveals its inherent computational logic through projects like Nosukaay and Woven in Wa, showing that technology is finally catching up to craft, not the other way around. Amy Sherald's Stand: Learn why the acclaimed artist withdrew her entire "American Sublime" exhibition from the National Portrait Gallery rather than allow the removal of 'Trans Forming Liberty,' a powerful portrait reimagining the Statue of Liberty as a trans model. Comic-Con's AI Art Ban: Explore the rapid policy reversal at San Diego Comic-Con, where artist backlash led to a complete prohibition on AI art within 24 hours, reflecting broader industry tensions about creative authenticity. Juergen's Photography Evolution: Follow the personal journey from special effects photography in the 1980s to AI art today, illustrating how technological disruption repeatedly reshapes creative careers. Greenland's TikTok Resistance: Examine how young Greenlanders use satirical "fentanyl fold" videos to critique American cultural imperialism, turning our own imagery into powerful political commentary. Trevor Paglen's Techno Sublime: Understand how Paglen's two-decade project of photographing the invisible—from secret military bases to surveillance systems—reveals the blind spots in our technological age. The Human-Centric Design Myth: Unpack how "human-centered" design often masks extraction-focused systems, creating what Juergen calls "experience greenwashing." Hans Ulrich Obrist's 2026 Predictions: Consider the Serpentine Galleries director's vision for art's future, including AI as coordination tool, long-duration projects, and the surprising power of exhibitions that make strangers talk to each other. Key Takeaways This episode reveals how censorship and self-censorship shape not just what art we see, but how we understand our cultural moment. From institutional pressures on museums to artist-led resistance against AI replacement, the stories we explore show that the battle for creative autonomy is intensifying across all mediums. About The Intersect The Intersect provides nuanced analysis of where art and technology converge, going far beyond AI hype to explore the full spectrum of computational tools shaping creative work. We're committed to showing the good, the bad, and the unexpected in these relationships. Connect With Us For weekly insights and case studies on art and technology, subscribe to The Intersect newsletter at theintersect.art. Follow us on Instagram, Threads, BlueSky, and LinkedIn for ongoing exploration of creativity in the digital age.
#70
January 20 · 19 min
Help Me, Don't Replace Me: AI's Role in Art and Music
In this thought-provoking episode of The Intersect, Chelsea and Georgia explore the delicate balance between AI as a helpful tool and its potential to replace human creativity. From Bandcamp's groundbreaking ban on AI-generated music to the digital reconstruction of a 17th-century masterpiece, we examine where to draw the line between assistance and abdication. Episode Highlights Bandcamp's AI Ban: The first major music platform to prohibit AI-generated content and scraping for AI training data Digital Art Restoration: How the Kunsthistorisches Museum used AI to reconstruct 40cm of a lost Michaelina Wautier painting Apple's Multi-Spectral Cameras: Exploring photography beyond visible light and what it means for the future of image capture NFT Market Collapse: The cancellation of NFT Paris and what it signals about digital art's future The Weight of Meaning: Dilek Yalçın's essay on how artists are responding to AI's endless generation with intentional meaning Art as Protest: A student's arrest for eating AI art raises questions about performance and protest Brazil's FILE Festival: Call for entries exploring "contemporary technological poetics" AI Authentication Debate: Can AI truly authenticate Old Masters, or does it miss the subjective nature of art expertise? Key Takeaways This episode examines the nuanced relationship between human creativity and AI assistance. Through real-world examples, we explore how artists and technologists are navigating this new landscape, from platform policies to physical protests. The conversation highlights the importance of maintaining human agency while leveraging AI as a tool rather than a replacement. About The Intersect The Intersect newsletter provides weekly analysis of technology's impact on artistic practice and creativity's role in technological progress. We cover the full spectrum of art and tech convergence, from analog methods to digital fabrication, generative design, and interactive installations. Connect With Us Subscribe to The Intersect newsletter at theintersect.art for weekly insights into the intersection of art and technology. Join our community of professionals working at the creative-tech frontier. Support The Show If you find value in our exploration of art and technology, consider supporting The Intersect at theintersect.art. Your support helps us continue bringing nuanced analysis and thoughtful perspectives to this rapidly evolving field.
#69
January 13 · 21 min
The Science of Wonder: Art's Impact on Health and Urban Transformation
In this episode of The Intersect, hosts Chelsea and Georgia explore Issue No. 69 of The Intersect newsletter, diving deep into the fascinating connections between art and technology. From cities transforming streets into permanent pedestrian zones to groundbreaking research on art's health benefits, this episode examines how creative expression and technological innovation continue to shape each other. Episode Highlights Urban Transformation: Six U.S. cities including Houston and San Francisco are permanently converting streets into pedestrian zones by 2026, creating new opportunities for public art appreciation and community engagement. The Science of Art and Health: Research from University College London reveals that viewing original artwork reduces cortisol levels by 22%, compared to just 8% for reproductions, though the full museum experience may be the real catalyst. Public Space Governance: Innovative models from Paris and New York, including "Adoptez un banc" and "The Common Corner" project, demonstrate new ways communities can manage creative expression in public spaces. Roy Lichtenstein's Legacy and AI Art: The parallels between Pop Art's controversial rise and today's AI-generated art debate, exploring what defines legitimate artistic expression. Museum Evolution: How museums struggle with true engagement in the digital age, and why visitors are creating their own AI-powered interpretive experiences. Brian Dettmer's Book Sculptures: The transformation of obsolete encyclopedias into intricate art objects, revealing hidden beauty in outdated technology. Norman Rockwell's Cultural Debate: The unexpected controversy surrounding Rockwell's legacy and what it reveals about American identity. Key Takeaways The episode emphasizes how art and technology strengthen each other when they truly communicate. Technologists build more human-centered products when they understand artistic principles, while artists expand their creative possibilities through technical literacy. The conversation highlights the importance of moving beyond surface-level integration to create meaningful dialogue between these two fields. About The Intersect The Intersect newsletter provides weekly analysis, case studies, and perspectives from practitioners working at the intersection of art and technology. From traditional analog techniques to digital fabrication, generative design, and sound synthesis, the newsletter offers nuanced insights without the hype. Subscribe and Connect To receive The Intersect newsletter and stay updated on the latest developments in art and technology, subscribe at theintersect.art. Join the conversation about how creativity and innovation continue to shape our world.
#68
January 6 · 21 min
Who Gets to Hold the Pen? Creative Control in the Age of AI
In this thought-provoking episode of The Intersect of Art and Tech, hosts Chelsea and Georgia explore the fundamental question: "Who Gets to Hold the Pen?" As technology increasingly shapes artistic expression, they examine who truly controls the creative narrative in our digital age. 00:01:05 Bridging Art and Urban Planning 00:03:54 The Role of Artists in Tech 00:04:38 Innovations in Camera Technology 00:06:50 Improv Meets AI 00:08:56 The Impact of Human Imperfection 00:12:26 The Shift Toward Authenticity 00:14:53 The Liability of Generic Design 00:16:51 Improvisation and Creativity 00:18:51 The Future of Museums Episode Highlights Coming Together Exhibition: Discover how the National Building Museum's participatory urban planning exhibition blurs the lines between art, design, and civic engagement, featuring examples from over 60 U.S. cities reimagining their post-pandemic downtowns. Revolutionary Camera Technology: Learn about Carnegie Mellon's experimental camera with spatially-varying autofocus that can focus on everything simultaneously, and why photographers might not actually want this innovation. Improv Artists in Silicon Valley: Explore the surprising trend of Bay Area improv performers teaching essential human skills like adaptability and creative collaboration to tech companies. The Battle of Digital Frames: Compare LG's new Gallery TV with Samsung's The Frame and traditional e-ink displays, examining what makes a true digital art display. Human Imperfection as Design Trend: Understand why designers are deliberately embracing flaws, torn edges, and asymmetry as a rebellion against AI's relentless perfection. The Death of Generic Design: Learn why playing it safe with neutral, polished visuals has become a liability in 2026, and how taste and specificity create distinction. The Neuroscience of Improvisation: Discover what brain scans reveal about jazz pianists in flow states and how creativity emerges when we stop overthinking. Museums Everywhere: Imagine Mark Walhimer's vision of distributed museum intelligence, where pointing your phone at a leaf connects you to botanical collections and art history. Key Takeaways This episode reveals how the intersection of art and technology isn't just about tools and techniques—it's about fundamental questions of authorship, authenticity, and human agency. As AI makes technical perfection trivially easy, human imperfection becomes our signature. As algorithms generate flawless imagery, the wobble in a hand-drawn line proves human authorship. The conversation highlights how artists who understand technology expand their creative possibilities, while technologists who grasp creative thinking build more human-centered products. About The Intersect Newsletter The Intersect newsletter provides nuanced analysis of how computational tools shape creative work, offering practical insights for professionals navigating this dynamic landscape. From analog methods to interactive installations, we cover the full spectrum of tech-art convergence without polarization. Subscribe to The Intersect newsletter at theintersect.art for continued analysis, case studies, and perspectives from the intersection of art and technology.
#67
Dec 30, 2025 · 20 min
Beyond the First 'Wow': Trust in the Age of Algorithmic Art
In this episode of The Intersect, Chelsea and Georgia explore what makes creative work trustworthy when algorithms can instantly generate compelling images. They examine how artists and institutions are responding to this fundamental shift in creative value. Episode Highlights NOT REAL ART's Year in Review: Editor Morgan Laurens reframes 2025 through resilience rather than pity, highlighting how artists continue producing meaningful work despite funding cuts and industry challenges Ars Electronica 2025: Artists transform from cultural commentators to essential navigators through collective uncertainty, guiding society through geopolitical, technological, and ecological upheavals Bradford's City of Culture Impact: £51 million investment yields 3 million attendees and lasting educational legacy, with creative course applications surging at Bradford College Marco Brambilla's 'After Utopia': AI-powered reimagining of World's Fair archives questions whether we're steering technological progress or merely passengers along for the ride Beeple's 'Diffuse Control' at LACMA: Interactive installation has visitors collaborate with AI to transform German Expressionist woodcuts, raising questions about algorithmic interpretation versus human intent Photography's Identity Crisis: Marco Savarese argues AI challenges photography's fundamental nature, replacing confrontation with reality with automated simulation The 'Not By AI' Movement: Human-made design commands 60% premium as authenticity becomes the primary differentiator between trustworthy creative work and synthetic content Adobe's 2026 Creative Trends: Emphasis on emotion and authenticity as key differentiators in an increasingly automated creative landscape Key Themes The episode centers on the question: when the initial "wow" factor becomes trivially easy to achieve through AI, what creates lasting value in creative work? The discussion reveals how artists are finding new roles as guides through uncertainty, while the creative industry grapples with proving authenticity in a world of endless synthetic possibilities. Notable Quotes "Digital artists now are fighting the exact same legitimacy battles that photographers faced a century ago." - On the historical context of technological disruption in art "When AI starts making the decisions about what to improve, or remove, or even add to an image, we're really not working with reality anymore. It's a simulation." - Marco Savarese on photography's fundamental challenge Personal Reflections Juergen shares his retreat to analog tools—acoustic guitar, pencil sketches, charcoal drawings—as a luxury compared to young artists in conflict zones still producing incredible work under impossible conditions. He reflects on a poem about dogs walking naked into uncertainty, trusting completely in their bonds, wondering if artists avoiding political commentary seek similar presence and gratitude. The Bigger Picture The episode reveals a cultural shift where authenticity isn't just marketing language but the primary way audiences distinguish trustworthy creative work from synthetic content. Yet as everyone claims authenticity as their differentiator, the question becomes whether it's a genuine creative philosophy or the industry's latest security blanket. Subscribe to The Intersect For weekly analysis of how technology shapes artistic practice and creativity informs technological development, subscribe at theintersect.art. Get case studies, perspectives from practitioners, and nuanced exploration of the full spectrum of tech-art convergence—from analog techniques to digital fabrication, generative design to interactive installations.

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