ArtX Digital VaultART VALUE LAB · ART × AI × KNOWLEDGE

Explore the knowledge library

ART × CODE × COLLECTING

ArtX Digital Vault

Understand a digital work by understanding how it exists.

From generative art and NFTs to AI data, display and preservation. A shared working resource for artists, collectors and researchers.

07 research cases06 learning notes01 portable artwork dossier

Build judgment through cases.

Research index. Works, institutions and tools are labelled separately; this is not a live price feed.

01 / AI art

Unsupervised

Refik Anadol · MoMA · 2022–2023

A model trained on MoMA collection data produces evolving imagery and sound influenced by the installation environment.

Research notes & collecting questions ＋

ArtX interpretation

Preserve the relationship between model, runtime and live inputs, not only a video recording.

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Can the model be delivered? Is the work still complete without its environmental sensors?

Model weights, full licensing and energy data not verified by the cited source: not recorded.

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02 / Generative

Fidenza

Tyler Hobbs · 2021

An artist-designed generative algorithm produces varied compositions, released on Art Blocks. Generative art does not necessarily use AI.

Research notes & collecting questions ＋

ArtX interpretation

Distinguish the algorithm, individual output and token record; identify dependencies needed to reconstruct the image.

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Are you acquiring an output, execution rights, or a token for a specific edition?

Model weights, full licensing and energy data not verified by the cited source: not recorded.

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03 / Institutions

DATALAND

Los Angeles · AI arts museum

Multisensory galleries explore data, machines and space through evolving content. Its official account describes permission-based datasets for its nature model.

Research notes & collecting questions ＋

ArtX interpretation

ArtX research interpretation: document provenance, display conditions and environmental impact separately; distinguish institutional claims from verifiable evidence.

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Are licensing scope, energy boundaries and independent verification available?

Model weights, full licensing and energy data not verified by the cited source: not recorded.

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04 / Preservation

ArtBase

Rhizome · Digital art archive

A digital art archive offering an entry into net art, work records and preservation contexts.

Research notes & collecting questions ＋

ArtX interpretation

Connect a work to versions, technical environments and exhibition records; keep provenance beyond a thumbnail.

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If the original website disappears, can its behaviour and interactions still be understood?

Model weights, full licensing and energy data not verified by the cited source: not recorded.

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05 / Tools

Runway · Gen-4

Creative tool / 創作工具

A tool case for video generation from images and text prompts. Capabilities change, so preserve the version used at creation.

Research notes & collecting questions ＋

ArtX interpretation

Export outputs and record model version and inputs; a project in a service account is not long-term preservation.

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What assets, permissions and records remain available after a subscription ends?

Model weights, full licensing and energy data not verified by the cited source: not recorded.

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06 / Tools

Artbreeder

Creative platform / 創作平台

A creative platform with community image browsing and paid plans. Listed as a tool, not as open-source software or a platform partner.

Research notes & collecting questions ＋

ArtX interpretation

Record source images and derivation relationships, and retain the terms applicable at creation.

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Can source images be reused, and can each transformation be explained?

Model weights, full licensing and energy data not verified by the cited source: not recorded.

Read primary source

07 / Auction cases

Augmented Intelligence

Christie’s · New York · 2025

The 2025 auction brought together approaches from Harold Cohen’s AARON to data imagery, robotics, and prints. Nicole Sales Giles’s pre-sale interview introduces its curatorial and collecting context.

Research notes & collecting questions ＋

ArtX interpretation

ArtX interpretation: document creative choices, model and data, artwork outputs, and the objects, files, and display conditions actually handed over.

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Am I acquiring a print, moving image, software, or a combination? Which data permissions, display rights, and care conditions need clarification?

Model weights, full licensing and energy data not verified by the cited source: not recorded.

Read primary source

Read the method before the ranking.

Let technical evaluation inform creative decisions without replacing artistic judgment.

Methods · Methodology

Methodology: human-panel evaluation of generative models at Contra Labs.

The standard playbook behind every Contra Labs battle, profile, field note, and the cross-study leaderboard: blinded panels of practicing creatives, forced-choice rankings paired with scalar ratings and rationale, and a reliability battery that travels with every number we publish.

Contra LabsRead article

Methods · Benchmark

The Human Creativity Benchmark

A framework for evaluating generative AI in creative work that separates convergence, where evaluators agree on best practices, from divergence, where they legitimately disagree because the question has shifted to taste.

Contra LabsRead article

Ideation

Explore directions and alternatives.

Mockup

Turn a chosen direction into an inspectable form.

Refinement

Check details, consistency, readability, and delivery.

Keep these measures distinct

Win rates describe preferences within specific comparisons. Elo estimates relative rankings from matchups. Delivery readiness requires task-specific quality criteria. None measures artistic value, and scores from separate studies are not directly interchangeable.

View the source leaderboard