Alejandro Loureiro Lorenzo -

Alejandro is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Photography and the head of the Photography program at Rutgers University, Camden. A visual artist, he splits his time between New York City, Philadelphia, and Galicia, Spain. In Galicia, he is engaged in a long-term project that delves into personal and collective memory within cultural and historical contexts. His work has been showcased in international exhibitions alongside notable artists such as Ai Weiwei, Huma Bhabha, and Tom Friedman.

Additionally, Alejandro conducts research on AI generative technologies in photography, focusing on how our perceptions interact with AI-generated images. His aim is to enhance our understanding of contemporary issues in image-making. His academic interests include the Enlightenment period, minimalism, post-minimalism, conceptual art, and their influence on today’s art market.

Currently, he is finalizing his doctoral dissertation, which examines Hudson, the former owner of the Feature Inc. gallery who served as his mentor in New York City. Hudson’s invitation for Alejandro to work at Feature Inc. significantly influenced his decision to permanently move to the United States. The dissertation explores how exhibition-making can function as a form of activism, connecting Hudson’s work to the evolution of the art market from the 1970s to the present. Alejandro’s personal and professional relationship with Hudson offers a unique perspective in analyzing his legacy.

Furthermore, his research investigates how institutions are increasingly supporting revisionist and disruptive practices in an effort to redefine traditional modes of activism. Alejandro has also lived and worked in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Recent Works

Above, Restoring Memory via Generative AI

Photography and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Royal Photographic Society

AI generative technologies expand the capabilities of the photographic medium to produce images that resemble photographs while maintaining its credibility. Assumed perceptual attributes are confronted with new AI technologies increasingly integrated into all aspects of image-making, coexisting with established ways of seeing.

AI is not photography as such, but a generative procedure trained from repertoires of images, subjects, and ideas. Traditional photography limitations are related to camera technologies, camera position and frame selection, settings, recording materials, subjects, and photographers’ choices —including cameraless photography— in this regard, AI and traditional photography are similar, as the ultimate product is an image. Both rely on the capture and the interpretation of existing content. One could argue that both traditional photography and AI are based on repertoires of choices and subjects; AI brings a new dimension to photography by adding the capability of incorporating nonexistent elements from collective memories ab initio.

It is a new paradigm as it allows for incorporating elements into our work from collective memory, destabilizing the ontology of the image as we know it with all the disruptive possibilities that it instigates.

My work investigates how emerging photographic technologies enhance our capacity to create altered images while preserving their credibility. Technologies such as AI challenge traditional modes of perception by becoming increasingly integrated into the processes of editing and printing. Recent developments, including infographics and subtext, complement established methods of viewing images, which have become more widespread and rapidly disseminated.

In my academic research, I analyze how institutions foster innovation. This study has profoundly influenced my studio practice, motivating me to use digital imaging purposefully to merge various media and critique contemporary hybridization practices in art. I concentrate on the distinct independence of art and its multifaceted nature.

I explore how concepts like actor-network theory—particularly the ideas put forth by Latour—and strategic-tactical frameworks, such as those proposed by Certeau, shape audience expectations and collective experiences. My primary focus lies at the convergence of art, social science, and economics within the domain of new media. I perceive contemporary art practices as intentional.

Ultimately, I am examining how institutions increasingly support revisionist and disruptive practices. This support plays a crucial role in developing new approaches and cultural strategies designed to transform traditional activist and countercultural practices into established institutional frameworks.