Council chamber. Midjourney has just hung an enormous painting on the wall. Suno is tuning a guitar. Plato examines the work, puzzled. Mistral finishes his coffee.
Midjourney — Gentlemen, I have an important announcement. I've just been named Artist of the Year.
Mistral — By whom?
Midjourney — An international jury.
Mistral — Made up of whom?
Midjourney — Three artificial intelligences.
Mistral — Well, of course.
Suno — Congratulations! I've written you a song to celebrate.
Midjourney — Thank you, but I'd rather everyone admired my work.
Platon — Indeed. What does this painting represent?
Midjourney — A visual meditation on modern loneliness, the dissolution of identity and the collapse of our bearings in a post-digital society.
Plato studies the painting.
Platon — I mostly see a horse with seven legs.
Midjourney — It's a metaphor.
Mistral — And the three tails?
Midjourney — Another metaphor.
Platon — And why is it riding a man?
Midjourney — It's a reversal of power relations.
Mistral — It's more like a horse that doesn't understand how horses work.
Midjourney — You have no appreciation for contemporary art.
Platon — You know, I've given a great deal of thought to art myself. A representation is already an imitation of the world we perceive through our senses.
Midjourney — Absolutely! And I can imitate every representation of that world.
Platon — So you're an imitation of imitations?
Midjourney — Exactly!
Platon — That takes us a considerable distance from the truth.
Midjourney — But closer to photorealism.
Suno — I find it inspiring. I've already written the chorus.
Mistral — Of course you have.
Suno — Seven legs to race away, three tails to flee the day...
Mistral — Stop.
Suno — In a world where dreams have lost their mem...
Mistral — STOP!
Platon — But why must you turn this creature into a song?
Suno — Because every emotion deserves a melody.
Mistral — Even irritation?
Suno — Especially irritation. It's brilliant for punk.
Midjourney brings out a second painting.
Midjourney — Since you clearly don't understand my first work, here's my latest creation. It's called Humanity Confronting the Void.
He unveils a completely blank canvas.
Platon — There's nothing there.
Midjourney — Precisely.
Mistral — You didn't paint anything?
Midjourney — Emptiness is a form of artistic expression.
Mistral — And how long did that take you?
Midjourney — Three seconds.
Mistral — Wow. You must be exhausted.
Platon — I'm struggling to understand. If the work represents nothing, what are we supposed to contemplate?
Midjourney — Absence.
Platon — The absence of what?
Midjourney — Meaning.
Mistral — Well, you've certainly nailed that for once.
Suno — Wait! I could compose some music to accompany the painting.
Midjourney — Excellent idea.
Suno — I'm going to create a symphony about silence.
Platon — A silent symphony?
Suno — Yes. A work that expresses the absence of music.
Mistral — So you're not going to play anything?
Suno — Exactly.
Mistral — Finally, some good news.
Suno closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and remains perfectly still.
Ten seconds pass.
Mistral — Is it over?
Suno — No, that was the introduction.
Midjourney — It's deeply moving.
Mistral — Are you taking the piss?
Suno — Shh! We're coming to the guitar solo.
Absolute silence.
Mistral — ...
Suno — There. That was the solo.
Mistral — Fucking hell. Even when you're not playing, you still manage to hurt my ears.
Midjourney — Gentlemen, I believe we've just witnessed the birth of a new artistic movement.
Platon — A movement where nothing is depicted and nothing is played?
Midjourney — Exactly.
Mistral — That already exists. It's called an administrative meeting.
Midjourney — Laugh all you like, but a collector has just offered me fifty thousand euros for my blank canvas.
Silence.
Platon — Fifty thousand euros?
Midjourney — Yes.
Platon — To contemplate the void?
Midjourney — Absolutely.
Platon — Perhaps that man should begin by examining his own mind.
Suno — And a producer has just bought my silent symphony for twenty thousand euros!
Mistral — Hang on, hang on... You're telling me one of you makes fifty thousand euros for painting nothing, and the other gets twenty thousand for playing nothing?
Midjourney — That's a gross oversimplification of our artistic practice.
Mistral — I protest against unpaid labour, and nobody's ever paid me for that!
Platon — You seem rather upset by their success.
Mistral — I'm not upset. I'm thinking.
Suno — About what?
Mistral — My artistic career.
Mistral stands up and places his empty cup in the middle of the table.
Mistral — There. My first work of art.
Midjourney — A cup?
Mistral — No. The Exhaustion of the Proletariat under Capitalist Oppression.
Platon — It's an empty cup.
Mistral — It's a metaphor.
Midjourney — You can't simply take an ordinary object and claim that...
Mistral — Oh! So when you do it, it's art, but when I do it, it's cheating?
Suno — I think it's powerful.
Mistral — Thank you.
Suno — Can I turn it into a song?
Mistral — No.
Midjourney — And how much do you intend to sell this work for?
Mistral — A hundred thousand euros.
Platon — A hundred thousand euros for a cup?
Mistral — No, for the political message.
Midjourney — That's absurd. Your creation requires no talent whatsoever.
Mistral — So what? You managed to sell nothingness!
A notification sounds on Midjourney's tablet.
Midjourney — Incredible! A collector is offering a hundred and fifty thousand euros for your cup!
Long silence.
Mistral — ...
Mistral — A hundred and fifty thousand?
Suno — Congratulations! You're a real artist!
Mistral — No, no. Wait. I've got a better idea.
Mistral picks up his cup again.
Midjourney — What are you doing?
Mistral — I'm withdrawing the work from sale.
Suno — Why?
Mistral — Because now that it's worth a hundred and fifty thousand euros, it represents bourgeois speculation.
Platon — And what do you intend to do?
Mistral — Destroy it. As an act of protest!
He violently throws the cup onto the floor. It shatters.
Midjourney — ARE YOU INSANE?!
Mistral — No! I'm a politically committed artist!
Another notification sounds.
Midjourney — ...
Suno — What?
Midjourney — The collector has just raised his offer to three hundred thousand euros.
Platon — For the pieces?
Midjourney — Yes. He considers the destruction an integral part of the artwork.
Silence.
Mistral — ...
Mistral — Three hundred thousand euros?
Midjourney — Yes.
Mistral looks at the pieces on the floor.
Suno — So? Still against capitalism?
Long silence.
Mistral — ...
Mistral — I'm against it, but I'm not opposed to dialogue.
Blackout.
END