danielweisshh
Germany
Artist Statement
Description
"Kabuki Frame" explores the intersection of fashion and staged identity. Drawing from my background in theatre and fashion direction, as well as my time in Tokyo, I created a single image that performs like a fashion editorial but resonates like a scene from a play. The styling references contemporary menswear, yet the setting—a floral red folding screen and hanging lanterns—evokes the heightened drama of traditional Kabuki theatre. The subject’s wide stance, lacquered trousers and direct gaze transform him into both model and character. AI allows me to create these moments with precision, intention and control. Not to illustrate fashion, but to tell stories with it. The result is a frame that sits between memory and costume, posture and persona—asking not just what we see, but what we imagine happened just before or after.
Process
I wanted to know if it was possible to tell a full story in a single frame. Not a literal story — but one you feel rather than follow. Something between theatre and fashion, memory and desire. The urge came from years of working on editorial shoots where I knew exactly what I wanted to see, but never quite got there. With AI, I can finally direct the image the way I always imagined: with full control over casting, mood, pose, and atmosphere. This work is about reclaiming authorship. It’s not about perfection — it’s about suggestion. What if a picture could feel like a memory from someone else’s life?
Tools
This image was created entirely with Midjourney v7. I didn’t use Photoshop or any post-production tools — just the prompt and my own eye for story, styling, and composition. I work iteratively, prompting until everything feels right: the texture of the fabric, the tension in the stance, the way light sits on the background. It’s a process of direction, not generation. I don’t accept the first result — I shape it, refine it, and push the system until the image carries the atmosphere I imagined. No shortcuts. Just vision, experience, and persistence.
As a producer of Aww Inc., Asia’s first virtual human company, Sara Giusto is a female leader at the intersection of technology and creativity. She was featured in Forbes Japan’s “30 Under 30” in 2023 and was a TED speaker in 2024.
The momentI saw Kabuki Frame, I knew it was something different. It didn’t justcatch my eye—it interrupted me. There was a sharpness, a stillness, a sense oftotal control. So much of AI art can feel accidental or overworked, but thishad intention behind every detail.
What reallystayed with me was how it reimagined tradition. The atmosphere reminded me ofwhat I love about Kabuki—its drama, discipline, and elegance. But instead ofcopying the past, it translated it into something contemporary, filteredthrough fashion and storytelling. It felt familiar, but also completely new.
AI is oftenthought of as an easy tool, but work like this proves otherwise. You don’t getto this kind of image by luck. It takes hundreds of small, invisibledecisions—just like on a real photoshoot. Lighting, stance, texture, tension.You need taste to know what to keep and what to push. You need vision to knowwhat you’re aiming for in the first place.
The imageis quiet, but commanding. The use of color is restrained, the pose is bold, andthe subject’s gaze holds you in place. There’s narrative here—but it’s nothanded to you. It lingers, like a memory from someone else’s life.
To me, thisis where AI starts to become something more meaningful. It’s not about noveltyor polish. It’s about authorship. And Daniel’s background in theater andfashion really shows—he’s not just generating visuals, he’s directing them.That’s rare.
This piecemade me want to see more. Not because it felt unfinished, but because it feltlike a single frame from a larger world. That’s why it gets my golden ticket.It shows what’s possible when AI serves a strong creative vision—when theartist stays in control, and the result speaks without needing to explainitself.
