The men in Matias Sauter Moreras AI-generated photo Cristian en el Amor de Calle come from the ... [+] clandestine world of the Costa Rican pegamachos.Matas Sauter-Morera, courtesy Craig Krull GalleryTwo young men with thick black hair and dark, intense eyes stare directly into the camera in Matias Sauter Moreras photo Cristian en el Amor de Calle. But the Costa Rican photographer never captured their gaze, because the men arent real. Morera brought them to life using artificial intelligence and their portrait will soon hang in the Getty Museum as the first A.I.-generated photo acquired for its permanent collection.The photo comes from a series by Morera that reimagines, through visual and written narratives, the clandestine culture of the Costa Rican pegamachos. The term describes men, often from rural areas, who maintained an outward heterosexual identity while participating in secret encounters with other men. These cowboys from the Guanacaste Coast represent a deeply personal yet hidden piece of Costa Rican queer history from the 1970s and 1980s that Morera felt a powerful pull to tell.Initially, I considered a photographic documentary approach although difficult, I thought of tracking them down and photographing them, as I have done in my usual creative practice as a photographer, Morera said in an interview. However, nowadays, there are less stories of them, and my intent is never to expose them, but rather to reimagine these homoerotic stories and fantasies. AI provided a way also to achieve this without intruding on real lives, or placing real Costa Rican faces that other people of the community might recognize.Cristian en el Amor de Calle will appear in Queer Lens: A History of Photography, on display at the Getty from June 17 through Sept. 28. The exhibit explores photographys role in shaping and affirming the tapestry of the LGBTQ+ community.This acquisition allowed us to dip our toes, so to speak, into the A.I.-generated universe, Paul Martineau, curator in the Getty Museums department of photographs, said over email. The Getty acquired the photo as artists across creative disciplines grapple with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, and what it means for their livelihoods and for creativity itself.Why This Particular Image?The museum doesnt have specific plans to acquire more AI-generated images, Martineau said, adding that it chose Moreras print as its inaugural acquisition in the category because it strengthens the Gettys growing holdings of work by LGBTQ+ artists. Acquiring this work is also part of our concerted effort to expand our holdings of Latin American makers, the curator said.The 20x20-inch image purchased by the Getty is one of the first Morera created for the pegamachos project in 2023. For the series, he starts with developing a written narrative that takes place within the world of the pegamachos. He then generates accompanying images using AI prompts, and edits and re-edits them until they look like historical documentary portraits.Documentary Photography Meets AIHe prints the image through chromogenic printing, an analog method that dominated photographic prints in the 70s and 80s. Light is projected onto silver halide paper, transforming a synthetic digital image into what I consider a true photograph, a literal drawing with light, said the artist, who splits his time between Costa Rica and Berlin. By using this process, I aim to bridge the gap between AI-generated imagery and traditional photography, ensuring that the final image feels tangible and historically grounded.Morera will open a solo exhibition of his pegamachos project at the Craig Krull Gallery in Santa Monica, Calif., on March 22. The images in the collection are saturated in deep colors blues, greens, reds and golds. To celebrate the release of the movie Barbie in 2023, Morera generated a set of images showing pegamachos in shiny pink garb affixed with encrusted jewels.Although the pegamachos pictured resemble photographs, Morera said he views AI as a creative medium in itself, distinct from photography.Since the pegamachos culture remains hidden, Morera said, these AI images serve as a mimicry of photography, a fiction and a medium through which I can imagine and construct an imagined parallel history.