A.I. MANIPULATION STUDY
Exercise II
What does it mean to take someone else's work... whether business idea, artwork, athletic move, or book concept...and adapt it?
Is it plagiarism or theft? Is is paying homage or learning from the best? Is it Imitation or forgery? Or is it adopting and furthering its powerful symbolism. There is a reason they are called classics, because they epitomize the tried and true and demonstrate success. Cliche's and myths have roots in true success, and deviation is a form of natural evolution in the world thoughts, ideas and symbols.
Grasping the Age of A.I., 2023. A.I. manipulated scan of printed media screenshot.
In the above image, a publicity shot of Marlene Dietrich from the film Morocco (1930) is transformed into a surreal image that suggests themes of time, aging and the cycle of celebrity. A.I. collaborates with artist prompts to create a glimpse behind the camera in an absurd reality. Dream-like qualities abound in the imagery that reveals new insights into a portrait, but leaves more questions than answers.
ORIGINAL DEVIATION
Some symbols die, some persist, and some evolve. Have you ever looked into the origin of the caduceus, that common emblem with a winged staff and snakes...or Buddhist swastika? Through manipulation and reuse, these symbols and images deliver new meaning...regardless of the medium.
When it comes to A.I., a new pandora's box of questions borrowing or stealing other artist's works, symbols, and other cultural styles leads to wondering whose art it ultimately is.
Is A.I. art a tool to make use of?
What happens if A.I.-rendered images are used as a reference photo or part of an artwork's design? Used to develop an idea or visual? That seems perfectly acceptable in some greater work. But what if the whole image is manipulated only using A.I. tools...does it lose it's integrity as original works of art?
Can A.I. art be used as a means of referencing previous art, paying homage to traditional symbols, styles or imagery?
Does the work deliver a new message?
Does it reference the original not copy?
Does it involve intentional manipulation?
FILM MANIPULATION
Film and Cinema has long played in the game of fair use, and the tropes and nods to previous films has become movie buff's trivia staple. From The Simpsons cleverly making satire out of every existing pop culture movie ad nauseum, to movies referencing classic lines of dialog, camera angles and stories. The cliche' is very effective if done to a degree that elevates the original and pays homage to it in a tasteful way.
When every screen shot gets fed into an A.I. algorithm, does it not adopt those universal themes and symbols into new renderings of a similar spirit. So long as it is guided by human hand, it seems that the new version could have the potential to be newly realized variations of the content and symbols found in the samples. The value of it comes through a balanced demonstration of those original symbols and a spark of new insight (that for now, is the human input).
Using a source of sample images, new versions can be rendered to surprising detail. You can see how they are convincing, but vary and have ambiguous differences that reveal the nature of A.I. art as derivative.
Assorted Diedrichs, 2023, A.I. images created with Wombo Dreambot.
But had an artist taken these images and collaged it with an original, it can create a new commentary on that imagery that both pays homage and reveals aspects of A.I. that can contribute to interesting new art.
It is undeniable that A.I. art will have a disruptive effect on the world art-making. The ease of it is tempting, but from an artist perspective, can be a little underwhelming and lacks the real effort and discovery that making art can demand. If there is one kind of person you can put to the test, artists are the kind to take this new technology in stride and bring new avenues of creating that incorporate it in brilliant ways. Art generators will continue to have a particular quality that is limited, and I have faith that it will be the artists themselves that utilize it in new, never-envisioned ways.
Human Conditions Series: Senescence, 2023. Printed and multimedia collage, 16"x 11".
Comments