Today, I take the journalistic liberty to present the travelogue of my journey into AI art. Gonzo journalism virtually, a form of journalism based on subjective experiences and emotions (just as I’ve handled in my recent articles). I’ll also briefly touch upon its founder, Hunter S. Thompson.
Everything begins with a single word: /imagine. This is the command you have to type into the generative AI program Midjourney via Discord[1] to transform one’s words (so-called “prompts”) and fantasies into almost unbelievable images. It quickly becomes apparent what kind of synapse-jarring hornet’s nest one has stumbled into. The possibilities seem endless as AI, acting as an extended arm on the workbench, helps us turn our thoughts into visual experiences through “text to image.” You put your “imagination” into the command line, mix in certain stylistic preferences, light effects, or viewing formats, and promptly receive the suggestion as a four-part grid with the “desired” result. Initially, euphoria mixes into the process as you revels in the seemingly infinite compositions.
But the “high” is quickly followed by the hangover when the work does not meet expectations, and the process proves frustrating over longer stretches. Numerous iterations are often necessary to achieve the desired result; even then, many more may be required for the final touches. This can be true for any craft-based approach. Ultimately, you can always manually finish the composition.
Many questions arise for me: Are we losing sight of artistic detail, or are we discovering a new aesthetic consciousness? Are we uncovering great masters who would never have dared a brushstroke, or is art finally becoming mass-product? The boundaries here are likely fluid, and true art lies in subversively playing with them (like Warhol’s “Campbell’s soup cans”).
At the same time, this process feels liberating to me. Imagination faces few limits, and the technical skills for the original drafts are not restrictive. The leap into AI art can be a wild trip into one’s own fantasy and imagination… Fear & Loathing in AI, indeed… Just as only a Hunter S. Thompson on the brink of madness could write and judge a mad place like Las Vegas, one must embark on this journey to gain new insights or bring to light the internalized visions and images.
I experience AI art as a revival of eclecticism; it draws on different styles, methods, and themes to reassemble their elements in new ways. What I perceive is a sharpening of my aesthetic sense. “Taste is the new skill,” says Claire Silver, one of the renowned (and sometimes controversially discussed) AI artists. It is the artist’s fingerprint and signature, and simultaneously what defines an artist/human. “AI is a camera for your imagination.” An interesting approach that I increasingly accept. Ultimately, our perceptions reflect our essence, shaped by our experiences and imprints. What we express daily in and around us is what defines us.
This also bridges to a new (yet old) form of art: generative art. Here, an autonomous system (in the modern world, the algorithm) determines the characteristics and features of a piece within the framework set by the artist, thus becoming creatively active. I would like to quote Taylor Hobbs, a well-known representative of generative art, as his words sparked an “aha” moment for me:
“What constitutes a generative system is much broader than many people may think. It doesn’t even need to envolve code. It’s really about the artist adopting a mindset and a practice that removes themselves from complete control over the final outcome. The artist is really thinking about how to construct a system with interesting possibilities that might surprise even the artist in terms of their outcome.”
This is the counterpoint to generative AI programs, whose “text-to-image” prompts ultimately provide the framework for the creative process.
We could philosophize about this until dawn and drift so far in our philosophical contemplation as to claim that even an artist’s breakfast determines their artistic “output,” as it could significantly (or subtly) affect their mood; biochemistry as a generative process. But I think this is enough for the first round. My synapses have popped two or three times too often already, and a complete dive into Hunter S. Thompson’s world is not my goal… too much fear and loathing.
I leave out the thrilling topics of originality, copyright, and the “death of art” in connection with AI art for now. But generally, I follow the quote of one of the most famous artists, and so I conclude with a quote from Pablo Picasso Banksy: “The bad artists imitate. The great artists steal.“
[1] A social (media) platform popular among gamers and crypto enthusiasts.
