{"id":5846,"date":"2022-09-26T08:30:32","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T12:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nexela.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=5846"},"modified":"2023-03-20T15:24:19","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T19:24:19","slug":"is-art-really-art-if-it-comes-from-an-ai-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nexela.com\/?p=5846","title":{"rendered":"Is Art Really Art, if it Comes from an AI Artist?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let me ask you a question: would you see The Mona Lisa, The Starry Night, or Girl with a Pearl Earring<\/em> as the masterpieces they are considered today if they were actually created using artificial intelligence? While it might seem like a silly question, it is one that the results of the recent Colorado State Fair\u2019s fine art competition\u2014where the first-place winner was created using AI\u2014leads us to ask.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s break down the situation.<\/p>\n

Should AI-Generated Images be Considered Art?<\/h2>\n

The Colorado State Fair held a fine arts competition, where Josh Allen won first place in the Digital Arts\/Digitally Manipulated Photography category for his image, \u201cTh\u00e9\u00e5tre D’op\u00e9ra Spatial.\u201d However, this decision was met with some serious criticism online when Allen posted his process on a Discord server dedicated to an image synthesis model called Midjourney.<\/p>\n

As Allen said in his Discord post, he \u201c…created 100s of images using it, and after many weeks of fine tuning and curating my gens, I chose my top 3 and had them printed on canvas after upscaling with Gigapixel A.I.\u201d As he reports, he \u201ccould not be more excited\u201d that his \u201cfavorite piece\u201d ultimately won.<\/p>\n

However, this sentiment wasn\u2019t shared amongst the art community as a whole.<\/p>\n

The big controversy comes from the nature of how the art is produced\u2014namely, with relatively little hands-on work from Allen. Instead, Allen\u2019s image was crafted based on the input he provided to the Midjourney platform. As Allen stated in his official submission, \u201cI generate images with MJ, do passes with photoshop, and upscale with GigaPixel,\u201d and even labeled his piece with \u201cJason Allen via Midjourney.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many artists have since chimed in to express their opinion of this approach, many using language that we cannot repeat here. However, we can quote a reply to this tweet that described how the AI-generated winner signified \u201cthe death of artistry,\u201d and questioning, \u201cif creative jobs aren\u2019t safe from machines, then even high-skilled jobs are in danger of becoming obsolete [sic]What will we have then?\u201d<\/p>\n

Art Has Always Been Shaped (and Judged) Based On the Technology of the Time<\/h2>\n

Understandably, this approach to art has ruffled a few feathers, but the same can easily be said for most of the tools we take for granted today. Artist Rhea Edge cites a list of tools, techniques, and the artists that use them that\u2014when these tools and techniques were first introduced\u2014received a similarly negative response from the art world at large.<\/p>\n

Edge mentioned the development of the camera obscura<\/em>, a darkened room with a small hole on one side of it that allowed images to be projected onto a wall\u2014the predecessor to modern photography. Tubed paint also got critics worked up because artists were no longer mixing their own paints. In fact, as recently as the 1970s and 1980s, artists were judged for projecting images\u2014much like the camera obscura once did\u2014to start their artwork.<\/p>\n

Edge also pointed out how art tends to change with the times, drawing upon how long it took the Impressionist painting style to gain its foothold and gain its current prevalence.<\/p>\n

Another artist, Brian Simpson, mentioned how frequently technology is what is responsible for the evolution of art. As he pointed out, miniature portraits were more or less exterminated by the invention of photography. Simpson also stood up for Allen and his AI-produced piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a mind behind it. The mind is deciding I want this image. And with this image, this is the word I want to use,\u201d Simpson said, going on to reflect on how Allen produced 40 images, ultimately choosing the one he submitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can argue that choice and self-curation is part of the art process,\u201d said Simpson.<\/p>\n

This statement effectively sums up the current state of image synthesis, as a lot of human interaction is still necessary to accomplish the kind of results that Allen achieved with \u201cTh\u00e9\u00e5tre D’op\u00e9ra Spatial\u201d\u2014although that almost certainly will not be the case forever.<\/p>\n

Either way, it\u2019s clear that the idea of using AI to produce art is going to remain a touchy subject for some time. Cartoonist Matt Borrs summed up why in an interview: \u201cTo developers and technically minded people, it\u2019s this cool thing, but to illustrators it\u2019s very upsetting because it feels like you\u2019ve eliminated the need to hire the illustrator.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you think? Does using AI to advance art seem like cheating, or is simply the next medium for artists to take up? How do you think this lines up with businesses adopting artificially intelligent tools for their own workflows? Share your thoughts with us, we\u2019d love to hear your input!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let me ask you a question: would you see The Mona Lisa, The Starry Night, or Girl with a Pearl Earring as the masterpieces they are considered today if they were actually created using artificial intelligence? While it might seem like a silly question, it is one that the results of the recent Colorado State Fair\u2019s fine art competition\u2014where the first-place winner was created using AI\u2014leads us to ask.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,50],"tags":[174,120,94],"class_list":["post-5846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miscellaneous","category-blog","tag-current-events","tag-innovation","tag-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Art Really Art, if it Comes from an AI Artist? | Philadelphia, PA | Nexela<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nexela.com\/?p=5846\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Art Really Art, if it Comes from an AI Artist? | Philadelphia, PA | Nexela\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Let me ask you a question: would you see The Mona Lisa, The Starry Night, or Girl with a Pearl Earring as the masterpieces they are considered today if they were actually created using artificial intelligence? 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