AI Art: A New Wave of Artistic Expression
- ayouthviewpoint
- Oct 24, 2024
- 3 min read
By Malena Aponte Cardona
Refik Anadol’s Unsupervised, first exhibited by the MoMA in 2022, is a dynamic art piece that is in constant movement, morphing its irregular figures and vibrant colors, all portrayed on a screen. A mesmerized audience rapt at it's display is a prevalent factor, watching the piece as it transforms and represents 200 years of the museum’s archives. As an AI-generated presentation, it has attracted attention from many purists and received critiques regarding the “half-a-million dollar screensaver” or the “glorified lava lamp.” Despite this criticism, Anadol has prompted a surge of interest in computer-programmed art and has even revealed plans of installing a museum, Dataland, which will encompass themes of art, science, technology, and AI programming. But now, these events leave the creative community with a lingering doubt, will these developments from artists – if they can be called such – like Anadol replace our traditional artforms?
While these questions address valid concerns, the rise of artificial intelligence in creative industries introduces new opportunities for artists. AI’s capabilities go beyond mere computation, enabling artists and creators to explore uncharted territories, expand their creative horizons, and revolutionize traditional methods. Contrary to popular belief, AI has been present in art for a long time. For example, Harold Cohen’s AARON (1960s), is the earliest artificial intelligence program with a primary focus on artmaking. While the process is primarily credited to AARON, the creative process is not entirely the software program. Cohen considered the algorithm and its decision-making process a core aspect of the artistic expression, demonstrating how the process of machine generation is an art form. To generate AARON’s output, Cohen built his own plotters and painting machines, which interpret commands from a computer to make line drawings on paper with automated pens and add color with brushes. While AARON demonstrated the early potential of AI, to push the boundaries of creativity, it also highlights a key issue that persists today: the balance between human input and machine-generated output. AI undoubtedly offers artists innovative tools to explore new possibilities; but, it also raises questions about the authenticity and originality of such works. Despite AI’s growing influence in the art world, it's limitations, and the reliance on algorithms may leave purists wondering if something is lost when human hands are no longer the primary force behind the brush.
A similar controversy also stirred when digital art, with programs such as Procreate, proliferated among artists. People wondered if digital art was authentic and acquired less value in contrast to physical paintings. However, now it is considered a valid and respectable way of pursuing art. This analogy proves that perhaps the art world’s negative fixation on AI is simply an exaggeration and a modern example of the older generation’s fear of change. This prejudice for the unknown was seen in currently renowned pieces like Degas’s Little Dancer or the beginning of art revolutions such as impressionism and cubism and we are witnessing it now with artificial intelligence.
Undoubtedly, AI offers artists innovative tools to explore new possibilities but it also raises questions about the authenticity and originality of such works. Despite AI’s growing influence in the art world, its limitations and the reliance on algorithms may leave purists
wondering if something is lost when human hands are no longer the primary force behind the brush.
References:
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