Recently Cute and I were at the marvelous Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, CA. Sacramento was a bit of a surprise all by itself and the Crocker museum is well worth a trip.
The exhibit that completely mesmerized me was the AI-created art and it ranged from pretty silly to somewhat unique. AI AM I? Artificial Intelligence as Generated by Alexander Reben. It’s there until April 28th.
Wonderful. But is it real art?
Since neither of us are particularly art-knowledgeable but we do like museums, this world was one that didn't look that much different from a lot of very modern art to our non-discerning eyes.
It does bring up the question however: is it art? Is it art if it's not created by a human being? In art, is it only the result that matters and isn’t all art derivative anyway? Can art be totally separated from the artist? I'm not sure this is completely different from controversies about terrible people who are artists. Can you look at their art without thinking of who the person was?
The whole AI subject was the content of the rotating board where the letters click through until they finally formed sentences like, "Is 'AI Am I' an exploration of machine learning or just an excuse for subpar art? It's hard to tell." See how it's done on the Vestaboard video below. (You can purchase one of these babies for around $3,000, starting.)
Some of the pictures in this blog are sufficient within themselves, as you can tell in the slide show below, ranging from an extension cord (really?) to a fortune cookie.
The one that I found especially interesting was the one that allowed you to create art by giving the computer a sentence which is then translated into art of a sort. Of course, as I was standing there, my mind was blank and all I could come up with was Sunflowers with Blue Sky. Thinking Van Gogh here. You speak into a mic, then choose one of four examples, then a receipt sized ticket is generated and a QRcode is created so you can look at your art anytime you want. A quarter size piece of art I suppose - with a web link.
I'm not sure if you could do anything really creative using AI art because it's all based on what has come before. But it is a really interesting process, especially when you can control it yourself to some degree.
I just wish I'd been more challenging and creative: say, abstract nude with realistic gardenia.
Happy New Year! Keep exploring. We will, too.
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