Art ≆ Artist

At the core of our human experience, we are often confronted with a profound question: “What is meaningful?” This introspective inquiry distinguishes us from all other creatures. Interestingly, the advent of Artificial Intelligence not only presents a fresh array of questions but also offers an unexpected response. When one delves into their innermost feelings during the creation of an artwork, or when one finds a purpose in their actions, they have indeed crafted meaning in the most traditional sense.

Throughout history, each new medium of expression has faced criticism from its predecessors. Painters once disparaged photographers, stage actors rebuked vaudeville performers, who in turn criticized film actors, and the cycle perpetuates with each emerging form of media. This pattern is also evident among artists, where the introduction of acrylic paint was met with scandal. The question, “Is this meaningful? How can this be meaningful?” echoes repeatedly. Even in artwork that seemingly requires no talent, we find meaning, do we not? This is the enduring power and mystery of art and human creativity.

There are many ways to prompt an image, and artistic knowledge and education can truly expose the line between a user creating art or being happily surprised by AI. When prompting, references/styles/artistic materials/aspect ratios and other key details, the user is defining and creating a vision outside of the Artificial mind. Conversely, to prompt based on an existing image or to not understand what elements of the image you wish to see, it is, at best, a shortcut. I consider it chance, to throw out words and see what comes back. Akin to mixing paints without any knowledge of pigment or the colour wheel.

One of the wonders of Midjourney is the ability to prompt with an abstraction. One does not have to set the parameters or define what one intends to see, because we can ask AI to determine meaning for us. The AI searches for images that are constantly associated with the keywords and composes something itself. Two important things happen here:

1. AI pulls from everything that has already been created and the history of art, of expression, of freedom of speech is that belonging to men. It is the world of men that AI learns from.

2. When prompting with an abstraction, the user is gambling. They are quite literally asking an artificial mind what it thinks a concept is or means or looks like.

The use of AI

It has been said all throughout art history, but especially with modern and abstract works, that art is a mirror. Designed to reflect the viewer and their projections. AI unquestionably is a mirror; a multilayer mirror as we have to seek what is beneath the surface out of our own curiosity.
For this reason, I do define AI art as true art. On a personal note, I as Rose Tyntis, firmly believe that one has to create with vision and ask AI to aid the creation of that vision. It is not the same as asking AI to create the concept, the inspiration as well as the visual result. For example:
" Sinking at Sea" or better yet "An old ship experience sinking in a storm, scary" is asking the computer to sort out meaning and then create a picture.
"An oil painting, cinematic night scene, dark foreboding sky, with a grey mist in the air rough choppy waters painted in the style of Caspar David Friedrich with a Carrack sinking underneath the pounding waves in the style of Frederick Judd Waugh, richly detailed" is telling the computer what to draw, how to draw it and who to refer to.

In the first example prompt I am crossing my fingers and guessing. In the final one, I am directing. Artistic knowledge is essential to any sort of control or direction. Other than control we have only guesses and gambles which for I, as Rose Tyntis, do not consider creating artwork to the same degree.

It is leaving everything to chance, and chance is not congruent with thematic design.

The importance of language

If we take Andy Warhol for an example, his 'Campbell's Soup Cans' was not his own creation, yet he created an artwork which made both visual references and inferences to create a feeling or conclusion within the viewer. Was it meaningful?

AI tries to safely guess at a recreation of what it has 'seen' over and over, and we the viewer then bestow meaning on it. Through this process, it could be proposed that no matter what AI creates, we personify it.

What could be a more human trait than personification? Is that not one of few human essential elements? A computer may be composing an image but the human mind and eye are instantaneously creating a back story/meaning and an emotion. A larger scale example of that process is this very website; for some galleries I have blog articles related to the gallery content, stealing away the viewer's opportunity to create their own story or meaning with the digital paintings.