LOOK OUT HONEY, ‘CAUSE I’M USING TECHNOLOGY

I understand why so many artists and people in general are so bugged out by AI art tools and computers and robots and automation in general. We have a healthy fear of obsolescence, of losing our value as people, of not surviving in general and a good respect for the human touch and craftsmanship. The powers that be haven’t shown a good track record on prioritizing any of this either. But, while people’s fears, hatreds and beliefs are understood by me, I feel that these are lesser emotions that shouldn’t be encouraged and reality is always a lot messier than the world of beliefs. Ultimately, while progress frequently has negative side-effects it cannot be and shouldn’t be stopped.

Besides automation and the class conflict that arises there, people are adamant that these programs are art theft. I just can’t see it. The process has been described as the program sampling millions of pictures. From a copyright mentality, if a certain amount of a work is recognizable then it is possibly copyright infringement. The claim seems more that users of various platforms had their images scraped without their permission. This seems more like a privacy issue. If people are looking for a payout for uploading their work to the web, I have no idea how that would work. Maybe I don’t get it, having only been a hired gun artist out of necessity, not out of choice. Good AI art I’ve seen hasn’t resembled something that has existed before, it is a wholly new vision based on what the programs can and can’t do. The bad has been the same kind of derivative fluff plaguing the internet since its inception, the one chuckle takes on pop culture with a twist that says more about the state of people’s brains than the AI. Honestly, I don’t understand the tech enough or the state of hired gun artists to argue for or against it in this case, but the theft argument doesn’t ring true. Plus, we live in a post-modern, post-Warhol world where art is what the artist and their supporters say it is and there is no putting that Genie back in the bottle. If you want to go further, we’ve been living with samplers and DJs for forty-plus years, and these things were decried as nonmusical and theft since the beginning. Collage and pastiche can be amazing if they are done right and that frequently means done by the right person.

A PUNK’S JOURNEY TO AI

My thoughts on technology have changed and matured over time. When I was a teenage Anarcho Punk I was a total Luddite. Handwriting only, no computer, no car, no bank card, I even went without shoes or a clock for a while! But, I was dependent on my parents. That was my “secret”. There is definitely value to humanity unaided by technology and independence. But there is more value to honesty and thoughtfulness. There is no question. But over time,

right hand, I used to have tremors in my left hand which compounded on the lack of control and made drawing really difficult! I can’t drum traditionally anymore. This loss cannot be understood abstractly, it has to be lived. I have invested countless hours filling sketchbooks, drawing tons of finished pieces, studying and even going to classes. I’ve put in my time.

I’m not using the AI to do my old style, I’m working in a Northern Renaissance style evocative of Bosch and Brueghel in themes of European Paganism and the pre-Christian world. I’m using Midjourney Version 3, because I like the limitations and lack of polish of that version. I consider working with limitations more interesting and human than machine perfection. I find interpreting the work more interesting and what I want from art than trying to get exactly what I want out of it.

Craftsmanship and the human touch are going to be valued forever, in fact the more we are able to do with technology the more the human touch will be valued. There are definitely going to be jobs lost, but whenever one door closes, another opens. We have developed machines tremendously in the last hundred years, but biological evolution progresses very slowly. Humans shouldn’t be in competition with machines. AI art programs, Midjourney in particular, are

helping me achieve a sort of visually creative feeling that I haven’t felt for too long. The work is definitely different from stuff I would have produced in the past, but the past is the past and things have changed.

THE ARTIST, NOT THE TOOL

When I was younger and teaching, I deliberately drew with Sharpies so that I and my students had a drawing tool that could easily be purchased anywhere in the country. I drew in crayon in my sketchbooks for a similar reason. I coloured using Sharpies for the same reason, but ceased and started using photoshop when scanning and printing the work didn’t yield the results I was after. So many times people have asked what kinds of pens I use: it’s not the pens that do the work, it’s the artist. I believe that this extends to all tools. I see how AI is different, but ultimately it’s another tool.

I suppose this comes down to what is Art and what is Craft? I’ve been creative as long as I can remember, my brain has just been spilling over with ideas forever. I decided to be an artist when I was in the second grade because my teacher, Mr. Osborne, recognized the creative spark in me. I didn’t understand the road to becoming an artist, but it was one

I was going to travel. Throughout school there were always kids who were better at drawing than me, even some that were more creative, but they lacked the determination, drive and will power to stick with it and declare to the world that they were an Artist. That’s what Art and being an artist mean to me, it’s something you call yourself and other people call you. Craft is something that people with not an ounce of creativity can excel at. It is the execution of the work. Most artists have to be both creative and good craftspeople, especially when they are starting out. So yes, AI art tools can be a crutch if you are supposed to be learning a craft, but some people need crutches.

This isn’t an argument, or a rationalization or an excuse, it’s an explanation and a statement of understanding. I also see it as a rallying cry for showing the borg what we’re good at as people and what makes us special and unique.

Good AI art I’ve seen hasn’t resembled something that has existed before, it is a wholly new vision based on what the programs can and can’t do. The bad has been the same kind of derivative fluff plaguing the internet since its inception.