I posted a shout out for visual artists to participate in the “Wall of Memories: Lost and found” intervention. I had initially planned to do a physical wall, but as I have been travelling and interest came from various parts of the world, I decided to replicate it as a digital wall instead.
The sign up sheet was a google form. [screen shots below] Sent out over the weekend of 12th July to 15th July, I wanted to give adequate time for participants to sign up.
Following the sign up, I sent out communication in the form of an email and followed up via the social media links provided. This included the explanation and instructions for participating in the intervention. [screenshot below]
As I am moving forward with my research, I would also like to see how it connects with the work I have done outside of it during my months at CSM. The main projects that come to mind are the ones I have posted on my blog.
Diary of Uncertainties: In my diary of uncertainties, I looked at 3 key uncertainties- play, cultural objects and viewership. I find that with such little information on my current research subject, I have no other way to investigate it outside of playing with it to see what outcomes are produced. There is also a sense that AI is a shared cultural phenomenon that people connect with, its relevance being a point of intrigue. Moving forward, my research is rather unpredictable and each step informs the next.
European Press Prize: When I was investigating stories, the adoption of AI powered editing softwares was what I looked into. Initially when I was looking into the phenomenon, it was a cause of concern for me. Since then however, there is a growing sense of a more complex story. Does it matter that these images have been altered? And is it necessarily a negative from the perspective of the user? While the current technology is basic and informed by societal expectations, the future of this technology can be much wider than we imagine now. I feel any comment on this phenomenon without testing is unlikely to be helpful. It is also strongly connected to my current project based on curating one’s identity.
Tales from Gehenna: My multimedia art project that was selected for the Art Business society’s exhibition at UAL, was an exploration of expressing difficult emotions through painting and sculpture. I was also looking at aspects on imagining the afterlife or at least the impressions of one through form, colour and spaces. Perhaps AI tools can be used to create alternate realities in the future. Could other emerging technologies such as augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) be utilised alongside generative AI to create new and immersive worlds that reflect, free or even heal their visitors? Can AI create an afterlife or even make us immortal? These subjects are at the back of my mind even now, I hope I can create space to explore them.
As I look back at my research topic, I find much has changed from where I started. I have been reading ‘Hyperculture’ by Byung-Chul Han (originally published in 2005) and ‘Internet dreams: Archetypes, myths and metaphors’ by Mark Stefik (originally published in 1997). Both these books were published at the early stages of the Internet and globalisation and talk about the cultural impact it may have moving forward. Some of the text is dated and reflects on both the caution and optimism promised in the earlier years of the internet’s development. We have however since seen the world take a drastic and unexpected departure from the models we started out with. This is not to say that the underlying reality predicted has changed, rather manifested itself in unique and unexpected ways. I will be posting full reflections on these texts as I finish them in their entirety.
Moving back to where I come from, when I started researching this topic, my introduction was of the idea of technology corrupting and replacing human work and expression. Since then I have questioned how many people truly are being affected in this way. From what I can observe, the largest impact is on small digital artists, and while there is merit to their claims of large technology companies utilising their work without proper permissions, the argument has not stood legal ground. The current framework we see legally is that one cannot copyright images or text solely generated by AI. Different countries are still figuring out the limits of this argument. As for copyright infringement, copying someone’s style cannot be considered as theft as one cannot copyright “a style”. It has widely been accepted that AI is a tool and cannot generate art without the intervention of a human.
The AI craze has also been shown to be relatively hyped. Journalist and tech critic, Ed Zitron states some concerning points in his talk with Adam Conover on the rise of Gen AI. Some of the talking points they discuss in this podcast include, How will these systems be monetised? What, if any use is there beyond being interesting? How Intelligent really is AI? And How does the new technology differ from what we’ve seen before. There are some real questions on the viability and future of this “Silicon Valley” project. The ideas extend to discuss the point of diminishing returns on training models and how much improvement will we really be able to see in the future. Aside from the issues discussed, there is a general shared sense across the stakeholders – artists, scientists, investors and critics, that the technology is here to stay. It is also widely regarded more relevant compared to something like NFTs, which was essentially a speculative market based on blockchain technology. Though blockchain technology has been adopted in many aspects of digital security, its popularity with everyday users has fallen out of fashion. This scenario is unlikely as there are visible and tangible uses that seem obvious at first glance when it comes to generative AI.
Overall, there is merit to this technology but it’s future direction will be impossible to reliably predict at such an early stage, but that is what makes the subject so interesting to speculate and test.
Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin among thousands of British artists used to train AI software, Midjourney; by James Tapper for The Observer; Published on 21st January 2024; Accessed on 10th May 2024.
What is an “Author”? – Copyright Authorship of AI Art through a philosophical lens; by Mackenzie Caldwell for Houston Law Review; Vol. 61, Issue 2, 2023; Published on 11th December 2023; Accessed on 1st June 2024.
Are there memories for which people don’t have photographs?
Have there been moments in our lives that we wish we had captured but didn’t?
Or did evidence of those moments get lost to time?
Can we take the stories from our memories and recreate them?
Will this feel good or bad? Is this scary or pleasing?
Can we change the way we look at our past?
These are some of the questions I was asking when planning an intervention. How can emerging technologies in generative AI help us recreate and curate memories to help shape our outlook on the self?
To answer these questions, I have envisioned a Wall of Memories: Lost and Found.
The participants will be asked to write down a memory that they cherish but have no photographs of. Something from their past that is important to them. They will then place this memory randomly on a wall. The wall will then become a wall of lost memories. I will then replace these texts with AI generated images of their description and allow people to come back and see it.
Did they notice what was written around them before? Or will they notice it better in images. Will their image help them better connect with their memory? How will this affect their view on the past and on the future of technology?
My journey to the Tate Modern in London was dedicated to see Yoko Ono’s exhibition: Music of the Mind. I often find museums and exhibition centres to be places of inspiration. My mum had had a chance to visit this exhibition and was moved by it. Aspects of the showcased works intrigued me to check it out for myself. What I realised was that Yoko Ono had a fairly interventionist approach to her art. But then again, one can argue that all art is interventionist in nature.
One of the works that inspired me was ADD COLOUR (REFUGEE BOAT). In an all white room lies and all white boat. Visitors are asked to take the blue, white or purple markers provided and write messages of hope on the white space. Visitors have slowly filled up the space turning it into shades of blue. It is meant for the participant to reflect on the plights of refugees braving the ocean to arrive into Europe, the urgent crisis of stateless people and the impact of collective action. I feel there is something poetic albeit sad about this. I couldn’t help but feel it was a metaphor for the many who are claimed by the sea when attempting this perilous journey, similar to the blue that claims the white space. Our writing and drawings, a prayer of hope to those that have failed to cross the vast waters.
On observing the piece, I could see that the most dense area of colours were those at hand and eye level, slowly tapering up and down. There was almost no marks above a certain height where no one could reach. The floor and boat also covered in ink. There was ink on top of ink as large spaces wore away. There were also spaces that no one could reach on the underside of the boat. Upon exiting, I could also observe the ink that has managed to escape the room through the shoes of some participants, in someways it is a metaphor for the art spilling out of its designated space and into the outside world.
The second large piece of work was – The personal is political: My mom is beautiful. Participants were asked to write messages and notes about the memory of their mothers, while a video played of Ono doing a hauntingly beautiful musical performance. This room too was filled to the brim with varied text in unique handwritings. Notes placed one on top of the others, high and low. I wonder what it would’ve looked like at the starting moments and how the very first notes have long been covered up.
I find the approach of these works to be extremely inspiring on how to approach the idea of imagination and engage audiences. My aim to utilise Yoko Ono’s work to inspire my approach towards intervention techniques as well, or at least give it a start point to diverge from.
I’ve been tinkering with Tensor.art, an image generating platform. My first impression of this platform was that it was a new type of website that I was visiting. Harking back to the early 2000’s when the internet was a less centralised space. Over the last decade, the majority of time I have spent online has been on either social media platforms, search engines or games. This was very different from those. The success of chatGPT may lie in the fact that it is a new kind of use of the digital spaces we visit, one that is more active rather than passive.
Tensor has many things to offer its visitors. Here is the landing page. The many options availabe for explorations include the ability to create your own images by using the large library of tools and models available. One can also train their own LoRA (low rank adaption) a form of base trained models to provide context or style that you may be looking to create. It also allows the use multiple LLMs (large language models) such as stable diffusion, flux as well as those independently created by enthusiasts. One can choose from a wide variety of tools and models due to the open source nature of the platform
Here, I am giving an example of the image generator. I wanted to create an image of a boy riding a bicycle through a forest. I kept the prompt simple to demonstrate how using different LoRAs changed the image created through the same prompt.
I started with a base of Indian woman and combined it with different LoRAs. The images varied based on the second input. Some models worked better with each other while others can interfere with each other to create an output.
Different models can be assigned prompt weights that decide how much of each model is considered in the final outcome. In case of prompt weight being too high, the website will suggest changes for use.
There are lots of modest to choose from and it can be a good tool to create a vary array of images. Here are some examples where the models worked against the prompt to create some hilarious results.
I spent the last week playing with Tensor AI, a free image generating AI website. I was made aware of this through an AI artist whom I interviewed. They spoke on the subject of not having digital art skills but having the desire to create works of their favourite characters through the use of Gen AI tools. My earlier assumptions were that a generative model of AI required text input that were descriptive and would generate a close enough image to what is desired in a “generic” AI style. My experience this week has taught me that AI generated art is harder than it first appears, especially if you are trying to achieve a specific output. Tensor AI had a large number of base models that have been developed to cater to different styles and different characteristics models. It is a large part of model training that has been done by individuals or groups and can be used to build up from. To generate images, one has to build upon these models and spend time experimenting on how different text prompts translate into images and how different prompts interact with one another. I see this field of art evolving into a specialised field, similar to the use of digital design software’s such as Adobe or Corel. While it makes the creation of images faster, the training that is required for individual creators does take time, interest and engagement. It also requires research to create different styles of work. The same prompts may translate very differently on different models. If you spend a lot of time getting comfortable with the use of one, it may be difficult to shift to a new base model. I therefore, see artists specialising in a unique style that they have developed through the combination of the generative models that they have chosen and expertise with the use of prompts learnt through experience.
Playing with AI models (part 2)
This week has made me experience something new. I personally may not shift entirely to using generative AI tools for my creative practice, but I can see it’s appeal. I was able to create a vast amount of image option, even though they were not meant for any end use. The anticipation of each new image being generated; what was going to pop up? An entirely unique and new visual piece was exciting, almost titillating. There was a sense that this was not an image I found on the internet but created using a software and will not be seen by anyone else. A private work of art (using that term loosely) that was spat out by the technology god, only for my eyes. I can imagine that people who create AI images must be experiencing a similar sense of purpose as they sit for hours testing prompts and perfecting a range of images. Though works of art created by AI cannot be copyrighted, they must feel a sense of ownership over their work. Many of these creators may have felt that they missed the ship on the digital art movement, but now have their own little boat to ride upon behind it.
The following Interview was conducted through “Ask me a question” feature on Instagram. Due to the nature of their work, the Artist preferred to be kept anonymous. Based out of Mexico, they work on a regular schedule of uploading fan art created through generative AI and have been actively engaging with their practice for over a year. After attempts to contact them through direct messaging and comments, the Artist agreed to host a public Q&A. The questions were open to all of their followers, as such a few fun trivia is also part of this transcript.
Questions and Answers are transcribed without alteration. [original screenshots available]
Some questions have been omitted due to their nature.
Are you a boy?
I’m a boy. In fact this is too close to what I really look like. Even the haircut.
How old are you?
20 something.
What is your sexuality?
I don’t like using labels, I feel like they limit me. That makes sense?
What is your favourite food?
Sandwiches, Tacos de carnitas, Chilaquiles verdes
Favourite Anime?
MHA
Your favourite TV show?
Friends, How I met your mother, Glee
How did you get the passion for generating AI art?
I was on X, and I found several users uploading material. I started practicing on bing and one thing led to another.
Which site do you use to create your work?
I started with bing and mid journey. Now I am using Tensor.AI
Have you always been drawn to art?
Since I was a child, I have loved all kinds of artistic manifestations, from poorly done graffiti to a plate of food. I think it’s because I always look at the beauty in life.
Why did you choose AI art as a medium?
I was curious because I missed the bus on digital art. This was a way to create images I liked and share my ideas with others.
What do you think is the future of get AI in the art world?
It will be extremely regulated by agencies, but I also believe that it will give rise to a new artistic genre, a new form of expression.
How hard/easy is it to use tensor? Was it difficult to learn?
Super intuitive and easy to use.
Please tell us about your personal journey as an artist?
I don’t consider myself an artist, I’m more of an amateur, and in any case, although I know how to draw fairly well, I’m more of a pencil and paper sketch guy.
Do you think current criticism of AI art are valid or is this the future?
Of course they are valid, when I help SMEs many times they prefer to create a logo with AI, instead of an original one, but I also understand that this is here to stay and we just react to manoeuvre and know how to use them to our benefit.
How do you get your promos looking so good?
Try to be as specific as possible and use more that two LoRa
This was the last tutorial before the self study period and it seemed important for me to discuss some changes I am planning to introduce to the research. First, I need to look closer at the assumptions I am making and observe the discourse around generative AI a bit deeper. It was suggested by my tutor that it would be interesting to not just look at safeguarding and curation against new technologies but also look at the utilisation of them for curation. Another aspect that could be interesting is to look into curation as a form of safeguarding. I admit that while I have intimately experienced the creative processes of traditional art and design through my experience of running a studio, I have less than adequate knowledge on the subject of AI. I would need to enter the space with an open mind. For a subject/technology that has only been present in the public eye for a few years, a lot of its influence is unwritten. Most of the discourse around AI art is in the social realm as debates and effect. It is also reflected through the lack of legal stands for or against it. We are seeing this change now, as interested parties – governments, corporations and individuals debate how to approach it. I have been attempting to get in touch with people who are directly affected by this technology but it has been hard. I suspect this may be because many do not wish to become activists for or against generative AI, overshadowing their careers to become a dominant voice in a movement.
Moving forward I would like to explore using Image creators myself, though I had recently used it for the first time earlier this year, I’d like to know more about its functions and potentials. I am hoping to also get in touch with users of the technology and understand how they are looking at the discourse and the validity of the outrage surrounding it. I would also like to explore if the phenomenon truly is unprecedented. Finally, plan and execute interventions that clarify or evolve the way we look at the impact of this technology.
I was chosen to participate in the Art business Society exhibition, held on 31st May 2024. 8 students were selected out 160 entries and I was lucky to be amongst them. The event included an interactive panel discussion with 3 leading art auctioneers and curators – Simon De Pury (founder of de PURY), Philip Hoffman (founder of Fine Art group) and Millie Jason Foster (founder of Gillian Jason Gallery). Each panelist bringing their insight into, navigating the world of contemporary art. This was followed by a showcase exhibition and mixer in which my work was displayed.
My project is an interdisciplinary series of works exploring trauma, memories and spiritual ideas of redemption and the afterlife. Initiated from 2022 to 2024, a series of abstract works explored the reminiscence of memory and the essence of the human condition. The individual pieces were created in an experiment towards allowing the audience to contemplate their own lives through the lens of the artist’s brush strokes and forms, drawing the viewer inwards not just towards the art but also themselves. The culmination of this project aimed to create an exhibition that transcends the interaction with individual pieces towards an experience that may be described as almost meditative and transport the participant into the spaces often unvisited within their journey as living being of a present time.
