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AI Generated Art
Dear Artsperts:
What is AI grenerated art and how will it affect the art market and art collecting?
Data
Dear Data,
Art is created by artificial intelligence (AI) through a generator which can develop images based on text inputs. To best explain this process, I explored two AI generators, Midjourney OpenArt and Adobe Firefly.
The OpenArt generator works off a platform called discord, which is an AI platform used most often by gamers. Once I set up an account it was relatively easy to navigate and use. I already had an adobe account and could use Firefly on trial. Both AI generators are similar in that you select your desired style of art and then type in instructions on how you want the image to appear. I selected impressionism and using text inputs, described a Richard Segalman painting of two women standing on the beach.
In less than a minute each generator provided options of women standing on the beach as we had described. I selected the images most similar to the Segalman work I was trying to mimic. From there I attempted to tweak with further instructions to get closer to the Segalman painting. However, none of the options could replace the work by Richard Segalman. The images from OpenArt lacked emotion. Adobe did better with conveying emotion, but in a cliche sort way. Adobe insisted on putting flowers in the beach painting and kept adding more even when I asked it in as many different ways as possible to eliminate the flowers. There were issues with the shadows and light source in the images. Hilariously, OpenArt created one of the women with three feet.
I read the user agreements, with specific interest in the copyrights. The user owns the rights to the images created by the AI generator. However, the user grants a full license to Midjourney for use of the images. There is an option to upload images into the generators. However, unless you own the copyright to the images you upload into the generator, it would be advisable to avoid that feature. Which is why I did not upload an image of the Segalman painting to the generator. I was not willing to give copyright permissions to the AI generator for the Segalman work.
Can AI replace art produced by an artist? One AI created painting fooled the judges of an art contest at the Colorado State Fair in 2022. The contestant spent 80 hours inputting over 900 instructions to create the image using Midjourney. It was printed out and submitted to the contest where it won first place. The judges did not know it was AI created.
It is possible AI generated art will replace the market for giclee because it is fast and inexpensive to create cheap works for wall decor. However, from the point of view of museums and fine art patrons, AI created art is unlikely to become a respected medium anytime soon.
AI generators are limited. First limited by medium. The works must be printed with ink. For example, the AI generator can mimic the style of oil paintings, but the work won’t be an oil painting. Generators are also limited to working with public domain images already available on the internet along with any images you upload. That is a large pool to draw from, but nonetheless it is finite. And third, the AI images lack emotion that can only be created directly by human hand.
The human mind can go further in creativity, expression, and execution of art than AI.
Sincerely,
The Artsperts
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