Art manifests the liberal integrity of one’s emotions, feelings, and the undeniable freedom of expression. Widely celebrated artistic masterpieces like Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa,” Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night,” Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” -- to name a few -- are some of the timeless creations that have left a mark on history.
With each brushstroke applied from core emotions, the hues of unification of different colours, and the texture that remains embedded on the canvas; every art genre, ranging from impressionism to abstract art, intends to provoke some thought in our hearts.
“A beautiful body perishes, but a work of art dies not.”
-- Leonardo da Vinci
But today, with the gradual increase in the use of Artificial Intelligence, a burning question arises: What is real art?
The year 2022 marks itself as the period when we saw the rise of AI art generators like Midjourney, Dall-E 2, and Craiyon.
Nowadays, it is only a matter of a few minutes to create an “AI-generated” art. A person only has to give some prompts and specific details to the AI, choose an artistic genre, click enter, and boom -- the digital painting pops up on their electronic retro screen.
What happens is that the text-to-image generators, trained on an uncountable amount of data and algorithms, use their generative AI tools to select an uploaded image from its compilation of millions of photos to find one following the reference text. Then it modifies the image keeping the same style according to the specifications inserted by the user.
Though this process cannot be denied for commercial purposes, the originality of these arts still cannot remain unquestioned. Especially, artists who spend years crafting their unique style, perfecting every detail to create their art pieces are bound to be offended by AI -- as the high-tech modern tools create a scope for dilettantes to produce top-notch artistic pieces.
This shortcoming has led people to question the ethical probity of AI. Many artists are also concerned about the undeniable possibility that AI might replace human artists in the future.
When Jason M Allen, USA, secured first place in the digital category of Colorado State Fair’s annual art competition with his AI-generated piece, “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial,” most of his other competitors were furious because they considered Allen’s work to be done by “cheating.”
Many artists also complain of their copyrighted images being used by AI technology. Karla Ortiz, an artist from San Francisco, reported that her works were being used by AI. About 74% of artists believe the usage of AI in artworks is unethical.
Art speaks to our soul only when it is brought into existence by an artist’s ardour
Despite these statistics indicating the unignorable cons of AI-generated art, I must also mention the pros of this technology. Artists who create digital art can greatly benefit if they achieve the skill to make the highest utilization of AI fostering their creativity.
When a new idea comes to their head, they can easily check the probable outcome of the artwork by putting prompts in AI generators and delving into the innovative sophistication of modern art. By doing this, artists can easily elevate their whole artistic practice and create work transcending traditional perimeters.
But the real question still does not end here. It exists like the undying flames within the controversies around AI-generated art. Is the “art” produced by AI with only a little contribution from humans, truly deserving to be called real art?
“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
-- Henry Ward Beecher
As a true art lover, the essence of art can only be described when it is accomplished with a human touch, which derives from unique techniques, unparalleled skill, and most importantly, the diversity of demeanour and philosophical thinking of every individual artist who put their heart out in a painting -- when it is up to us the beholder to solve the mystery of their art. Art speaks to our soul only when it is brought into existence by an artist’s ardour.
So, as far as my vision goes, the value of real art, along with the erudition and expertise of real artists is being undermined as our civilization is becoming more dependent on technology for every aspect of life. Hence, will true art die out in the gasping havoc of AI technology?
Ramisa Rubaba Rashed is a student at Rajuk Uttara Model College.
