ARt vs. arT: Is Using AI cheating? Arguments of Artists

"A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet..."

As Shakespeare so eloquently put into words to describe something that did not necessarily need a name to be fully appreciated in all of its form. Or maybe better to use in this instance, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." In any case, art has been scrutinized in many ways by many critics throughout history. With the addition of AI instant-art coming onto the scene and creating pictures in seconds (which would take esteemed painters days to finish) the art world is being turned upside-down with commentary and the question "what is real art?"

What is "Real Art?"

As always, this question is up to the beholder to decide. It is indeed amazing to watch a human paint something by hand with the tools given to him, with the most artistically inclined creating scenes that we would see in real life- faces and landscapes being amongst the most difficult to recreate by hand. Yet, artificial intelligence is able to manage these exquisite creations in milliseconds, blowing minds of traditional artists all over the world.

Some artists take it in stride, and have even adopted AI into their own methods of art madness. Others, however, are not happy about this new "art form," and have taken their concerns to social media, blasting those who use AI techniques.

 

The most recent news of a certain AI image gaining mass amounts of popularity at a recent art gallery depicted a voluptuous redhead, created by a man who prompted the software, trying to replicate his wife, which made international news. The picture renders her in all her full beauty, long detailed braids that adorn her body, while dressed in a type of medieval sash wrapped around her. Certainly, a piece of art like this would have taken around 40+ hours for the human hand to finish. 

While Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst's creation garnered praise from the AI art world, it did not so much from critics of AI digital artistry, which are many. Albeit, some artists use their own photography in essence with software, which can be dated back all the way to the days of Andy Warhol, who used photographs overlayed with filters, manipulating hue, brightness, and tone to create his Marilyn and Debbie masterpieces.

"If you use AI, you are not a real artist"

Well, that sounds like an insult, but art is meant to be critiqued. As a mixed media artist who uses many different methods in my art, I will say that AI makes creating any specific image very easy for those of us who are not able to paint like Michelangelo. As an artist who dabbles in AI prompt creations, I have gotten my fair share of criticism from painters and sketch artists who have told me blatantly that my current collection of NFT's are "not real art." Obliging towards their opinion, I feel the need to pull out my own handmade creations that I've painted or hand-drawn, making an effort to validate myself on their terms as a "real artist."

Otherwise, if you are an artist using AI as a sole means of creation, prepare to get smeared by artists who flaunt their non-use of any digital aid as a redeeming hierarchal quality! 

However, in my experience as a K-12 teacher, I will say a wholehearted "yes!" to anything that spawns human creativity. Experimentation with art forms of any sort is sure to grow the brain. The more art we can get out there, the better! If anything, it makes the job of the realistic painter's hand even more valuable, as we see how prestigious and time-consuming the process is. 

Even so, computer software does not come close to the detail and emotional intelligence of human-made work. As AI continues to make a nuanced stand in art galleries worldwide, hopefully artists can come together to appreciate the unique and versatile methods of every human behind the canvas, or in this case, screen.