Unit 2 Blogs – Karyn Easton

Dec 18

by Karyn in Conclusion, Experimentation, Food for Thought, Reflection, Unit 2 Blogs, Unit 3 Blogs 0 comments tags: Conclusion, Experimentation, Food for Thought, Reflection, Unit 2 Blogs, Unit 3 Blogs

Feedback

Thoughts Firing Actions – I’ll not lie, I was feeling so happy with my grade from Unit 2. Ahead of receiving my grade, I was so worried that I had completely messed up with regards to my thinking. I knew that there was a depth to my work still lacking, but I just couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Then I received my feedback! This put beautifully into words exactly what I was feeling. There had to be something deeper to what I was trying to achieve. It’s really not enough to simply use AI and it’s crucial that investigations go much further. I decided that I would try to dig a little deeper and ‘go under the bonnet’ of AI. What exactly is AI and machine learning? How easy is it to master? Can a non programmer access it? Could there be a creative use for it beyond simply using it and tapping into the vast wealth of humanity that created it without being asked? I decided that in order to move forward I needed to train one of my own models. I wasn’t sure where to start so I asked my old friend ChatGPT. The bot suggested […]

Nov 26

by Karyn in My Work, Unit 2 Blogs 0 comments tags: my work, Unit 2 Blogs

Grotto Print – The Final Outcome

To QR or Not to QR – After much deliberation I finally settled on the final design for my Grotto Print. The background to this project can be found in the following blogs: Grotto Print Ideas #1, Grotto Print Ideas #2 and lastly Grotto Print Ideas #3. Initially, I had wanted to add a layer of augmented reality to this project, which would have been very much in keeping with all of my thoughts and aims from Unit 1 and Unit 2. I designed myself an augmented reality QR code to compliment my final clock print design. Unfortunately, although it worked really well for me on my iPhone, there was a problem for Android users. This problem was a country problem namely the U.K. vs U.S. Apparently there are subtle differences between the U.K. Android operating system and the U.S. Android operating system. So sadly my grand vision of having my print augmented with an animated video could not happen on this occasion. However, I was not to be completely thwarted. I decided that if I could not augment my print with a video, then I would use standard QR code technology to take the user to my art print […]

Nov 25

by Karyn in Ideas, Unit 2 Blogs 0 comments tags: Ideas, Unit 2 Blogs

Ideas Part 3

Research Notes, Ideas and Links – Since the beginning of my MA, I have been compiling an extensive list of material to help with idea generation. Here is part one and part two of this compilation. Following is a large body of interesting resources collected throughout Unit 2. IDEAS PART 3 Hilma af Klint – Wikipedia – Beautiful Abstract Artworks Experimentation with Gallium: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cn_2mirjGFp/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= PAINT ONLY A SMALL PART OF A PAINTING AND PASS IT OFF IN A video that the whole thing was painted – the idea that nothing can be trusted anymore! IMPORTANT UAL Guidance Notes: https://moodle.arts.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/1518228/mod_resource/content/1/2223%20MA%20 Fine%20Art%20Digital%20Unit%201%20Key%20Unit%20Information%20%28KUI%29.pdf Jason Shulman does a whole film on long exposure – check it out! Guardian ***Using recycled materials to make art: https://instagram.com/p/CopGgRtP3wB/ Interesting way to display something – revolving doors: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Clzeph1pJys/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Infinite scrolling: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoegQMToXq7/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= After Effects Test: https://youtu.be/h7x94BmyVSQ Lewis Carroll’s quote: „Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality “ Lewis Carroll HOW SOON DO WE THINK ROBOTS WILL CREATE ART? https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmqbwWzj5kW/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= What a great idea!! Pity it wasn’t real – https://www.instagram.com/p/CoriFnMM4wT/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Wordplay and regeneration: https://www.awesomeinventions.com/genius-vandalism/ Check out Gustav Klimt: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1900509430328891?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V ***Interesting link person dancing with Genmo: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Coy41S5OTjr/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= ***Visual illusions very interesting: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CozrtecoXNq/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= BBC talking about gallium […]

Nov 22

by Karyn in Tutorials, Unit 2 Blogs 0 comments tags: Tutorials, Unit 2 Blogs

Tutorial #4

My Fourth Tutorial – I’ve just finished my fourth tutorial with Jonathan and I’ve come away feeling really excited! I’ve been so tired lately from college work that it was so nice to talk about what I’d been up with my own work. Jonathan said that he liked my 3 minute video and would like to use it next week as an example for the forthcoming critique sessions. I think that this will really help me because I’m keen to know how people perceive it. I already have my own thoughts on this and I would like to know if my research was correct. I discussed my fears about no being able to find some form of collaborative project for my final piece or the final show. Jonathan suggested that the obvious choice would be to involve the college where I work. He suggested that hanging my proposed mobile from the level 3 space downwards into the street could work really well. I absolutely agree! In fact I really would love to do this! However I’ve got a few reservations regarding logistics. This is not a bad thing though because it will really give me something to work towards. I […]

Nov 21

by Karyn in Zentangles, Zoom Meetings 0 comments tags: Unit 2 Blogs, Zentangles, Zoom Meetings

Zoom Session 38

Different Strokes – Today was both an interesting and fun session. It helped to highlight just how differently people can perceive the same image. We played a game whereby one person in the group was shown an image. The person who was given the image was then asked to write a short summary or description about the image of around seven words or so. They then had to choose another member of the group who had to respond to their initial description, but in opposite terms. For example if something was classed as white, then the next member would respond as say black. However, the next member was ONLY allowed to see the words and NOT the original image. After writing down their opposite responses, they then had to chose another member from the group and this member had to respond in the positive and choose another member to comment and so on. The end result was one person having seen the image and team members responding positively then negatively in turn to the words they saw before them. I should have mentioned that the preceding responses were covered so that only one response was visible to any team member […]

Nov 19

Epic Making Session

Yaacov Agam Inspired Work – Over many months now I have been wrestling with a myriad of ideas. In my Study Statement I was keen to develop a new form of hybrid human, digital and AI art. I also wanted to include an element of mystery and discovery whereby elements of the work were hidden. During my search for inspiration I came across two artists that particularly resonated with me, namely: Alexander Calder and Yaacov Agam. I particularly liked the idea of movement and mobile art seen in Calder’s work. Indeed I was so taken with his work that I went to visit the Tate Modern to see some of his pieces there. However, Yaacov Agam’s work really did inspire me. In his Artist’s statement he says: “My aim is to show the visible in a perpetual state of becoming”. I think this is a beautiful way in which he describes his work. However, I personally would liken it to, showing the visible in a perpetual state of change. Given the nature of the subject matter that I’m exploring, his work for me very much aligns with this notion of change as well as ‘becoming’. Below is a short […]

Nov 18

by Karyn in Ai, My Work, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos 0 comments tags: ai, my work, Unit 2 Blogs, Videos

Three Minute Video

Athena’s Story – We were asked if we would like to put together a 3 minute video explaining our work. I thought that it would be really nice to tell the story of Athena the robot who was an integral part of my Research Paper. Although this isn’t a video of me explaining my work, it does shed some light on my thinking. The sad robot story also aligns well with the findings of my Research Paper, which posits that AI art reception may improve when delivered by a humanoid robot with a sorrowful ‘backstory’. The whole project from start to finish was produced using only a smartphone. The initial graffiti images were shot on my iPhone 12 Max Pro. The AI animated clips were generated online and accessed via my smartphone. The video assembly was also done via app on my smartphone. The resulting project encompasses a hybrid model of physical human art (the book and graffiti), coupled with digital art (used to design layouts and tweak colours) and AI art used in the generation of some videos and images. In the actual physical augmented book all of the music is also AI generated. There is also the notion […]

Love Letters From AI

Hidden Art – When I first began my MA, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do. Ultimately I knew it would be something to do with the hidden or the unseen. Initially I began looking at invisible phenomena such as sound waves and the passage of time. However, nothing captured my interest quite as much as augmented reality. It was this whole concept of a hidden unseen world (only accessible to those ‘in the know’), that intrigued me. While conducting research for my Research Paper I discovered that there is a distinct negative bias towards AI generated art. I looked at a number of strategies to help mitigate this bias. Finally, after a number of image polls, used to inform my project, I created a fictitious robot called Athena. Her name was inspired by the old Athena posters from the past. My research was suggesting that humanoid robots with a sad ‘backstory’ could help to reduce bias and win over an audience when presenting AI art. At this point I began to develop a narrative for my robot. During a visit to Barcelona, I was completely amazed by the sheer weight of graffiti adorning the city walls. I […]

Nov 14

by Karyn in Unit 2 Blogs, Zentangles, Zoom Meetings 0 comments tags: Unit 2 Blogs, Zentangles, Zoom Meetings

Zoom Session 37

Systematic Analysis of Artworks – This week was a particularly useful week for me because I’ve often wondered about finding a useful strategy for analysing artworks etc. Today we were introduced to Gillian Rose’s ‘Critical Visual Methodology. We also spoke about the production of a 3 minute video which could be used to help with critical analysis among the group. I decided to produce my 3 minute video in response to my research work, therefore it involves a robot with a sad story. A Selection of Slides Updated Zentangle Gallery I know that I mentioned last week that I may not continue with my weekly Zentangles, I found that this week I managed to do one. Please see below for the updated Zentangle gallery.

Nov 09

by Karyn in Research, Research Paper, Research Paper Journey, Unit 2 Blogs 0 comments tags: Research, Research Paper, Research Paper Journey, Unit 2 Blogs

Research Paper

Research Paper LO1 LO2 LO3 Research Paper – Please see below for the final research paper. Underneath this document are links to the whole research journey and research process undertaken in the compilation of this paper. Behind the Scenes Please see below a list of links to all of the resources and behind the scenes work and research that was carried out in the compilation of the research paper above. The links are in chronological order starting at the beginning of the journey with later posts towards the end. Research Paper Journey #1 – The start of the Research Paper journey with lots of free writing exercises to help craft an initial research question. Research Paper Journey #2 – Enlisting the help of ChatGPT3 to explore thoughts about ‘Information Overload’ and whether this might form an appropriate research question. Research Paper Journey #3 – A change of direction and a move from the topic of ‘Information Overload’ to thoughts about AI and AI art generation. Research Paper Journey #4 – Taking a look at various tips and techniques from our zoom meetings to help with […]