Unit One – Learning Objective 3

Study Statement         LO1           LO2          LO3

 

Learning Objective Three

Communicate a critical understanding of your developing practice (AC Knowledge, AC Communication)

 

 

Throughout this project I have taken the opportunity to reflect upon my work and I have established this now as an ongoing practice.  Evidence of this process can be seen here in Refection Part 1, Reflection Part 2, Reflection Part 3 and Reflection Part 4.  I am also beginning to incorporate more detailed evaluations and conclusions into my experimental work documented on my blog.  This process has led me to conclude that there are exciting opportunities to be gained from using human based traditional art working but at the same time leveraging Ai and digitally generated art alongside it.  The ultimate aim is to produce a new human hybrid model of art.

My ongoing research and enquiry into Ai, digital and human art has so far culminated in the following key pieces whose themes I would like to develop.  Firstly Ai image to video, followed by my response to Refik Anadol, and my response to Vilde Rolfeson, further exploration of prisms with image to video, Jason Schulman inspired work and  finally the culmination of everything I have learned so far.  This is embodied in the piece ‘Memento Mori’ found in the blog ‘Clocks and Carrier Bags’.

 

 

Memento Mori

Inspired by John Martin – The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (1852)

 

Conclusion

Although the final piece is very simple, both the thought processes behind it and the actual making of it was quite complex.  The original image was an artificial landscape created from a digital photograph of the inside of a carrier bag.  The destruction of the landscape was created by a program generated by ChatGPT and written in the Processing programming language.  The digitally generated clock actually works in real-tine and was programmed by using time expressions in Adobe After Effects.  The length of the time in the video was sadly restricted due to lack of available computer resources.   ‘Memento Mori’ is an experimental human hybrid artwork, created by taking a man made carrier bag (physical) then photographing it (human and digital interaction), then using Ai Chat GPT to write a program to beautifully destruct the digital image (Ai input).  Time has always been identified in my research as an area yet to be touched by Ai.  Therefore, time acts as the hidden element in the piece.  The clock that represents time was programmed using expressions in Adobe After Effects (human and digital interaction). Sound, a physical element, was added at the end using a video editor (physical, human and digital interaction).  The sound was a major consideration for this piece. If you listen carefully to the track, there is a crackling sound.  I likened this sound to the pixels in the scene slowly destructing.  I have also used this piece of music in other pieces as it has an air of melancholy about it.

I believe that I have started my journey, to create an unusual human, digital and Ai hybrid piece of art.  I conducted some primary research among friends and family.  Interestingly, many respondents failed to spot that the figure was dissolving or that the landscape was actually dissolving at the same time. Overwhelmingly people said that the piece was thought provoking and made them feel extremely sad.  As long as the piece made them ‘feel’ something – then I believe my idea is working.  Please note that my work is continually informed by a HIGHLY CRITICAL AND REGULAR REFLECTIVE PROCESS.

 

Further Developments

The digital pieces displayed above are those that I think could be developed further.  More research is needed, but generally  I would very much like to find a way of producing a full working digital clock.  This will depend upon securing the necessary computing resources.  I would also like to add some white 50% opacity programming code scrolling in the background as a small strip to the right of the screen.  A major development would be the voice of Hal9000 softly reading out the following Ai generated poem about the gentle disintegration of a carrier bag.  Below I have already begun to experiment with the voice of HAL9000 in a short video clip using elements generated solely by ‘Ai’.  The following clip is deliberately a very rough animation as the emphasis is more about what it represents (Hal9000’s deteriorating mental state).  The piece began life as a photograph of pure light, fed into an ‘Ai’ image to video editor.  The central moving panel is the resulting ‘Ai’ video.  The figure in the clip was also an ‘Ai’ generation produced as a byproduct of the image to video process.  The knitting pattern that slowly appears on the left of the screen represents Hal’s madness and was generated by ChatGPT3.

 

Hal9000

The video short below uses the voice of Hal9000 from the film ‘2001 a Space Odyssey’.  The imagery and knitting pattern (to the left of the screen) are all ‘Ai’ generations.  The video represents the stark reality of what could happen if ‘Ai’ malfunctions.  The starting image called a Luminogram was made using pure modified light.  Everything in the video clip below is generated from it, except the knitting pattern text which was created by ChatGPT3.  The knitting pattern also represents Hal9000’s meltdown – it takes normal computer code and replaces it with a knitting pattern, another form of code.  Although the video is rough and simple it represents one of my earlier enquiries into a form of human, digital and Ai hybrid art.  The digital element is represented by the seed digital image and the use of Photoshop to compile the scene and animate the figure.

 

 

 

Poetry Written by ‘Ai’

 

The Plastic Bag

A plastic bag, once so bright and proud,

Drifting on the breeze, a billowing shroud.

It held our treasures, kept them safe and sound,

A trusty companion, on the ground.

But time, it marches on, as we all know,

And the bag, it gently starts to slow.

The sun beats down, the winds do blow,

And the bag, it starts to fall apart, oh so slow.

Torn edges, frayed and worn,

A gentle disintegration, forlorn.

Once held our trinkets, now just trash,

A reminder of our impact, a harsh clash.

But still it dances, on and on,

A gentle reminder, a plastic song.

Now it’s time for the bag to go,

To plastic bag heaven, with a gentle flow.

Rest in peace, dear bag, your time is done,

A new journey begins, under the sun.

May you find peace, in your final days,

And remind us, to be more careful in our ways.

 

 

And Finally When Ai Becomes Political – Moving Forwards with some Food for Thought

I would like to conclude this section with my most recent piece of work. I believe, moving forward, this is a good starting point in terms of a human, digital and Ai art mix. It is a step towards my investigation into a new hybrid form of art as outlined in my study statement.

 

More information about this digital piece can be found here:

 

NB: Please see a wider selection of my work below.  However, if you are accessing this page via a smartphone please use the tags to explore the wider selection of my work.  Unfortunately mobile phones do not appear to display in the same way as tablets, laptops and computers.  I am currently working to find a solution.