The imaginary art of Paul Garrard

 I asked an AI picture generator to produce pictures on the subject of "The imaginary art of Paul Garrard" and it produced four pictures. I've no idea how it arrived at the pictures it produced as they bear no resemblance to anything I've done. But anyway I've mounted them in a frame and they are displayed below:

For my real art please visit my gallery.

I'm not afraid of AI

 I know I've written before about AI but I thought a little update on my thoughts etc. might be useful. Well for me it would.

I know that there's been a lot of scaremongering and quite frankly false information about AI but it really does have great potential to enhance our lives. I think that for a start AI is wrongly named. Artificial intelligence is a bit of a misnomer really. It isn't really intelligent, as far as I can understand it. At the end of the day it is just software. Albeit very sophisticated software. Essentially its software that recognises and discovers patterns. The universe is governed by numbers and patterns. Who knows, one day it might even tell us why the meaning of life, the universe and everything is 42. As always it's just a tool. You have nothing to fear from it. And as always it is people you have to fear. Particularly people who think that AI is infallible. 

The Post Office debacle showed us that if you believe software (which is written by humans) isn't intrinsically flawed then people suffer. Nothing is perfect. Software certainly isn't.

Having said all that, AI definitely has its uses. I find it useful to sometimes incorporate it into my art. I think of it as a pseudo ekphrasis. Offering inspiration in a serendipitous form. It's also useful for writing stuff. As those who've read this blog on previous occasions will know I'm not really an accomplished writer. I struggle to get across what I want to say. But I want to say stuff, and sometimes I'm put off from saying it because the words just don't come. That's where AI comes in. You can get AI to form the skeleton and perhaps some flesh. After which one's own personal input can be added and edited. I think it's going to be invaluable. It's going to help with all sorts of technical things in our daily. We just have to make sure we understand that it is just software.

I have decided anything created in this way will be credited to G.P.Thomson. A name I have made up. I would also add that AI was not used in the writing of this post but it was for the picture.

Nothing is random

The concept that "nothing is random" suggests that every event or occurrence in the universe is interconnected and influenced by various factors, rendering true randomness non-existent. This perspective stems from the belief that all phenomena, even seemingly unpredictable ones, are governed by underlying laws, principles, or causes that may not be immediately apparent. In this view, randomness is merely a limitation of human understanding rather than a fundamental aspect of reality. It suggests that if we possessed complete knowledge of all relevant factors, we could predict and explain every outcome, eliminating the notion of true randomness. Proponents of this idea often argue that seemingly random events are the result of complex interactions between numerous variables or systems, making them deterministic in nature. However, it's worth noting that this viewpoint remains a subject of philosophical debate and may not be universally accepted.

The ambient somnambulist

In twilight's embrace, a figure roams, An ethereal presence, in the silent homes. The Ambient Somnambulist, a nocturnal sprite, Awakening in slumber, to wander through the night.

In moonlit realms, where shadows dance and play, This mystic wanderer treads an unseen way. Through hushed abodes and dreams so deep, They tiptoe softly, where secrets often seep.

A ghostly silhouette, shrouded in veils, Their footsteps whisper like elusive tales. Unbound by time, they traverse each room, Where night's embrace envelops like a tomb.

With half-closed eyes, they move with grace, Exploring realms, both known and outer space. They drift through realms of forgotten thought, In twilight's depths, where the truth is sought.

Their presence stirs the dormant minds, A muse for dreamers, the creative kind. For in their wake, inspiration blooms, As poets find solace in their moonlit rooms.

The Ambient Somnambulist, forever in flight, Embracing the darkness, seeking inner light. They carry the dreams of a slumbering world, In whispers and echoes, their essence unfurled. So let us marvel at their nocturnal quest, For they are the messengers, divinely blessed. Awakening dormant thoughts, they gently persist, The Ambient Somnambulist, the dreamer's tryst.

In the tapestry of night, they find their way, Guided by stars that adorn the astral fray. The Ambient Somnambulist, a guardian of dreams, In their ethereal dance, reality redeems.

So as the night unfolds its veiled design, Embrace the wonder of this realm, so fine. And know that in slumber's enchanting thrall, The Ambient Somnambulist awaits your call.

A poem and picture created entirely by AI apart from the title, which was by me.
 

the Range Rover

Following on from the previous post about the book,  Art is Magic by Jeremy Deller I just had to immortalise this quote from it in the form of a meme:

“the Range Rover being the internationally recognised mode of transport for arseholes” - Jeremy Deller

Please feel free to share it on the social medias.

AI ART?

I always think that the idea that art is somehow precious is quite laughable. People treat art with far too much reverence. It's basically what has turned art into a commodity. Creating fictitious standards, competition in the art world and notions of good and bad art has played right into the hands of the money men. It's only art for goodness sake!

Everyone is an artist. You don't need a piece of paper to tell you that you are an artist. You don't need anyone's permission to be an artist. You just need to do it. The only values that art really have are the ones that the artist has in the joy of creating and to those that consider something to be art are the joy of viewing/experiencing a piece. These are the reasons why I hate the concept of NFTs and embrace AI picture generation. Art is in the eye of the beholder as Duchamp illustrated. Art is what you want it to be. All art is collage in one form or another. AI is just an automated way of creating collage. It's here to stay. I suggest you get over it and embrace it. Nobody will die from it. Lighten up folks.

Generated by Dall·E using: Is AI art and what really is art?

Jesus on a unicycle

 As a digital artist I’ve embraced technology where I’ve seen value in it and dismissed it where I can’t. I think some of you will be aware of my contempt and dismissal of the Emperor’s New Clothes that are NFTs. I've also been avoiding AI* in the main because I couldn't quite see how useful it might be. I do have one picture that I created a while back that includes some AI, thanks to my Twitter friend Trundle, but I've never really been tempted to take it any further. Then the other day I read an article in the Guardian about how artists are using AI to create art and I thought, perhaps now the time is right to delve a bit deeper.

My attitude to AI can be summed up as this: You know how natural fabrics breath and synthetics don't. Well the same applies to art and AI. As far as I'm concerned AI will never take the place of humans totally. At best AI is a Bri-Nylon shirt that can only be improved by the addition of human creativity. Add that creativity and you could have the art equivalent of a polyester cotton shirt. It will always need human input. But one thing that is certain is that it's the perfect Dadaist tool.

I've created an account with Dall.E 2, which is some online software that creates pictures based on written instructions that you give it. I plan to use some AI generated pictures in my art where appropriate. I’m still working on a piece that uses the first few images I created with this particular software, but below is an image totally created in AI. As you can see it has limitations. Artists really do not have anything to fear from it. Well certainly not at the moment.

The instruction that I gave it were: “Jesus with a middle eastern complexion riding a unicycle in a supermarket. Father Christmas is being crucified in the background.” This text was inspired by a conversation I had on Twitter with Groggy and Neill where it was suggested that perhaps I create a picture with Jesus on a unicycle. I thought it would be interesting to use AI to generate such a picture. As you can see from the picture, it’s not very good at following orders, and it doesn’t know what a unicycle is. Oh well, early days.

created using Dall·E 2

*AI = Artificial Intelligence. Software that is designed to learn and grow its knowledge derived from the tasks it is asked to perform.