Intro to Synthetic Media
The definition of synthetic from the Oxford Languages Dictionary:
syn·thet·ic
adjective
1. (of a substance) made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product. "synthetic rubber"
2. LOGIC
(of a proposition) having truth or falsity determinable by recourse to experience.
Synthetic media is defined as media that has been generated with the use of Artificial Intelligence.
A question brought up in class:
What is the impact on society, on art, when we cannot tell whether something is real or not?
In my practice I am constantly questioning what is considered real life to me and how to alter the way I allow my virtual experiences to effect my physical self. Although I don’t have an answer for the question above it did cause a moment of self reflection about my interest in the use of AI to create work. If I prompted the AI, fed it the data that I wanted it to reference, the output is still something I instigated. This would make it “real” art, as real as any ready made sculpture.
When prompted to find examples of synthetic media the following resources came to mind:
The Word of the Future: An art exhibition about an AI generated religion I experienced this past December at the Museums of Museums in Seattle, WA
Seyhan Lee: A creative development group that specializes using AI for motion pictures
How will humans remain relevant in the age of AI and Dall-E 2? by Pinar Seyhan Demirdag
Siebren Versteeg: A NYC based artist who creates algorithmic programs to respond and alter online images that result in abstract like “paintings”
Algorithmic Painting in Physical Space: Vickie Vainionpää: Software & Siebren Versteeg: Up the Ghost by Alex Feim
I chose to write the blog post about The Word of the Future.
Readings
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The reading takes you through slides presenting Aarati Akkapeddi’s mother. All of the images shown are synthetically generated.
For the database that the AI is using to generate these images is a collection of 1,581 images found in the homes of loved ones that the artist scanned.
Even if it lacks accuracy what is valuable from the images of their mother is the emotions that are evoked; with both memories and the synthetic creations.
The following quote resonated with me:
“For Akkapeddi, this malleability is a reminder that memories are things of our own making, not so far off from a rearrangement of pixels.”
The reason as to why, leads me to a quick story: During my BFA I took many painting and drawing classes. For a painting major though I wasn’t quite that great a painter. Then during a color theory course the professor showed us a video that spoke about the importance in viewing colors as shapes to assist in the process of making art. I have not been able to locate that video since but the idea of “paint shape, not things” (linked is a post that shows a painters process in following the mindset) changed not only my perspective in painting but as well in the way I view my everyday surroundings.
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