Much of the news that surrounds artists and AI is related to copyright laws and the risk of artists’ works being stolen.  An adjacent concern is the loss of the “human hand” in the making of art. However, there is also exciting news when it comes to artists and their exploration of AI! Many industries have been seeing animators, architects, and designers embrace the use of AI to help with their workflow or deal with mundane tasks. Now we’re beginning to see fine artists embrace it as a tool for art making. One artist thrillingly revealing what AI can do is Sougwen Chung.

Sougwen Chung creates works that cross over multiple media, including painting, sculpture, film, light, and performance art.

The artist sees AI as a valuable new tool for artists to wield. In Chung’s work, they deploy different kinds of robots to create art that is, while produced in partnership with AI, also a deep expression of the artist. It is the artist’s vision—and artistic demands—which determine what the robots produce. Chung reminds us of the human element that influences the actions of AI.

Sougwen Chung views their work as a collaboration with robotics and other technology. In part of Chung’s series “Omnia per Omnia” you see the artist surrounded by robotic arms, each holding a paint brush. The robots are programmed to make lines by dragging a paint brush across a large sheet of paper in what appears to be random directions. As the robots create marks, the artist creates lines both randomly and in response to the marks created by the machines. The end results are organic, abstract works where the line-work created by the robotic arms blends easily with the ones created by the artist. It is difficult for the viewer to know who or what created which lines.

This isn’t a solo act for the artist. Chung works with a team of programmers and researchers to create these interactions. Although it appears the robotic arms are painting random lines, in fact they are mimicking the recorded movements of public surveillance cameras located in New York City. For Chung, this adds another layer of inquiry about how visual data is converted, or reinterpreted, as well as about the human/machine interaction. When Chung discusses the works they’ve created, the artist emphasizes how they instruct and inform generative AI, as well as their use of programs to interpret the data fed to AI. This manipulation of AI “learning” and output speaks to the presence of the human hand in the creation of these artworks.

Just like artists of the past, Sougwen Chung is using new technology in unexpected ways. As AI technology evolves, we can only imagine what innovations are around the corner to push human creativity to new places.

Questions

  1. Research more about Sougwen Chung and her use of AI in her work. Can the artist copyright what they have created? Why or why not?
  2. Define the use of “human hand” in your own words when it comes to creating artwork. Do you believe the artist has proven or disproven that AI has traces of the “human hand” present in artworks? Explain your answer.
  3. Some believe artists who use AI in their works are cheating while others see it as a useful tool. How would you classify Sougwen Chung’s use of AI? Explain your answer.