AI Art: Why the Medium Matters
The lines aren’t blurred that much. People still care, and will always care, how exactly an image is made. And they’ll judge the work differently, depending on the medium or the amount of skill required to make it.
I see people arguing about why it doesn’t matter if an image is an actual painting, a photograph, or AI, what really matters is that the artist expressed their creativity by using tools.
This is simply not true. We, as humans, are intensely interested in just how an image was created. Our opinion can drastically change depending on the method, techniques, and medium used.
It doesn’t matter if the person viewing and judging has any experience creating anything themselves. They still judge, either consciously or subconsciously.
The above picture was not created by me. (See source.) When you look at it, use your imagination for a moment. Assume for a second that it’s a digital painting. How does that affect your opinion of its artistry? What if you imagine that it’s one of those super-realistic pencil drawings that you see online. All of a sudden, your opinion changes again, doesn’t it?
People WILL judge and they WILL want to know how you made it.
Artists often receive compliments for their artwork like, “That looks just like a photograph!” and “You drew that?” If a piece looks like a photo at first glance, but then is revealed to be a drawing or a painting, all of a sudden there is a complete shift in attitude. “I can’t believe that’s a drawing!” If it were a photo, the person might be impressed, but in a different way.
With AI now saturating the online art spaces, there is some debate and contention because many AI creators refuse to reveal that their pictures are generated by AI. They will protest and say, “It’s nobody’s business!” or “I’m not obligated to tell you!”
True, they’re not obligated, but the minute they try to conceal that it’s AI, all bets are off. The public can and will judge them harshly. If someone at first assumed it was a traditional oil painting or a hand-painted digital piece, only later to discover that it was generated by AI, they will feel duped and their opinion of the person claiming authorship of the work will shift, usually negatively.
Telling the truth: There’s no way to escape it
Being secretive or deceptive about an image being AI will backfire. People do care how a piece is made. If you refuse to tell them, they will almost certainly assume you have something to hide. It will not go well for you.
“But I’ll be judged unfairly!”
Fair or unfair has nothing to do with it. For ages now, artists have been expected to reveal their medium. It’s normal and standard. Is it acrylic? Is it oil? Is it colored pencil? Who in their right mind would want to try to conceal their medium? It’s always been a source of interest. Online art spaces usually require that the artist classify their work. Art contests almost always insist that the artist declare what medium they used, so it can be categorized and judged based on that. AI isn’t suddenly going to be an exception to this.
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