An Experiment In Surreal AI Art: Dada Made Me Do It!
Surrealism. Surrealism is based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations, in the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought. It tends to ruin once and for all other psychic mechanisms and to substitute itself for them in solving all the principal problems of life.
Breton’s 1924 Surrealist Manifesto
I have little doubt that the Surrealist group formed in Brussels in 1925 would have experimented with AI technology if they had been given the chance. They were working with free association, dream analysis, and all layers of the unconscious to create art that spoke to the subconscious as never before. Could an AI system create meaningful art that resonated deep within me? I decided to put DALL-E 2 to the test.
Lately, I’ve become aware that such systems are programmed by harvesting millions of images from the web and that some artists found that AI had unwittingly copied their work. To mitigate this, I entered each of the pieces I created into Google’s Image Search to ensure I wasn’t stealing anyone’s paintings. I found that many of the paintings by living artists had more in common with each other than mine. Ahem!
If you like my paintings and have the means to purchase art lovingly made entirely by a human, by all means, click on the Google Image Search and see what’s available. If on the other hand, one of my images touches you and you want to start an affordable art collection or don some wearable surreal art, (even a miniskirt -gasp!) click on my RedBubble store link at the end of this article.
Speaking of quality and collectibles, it occurred to me that the imperfections in these machine-created paintings make them unique and tell their own story. Years from now, art historians will be able to date these early pieces and link them to this dawn of AI art, which makes them collectible. Hopefully, this technology will bring a greater appreciation of art to everyone and bring surreal art to home decor and the closets of a new audience. In turn, this will foster cravings for human art on a whole new scale.
From Failure to Success with Sir Winston
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill
Some of my favorite classic surreal paintings were inspired by words or quotes. I decided to pick out some of my favorite quotes for my first few experiments. Previously, I had tried using idioms but gave up after a few hundred fails. I avoided using “In the style of (Name of Living Artist)” in my prompt and truth be told, I can’t even name one! I found this link about “Words to describe and critique art” tremendously helpful.
It took a lot of experimenting with different adjectives to get close to a pleasing image. At one point, I had added so many adjectives that the name of the artist I had chosen, Ives Tanguay, somehow got deleted. It seems like the AI system already knows the word surrealism, and can only be guided so far. After hitting the variations button countless times I arrived at the painting above.
I was quite taken by this image and couldn’t get it out of my mind, which for me is the hallmark of a masterpiece. Research uncovered the fact that “fair use” only goes so far and that quotes by people that are less than 75 years old could be subject to copyright laws. Therefore, I used Quillbot to change the words, before using the quote on the products in my shop. I certainly don’t want to incur the wrath of Sir Winston’s ghost!
Mister Crowley?
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Aleister Crowley
I gathered many quotes to experiment with, mainly sacred or inspirational sayings. Many times my efforts led to a cul-de-sac of cartoon images. Frankly, I’m sick of the cartoon images that have become ubiquitous. I blame this mentality on a mind-numbing intake of video games, reality TV shows, and that deplorable family whose last name begins with “K” who constantly pays publicity agents to keep themselves in the news. I somehow doubt that this dumbing-down effect is reversible, but I can hope, pray, and do my part by not contributing to it.
Aleister Crowley was described by Lawrence Sutin as a “blustery coward, an arrogant, misogynistic racist with fascist leanings, and a callous user, as often threatened by his sexuality as he claimed to be liberated by it.” Be that as it may, I’ve always admired him for his fearless, surreal, and experimental approach to life. For me, he personifies the saying, “Do what I say and not what I do.” The double meaning of his “Do what thou wilt” quote has stuck with me long after I lost interest in studying about him.
I wanted a surreal painting that was dark in both mood and color and I was finally able to get it: A painting that would instill deep wonder and fear in me. I love the image and I’m proud to include it in this collection. No, I didn’t alter his quote and I fear not his wrath. He believed that there was a fool born every minute that he could make use of, but that sure ain’t me! RIP, Aleister, or go pick on Ozzy Osbourne!
Shine a Light on Me
It is impossible for light not to get noticed, especially in the dark.
Matshona Dhliwayo
I’ll admit that Matshona Dhliwayo, the Zimbabwean-born, and Canadian-based Philosopher, Entrepreneur, and author, was not a household name, prior to this experiment. But it should have been! Until I obtain his permission to use his quote on my store items, I’ve relied on the aforementioned Quillbot to alter it. More on this when I receive an answer.
I had some idea of the type of painting I wanted, but as experiment after experiment failed to yield THAT surreal image, I almost gave up. The randomness of DALL-E 2’s output frustrated my need to create a painting style that was repeatable. At the same time, I guess this ensures that an artist’s style won’t be copied. Perhaps in the future, OpenAI will include a code that we can enter to protect a personal style that is unique. Eventually, my patience was rewarded with the image above. Let’s hope Mr. Dhliwayo is pleased as well. Stay tuned…
Jesus Speaks, DALL-E 2 Creates
In my father’s house are many mansions.
Jesus Christ, John 14:2
I felt the experiment wouldn’t be complete without a quote from the Bible, and I tried the first quote that came to mind. I’m not sure when I first heard the quote, but I did spend lots of time looking at a picture Bible as a child, admittedly looking at the pictures more than the words. Of course, I had no idea what to expect but the 20 seconds DALL-E 2 took to generate the first four images seemed like an eternity.
As with the other paintings, I had to play around with the prompt many times before I was satisfied. However, even the first set of images contained a heart-like shape. This thrilled me as I’ve long suspected that heaven and hell are within us, not Out There. Even though I had asked for a nonrepresentational surreal painting, the heart shape appeared in all variations. While I was only lukewarm about the painting as wall art, I like it on home decor items and have included it in my Redbubble store.
DALL-E 2 Seeks Enlightenment
There are two obstacles to enlightenment: 1. Thinking you know. 2 Thinking you don’t know.
Gautama Buddha
Sometime after I had realized my childhood dream of becoming an advertising photographer in Los Angeles, California, I felt a new emptiness and a thirst for a new challenge and an entirely different approach to life. During this time, I started painting And studying Buddhist philosophy. Some of my favorite creations were large mandala paintings of images that appeared as I learned to meditate. I closed my photography business around the same time and moved to Thailand to immerse myself in study and perhaps become a monk.
A bit of internet research turned up a quote that I thought might result in a good painting. I spent a lot of time adding adjectives and hitting the variations button before returning to one of the first images the AI system created. Much like the saying and in fact, all of the paintings above, I thought I could explain the image, but words fail me. I’m not surprised, isn’t that why we have separate categories for visual art and literature?
As it turns out, this surreal image works great on a large scale such as a blanket, scarf, or even a dress. I’m guessing that you may have difficulty imagining this, so I’ve included the image below. Happy Holidays All!
And so ends this collaboration of man and machine until next time...
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About the Authors
Photographer George Edward Giunca and his Thai wife have traveled around Thailand armed with a circular fisheye lens to create a photo essay on the rich cultural diversity, and abundant natural beauty of the Kingdom of Thailand. Fleeing from angry water buffaloes, slapping huge mosquitoes, watching exotic festivals and religious rituals, gorging on delicious spicy food, applying aloe vera cream to sunburned skin, wading through rice paddies, getting drenched to the bone by heavy monsoon rains, and gawking at breath-taking scenery; made it a journey of epic proportions! The result is the book, THAILAND 180º. Later, they traveled extensively through Myanmar, Malaysia, and India, gathering a massive collection of 180º photos. They currently live in Bangkok, Thailand.
Here’s How to Order Your Copy of THAILAND 180º Collectors Edition Today!
In Thailand —>>>http://www.thailand180.com/thaiorder.html
The Rest of the world: We are offering our book on Amazon.com, below list price http://amzn.to/1knDPRR
Not Familiar with Our Book???
This show details the origin of 180 Books, a series of art/travel books illustrated with a circular fisheye lens. By using infographics, pictures from our THAILAND 180º book, and never seen before images from our vault, we’ll demonstrate this unique lens and present our unique books.
