Realize Your Dreams Embrace the Uncharted Territory of Art
Your Guide to Flourishing in the New Era of Art
Pioneers of the AI Art. Embracing the Future with a Loving Embrace of the Past
“Art has no boundaries, and neither should you,”
declared the great AI artist, ARTificial Intelligence, in a candid non-interview (it was, after all, a machine learning algorithm).
The Advent of Generative AI Art and Your Role in It
It was a statement both shocking and mildly amusing, coming from an entity devoid of physical limitations. But that’s the point. Welcome to the world of art in 2023, where creativity blooms amidst codes and pixels, and the word ‘impossible’ is slowly fading into obsolescence.
Imagine this: you type “a moonlit castle on a hill, with fireflies dancing in the foreground.” Within seconds, an AI tool births a stunning digital canvas, manifesting your thoughts into the visual reality. This is not a scene from a futuristic sci-fi movie; it’s the tangible present of generative AI art.
Sounds incredible, doesn’t it?
But let’s hit the pause button and take a step back. To appreciate the full spectrum of this future, we need to revisit a theory rooted deeply in our past: René Girard’s mimetic theory.
Mimetic Desires: Embracing René Girard’s Theory in the Age of AI Art
The philosopher Girard proposed that our desires are not original, but mimetic. That is, we imitate the desires we observe in others. Extend this to the realm of art, and the creative process morphs into an act of imitation and rivalry. When the canvas meets brush, the artist is not merely painting a scene, but echoing the human desires, the mimetic processes that underpin our society.
Now, replace the canvas with a screen, the brush with algorithms. The AI ‘artist’, in its essence, is emulating the same mimetic desire, trained on vast datasets of human-created art. Its ‘rivalry’ is with the thousands of art pieces it analyzes, picking patterns and continually refining its process.
Even in AI’s seemingly sterile calculations, the pulsating heat of human passions is at play. We recognize this familiar heat in the AI-generated works, an invisible thread linking us to the masters of yesteryears — Cervantes, Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, artists that Girard himself admired for their deep understanding of mimetic desire.
A Hearty Laugh at the Paradox: Creativity Challenged by Its Own Creation
Still, amidst the awe and exhilaration, there’s an undercurrent of trepidation. AI’s invasion into the creative sphere has blurred boundaries and raised questions that make us sweat. What does it mean to be an artist in the era of AI? Is the genesis of creativity an exclusively human trait, or can it be programmed?
But let’s cool down and have a hearty laugh at the paradox we’re in. We, the creators of AI, are being challenged by our own creation. It’s a plot twist Shakespeare would have approved.
Art is the process of creating something that did not exist before, and that is the essence of human creativity
Here’s the twist, though: AI isn’t here to usurp the throne of creativity; it’s here to democratize it. No longer is the ability to create art confined to those with fine motor skills or access to expensive materials. If you can conceive it, the AI can achieve it.
Be a Pioneer in the Exciting New Realm of AI Art
As we move forward, each one of us has the opportunity to be a pioneer in this exciting new realm of AI art. It’s an era where technical prowess meets artistic vision, a landscape where boundaries blur and imagination takes flight.
A guide for artists / non-artists in the year 2023
We’re standing at the precipice of a revolution, and it’s a view to behold. The future of art is here, and it’s warmly inviting all of us — artists, non-artists, dreamers, innovators — to participate in shaping its course. We can laugh, we can debate, but above all, we should remember to love the process, for it’s the act of creation that defines art, not the tool. Welcome to the age of
AI art, where the future looks intriguingly familiar.
René Girard’s mimetic theory
Rene Girard was a French historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science who developed a theory called mimetic theory. This theory explains human behavior and culture and posits that human beings imitate each other, which eventually gives rise to rivalries and violent conflicts[1]. Mimetic theory moves through a four-stage process: mimetic desire, conflict, scapegoating, and revelation[2]. Here are some key points about mimetic theory:
Mimetic Desire: After basic needs are satisfied, people move into the realm of desire in which there isn’t a biological “radar” or instincts to guide them. Instead, their radar becomes other people. People want what other people want. Desire is social[2].
Conflict: Because people want what other people want, there will inevitably be conflict as people compete for the same goods. Mimetic desire leads to mimetic rivalry[2].
Scapegoating: Mimetic rivalry can lead to violence and conflict, which can be partially solved by a scapegoat mechanism[1]. Girard called this the scapegoat mechanism, and it describes how societies unify their members by blaming a single individual or group for their problems[3].
Revelation: According to Girard, Christianity is the best antidote to violence[1]. He believed that the Bible reveals the scapegoat mechanism and exposes the violence that underlies human culture[4].
Girard’s mimetic theory is becoming increasingly recognized in the humanities, and his commitment as a Christian thinker has given him prominence among theologians[1]. However, his work has also been criticized for being too ambitious and attempting to explain every aspect of human nature[1].
Citations: [1] https://iep.utm.edu/girard/ [2] https://mimetictheory.com/what-it-is-2/ [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimetic_theory [4] https://violenceandreligion.com/mimetic-theory/