The-Island-was-a-World_catalogue-digital

17 How do text-to-image generators relate to the art of painting? How did it influence your process? Painting is the most ancient way of creating images, a slow process of laying a colored paste to dry on a surface. Text to image generators, on the other hand, present such a new and radical category to image making. It's a tool and also a new artistic medium that emerged only about two years ago. Whereas painting is silent and an entirely non-verbal engagement, here there is something else, as if it were taken from a tale about a magic-mirror. It can feel like writing a poem, only that in this case, your thoughts, and the words that follow them, generate images. My process has always been divided into two stages: first, arriving at the image, and then turning the image into a painting. Now, the first part is very special because I can reach it with my words and ultimately, with my imagination. It is a very peculiar kind of machine-assisted introspection. Prompting requires patience, trial and error, and a 'kneading' of the language and software parameters. Painting, especially oil, dries slowly and allows for changes over time. In any case, in both mediums, you need time and room for surprise." How much randomness is involved in the process, and what is the extent of your control? After working seriously with image generators, one discovers something interesting about the range between chance and control (which is, by the way, different from the precedents of surrealism and algorithmic art) 1 . Although these tools leave a lot of room for happy mistakes, and they do take part in the creative process, just as an unintentional drip of paint can gain meaning if you continue working with it. But although randomness is at the heart of this technology, it is important to remember that every image created lies in the space between mathematical calculation and a human wish. Since the model has a lot of power of its own, more control is required from the artist. Prompting means guiding, and it puts the artist in an "art director" position, holding the vision and realizing it through a talented and creative team of hardworking artists, craftsmen who await his instructions." 1 See above "Artist and Artificial Intelligence in a Poetic Dialogue: Oren Eliav, The Island was a World " by Hava Aldouby