The Slow Burn

As I approach my hiatus from regular posting on the socials, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the practice of patience in oil painting. As the perceived threat of AI automation for the arts looms, and as the addiction to instant gratification grips the unaware or willfully ignorant, I keep reminding myself of other points in history where artists felt threatened by other, dissimilar, automated processes. I can only wonder now, in 40 years time, what will be enabled in the medium of painting the same way the invention of photography enabled the movement of Impressionism in art a few decades later. I know that photography, which was not an instantaneous process in its infancy, did not kill painting as artists feared at the time. AI will not kill art now, albeit in many it has enabled a false perception of the value of art; particularly traditional mediums that take time to cultivate talent within. However it has started an era of dampened spirits, as the support for this technology enables a fascistic anti-intellectual & cynical approach to the process of art making. It is important now, more than ever, to think for ourselves & create for ourselves. To allow this technology to do that for us, instead of utilizing it for the mundane time sinks of day to day life, will remain a black mark on art history. Oil painting is a human practice with a multitude of expressions that can only be explored with a human touch; it doesn’t matter if you’re skilled, unskilled, or smart enough to make something in a complex process with an aesthetically minimalist result. When Hayao Miyazaki said AI “is an insult to life itself” he was right, but there is a deeper meaning that those who do not practice art making professionally understand. The almost agonizing process of oil painting has taken some of the greatest painters decades to complete some of the most renowned works on Earth. Hundreds of layers & thousands of hours of dedication & practice shine through in ways that cannot be purely replicated by any machine. We cannot return to an era of widespread masterful expression if we allow AI to make our art instead of doing our dishes. When I wonder what kind of human made art AI will enable, I have a feeling it will be despite all the cynical predictions & to the astonishment of those who defended it; especially those in the tech industry who have since faced layoffs while we artists remain with our brushes in hand. Those of us still willing to meditate in a long process will survive the moment, but I hope in our lifetime artists will be enabled to thrive once more.