Scrolling Instagram, if you do it long enough, will eventually lead you to a psychedelic, slightly nightmarish video art. The one below, posted by gem of a human Amy Sedaris caught my eye because, well, look at it.
It’s a video by an artist that goes by the moniker Niceaunties, first name Wenhui. It’s horrifying and compelling and cute all at the same time. The Instagram profile describes her work as Surrealism x Kawaii, kawaii being the Japanese term for cuteness culture. The video elevates Singaporean life, where the artist is from, the culture, and the faces of her family and friends in a way that is fresh and new. The visuals are dripping with rich details and trippy imagery that seem really hard to do by hand - pun intended. And they are not, according to her profile which explains: “Aunties doing nice stuffs in Auntieverse, blissfully powered by AI.”
It would have been impossible for a single artist to make this video even 5 years ago. I don’t know anything about 3-D modeling programs or any of the other skills needed to craft something like this, but I do remember when the first Lord of the Rings movie came out, which I saw on its opening night. In the credits at the end, which yes we stayed to watch, the list of special effects and CGI designers went on for, like, five minutes.
When I see something like this Niceaunties video, I am so torn. Its production value and art historical importance make a compelling argument for keeping AI available to all. Plus I love it when any previously hard or expensive processes are democratized.
On her Instagram feed, she shows a short non-AI video about her life in Singapore and what inspires her. The production value is through the roof. You really get a feel for the people and the landscapes that surround her in her hometown. And then the kicker, it’s shot on a smartphone.
Even as a humble painter, having access to smartphones, or a tool like Instagram has made life so much easier for me. I have had so many opportunities because I was able to document and promote my own work rather than relying on trained professionals, and waiting until I could actually afford to hire them.
But, what about the trained professionals? This is the conversation in the comments section where people are trying to advocate for the skilled craftsman whose work is being diminished by AI’s mega-powers. This was also the crux of the strikes in Hollywood: how much to limit the use of AI for scriptwriting, voice-acting and even using likenesses of actors both living and deceased without their express permission. And also the lawsuit against ChatGPT who used thousands of artists’ and writers’ work for free to develop their software.
So what is there to do? If stopping AI altogether would eliminate the ability of individual artists to produce cool videos of older women living their best, creepy lives then I am not for that. But I am also not for my artist friends, who rely on design gigs, going to work somewhere less fulfilling because their freelance jobs have dried up.
What to do? I will leave you with this comment by Bay Area artist Christine Sheilds:
I see how the tech changes the perceived value of various skills (e.g. painting), but it seems to me that the underlying mechanics of art and creativity are left fundamentally unchanged regardless of technological innovation. Choosing where to direct the tools, what questions we use them to ask and reflect on, seems like the next step--the struggle in accepting their existence is transitory.