Using Generative AI to create ancient Nigerian Igbo gods — Part 2
In my previous post I described my attempt at making new discoveries and giving old discoveries a new perspective (see Part 1). Through the use of ChatGPT and Midjourney I aspired to breathe life into the Nigerian Igbo gods because there has not been a new visual representation for many centuries. The idea to do this came from listing to Episode 10 from Season 2 of Traceroute, The ancient as modern, again.
Inspired by the episode and how the host puts it eloquently, Grace said “It’s the ancient as modern, again” which is a unique positive use case for Generative AI that I had not considered. It’s an episode that’s part mystery, part paradigm shift, and part digital archeology. Give it a good listen if you haven’t. Highly recommend.
While the art representing the Igbo gods may be largely lost to moth, rust, and what thieves destroyed, I described my attempt at using Generative AI to bring these gods back to life.
AI can help us not only make new discoveries but gives old discoveries a new perspective.
Unexpectedly, the mediums that I chose to explore (which were those provided by ChatGPT) that — in my naïve opinion-were the most interesting may have not been the best. For example, painting verses drawing. Actually, symbol and sculpture looked to be more representative of the time.
Since my ultimate goal was to recreate art representative of the early Nigerian Igbo gods, then the art should resemble that of African art that would have been created during 9–15th centuries. Through exploration, I created Midjourney prompts like mural, painting, drawing, symbol, cave drawing, cave painting, sculpture, etc. but what am I missing?
In this post I’ll describe how I used ChatGPT to conduct some additional inquiry beyond yesterday’s research. Another point of feedback for myself is that the artists selected for the visual style are all amazing but also 19th century artists, i.e., Bruce Onobrakpeya, Ben Enwonwu, and Uche Okeke. Yet the art styles of Ife, Benin, Igbo-Ukwu, and Sokoto Caliphate are all still valid for my prompt engineering.
Prompt Thread #5 — Seek Artists Representing 9–15th Centuries
Re-opening my ChatGPT thread from the previous session, I wanted to find artist from the 9–15th centuries. So I asked ChatGPT, “Who are some of the earliest known artists from Nigeria?” Here is what I received.
Nigeria has a rich artistic history that dates back thousands of years. Some of the earliest known artists from Nigeria were the skilled artisans of the ancient Nok culture, which thrived between 1000 BCE and 500 CE in what is now northern Nigeria. The Nok people are famous for their terracotta sculptures, particularly life-sized human figures, animals, and other objects, which were discovered in the 1940s.
Another important early Nigerian art tradition is the Ife art from the ancient city of Ife, dating back to the 12th century CE and possibly earlier. Ife is renowned for its bronze and terracotta sculptures, including the famous portrait heads believed to represent the Ooni (king) of Ife and other prominent individuals.
In addition to the Nok and Ife, the ancient Benin Kingdom, located in present-day southern Nigeria, produced exquisite bronze plaques, sculptures, and other artworks from the 13th century onward. The Benin bronze plaques are particularly notable for their intricate detailing and depictions of historical events and royal ceremonies.
These early Nigerian artists played a crucial role in shaping the country’s artistic heritage and have left behind a significant artistic legacy that continues to inspire contemporary Nigerian artists to this day.
From the bolded information above I now have some new PREFIX and SUFFIX for my Midjourney prompt anatomy. Therefore I’ve decided to add terracotta sculpture, wood carving, bronze sculpture, bronze plaques, and portrait which have not been used yet.
Prompt Thread #6 — Seeking Specific Artist Names Representing 9–15th Centuries
Lastly, I wanted to ask ChatGPT again to see if I could get some actual artists names from the 9–15th centuries. So I asked ChatGPT, “Do we have names of early famous African artists?” Here is what I received.
Unfortunately, due to the limitations of historical records and the vastness of African history, many early African artists’ names have been lost to time. However, there are some instances where the names of notable African artists have been recorded or passed down through oral traditions. Here are a few examples of early famous African artists:
Ptahhotep (c. 2400 BCE) — An ancient Egyptian vizier and philosopher who is credited with writing “The Maxims of Ptahhotep,” a collection of wisdom literature that includes advice on ethics, morality, and leadership.
Imhotep (c. 2650–2600 BCE) — Another ancient Egyptian figure, Imhotep was a polymath, serving as an architect, physician, and high priest. He is believed to have been involved in the design of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, one of the earliest monumental stone structures in Egypt.
Amenemope (c. 12th century BCE) — An ancient Egyptian scribe and philosopher, Amenemope authored “The Instructions of Amenemope,” a collection of ethical teachings and moral principles.
Piye (c. 747–716 BCE) — Also known as Piankhy, Piye was a Kushite king who conquered Egypt, establishing the Twenty-fifth Dynasty and initiating the Kushite Pharaohs’ rule over Egypt. His reign saw a continuation of traditional Egyptian art forms.
Djenne Terracotta Sculptors (c. 3rd to 15th centuries CE) — In the ancient city of Djenne in present-day Mali, skilled terracotta sculptors created numerous figurines and pottery, showcasing the artistic prowess of the region during this period.
Ife Sculptors — While specific names of Ife sculptors are unknown, the artists from the ancient city of Ife (in present-day Nigeria) created remarkable bronze and terracotta sculptures during the 12th century and later. Their works, especially the portrait heads, are considered among the finest achievements in African art.
Creating Midjourney Prompt Anatomy
Based on my previous experience creating prompts from scratch and/or asking ChatGPT to create Midjourney prompts for me, one of the key aspects of a prompt’s anatomy is a visual style of the image. For example, I highly recommend Tristan Wolff’s The Midjourney Cheat Sheet (V5.2) for a deeper dive on Midjourney prompt engineering.
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Basic Prompt Anatomy:
/imagine prompt: [PREFIX] [SCENE] [SUFFIX] [Parameters]
PREFIX defines image medium
SCENE defines content
SUFFIX Style, Artist, etc.
**********Using Tristan Wolff’s Cheat Sheet as a guide, here is how I intended to create my prompts with the following options.
PREFIX image/medium, e.g., terracotta sculptures, bronze plaques, cast bronze heads, bronze sculptures, brass figure, ivory sculptures, etc.
SCENE = Name of Igbo god, e.g., Chukwu
SUFFIX = Styles, e.g., Ife, Benin, Igbo-Ukwu, and Sokoto Caliphate
Artist name, e.g., Djenne
Parameters = Omit for this experiment
Complete = Terracotta sculpture Chukwu Ife Djenne
Trial #2 — Terracotta Chukwu Sculpture
Following the test example using the above prompt anatomy. Be sure to review the ALT Text Descriptions for each image for the /imagine prompts.
I first started with what I thought would be the perfect prompt. I wanted to incorporate terracotta as a medium, the artist, etc. but to me the results seemed less like terracotta and more like a wooden carving.
I wonder if I removed the artist name of “Djenne” would improve the result in a more clay based looking sculpture. Still I’m not sure that these looked much different than the previous iteration. To me, these looked still looked like wooden carvings.
For my next iteration I wondered if removing style and artist name all together would produce a simple clay-like sculpture. As you can see, these are still beautiful wooden carvings (in my opinion).
For my last attempt at this engineered prompt, I tried simply “Terracotta sculpture.” As you can see what these subjects are sculpting here may be perhaps clay, but these do still look like wood for me.
Trial #3 — Bronze Chukwu Plaque
Following the test example using the above prompt anatomy. Be sure to review the ALT Text Descriptions for each image for the /imagine prompts.
I first started with what I thought would be the perfect prompt. I wanted to incorporate bronze as a medium, the artist, etc. and as you can see these results are — in my naïve opinion — closer to the style of the art for early Nigerian art? I think so.
While these are great, I wanted to see what would happen if I removed the artist name in an attempt to have less “circumlocution” as Andy Wood’s likes to say in his article, African God — Midjourney prompt. What is interesting to me is that all of these are in a circle shape and in one case the subjects on the bronze plaque look Egyptian.
Trial #5 — Cast Bronze Chukwu Sculpture
As usual I started with what I thought would be the perfect prompt. I wanted to stick with bronze but add the word cast and sculpture which were found in the responses that I received from ChatGPT.
While I like what we have here, it makes me wonder what the visual of a cast bronze sculpture would look like if I removed the Igbo good, Chukwu. I say this because these (to me) seem to be very similar in visual style to the beautiful head busts that came before these.
Again, while removing the Igbo god, “Chukwu” to me also perhaps made these look a little less “Chukwu” perhaps? But also I wonder if these may seemed to have some more Eastern features? Perhaps as sculptures that may be found from an Asian country? What do you think?
For my last one here the hope was by removing the artist name “Djenne” perhaps the core style would remain? What do you think?
Trial #6 — Ivory Chukwu Sculpture
As usual I started with what I thought would be the perfect prompt similar to those that came before, but I wanted to switch the medium to Ivory which was also found in the responses that I received from ChatGPT.
What’s interesting to me with these is that two of these do look more like Ivory but I’m not sure Ivory would support such intricate designs, e.g., the carving of Chukwu’s hands?
Similarly with these too. These may look more Ivory-like, but I’m unsure if such intricate carvings could be made in Ivory?
For my last try here before going onto my last medium, what do you think? In this iteration I removed the style, “Sokoto Caliphate” to focus on the ivory carving of an Igbo god. Considering the amount of ivory needed for one of these carvings also makes these either very small or impossible to find such a size piece of ivory.
Trial #7 — Brass Chukwu Figure
For my last and final trial I wanted to explore brass as a medium for Chukwu figures.
I do really like the results here and love that the brass medium really came through.
Lastly I wanted to swap style for the artist name.
Conclusion
One last point. Visit Google and see which of these do you think look closer to the Chukwu sculptures that we do have (if any). Which of these in your opinion may be more real? How is asking Midjourney to create a bronze sculpture photo any different than asking Google for a photo considering that I have no personal reference to expect in the visual.
To me, the ones I created here are more real to me.
Thoughts?
What do you think? What did I miss?
I personally think so. In subsequent posts of this small series I’ll explore some of the other Igbo gods.
