The Death of Art ?
Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, a former professional scene painter, created the first successful photographic process, the Daguerreotype, in 1837. His background in theatre work provided him with knowledge of the camera obscura, a device that projected images from the outside world onto a flat surface. Daguerre was inspired by this process to create the world’s first photographic camera.
The camera obscura had been used for centuries, but the main difficulty in early attempts at photography was transferring the image produced onto a permanent medium without it quickly fading or disappearing when exposed to light. Daguerre was able to overcome this challenge by capturing the images produced by the camera on silver-coated copper plates. The announcement of this invention by his friend Dominique François Jean Arago in 1839 made it public knowledge and it quickly spread around the world. By late 1839, daguerreotypes were being produced in several industrialized nations.
In the early 1840s, the first European photography studios appeared in the United Kingdom. They were able to significantly decrease the time it took for a photograph to be developed, from Daguerre’s original thirty minutes to just twenty seconds in most studios. Later on, in the late 1880s, George Eastman created the first film rolls, which eliminated the need for photographers to carry around silver-coated copper plates and made photography more affordable and accessible to the general public.
The advent of photography in 1839 forever transformed the artistic landscape. It was a time of great tumult, as the art world was rocked to its very foundations by this new medium that could capture reality with greater accuracy than ever before. Indeed, the popularization of photography caused a great stir in artistic circles, leading to significant changes in how art was perceived and created.
The painters of the day found themselves at a crossroads, forced to reinvent themselves in the face of this new visual language. For, you see, photography could depict the world more accurately than painting ever could. It could capture the minutest details of a scene, leaving no stone unturned, no nuance unexplored. In the face of such an uncompromising medium, painting had to shift its focus from representing reality to portraying emotions and impressions, to capturing the ineffable essence of the world that lay beyond mere appearances.
Thus, photography can be seen as a great drive for the reinvention of painting that occurred in the late 19th and throughout the 20th century. It forced painters to dig deep, to explore the inner reaches of their own minds and souls, to find new ways of expressing themselves that were not beholden to the strictures of reality. In so doing, it paved the way for a wave of artistic innovation and experimentation that would forever alter the course of art history.
The arrival of photography marked a turning point in the way painters perceived reality and images. The transient and fleeting nature of reality was now apparent, and artists recognized that each moment was limited and in constant movement. The Impressionist movement, in particular, was the first to deviate from the realistic norm in European art.
Impressionist painters acknowledged that photography was unparalleled in capturing fixed images, rendering any attempt to outdo it futile. They shifted their focus to exploring other dimensions of painting, such as colour, light, and movement. This marked a significant shift in the perception of painting as a medium that could complement photography by representing what it couldn’t.
Impressionist paintings portrayed reality as perceived by the human eye — transient and fleeting, sometimes unclear or blurred. At first, these blurred depictions of reality were criticized as unfinished or of low quality. The appellation was initially intended as an insult, but in short order, the artists embraced it and by 1877, they had adopted it as a descriptor for their style and their shows. With time, they were appreciated for the artists they were.
Once it became clear that painting couldn’t compete with photography in accurately representing reality, this realization freed painting from the shackles of realism, opening the door for a shift in artistic circles. Artists now focused on expressing emotions, impressions, and all that was part of the human experience. In many ways, Impressionism served as a bridge between traditional art, which valued realism, and modernist art, which distanced itself from an accurate representation of reality.
The stylistic shift of Modernism in the first half of the 20th century brought about a succession of artistic movements that challenged traditional ideas of realism. Among the first of these movements was Fauvism, which depicted real-life scenes and subjects using vibrant, unrealistic colours and thick brushstrokes inspired by Post-Impressionist painters like Vincent van Gogh. The leading figure in Fauvism was Henri Matisse, who famously quipped that the color of the lady’s dress in his masterpiece Woman with a Hat was “black, obviously.”
Another early Modernist movement was Expressionism, which emerged from the works of Van Gogh and Edvard Munch but was significantly developed by the German group Die Brücke (The Bridge) a few decades later. Expressionist artists were less interested in accurately representing the external reality than in conveying the internal reality of feelings and emotions. They used bright, intense colours and thick, textured brushstrokes to create dense, emotionally charged works of art.
In the years following World War I, Expressionist paintings became even more dark and grotesque, revealing the artists’ critical perspective of society. By focusing on emotions and inner reality, Expressionist painters were able to express a more nuanced and powerful vision of the world than photography, which was limited to capturing only the external appearance of reality.
It was during the period of artistic transformation that a wide spread conversation about what constitutes art began. Continuing to this day a debate arose in the art world around works and their merit, with Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain” serving as one of the most infamous examples. Duchamp’s presentation of a urinal as an artwork challenged traditional notions of art and its meaning, arguing that it became art the moment it was recognized as such. The distinction between retinal art, which merely appeals to the eye, and art that serves the mind, is one that Duchamp was particularly interested in. He believed that art should be more than just visual products, but should instead serve as a tool for the mind.
This dichotomy between art as entertainment and art as a means of cultural growth has only been exacerbated by the rise of AI art. While beauty alone cannot make an image art, it is the engagement with the audience and the intention behind the work that ultimately determines whether it is considered art. As Martin Scorsese famously referred to Marvel movies as “theme parks” rather than cinema, the same can be applied to the visual arts. While a beautiful landscape painting may be enjoyable to look at, it does not necessarily qualify as art.
The same can be said for purely AI-generated images, which may be aesthetically pleasing but lack the deeper meaning and engagement that is required for them to be considered art. If an image does not contribute to people’s understanding of the world or spark broader reflections, it may be better categorized as illustration rather than art. However, this is not to say that illustration is a lesser form of expression. An illustration can still be enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing, but it serves a different purpose than art.
As an artist, it is important to consider the purpose of your work and how it can contribute to the larger intercultural dialogue. To create true art, an image must go beyond mere entertainment and engage with the viewer on a deeper level. So, while a sunset or a tree may be beautiful to look at, they do not necessarily qualify as art unless they are contextualized and conceptualized in a way that contributes to the broader cultural conversation.
The question of what constitutes art has been long debated in the art world, but the advent of AI art has again brought this discussion to the forefront. To truly grasp the nature of art, I believe we must examine the reasons why we make art in the first place.
In the film Stalker, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and written by the Strugatsky brothers, a writer delivers a poignant monologue to a science professor. He argues that it is our purpose as humans to create art and that technology can be a tool to help us in this endeavour. By reducing the need for labour to survive, we can focus on personal and collective growth, which includes the creation and exploration of art.
However, in today’s society, the pursuit of career and entertainment often takes precedence over the creation and appreciation of art. It may seem foreign to some to view art as a fundamental aspect of our existence, but I believe it is essential.
While the notion of narrowing the definition of art may evoke fear in some, the rise of AI art compels us to do so. The distinction between art and illustration, or between art and entertainment, may seem elitist, but it is necessary to raise our standards for what constitutes art. AI-generated images may be beautiful, but without deeper meaning or engagement, they remain mere illustration.
Art demands more than just aesthetic appeal; it requires a social conversation, a broader reflection, and a deeper intention. As an artist, one must strive to create thought-provoking work that contributes to our understanding of the world. In this way, we can fulfil our purpose as creators and continue to push the boundaries of what we consider to be art.
Photography may have been born as a medium to capture and document reality, but it didn’t take long for artists to seize the potential of this novel tool. Initially, photographers were viewed as assistants to painters or other artists, producing images to be used as visual aids. Yet, soon enough, some artists began to experiment with combining photography with other media, thus creating new forms of artistic expression, such as photomontage. One of the pioneers of this artistic genre was Hannah Höch, a renowned artist of the Weimar Republic who created famous works of photomontage.
However, the journey of photography to be recognized as a legitimate art form was not an easy one. For many critics, photography was nothing more than a mechanical imitation of reality, devoid of any intrinsic artistic value. But as the 20th century progressed, photographers continued to push the boundaries of their medium, creating innovative and thought-provoking works that challenged these perceptions.
Moreover, modernism had a profound impact on photography, inspiring photographers to explore alternative representations of reality and human emotions. As a result, experimental and abstract photography began to emerge, where photographers explored shapes, colours, and perspectives without necessarily aiming to accurately depict a given scene or object. In this way, photography evolved beyond its documentary roots, becoming a powerful and dynamic art form in its own right.
The invention of photography was a game-changer for 19th-century European societies, regardless of the varying opinions it elicited. For the first time in history, art was no longer the exclusive domain of the upper echelons of society. Middle-class and lower-class families could now create an image quickly and inexpensively. This was a significant turning point, a democratization of art and image that challenged traditional notions of artistic exclusivity. While some hailed this as a triumph of accessibility and mass culture, others decried it as the commodification of artistic creation for commercial gain. The debate rages on, even to this day. Despite these differing opinions, it is undeniable that photography marked a turning point in the history of art and society.
The emergence of artificial intelligence has sparked a discourse regarding its potential impact on the world of art. Yet, whether or not AI will have a substantial impact on the art world remains a point of uncertainty. What is certain, however, is that digital tools have irrevocably altered the creation and dissemination of art. As for the role of AI in the creation of art, it is my belief that it will serve as a tool rather than a replacement for the artist, as it will ultimately be wielded by the artists themselves.
