Photography
Class Work
Contact
mw5333@nyu.edu
Instagram:
mywang (personal)
worldof_bluej(photography)
Photography
Class Work
Contact
mw5333@nyu.edu
Instagram:
mywang (personal)
worldof_bluej(photography)
Fall 2024 | Creative Approaches in Emerging Media
Previously, I’ve been trying to build up a type of communication method or the chatbox-ish thing to further discuss the mistakes in daily communication and how languages could be presented without misunderstandings through visualization. Initially while developing this final project, I figured out the way of combining emerging technology to represent a sense of respond to the old and out-dated style, so I started to explore OpenApi as a tool. As soon as I was using this new tool, I found my topic had gradually changed. In an age where artificial intelligence and automation shape most of our digital interactions, this project changed to explore the intersection between artificial intelligence, human creativity, and cultural heritage. I aim to create a visual and performative experience that explores how artificial intelligence can reinterpret traditional Chinese poetry in the context of modern algorithms.
While AI has penetrated to our lives in every aspects and did provide new paths of creating, thinking, as well as critiquing arts, it also raises questions about the authenticity, cultural preservation and human touch of art.
Questions from my project development:
- Can artificial intelligence capture the essence of traditional art forms like calligraphy?
- How do data collection and algorithms influence cultural expression?
- AI models are often trained on large, uncurated data sets that ignore background depth. How do these tools adapt, simplify, or distort traditional art forms like Chinese calligraphy?
Admittedly, AI can imitate human art partially, and generate an visual appealing thing out, but it lacks the inherent emotional and cultural context inherent in traditional art forms. So in this project, I’m trying to make a commentary on the balance between embracing emerging technologies while preserving the authenticity of cultural practices.
The project is a AI-based interactive performance type, where I type in a poetry and AI algorithms would generate abstract calligraphy image type file. And then the files are arranged in grids which is similar to “Tian Zi Ge”, the type of paper people use to practice calligraphy. The output is a reflection on the relationship between cultural traditions, machine learning, and human-machine collaboration in the arts.
Non-sense characters: At the beginning part developing the project, I intended to make all those generated characters with some meanings different from the previous ones. However, I just found that it’s totally nonsense to make AI generate characters to be sensical. It should have its own language system that it developed through my training; there’s no need to correct it on my own opinions.
Medium choice:
I chose a digital interactive installation as it creates a seamless bridge between traditional art and modern technology. Besides internet and AI based interface, the projection onto canvas introduces a physical dimension where viewers can reflect on the merger of classical and contemporary approaches. By projecting digital results onto physical paper, I connect the virtual with the tactile, creating a bridge between ancient traditions and modern technology.
What I learned:
human input in guiding AI art; The limitations of AI in fully capturing the emotional and cultural depth of traditional art; Insights into data collection and automation as tools for creative exploration; Reflection on balancing modern technology with cultural preservation.