Navigating AI Art
Thought Experiment: What do you think of the following painting?
Its caption reads:
‘This is a detail from the fresco "The Frieze of the Italian Parliament" by the Italian artist Giulio Aristide Sartorio, located in the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament in Rome.’
Now, do you think this detail shot might be Al? Look closely, look at the hands, count the fingers.
But this panel? With its tangled arms and melting hands too many fingers, is this real?
Numerous pages and accounts feature this image, but no official or reputable websites do.
New drone footage has recorded panning shots of the work, but this panel doesn't appear.
The monumental series was created in a mere 930 days, so are tangled merging hands and arms merely a result of time pressured creation?
Suspicion of Al art featuring more and more has risen, and the census from anyone with an eyeball or soul, is well, not in favour. While we're unable to confirm whether this panel exists, it won't be part of the Symposium Archive.
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Second case study: what do you think about this image?
Its caption reads:
‘ "Nephilim" by Emile Corsi, 1889’
You mght have seen this painting before in 2024 when it went viral on multiple platforms including Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook. And there are several accounts with more works by Emile Corsi, all dating to the late 1800s.
Unfortunately, this image is not of a painting, but is 100% AI generated — and an ‘Emile Corsi’ never existed.
When there is such blatant misinformation, and AI is becoming more seamless, it’s hard not to become distrustful of every image you see. One of the most important objectives of Symposium is to be a corner of the internet where that doesn’t feature as even a mild worry.
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Takeaway: I can't encourage you enough to pause and look at art more. Social media platforms like Instagram provide so much inspiration, but this quickly turns into viewing these works as a 'quick like and scroll’. Use the influx of Al as encouragement to really look, ask yourself questions about it.