From Duchamp to AI: the transformation of authorship in art

• The 19th century concept of authorship revolved around the romantic view of the artist as a lone genius.
• In this model, every stroke of the brush, every note played and every word written was the product of a singular creative mind, bearing the unique imprint of its creator.
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Disrupting the artistic landscape

• Conceptual art pioneer Marcel Duchamp radically altered the artistic landscape with his work, Fountain (1917) – a urinal signed “R.
• He argued that art wasn’t confined to traditional craftsmanship but could spring from the act of selection and presentation.
• Composer John Cage took this artistic revolution a step further.
• David Bowie famously used this technique for writing lyrics in some of his songs, especially in his work from the 1970s.

Modern art

• Jason M. Allen, a digital artist from Pueblo West, became one of the first creators to win a prize for AI generated art.
• In this process, Allen’s creativity came into play in formulating the correct prompts to instruct the AI, effectively guiding or curating the AI’s output.
• This new process raises questions about authorship and authenticity in art.
• Modern artists like Laurie Anderson have begun to harness machine learning to create novel works.

The future

• Looking to the future, we can expect the interplay of art and technology to deepen.
• We must prepare the coming generations for this rapidly changing creative landscape, fostering their ability to co-pilot with AI systems.
• As we move further into the age of machine learning, artists must reclaim their position at the forefront of creative thought and innovation.