The use of artificial intelligence in making art is now developing rapidly. The relationship between artificial intelligence and art also raises discussion and questions. What is art really and who is an artist in the end?
There are hand-painted figures on the table. Next to it are 3D prints from which a drum is being born. The walls are full of visual art. There are also boards on the floor against the wall.
– At the end of the 80s, the first graffiti boom in Finland started and then in the final phase I started to participate myself. Of course I still am, says Hanninen.
Artificial intelligence?
Hanninen started working with artificial intelligence in 2020. In abstract videos and paintings, artificial intelligence enabled a new kind of expression.
Since then, Hanninen’s works using artificial intelligence have developed in a more expressive and realistic direction. At the moment, Hanninen’s company is working on, among other things, a music video for the German band Ins Licht.
– I have to have a computer, a key and an idea. Without that thought, there is nothing. I have to know what I want from that picture, says Hanninen.
When working with artificial intelligence, Hanninen initially writes what he wants to see in the image. Currently, artificial intelligences understand English best. Hanninen uses artificial intelligence extensively. Artificial intelligence companies such as Stable Diffusion, Mid Journey and Open AI flash in the speech.
Hanninen writes the text, presses enter and waits. After this, the selection begins.
– I’m going to start curating, which picture? Another picture, another picture, another picture? Which of them is good? Are they all bad? Do I want to process the whole image somewhere? Do I want to add something to it?
It can take hours to get the desired result. Still, according to Hanninen, it is faster than with traditional equipment.
– When one has found such a resource, one would have to be a bit of a fool not to use it. You will achieve results that you would not otherwise be able to achieve as a one-man company. It has shortened the working time by thousands of percent, says Hanninen.
With the help of artificial intelligence, Hanninen has changed his way of working in a way that he describes as radical. He uses artificial intelligence, for example, in the ideation and sketching stages of large murals.
– I’m not going back to what I did before. Even a year ago, when someone commissioned work, it could take weeks to get a reasonable picture. Now I’m ok. Knock Let’s make those sketches in a day. Then we go paint it, says Hanninen.
A new brush
Hanninen has spent tens of years learning various musical instruments, painting tools and techniques. Doesn’t all that work seem pointless now?
– Let’s say that all the time I’ve spent studying, learning, doing different types of painting, that’s just who I am. Equally, it doesn’t bother me that I’ve learned to play the piano or the guitar, because now I can. Now I can also use artificial intelligence. A musical instrument is a musical instrument.
According to Hanninen, visual art is currently undergoing a fundamental change similar to that brought by the image editing program Photoshop when it appeared in the late 1980s. Artificial intelligence brings brushes and paints to people who, for one reason or another, have not used them before.
– Let’s give the possibility of pictorial expression to people who haven’t had it before. That changes everything in the endgame. We are talking about a new art trend. Even about the revolution, Hanninen says.
So who is the artist?
Hanninen often publishes his works on social media. In the summer of 2022, when Hanninen’s selfie appeared on Facebook as various fantasy characters produced by artificial intelligence, Hanninen’s friend Lasse commented: \”Some futis picture would be nice!\”. Hanninen’s answer was a series of pictures of the artist during the game.
Artificial intelligence has caused a number of questions for which answers are still being sought. Is the artist and owner of the work’s rights the one who came up with the idea, the person who used artificial intelligence, the person who programmed the artificial intelligence, or the artificial intelligence itself?
– I didn’t think that now I would be made a football player. But Lasse’s idea was turned into this. In a way, it can now be said that this is the collective work of Lassen, me and artificial intelligence.
At the moment, Instagram is full of pranks similar to Hanninen’s football adventures. Between the interview and the publication of this article, applications like Lensa have made similar technology available to people unfamiliar with artificial intelligence. Development in the field is tricky. In Hanninen’s words, \”jul-me-tun nopeeta\”.
Artificial intelligences are also able to adopt artists’ styles and ways of doing things. This has also been considered copyright infringement. The discussion in the field is lively.
The world changes
When Kai Hannisen’s cat, Saatana, passed away a few years ago, a street art piece in memory of Satana appeared on the wall of an abandoned house standing in the center of Lahti. Many of the electric cabinets in the Lahti region are colored by Hanninen’s painting.
Hanninen’s handprint can be seen on street corners in Finland and all over Europe. Hanninen’s commissioned works can be seen in places such as the bar, the escape room, and the premises of the parish and motorcycle club. There are also works in the Graffitilandia exhibitions in Seinäjoki and Vaasa.
And where does this development of the artist Kai Hanni lead?
– Where am I going with art? Where art takes me. There came that one book in which I am involved. I go where the pros take me. Now I’m making a German music video, which I would never have made without artificial intelligence.
– I recommend that you just jump on the bandwagon for that artificial intelligence. When you fight against progress, you usually come second, Hanninen reflects.