Indeed, what is art? With the growth of AI, the definition of art is often contested along with it. I thought I'd share my thoughts and my own definition of art.

How do you even define art?

Some begin by defining art’s value to others. Guillermo del Toro said that art is valued by what you'd risk to be in its presence. The grand “classics” in art are great examples of this. Having been in the same room as Michelangelo’s Pieta, I know the painting has a reverence that just can't be described.

That's art. But, is the definition of art a matter of quality?

Like Guillermo’s, many definitions have thresholds on quality. The artwork must be this impressive, this influential, to be art. Would I call my child's first drawing “not art” to spare the artistic reputation of Pieta?

Many don’t like the relatively new genre of generative AI (and rightfully so). To keep it out of the conversation of art, it’s easier to just define it as “not art” and invalidate it from further arguments. But as the quality of AI art increases, a threshold of quality becomes a harder gate to keep AI out. Same goes with any other medium.

(Unfortunately this invalidation doesn’t just happen in art *cough* politics…)

So, the definition of art should include all mediums or skill levels. It should also mitigate relativity from person to person:

In my opinion, a child's crayon drawing should be considered “art” just as much as Michelangelo's Pieta. As to which one I think is better art...

To spare you more tension, I'll state my definition of art now, then explain (feel free to let me know your definition!):

Interconnected Choices

Think of every choice in an artwork as a dot. The dots represent choices: the subject matter, tone, style, shading, form, whatever.

Now add lines between these dots. The lines define choices connected or related to each other. And connections could be anything, from the subject matter, to the existential themes, to the direction and color of individual brushstrokes.

Think of a diamond’s molecular structure:

The goal isn't to have as many choices or connections as possible. Just that they must exist. They imply intended communication and meaning, and even the “strength” of the artwork.

Tangible Medium

This just means that the art is out of your head and translated into a medium. Your imagination is not a tangible medium. It must be put somewhere: paper, canvas, clay, marble, digital file, or film stock.

To effectively translate these interconnected choices to a medium, art requires technique.

Technique

Technique is simply the implementation of the artist’s choices within the medium.

The same subject matter can be translated to different mediums. But it takes skill to translate into each one effectively.

Knowing how to use a pencil is not inherently art. A pencil is a tool to express your art. But knowing how to implement that tool will make a world of difference in how effectively you convey your story, and how it impacts your audience.

Artists spend lots of time learning their tools. Often, their entire lives.

The Intent to Express

This simply states that the intent is to communicate something. This is why sharing is an important part of the art process. Art is not meant to be locked away, never seen by others. It’s meant to be shared.

The importance of choice

Life requires a multitude of choices. Everyone is making choices constantly.

But not computers, not even AI. Its "choices" are doomed to noise samples and data it’s trained on. It is doomed to its circumstances, its environment.

Unlike AI, we get to choose. Regardless of how you were raised, the environment you were brought up in, the social circle you surround yourself with. You are never a victim forever. In the end, you always get to choose.

Tools and apps and software may make art seem easy. But artists quickly realize that art demands more: effectively translating interconnected choices into an art medium.

And that can be tiring. And time-wasting.

So instead of spending time on choices, artists find or make tools to make choices for them, to simplify the technique until it's trivial, to distance themselves as far as possible from the intentional aspects of their art.

This is why AI is so alluring and tempting. Time is money.

But is all time worth saving? Even for art?

In Conclusion

Is Michelangelo’s Pieta art? Yes.

Is a child’s drawing art? Yes, but I would choose Michelangelo’s Pieta over it.

Generative AI art? Is it “art”? By itself, no. But an artist can use it as a choice in their art.

Seeing the artist’s choices in art is something we value in society (but not necessarily the economy). That is why we still admire hand-painted artworks in museums; you can see every choice the artist made. Time is spent making those choices.

The key to this discussion on generative AI isn’t the definition of art. It’s the value of choices. The integrity artists hold fast to, the message they choose to share, the time spent.

AI isn’t “choosing” anything. But the artist can.

As long as we artists want to make choices, AI will never be above us. Because our superiority over AI is the ability to choose what has not been chosen before, to see what hasn't been seen, and to make what hasn't been made before.

Thank you for reading. Let me know your thoughts.