bunnyrave
The triptych explores the impact of digital image-making tools on contemporary painting practice
B
unny Rave is a monumental 6-meter-long painting. The triptych investigates new possibilities for representational painting. Across three canvases, I compare different levels of interaction between human and machine. Each panel employs a distinct process for image creation. The central panel executes pure human design, the right-hand panel uses CGI to assist in the design process, and the left-hand panel involves AI-assisted image generation in the design process.
AI-assisted design
Pure human design
CGI-assisted human
Above: Bunny Rave Triptych Scheme, 2022, digital graphic
The central panel showcases unadulterated human creativity, employing traditional artistic techniques that have shaped the history of pictorial arts. Initially an exploration of modernist aesthetics, the piece evolved into a narrative-driven scene. The composition adheres to an “all-over” modernist approach, with figure and background sharing equal prominence.
Above, from left: Bunny Rave, 2020, oil on canvas, 195 x 200 cm. Bunny Rave Reloaded, 2022, oil on canvas, 195 x 200 cm
In the right-hand panel, I used a scene created in 3D software as a model for the painting, integrating human creativity with computer graphics. This carefully staged digital tableau served as a model for the observation-based process of painting, akin to early-modernist approach to abstracting form.
Above: Bunny Rave Reloaded, 2022, digital animation.
The left-hand panel, currently a work in progress, features an AI-generated image of the same subject. I trained an AI model on 3D renders of my bunny rabbit sculpture. I experiment with the AI model by inputting natural language prompts to generate images. To maintain stylistic unity, I paint in the same early modernist manner as the other panels.
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Above, from left: Bunny Rave, 2020, charcoal sketch, Bunny Rave Reloaded, 2022, digital animation stil
Above, from top left: Bunny Rave, 2020, oil on canvas, 195 x 200 cm. Bunny Rave Reloaded, 2022, oil on canvas, 195 x 200 cm
