Every morning, I walk past “The Manuscript of Monte Cassino”, the fragmented robotic sculptures by Eduardo Paolozzi, installed at the top of Leith Walk in Edinburgh. These works are a powerful reminder of Paolozzi’s ambition to blur the lines between human and machine in art. Their disembodied, geometric forms evoke the horrors of war through their cold, robotic power, blending the human and the mechanical.
"I want to be a machine" is often attributed to Andy Warhol, and whether he said it or not, both Paolozzi and Warhol explored the concept of mechanizing art, seeking to embody the machine in their practice. But as I pass by Paolozzi’s sculptures on my way to the studio, I see my role differently—not to mechanize myself, but to "HUMANIZE THE MACHINE".
Humanizing the Machine
In the early days of blockchain technology, artists like myself were already embracing the impact of technology on art. During the rise of cryptoart in 2018 and 2019, we began tokenizing our works as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. Though we didn’t fully understand the underlying technology, we were united in our shared willingness to embrace this digital evolution. It was a very small group of us but we were all determined to embrace this new technology in our artists' practice.
"LONDON FORGOTTEN" - tokenized on Super Rare Art on 19.08.2019 - LINK
When AI art began to develop, we, having already accepted technological disruption, quickly adopted AI as part of our creative process. Many of these early works are GAN works and have been collected for vast sums of money - like Robbie Barrat's AI Generated Nude Portraits.
ROBBIE BARRAT - AI GENERATED NUDE PORTRAIT #1
By 2022, advancements like DALL-E 2 marked a turning point, though still falling short of what I wanted to create through AI. I began printing DALL-E 2 images, manually working over them with Indian ink and ended up creating a body of work called Soul Brds, one of the first AI Collaborative Collections to be tokenized. I created 600 Soul Brds in this way and it took 4 months of over-painting with ink to render them in the expressive way I wanted.
"SOUL BRDS, MISS AL SIMPSON, 2022 - LINK
In 2022, others like Norrie Harman with “SIGHTSEERS” and Claire Silver with “AI ART IS NOT ART” were similarly grappling with AI, integrating hand-drawn or digitally manipulated elements into their collections.
"SIGHTSEERS, NORMAN HARMAN, 2022 - LINK
"AI ART IS NOT ART", CLAIRE SILVER, 2022 - LINK
As artists, I believe we engage in a process of humanizing the machine. AI is ultimately a cold, algorithmic entity devoid of emotion. Yet, when an artist intervenes—whether through fine-tuning the algorithm, training the model or physically altering its outputs—we humanize the machine, imbuing it with emotion and meaning. This is why AI Art is here to stay, whether you are an artist who intervenes with AI outputs or trains the model, we are all adding a degree of "HUMANIZATION OF THE MACHINE" which takes AI and really makes it one of the most important tools available to any artist of our time.
Overpainted AI Polaroids – Chrono Visions
In 2023, I pushed my AI practice into a new area with Chrono Visions, a series in which I instructed AI to generate polaroid photographs based on reconstructed memories. These AI-generated polaroids were then printed and overpainted, reflecting on the fleeting nature of memory. SEE SERIES - HERE
"02.06.77", CHRONO VISIONS, MISS AL SIMPSON, 2023 - LINK
The series is a meditation on time, spanning memories from the 1970s to 2000s, with each polaroid representing an ephemeral moment brought to life through traditional painting techniques.
"29.02.76", CHRONO VISIONS, MISS AL SIMPSON, 2023 - LINK
The application of thick oil paint over these AI polaroids, inspired by Gerhard Richter’s overpainted photographs, introduces physical texture to an otherwise intangible memory. The interaction between the mechanical precision of the AI and the organic qualities of oil paint disrupts the conventional perception of time and memory, grounding the fleeting in the present.
Overpainted AI
As my practice evolved, I moved beyond the simple overpainting of AI-generated images and into more complex Algorithmic Overpainting. Initially, I referred to this as Overpainted AI, drawing inspiration from Richter’s method of adding expressive layers to photography. However, my approach soon diverged. Unlike Richter, who plays on the tension between the mechanical and the emotional, I see AI as a creative tool—a foundation on which I build.
"THE LACE HUNTER", HOLLYWOOD PIXELATIONS, MISS AL SIMPSON, 2024 - LINK
My series "Hollywood Pixelations" on SuperRare Art marks this transition. This body of work explores a fictional, pixelated version of Los Angeles, where characters teeter on the edge of chaos, weaving imaginary narratives into their AI folklore.
"TRIANGLE BANGLE", HOLLYWOOD PIXELATIONS, MISS AL SIMPSON, 2024 - LINK
Through extensive work with AI and subsequent overpainting, I created a monochromatic collection that blends abstraction with narrative. These pieces reflect my belief that art made through humanizing the machine can evoke emotional responses that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.
"GLITCH SWIMMERS", HOLLYWOOD PIXELATIONS, MISS AL SIMPSON, 2024 - LINK
In Hollywood Pixelations, I invite the viewer to confront the fragmentation of the human condition in a digital age. This body of work challenges us to see through the digital veil and recognize the universal truth of the solitary human experience, all while being generated from the precise outputs of AI.
Algorithmic Overpainting
Building upon these earlier experiments, I developed the concept of Algorithmic Overpainting. At the heart of this practice is the "Algorithmic Canvas"—an AI-generated composition that serves as a digital framework for my work. Through fine-tuned parameters, I train AI to produce intricate compositions.
"THE RED QUEEN", VIRTUAL VERSAILLES, MISS AL SIMPSON, 2024 - LINK
But this canvas is merely the starting point. Like a preparatory sketch, the Algorithmic Canvas is a structure that I transform through traditional painting. It offers suggestions that I, as an artist, expand upon. With each stroke, I bring the machine to life.
"AVATAR LOST", VIRTUAL VERSAILLES, MISS AL SIMPSON, 2024 - LINK
For my latest AI collection, "Virtual Versailles", I trained the machine to generate images inspired by the grandeur of Versailles.
"HORDES AT THE GATE", VIRTUAL VERSAILLES, MISS AL SIMPSON, 2024 - LINK
In this imagined world, avatars and kings inhabit a virtual palace, each scene ripe for my intervention. Using the Algorithmic Canvas as the foundation, I applied oil paints to inject human emotion and beautiful abstraction into this virtual landscape.
"THE LIGHT WALKERS", VIRTUAL VERSAILLES, MISS AL SIMPSON, 2024 - LINK
Artist as Machine
Working with AI has not only transformed my art but also my mindset as an artist. As artists, we are often bound by emotion, self-doubt and imposter syndrome. But in working with AI, I’ve noticed a huge shift. The machine’s process-driven nature has allowed me to become much more focused, driven, and less weighed down by the heavy emotions that are present with every artist. There is a lightness and positivity in working with the machine that is like night and day for the artist.
"BABY BLUE", MISS AL SIMPSON, 2024 - LINK
This transformation represents a new state of being for the artist—one where the artist, too, becomes more machine-like in their approach, embracing the precision, focus, and determination of AI. "Humanizing the Machine" becomes a two-way process: as I imbue AI with human emotion, the machine’s methodical logic, in turn, enhances my own artistic practice.
"HER BEAUTIFUL PRISON", MISS AL SIMPSON, 2024 - LINK
Perhaps this is what Paolozzi and Warhol foresaw. But for me, it’s not about becoming a machine; it’s about leveraging the symbiosis between human creativity and machine precision to reach a new level as an artist. The machine makes me a better artist, not because it is taking over or replacing me as an artist but because it has changed me.
Conclusion: Redefining the Artist-Machine Relationship
Through Algorithmic Overpainting, I have found that the relationship between artist and machine is not adversarial—it’s symbiotic. The artist remains at the center, using AI as a tool to enhance, expand, and transform creative possibilities. The machine offers structure and precision, but it is the human touch that brings meaning, emotion, and depth.
"WALKING AWAY", MISS AL SIMPSON, 2024 - LINK
This partnership between human and machine opens up a new frontier in art—one that Paolozzi and Warhol may have predicted, but which we are only beginning to explore. By humanizing the machine, we elevate art to new dimensions, pushing the boundaries of what is possible while retaining the core of what it means to create. AI is our ultimate tool; the ultimate creative machine that is there to work with us, to help us achieve our artistic vision in a way never possible before.
I can't wait to see what the future holds, humanizing the machine...
Kommentare