Abstract by AI
machine-made. human-curated.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been exploring artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques. In this text, I write briefly about the process on generating abstract art using StyleGAN.
The initial thought was to explore whether and how computer-generated art could evoke emotional feelings. Another reason was that while my fine motor artistic skills are somewhat limited, I wondered if machine learning could be used as a gateway to spark creativity.
Technology has had a significant impact on art in recent years, especially with the current hype of NFTs and machine learning rapidly entering the world of art.
As a designer who is new to the subject of machine learning, I am excited by what this technology is capable of, but I am also intimidated by its level of complexity. Therefore, I used RunwayML, a tool designed to make machine learning accessible to everyone without writing a single line of code.
What I needed to generate my images
→ Input images
→ a ML model (StyleGAN)
Input images
I have made folders on multiple platforms where I gather abstract art throughout the last few years. For this project, I mainly used my Pinterest folder as input, as well as images from Instagram. Afterward, I had to further curate the images whether they had a frame or were in the wrong format, and so on.
Background
A few weeks ago my class at Umeå Institute of Design had a machine learning lecture where we were introduced to AI, object recognition, and tools such as RunwayML. We trained models with Google’s teachable machine, explored ml5js and other existing models and libraries. Following this introduction, I became curious about machine learning and decided to explore it further.
Conclusion
It is fun to learn more about machine learning and especially to explore models such as StyleGAN, which I was curious about since I’ve seen it on many platforms these days. However, I haven’t really found a use for StyleGAN yet, aside for rather artistic purposes.
You can browse through a collection of the results on Instagram.
If you have questions or simply want to share your thoughts, I’d love to hear about it! — don’t hesitate to send me a message.
