Got called out for using AI art in a local gallery show in Austin and I'm still not sure who was right

I entered this small community gallery thing last month. Had this landscape piece that I made by feeding my own photos into Stable Diffusion and then painting over parts of it in Photoshop. Felt proud of it. Then this older artist at the opening saw it, asked if I used AI. I said yes. She told the organizer it shouldn't be in the show because it wasn't "real art." Organizer came to me and said I could leave it up but people were talking. I kept it up. Two people said they loved the texture. Three others avoided my corner. Was I wrong to submit it? Is there a line somewhere between using AI as a tool vs letting it do the whole job? What do you all think?

3 comments

3 Comments

foster.tessa1mo ago

Used to be super against AI art myself, thought it was just cheating basically. Then I spent a weekend actually playing with Stable Diffusion and realized how much work goes into getting something that doesn't look like a melted clock. Your process sounds legit to me, you fed it your own photos and then did manual painting on top. That's way more hands on than what most people think AI art is. The older artist probably just saw the word "AI" and shut down, didn't care about the actual effort.

shane_park921mo ago

People judge tools, not results... it's just gatekeeping with extra steps.

claire8721mo ago

Well, you've hit on something that bothers me too. It's like how some people in the neighborhood will only let you borrow their lawnmower if you've owned the exact same brand they have. It's not really about the tool working fine, it's about making sure you're part of their club first. I see this same gatekeeping in all sorts of places, from what kind of car you drive to how you choose to cook a meal at home. The results should matter most, but some folks just can't let go of the status stuff.