Merzazine ‘23

All Medium articles from the Year 2023 (with friend links)

2023 is over — but it’s only just beginning! Merzazine has become even more focused on AI and creativity — and believe me, I have a lot to say outside this bubble. And that is what I will be doing in 2024!

But today, I’d like to recall all the Medium articles I wrote last year (see my 2022 review ). With friend links — you don’t need to sign up to Medium to read my articles, even if they’re behind the paywall.

Because you are my friends!

Essays on AI

Explorations of creative capabilities by machines.

Imagined Selfies (with AI)

img2img with MidJourney (Jan 18, 2023)

Analysis of AI’s interpretation of human culture and personality through artistic experiments with various AI tools, leading to the creation of ‘Imagined Selfies’ and narratives that blend human creativity with machine interpretation.

How to train your Künstler

Preisfrage: ist es Kunst? (Mit Preis inkl)

Mar 18, 2023 (InterMERZ)

Untersuchungen von GAN-Kunst (übersetzung meines Essays aus dem Englischen )

Mona Lisa is drinking Wine with da Vinci.

All about my Creativity Check prompt. And my thing with la Gioconda (Apr 10, 2023)

This article explores the evolution of AI-generated art, particularly focusing on the prompt “Mona Lisa is drinking wine with da Vinci.” The author discusses various AI models like DALL-E, ruDALL-E, and MidJourney, and their interpretations of the prompt, reflecting on the creativity and limitations of each model. The article delves into the concept of AI bringing a new aura to art, and the author’s journey in experimenting with different AI platforms to realize artistic visions, highlighting the ongoing evolution and potential of AI in creative fields.

MidJourney Evolution V1–5.1

Prompt: Artist in her studio (May 4, 2023)

This essay discusses the evolution of the MidJourney AI art model from V1 to V5.1, highlighting the advancements in realism, detail, and creative expression in generating images of an artist in her studio, showing a progression from rudimentary human depictions to highly detailed, photorealistic scenes filled with personal and artistic elements.

AI as Artist’s Augmentation

Art’s unstoppable revolution

Jul 2, 2023

In this article, I delve into the evolving role of AI in the art world, arguing for its potential as a tool for artistic augmentation rather than a replacement for human creativity. I discuss how generative AI since 2015 has democratized art creation, challenging traditional elitism and empowering everyone to be an artist. I explore two key enablers of AI in art: software, offering convenience but at a cost, and hardware, requiring more effort but providing greater freedom. Sharing my journey from a non-coder to embracing AI in art, I emphasize AI art’s role in embedding human concepts and interpretations into visual products, thereby enriching the artistic landscape.

Deutsche Version .

The New Eclectic with Midjourney (V3-V5.2)

Mixing Styles as New Genre

Jul 21, 2023

I examine the concept of digital eclecticism in AI-generated art, where I blend different artistic styles using MidJourney versions 3 to 5.2, creating a new genre that transcends traditional cultural and stylistic boundaries. This exploration includes mixing the aesthetics of various artists like Leyendecker, Beksiński, Magritte, and others to forge unique, surreal characters and worlds, demonstrating the potential of Generative AI in crafting innovative and diverse artistic expressions.

German Version

The beauty of failing in AI-driven typography.

Evolution in comparisons and approaches (including an almost fail-free solution).

Aug 29, 2023

In this essay, I discuss the evolving capabilities of generative AI in art, focusing on the aesthetic appeal of its imperfections. I explore how earlier AI models like StyleGAN and CLIP had charming flaws in rendering languages, faces, and hands, creating a unique style of art. I reflect on my experiments with various AI tools, noting how CLIP tried to incorporate text into images and DALL-E’s progression in handling typography. The piece highlights the poetic and artistic potential of these imperfections, as seen in my series of AI-generated ‘wisdoms’ and experiments with Ideogram for typography. I argue that these imperfections add depth and character to AI-generated art, emphasizing its distinction from mere craft.

DALL·E 3 is here.

And it will change the way we prompt.

Sep 30, 2023

My first experiments and observations about DALL-E 3.

GPTs — ChatGPT-powered Intelligent Agents: Do It Yourself.

The new level of AI customization.

Nov 8, 2023

Tutorial about creating customized Agents, or GPTs.

MidJourney on your Private Discord Server

Organize your work with Generative AI

Nov 11, 2023

Tutorial on creating a customized Discord Server for more efficient and organized working with MidJourney.

About my cultural activities

Exhibitions, publications, collaborations

#reMERZ: Visual Criticism in NYC

My artwork was presented in Accelerate Art mobile art in New York City (Apr 15, 2023)

Showcase of various Web3 artists’ works, including Merzmensch’s piece “The Craft of Visual Criticism,” in New York City, facilitated by Accelerate Art and the Unfold mobile gallery.

Festival der Zukunft — 2023 — Festival of the Future

Melting pot of minds and ideas

Jul 14, 2023

Explore the dynamic blend of art, technology, and innovative ideas experienced at Munich's Festival of the Future, highlighting key installations, discussions on AI’s role, and the intersection of human and machine creativity.

#MERZmory diffused

AI models trained on my memories.

Jul 17, 2023

I explore the intriguing concept of blending AI with personal memories, where I train StyleGAN2 on my photographs and texts to create new, AI-generated images and writings. This project, a personal art endeavor, reflects on how AI can reinterpret and reshare memories, offering a unique perspective on past experiences and their transformation through the lens of technology.

DIGITAL PICTURE CULTURES in 20 volumes

Digitale Bildkulturen — an event in Berlin

Sep 6, 2023

I discuss the influential book series “Digitale Bildkulturen” (Digital Picture Cultures), which delves into the evolving aesthetics of the internet and its impact on society. Edited by German art historians Wolfgang Ullrich and Annekathrin Kohout, the series, now with 20 volumes, features contributions from various experts on topics like crypto-art, TikTok, and emojis. My own book on AI art is included in this series. A special event is planned at Volksbühne Berlin to celebrate the milestone, featuring discussions with the editors and contributing authors, including myself.

Deutsche Version .

geb. Merzmensch

I am born Merzmensch.

“We are at the beginning of a New Cultural Epoch”.

An Interview with me by Maja Beckers, “Die Zeit” (2. Oktober 2023)

Oct 18, 2023

In this interview with “Die Zeit,” I discuss the emergence of a new cultural epoch marked by the intersection of AI, art, and creativity, emphasizing the expanding role of AI in artistic expression and the need for a balanced approach to its integration and influence on concepts like originality and authorship.

My Book KI-KUNST (AI ART)

Out now!

Oct 18, 2023

Short introduction in my book “KI-Kunst” (“AI-Art”, Wagenbach Verlag, Digitale Bildkulturen).

Deutsche Version .

#MerzSays

Short texts between an essay and idea. About urgent topics.

#MerzSays: What is it?

May 13, 2023

About my new format.

#MerzSays. Re: AI controlling humanity

May 13, 2023

About AI doomers and wrong fears.

#MerzSays: OPT-OUT or OPT-IN for AI?

Sep 5, 2023

Everybody shall have their own decision — and AI developers should respect it. My decision is that I want AI to be trained in my work.

#MerzSays: Authors vs. AI?

Sep 22, 2023

Accusations of theft by AI reflect people’s incompetence in how the system works.

Essays on Culture and Society

What moves the world…

The Balloon Story

About American Angst, Chinese Spies, and Russian Poets (Feb 5, 2023)

The article discusses a Chinese surveillance balloon entering U.S. airspace, evoking a sense of American angst and security concerns, paralleled with a story by Russian poet Daniil Kharms about building a surprise wall in Petersburg, illustrating the absurdity and unexpected consequences of such actions.

Dinge sind Erinnerungen. Erinnerungen sind Dinge. Mit Kurt Schwitters

Aus der Serie “Very Personal Effects” (Sehr pers?nliche Dinge)

Aug 2, 2023

Wie sich Schwitters’ Werke mir in v?llig unerwarteten Umgebungen begegnen. (übersetzung aus dem Englischen )

I appreciate algorithms.

We are always living in our bubbles. How you can control them is what matters.

Oct 9, 2023

Created with AI

These pieces are created in collaboration with AI models.

BACK TO THE BOOKS

By Evelyn Waugh (Apr 23, 2023 )

“The way you open the pizza or book literally takes its shape within the first few hairs of your hand over the cauldron of your finger…”

HYPNAGOGIA city

A dream of a machine (Apr 24, 2023)

An AI-created short movie exploring other urban realities.

The Foreshadowing of Empty Streets.

MidJourney V5.2 with new Zoom function and new storytelling approach.

Jun 24, 2023

In this essay, I explore the new “Zoom Out” function of MidJourney V5.2, which allows for outpainting images to create semantically coherent expanded scenes. I discuss creating a series of images using this feature, starting with a tense crowd scene and progressively adding elements like children, birds, and eventually leading to empty streets. This process, blending AI art with manual techniques and storytelling, reflects on the intersection of AI and human creativity. Additionally, I delve into using AI-generated music to enhance the narrative, tying it to real-world events for deeper thematic resonance.

Poetry

Poems written by me (and sometimes machine)

The Ambassador of Twilight

Multilingual poem (Published in Literally Literary)

Aug 7, 2023

See you in 2024!