Why Lensa's Magic Avatars have some artists on edge
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Hi, Art!

Sunday, December 11, 2022

Hi, Art!

Sunday, December 11, 2022

Hi, art lovers!

 
AI generated portrait created through the Lensa app. A pale-skinned female figure with rainbow coloured hair smiles big, revealing misshaped grey teeth of enormous size that appear to be plagued with dark rot. A plume or rainbow coloured smoke appears to emanate from an exposed shoulder.

Nope. (Lensa)

 

Always a sucker for a trend, especially one that strokes my ego, I downloaded the Lensa app before contemplating any of the obvious issues an AI portrait-generator raises. Is it going to steal my photos? “Perpetuate misogyny”? Make me regret spending $3.99 on something other than a latte? If you, as Artnet hilariously put it, feel “aggrieved by the limited artistic range of streetside caricaturists,” at least consider these tips before trying it yourself. But if I were you, I’d pass. Ethical quandaries aside, my collection of Magic Avatars must have been pulled from the most shadowy corners of Uncanny Valley. (So many extra fingers and freaky teeth!) Aside from a big-eyed fairy selfie that’s serving early-career Taylor Swift vibes, none of my portraits were fit for public consumption. But there are other reasons to feeI the ick about Lensa AI. CBC’s As It Happens explored why the technology has artists on edge, and they spoke with creatives directly impacted by it all. The AI was trained on their work without credit or compensation — which is a contemporary conundrum that also made for thought-provoking headlines this fall. Did you hear the story of the AI model that was trained on the work of Kim Jung Gi … less than a week after the illustrator died? Of course, for all the eight-fingered hand-wringing over AI in all its forms, there are thinkers who see a positive side to the technology. Check out this methodology for boosting creativity.

 

And because we promised you eye candy ...

 
Animated GIF of spinning colourful wind catchers, an installation by the artist Nick Cave.

Remai Modern

If you’re in Saskatoon, get your eyeballs to the Remai Modern, where this Nick Cave installation is on view — a veritable forest of dazzling wind spinners that hangs from the museum ceiling.

 
Photo of a man wearing a blue and white striped Team Argentina soccer jersey, balancing one foot on a soccer ball. He stands at the bottom of a blue swimming pool. A skrim of water appears to ripple above his head. There is no water inside the pool.

Leandro Erlich

Meet you by the pool … and in it too? This mind-bending immersive installation by Argentinean artist Leandro Erlich is now appearing at the Pérez Art Museum Miami. Find it there through September 2023.
 
Photo of a wearable piece of art, a full-body suit in the style of a warrior, maybe a video-game samurai, festooned with found objects of many colours and textures.

Rammellzee

Inspiration for all my holiday looks. (From Rammellzee: Gothic Futurism at Jeffrey Deitch Los Angeles.)
 
Framed abstract artwork in shades of yellow, off-white and black.

Natasha Katedralis

Tooth by Natasha Katedralis, who is one of the nominees for the 2022 Lind Prize. (An exhibition featuring this year’s honourees opened yesterday at the Polygon Gallery in Vancouver.)
 
Photo of a large textile sculpture suggesting a brown skinned humanoid with tentacles instead of legs. Its body is covered with circular bullseye-esque patterns in various colours. It is seated on the floor of an all-white room.

Tau Lewis

Homonoia by Toronto-born artist Tau Lewis.
 
 

You've got to see this

 
 
 
Photo collage depicting a red and pink pom-pom toque, assortment of painted Christmas cards, a black screenprinted tote bag reading
Valéry Goulet, Nancy Nickolson, Kent Monkman, Teenadult, Kness

The CBC Arts holiday gift guide: 2022 edition

 
From cosy winter gear to Christmas cards, these must-have items are made by Canadian artists.
 
Still from the series Letterkenny. Two men and two women sit on bar stools looking away from the bar. They all wear shocked expressions.
Crave

Your December streaming guide

 
Willow and Fleishman is in Trouble, plus the return of Letterkenny and Emily in Paris. And if you already have those shows in your queue, you’ll find plenty more staff picks in this month’s Watch This!
 
Black and white aerial photo of a residential area.

Galerie de l'UQAM

 

When artist Emmanuelle Duret died suddenly at 31, her friends finished the show she was planning to unveil in Montreal

 
The photo exhibition View From Above is a unique look at the devastating historical truths of the Holocaust. But as Didier Morelli writes, it’s also “a celebration of life and a testament to Duret's short but bright career, a moving reflection on living, losing and memorializing.”
 

Follow this artist

 
 
 
Instagram

Chris Reyes

@its_chrisreyes
Digital illustration in an airbrushed style. Suggests wavy hills with an eye rising from behind them like the sun. Colour scheme is pink, orange, blue and white.

Chris Reyes

This trippy “winterscape” is by Edmonton’s Chris Reyes, the graphic designer behind this month’s logo design.
 

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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time!

 
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