Dissolving the Horizon Line: Navigating Disruption Caused by AI

Abstract

Photographs are now readily manipulated with Al in with ubiquitously available software, such as Photoshop. Although there is awareness that photographs can be seamlessly manipulated, photographs have such a strong historical link to evidencing a visual truth that they are still persuasive evidence. As visual perception usually dominates our senses we are vulnerable. This vulnerability is contextualised with theories from philosophers, psychologists, theorists of perception, architects and artists. After establishing the power of one of the latest ubiquitous image manipulation tools powered by AI, approaches to making us less vulnerable were articulated. One approach is to highlight photography and video as a constructed medium using highly visible collage techniques. Another is to highlight our non-visual senses contributions of our experiences, whether in the real world or artist’s installation. Case-studies of artists’ work that underpin these approaches are examined. Moholy-Nagy's theory of viewers' reactions to static photographs and moving image (film) and Sze's use of sound to ground a super abundance are examined. A phenomenological, embodied approach (Deleuze, Merleau-Ponty) to installations filled with fog created by Gormley and Eliasson is articulated. My methodology is autoethnographic. My practice provides an example of the problem and key findings from multiple approaches to ameliorating it.

Keywords

• artist
• AI
• theories of perception
• phenomenology
• horizon line
• atmosphere