Najmedin, Foad; Moghanipour, Majid Reza Examining the Capabilities and Challenges of AARON (Painter Software)

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://dx.doi.org/10.18688/aa2313-7-55
Title Examining the Capabilities and Challenges of AARON (Painter Software)
Author email moghanipour@shirazu.ac.ir
About author Najmedin, Foad — Ph. D., assistant professor. University of Science and Culture, Bahar st, Shahid Qamushi st, Ashrafi Esfahani Bulvar, Tehran, Iran; f.najmedin@gmail.com; ORCID: 0009-0000-4413-5933 Moghanipour, Majid Reza — Ph. D., associate professor. Shiraz University, Goldasht 3 St., Moaliabad Av., Shiraz, Iran; moghanipour@shirazu.ac.ir; ORCID: 0000-0001-9806-6953 (responsible author)
In the section International Art in the 20th and 21st Centuries DOI10.18688/aa2313-7-55
Year 2023 Volume 13 Pages 687–700
Type of article RAR Index UDK 7, 004.855.6 Index BBK 85.72
Abstract

The present article probes Harold Cohen’s AARON software and its unique features which brings it closer to the definition of “human creativity:, making it distinct from other computer software or basic computer artworks. AARON’s (metaphorically) works are massive images (usually 2.3 meters or even larger murals) in a style and context close to the expressionist literature of the early 20th century. Although features such as linear value and especially coloring were gradually embedded in different versions of AARON, we are mostly faced with linear images (so-called design) in the initial versions. In the early years of the 21st century, he returned to more abstract forms and experienced defining forms, especially more independent coloring. So, it was Cohen’s process of continuous training and his empiricism that made this AI mysterious, fascinating, and exciting at the same time.
Here, first, a description of digital and computer art is presented and its characteristics are discussed. Afterward, the artificial intelligence (AI) art and its similarities and differences with human art are addressed using AARON software, and its distinguishing feature, that is the selection in the process of forming the artistic work, is described. Finally, some challenges to this type of art, including the lower quality of the works created by this software, the issue of predestination and free will in its performance, and especially the issue of AARON destiny will be discussed.
Keywords
Reference Najmedin, Foad; Moghanipour, Majid Reza. Examining the Capabilities and Challenges of AARON (Painter Software). Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: Collection of articles. Vol. 13. Eds A. V. Zakharova, S. V. Maltseva, E. Iu. Staniukovich-Denisova. — Lomonosov Moscow State University / St. Petersburg: NP-Print, 2023, pp. 687–700. ISSN 2312-2129. http://dx.doi.org/10.18688/aa2313-7-55
Publication Article language english
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