The Future Historiography of AI Art

More and more artists from all over the world are engaging in the production of AI art. Because of this, art historians need to start thinking about how the histories of AI art should be articulated. This paper aims to take part in this conversation by addressing the problem of whether the AIs created by human artists should be considered as artists too in the discourse of art and its history. By building on previous research on ethics, consciousness, authorship, creatorship, and intent, this paper presents a number of arguments as to whether or not anthropocentrism should be abandoned in the writing of AI art’s histories

Country, God, and the Sublime: Imaginative Reflections on the Life and Works of the Philippine Painter Ricarte Puruganan

This study focuses on the Philippine artist Ricarte Puruganan’s reckoning with the ideas of “country,” “God,” and “the sublime.” It does so through a hermeneutic reading of the artist’s works as a cultural text. In order to fill the gaps in the historiographic record and to enrich the material on the artist that was already available, the author engaged in imaginative reflection. This act of imagination was used to shape the narrative presented in this work. The thesis presents a biography of Ricarte Puruganan as well as an explication of his aesthetics (particularly his ideas on a Philippine Kunstwollen—or will to form—and the sublime in Philippine art). It also provides an exploration of the tropes the painter used in his artistic discourse—such an exploration was imperative as it is only through the use of these discrete expressive mechanisms built on visual metaphors that Ricarte was (and is) able to impress his ideas on “country,” “God,” and “the sublime” on us

Finding Queer Optimism in the Art of Oscar Zalameda

Queer theorists have traditionally advocated for the adoption of an outlook of queer pessimism in order to develop a criticality that helps the queer community effectively address the issues it presently faces. Some queer theorists, however, have instead advocated for an outlook of queer optimism—an outlook which allows space for celebrating joy and embracing optimism without forgoing the criticality needed to fight for queer rights. This paper touches on the validity of having such a disposition even in the dark times we currently live in—specifically how art can move us to embrace queer optimism. In discussing the formal techniques the queer artist Oscar Zalameda employed in his art practice, this paper aims to provide a phenomenological/hermeneutic explication of how he formed affects of queer optimism through his works. The artist's paintings continue to preserve these forces, and our encounters with them in the present give us hope. Considering the political potential of queer optimism amidst the current realities queer persons are facing in the Philippines, it is important to take a critical look at the works of Zalameda and other queer artists embracing such a disposition

Finding Queer Optimism in the Art of Oscar Zalameda (Preprint)

Preprin