Advancement of AI and Art: The Art-Official Gallery

The theme of AI was chosen as a response to its constant development and increasing presence in both the wider community and the art world. Robert Smith, Art Department chair and organizer of the show noted the theme of AI had been on his mind for some time. “For several years now, maybe two years now, I've wanted to do an art show called Art Official-Intelligence. And of course it's a play on words, but also, I think it's an action and reaction to the rise of AI in our culture,” he explained. “I think we're wrestling right now as a culture with how much AI should take over in certain aspects of our lives…what does it mean for art to still be a human endeavor?”

The Hopkins community reacted in a range of ways, showing just how divisive AI’s role in art has gotten over the years. Alan Xu ’26 noted how the art gallery inspired him to make art of his own:: “I want to use AI's process as inspiration to generate human art from AI art like how AI generates its art from human art.” Olivia Wang ’26 shared similar excitement: “I'm really interested to see if someone will combine AI and art in one piece!” Others were more hesitant. Irene Kim ’28 noted that “it was a really interesting idea to showcase artists' views of A.I. … but ultimately it is still promoting the use of A.I. in art.” Lilo Gaul ’28 echoed the concern, adding: “People might end up taking that as a prompt to just use generative AI to create artwork,” Similarly, Charis Olaleye ’27 described her own conflicted reaction: “My initial reaction to the… theme was ‘DON'T USE IT!’” she acknowledged. However, after thinking of all sides of AI use, Olaleye then “ started to consider how and if AI could play a useful role in the art community.” 

Students also debated practical uses of AI. ““I'm really excited about the uses of AI, and for us starting to come to terms as a community with what's accepted, what's original, when is it art, when is it just AI?” Smith commented. Juno Queen ’28 suggested that AI could improve efficiency, explaining that “for finding references (human made) and for fast critique, AI could definitely be useful.” Kim agreed, noting “generative A.I. images can be a good reference for drawings, and text A.I. can help with brainstorming and creating/applying symbolic meanings in art.” On the other hand, Xu explored the use of AI shaped by context: “Just as you could use a graphing calculator for advanced physics but not for elementary math, AI is a tool defined by its purpose.” Estelle Hammarlund ’27 agreed with the limited role, saying “I don't think that AI should be a part of the actual final piece.” The perspectives displayed not only mixed emotions around AI but also ways it may serve as a resource rather than replacing creativity.

The theme has already inspired specific ideas among students preparing works for the gallery. For Xu, he based his work on inconsistencies with AI. “Despite how many pictures of the Mona Lisa were online, what AI generated wasn't entirely consistent… I cut [them] into pieces, stitching them together to weave the Mona Lisa,” he detailed. Wang’s idea was based on the interpretation of ‘AI art has no soul’, aiming “to create something that shows how a person's soul cannot be replicated/taken by machine.” Kim focused on the historical role of art and its longevity: “Art has been an essential part of society…it connected people throughout history.”

AI seems to also have a place in regards to the education of art. Studio Art teacher Jaquelle LaBelle-Young imagined using it in her class, imagining “I might do it as a way to rapidly generate certain kinds of images for discussion. It might be fun as well as instructive [and] interesting to use it as a topic for debate about what constitutes ‘art’ in the first place,” She also warned: “We have to be careful of giving away too much of our creativity.” Video production teacher Ian Guthrie doubted technology was ready, but saw possible uses in scriptwriting: “I may have students employ AI services to help them write spec scripts for their projects in the future.” He explains, “the quicker that we can get students out capturing lovely moving images, the better. My big issues… are largely philosophical…Is the faster, easier way of doing things the best? Rarely so.” Smith acknowledged how technology could be a time-saver, but he enforces how “we should be very honest with each other when we're using it.”

The community gallery show offers more than just striking visuals; it invites conversations unfolding not only in studios and classrooms, but all across the art world: in an era of numbers and algorithms, what remains uniquely human about art?