The emergence of autolography
The 'magical' invocation of images from text through AI
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5716629 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chris Chesher (0000-0001-9377-4512, The University of Sydney, corresponding author), César Albarrán-Torres (0000-0002-1285-0147, Swinburne University of Technology) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 189 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 57-73 |
| Publication date | 2023-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Media International Australia (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1329-878X • E-ISSN: 2200-467X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1329878x231193252 |
| OpenAlex | W4385808430 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 17 |
In mid-2022, AI systems automatically translating text into evocative original images became an internet sensation. People compared it to magic: invoking an uncannily competent artist-magician. We call it 'autolography' from the Greek 'automatos + logos + graphos' (self + word + drawing). Following a discourse analysis of online publications comparing autolography to magic, we analyse its enthusiastic reception from some and critique from others. We identify historical parallels and divergences between the reception of contemporary autolography and early photography: the reduction or transformation of creative labour, negotiations over intellectual property, the alleged democratisation of visual cultural production, and the association with the Western magical imagination. Both photography and autolography prompted renegotiations of artistic practices, professional identities and intellectual property laws. However, rather than being a mechanical eye on the world, autolography undermines faith in images by invoking digitally uncanny materialisations of floating signifiers from AI models
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Democratization · Epistemology · Faith · Intellectual property · Literature · Logos Bible Software · Parallels · Reception theory · Sociology · Uncanny · Visual arts · Aesthetic Perception and Analysis · Law · Philosophy · Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts · Visual Culture and Art Theory
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| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |