Join the Bainbridge Public Library for the January 2023 First Friday Art Walk, featuring artist Jon Waters
The Bainbridge Public Library is dedicated to spreading the joy of reading and the discovery of ideas with not just our local community, but with visitors from near and afar. In addition, the library is fortunate to house beautiful local works of art both inside and outside the building. Each month the library celebrates a local artist (or artists) with an exhibit, which opens monthly on the Island’s First Friday Art Walk tour, and includes a reception hosted by the featured artist.
The Bainbridge Public Library is proud to present an exhibit by artist Jon Waters
Jon will host a “meet and greet” from 5pm-7pm on Friday, January 6, 2023 to open his new exhibit, “Confabulated Plebeians” for First Friday Art Walk
Local Kitsap artist, Jon Waters will be displaying an exploration of the complex relationship between humanity and technology, as well as the implications of artificial intelligence for consciousness and the nature of existence through digital art. Combining images via Midjourney and OpenAI ChatGPT for descriptions, Jon says he “writes text and provides image prompts and parameters to give a Neural Net Machine Learning (ML) algorithm to produce unique images.” He also noted that he’s been using the beta version of this relatively new technology since April 2022.
According to a Forbes September 2022 article, founder of Midjourney, David Holz, said the technology “is one of the leading drivers of the emerging technology of using artificial intelligence (AI) to create visual imagery from text prompts.”
Jon’s work frequently involves themes related to the merging of human and machine, “the idea of the soul after death, and the nature of reality itself.” Jon goes on to explain that his art “can be seen as a reflection of the profound questions raised by science fiction classics like The Matrix and The Truman Show, as they explore the idea that we are constantly being watched and controlled by unseen forces. The founder of this technology has stated that the goal is to enhance the human imagination, not to create imaginative machines. Despite its lack of inherent creativity, the AI system can be utilized as a powerful tool.”
As Jon explained in his artist statement to BPL, “This revolutionary art incorporates the latest advances in artificial intelligence technology into its creative process, using massive AI models with billions of parameters, diffusion models, and chaotic combinatorials of language to visualize and generate ideas. This approach allows for the continuous refinement and evolution of initial creations, leading to the manifestation of specific goals and concepts of the artist. Sometimes, however, the artist may simply want to see where the AI’s creations lead without any specific goal in mind.” In addition, his art is known for its twisted sense of humor as he often produces mocking images by meshing unrelated pictures together to create thought-provoking digital art.
Jon’s digital images will be printed and framed for the show and are available for purchase, with a portion of the proceeds donated to BPL.
Jon’s exhibit is available for viewing and sale at the Bainbridge Public Library throughout the month of January. The exhibit will be available during regular library hours. For more information, please see the library website, www.bainbridgepubliclibrary.org.
As always, thank you for supporting your Bainbridge Public Library and local artists. If you have interest in exhibiting your work, feel free to contact Linda Meier, art coordinator, at lindameier2000@gmail.com
***Content and images provided by Linda Meier, Bainbridge Public Library and Jon Waters
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