Description
THE RECONSTITUTED BEAST is a 4 phased experiment that strikes down a painted image through successive states of embodiment, (de+)evolution, and mutation. The project begins with an acrylic painting incorporating an abstract sculptural computer built directly into the wooden canvas. Other materials used include, reindeer pelt, pen + ink, ample screws, & various found objects. Thus, the original beast is born.
This root source hybrid physical object is then photographed and used as the seed image for a sequence of 666 AI generations, each iteration influenced by a different word drawn from the Book of Revelation. Through this process, the original work is repeatedly translated, degraded, amplified, and regurgitated by a machine vision system shaped by holy text, probability/current algo, and the ai collective hive “mind”.
This use of ai is a reflection on the current debate over LLM’s & ethics of creativity, but even more so a commentary on the relatively high risk percentage of an ai induced apocalypse, whatever that may look like.
Many thanks to my friend & OG blood collector, FLASHREKT, for tirelessly tweaking the algo to help produce the beast imagery lineage during PHASE II. At first the plan was to train an agent on my style and to force the human element hand, but with mixed emotions, I must confess that model failed. It seems I can’t fully be replaced yet ;)
For the third phase, I prompt my daughter to create her own drawing of the Beast. The act of prompting moves from a computational system into a human relationship, where the beastly alteration emerges through her own imagination and mark-making. Her drawing introduces another human author of a new generation into the image’s lineage, extending its transformation beyond my control.
The fourth and final phase brings the original acrylic-sculptural work, the 666th AI image, and my daughter’s drawing together in an animated GIF. Glitch processes and additional illustration weave these three sources into a shifting hybrid, allowing their distinct forms and histories to forge into a true abomination.
Through these four phases, RECONSTITUTED BEAST explores hereditary crossover, the prospect of an android mind, & the still controversial shifting boundaries of authorship. Is it a creative dance with the harbinger of the end times or a new pet to train and feed? One must wonder if a more “organic” yet similar process led to the production of the original painting/phase 1 of this project in the first place. Perhaps this is a tale as old as time, just with a different beast of burden. It may be too late by the time we figure it out. Or, everything will be just peachy. A bloody juicy peach.
Text to accompany each beast image and its corresponding phase:
PHASE 1 — THE SOURCE
Physical 36” x 60” painting utilizing reindeer fur & other found objects + an abstract sculptural computer built directly into the wooden canvas. From this original beast, all subsequent beasts are formed.
PHASE 2 — THE 666TH ITERATION
The source image passes through 666 AI generations, each influenced by a different word drawn from the Book of Revelation & it’s ancestors. This final image of the sequence reflects the accumulated mutations, distortions, and bastardization of the creative process.
PHASE 3 — THE DAUGHTER’S BEAST
I prompt my daughter to draw her own interpretation of the Beast.
PHASE 4 — RECONSTITUTED
The original painting, the 666th AI iteration, and my daughter’s drawing converge in a final animated GIF.
11253 x 6624 acrylic + pen/ink + reindeer pelt + sculpture + hardware + found objects on wood > ran through custom ai algo (666 iterations) > daughter's drawing > digital gif hybrid
*From The Artists:
(CPU BLOOD) -When I was a kiddo, I was sure that growing up would mean being able to see more colors, that the world would continue to reveal itself to me in increasingly magical ways. But as I aged & experienced the hardships that piggyback on this beautiful ride, I became jaded & weary of the human capacity for darkness. The colors began to muddle. I grew angry over our collective suffering & forgot to notice the brilliant colors still shining before me. At times it felt as though I were failing my own imagination, losing sight of something fundamental to my practice.
For years, I was caught in a spiral of self-loathing & addiction, struggling to make art or even find the desire to. Then I met my wife. Then I met my daughter.
Fatherhood has forced me to recalibrate that nihilistic worldview, making room for a little more childlike hope. As she discovers her blossoming world, I am learning to see it again, & since this revelation my imagination & desire to create have been in overdrive. So, thanks for this very special gift, my little one.
This collection is about the art of growing & never growing up.
She has drawn me into her universe, & together we are reimagining it.
Some works begin with the two of us building from scratch, riffing on each other’s input. Others begin with her drawings, which I develop into new visual narratives. Other times I draw a subject as I imagine she might draw it, perhaps an attempt to see through her eyes. For one work, THE RECONSTITUTED BEAST, I even prompted her as I would an AI agent, but most of her creations spring from her own imagination. An imagination with baffling potency.
This has been one of the best summers of my life. It felt like it ended overnight when she headed off to her first day of kindergarten, but our collaboration is only beginning. & with that, I am pleased to present BLOOD OF MY BLOOD.
(GLITTERGHOST)- I love the artworks that we did. The Godzilla is so cool. The Godzilla is my favorite but I love them all. I really really really love the big bubble of our family. Thank you for loving our artwork!