Art is Human
Bold lines, bright colors, and repetitive patterns are all signatures of the renowned contemporary and pop artist Keith Haring. Haring took a hands-on and self taught approach to art which was loved by many. He dropped out of Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh after only two terms and instead decided to take to the subways to create art. He began drawing rhythmic line drawings on empty advertisement blocks in the 1980s; little did he know that this would be the beginning of it all. These small advertisement block drawings soon turned into towering murals and intense canvases. Most people recognize him for his famous pieces like Crack is Wack (1986) or Radiant Baby (1990), but one of his most beautifully devastating pieces is Unfinished Painting (1989).
It is in the name that Unfinished Painting is, well, unfinished. Keith Haring was a large activist for the AIDS crisis and even founded the Keith Haring Foundation in 1989. This foundation was dedicated to raising money and creating art in order to help raise awareness for AIDS. The Unfinished Painting was created the year before Haring passed from AIDS complications and many assume that this is why it was left unfinished. In actuality, this painting was a commentary on how many lives were lost to the AIDS crisis. Haring created this painting to show how many bright lives were cut short due to a curable disease; the dripping purple paint coming from the top left corner perfectly exemplifies this. This painting itself is not revolutionary, but it is the meaning behind it that causes viewers' hearts to break while they stare at the line drawn figures with raised fists.
This powerful message behind the painting is why art critics and internet users alike were outraged when a ‘finished’ version of the Unfinished Painting was created. In early January, an X user decided to use an AI art generator to ‘finish’ the painting. They extended the design from the top left corner to the entire canvas. While some viewed this as a harmless act, this carries more weight than it seems.
This ‘completion’ of the painting completely erases the meaning and human connection behind this piece. Unfinished Painting was created to represent the millions of lives, including Keith Haring’s, that were lost during a nationwide epidemic. AI simply following a pattern and replicating it ignores the whole meaning behind the piece itself.
While being interviewed for Smithsonian Magazine about the ‘completion’ of Unfinished Painting, artist Brooke Peachley shares her thoughts: “‘to do so using generative A.I., a computer program that cannot feel the weight of what it is doing nor create with any sort of human intention, only adds to the disrespect’” (Binswanger). Artificial intelligence has no way to comprehend these feelings of loss, grief, and more that were put into this painting. Peachly delves deeper into each layer behind the painting and explains how
Art is not just strictly about the visual appeal. Emotions and context to an art piece is what can create the entire piece. While this painting is mostly a blank canvas, it is art because of what this blankness represents. Using an AI generator to extend this art piece is not only disrespectful to Haring’s art, but ignores the pain that Haring and so many others experienced. Human experience creates art and can not be ignored.
Sources:
Binswanger, Julia. “A.I. ‘completes’ Keith Haring’s Intentionally Unfinished Painting.” Smithsonian.Com, Smithsonian Institution, 10 Jan. 2024, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/keith-haring-painting-artificial-intelligence-180983563/.