This article was publishedi in The Citizen Newspaper, Tanzania on 18th February, 2025
Shimbo Pastory
Traditional visual arts such as drawing, painting, photography, comic arts, cartoon, etc. are among the areas affected the most by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) developments. There artistic tracks are by large negatively affected because it now appears to be easy to create in a few minutes what traditional artists would ordinarily work hard for.
Aside that, there is also a new trend of hardly comprehensible form of art with a lot of money invested in it, yet lacking by large a reflection of what really art is. This is referred to as ‘modern art.’
With regards to AI, there are millions of images made and circulated over the internet, social media, and even print media every day. There is especially a new way of clout chasing today where human stories are falsified behind the guise of AI images to generate traffic and engagement by appealing to the compassion, affection, and admiration of the viewers.
Many pages on social media publish AI images of older couples, asking people to congratulate them, children who have made strangely beautiful toys from plastic bottles or whatever material, appealing to people to congratulate them, etc.
While traditional visual artists have so much value in the work done, the social media art appreciation is being taken over by the AI artists who invest nothing in their designs, and have no emotional connection with such art works. Traditional visual artists deserve more admiration and support than the AI artists who are not personally involved in the production of the artworks.
Artworks are an important reflection of human thought and expression of the inner self. We admire artists particularly because they patiently invest their time to entertain our perception with the beauty that flows from their inner faculties and minds. Art in its totality is merely an outer manifestation of a deeper integrated inner reality. The world today treasures artists, even after many centuries because their effort is seen in the beauty and depth their artworks represent.
Locally we need to give traditional visual artists both voice and platform so that they can be heard more and more, and also earn from their hard work and passion. The more platform and voice these artists are given the better the chance of preservation of their artistic styles, as young people will learn and get interest in engaging in traditional visual arts which express the real human conditions and perceptions.
Beauty, in artworks, goes beyond the magnificence of images; there are also emotional and social dimension to it as well, a sense of relatability to actual human feelings and conditions.
The new trend of modern art baffles the imagination of many people as well. Artworks like ‘Comedian,’ a banana duck taped on the wall, and sold for over $ 6 million; ‘Green White,’ sold for $ 1.6 million, being just a shape of solid green on white background; and ‘Blood Red Mirror’ sold for $ 1 Million, just as its name, a mirror painted red, fall in this controversial and shady category.
For reasons beyond the imagination of many, this is where a lot of money is channelled to. In most cases the art aspect of these productions is invisible to many; and many consider them an insult to the proper trade of traditional visual arts.
There is need to also encourage our people to love art, and to admire and support our locally produced artworks. Special days can be created to nationally celebrate artists and support them, and also socio-political platforms can consider involving the local traditional artists. Though traditional art takes more effort and time, it is real, human, and meaningful.
Artists also need protection economically, especially by stringent copyright laws and enforcement, ensuring that their artworks are not stolen or copied without appropriate procedures. Our local museums and art galleries should also be more open to accommodate locally produced visual artworks.
Practicing artists can also be engaged in our education system in a way that integrates theory and practical learning of who we are and what our artworks represent even amidst the socio-cultural richness in diversity.
On the other hand, foreign artworks need to be regulated to safeguard what we truly believe to be artistic on objective grounds. We would rather have a limited local collection than to have a lot of incomprehensible visual arts in public exhibitions. But still, we need more visual art museums around the country, if possible in every district.
This will also help in terms of socio-cultural and historical relevance as locals of that particular area can as well have in the local museum artworks that reflect cultures and traditions of the people. These are important art forms as they spark not only admiration, but also conversation. We need collective voice and action in supporting our local traditional visual artists, and of course all other artists.
Shimbo Pastory is a Tanzanian advocate for positive social transformation and a student of Ateneo de Manila University, Manila, The Philippines.
