Reimagining the Japanese Kimono with AI-Generated Art

There is a lot of discussion and debate about whether AI art should be considered art or not. Some say that it should be considered as such since we do not define art by the process but by the result. In this case the real question is who is the artist?

Others mention that it should be considered art since it takes fragments of other artists’ works to generate their images and create their own work. This has happened in many ways, throughout history, which is why many approve it as a new type of art that we have not seen before.

The question of authorship is a bit complex because the level of human participation in the final result differs between creatives. Someone who paints, edits, or modifies the images you have asked the AI to generate is proposing something “new.” However, there are those who only put together the images generated by the AI without altering them, without giving them their “touch” or personal style.

Instructing the AI to generate many images, select a few of these and make edits that the person considers more artistic or to suit what they want to achieve, then their authorship could be justified.

Now, there are many cases in which creatives seek to mix different styles or concepts from different cultures. This is the case of Carolina Kawakubo who shares AI-generated art on her Instagram account. Many of them would look like very realistic oil paintings, in which he fuses kimono designs with fashion trends from different parts of the world and different times.

Many of his illustrations are created through the artificial intelligence (AI) application Midjourney that combine Japanese aesthetics with unique and surprising features, mixing elements of vintage or futuristic art.

In their designs, some of these kimonos blend with other artistic styles and cultures, while additional outfits are paired with modern accessories, such as headphones. Each one represents an exploration of Japanese fashion and a new design approach.

The proposal that the illustrator makes with her designs could represent a problem for “purists of Japanese culture” since the kimono designs are strongly linked to the Japanese tradition. And with this, many could argue that this is a type of negative cultural appropriation.

On the other hand, there are many people who consider this type of proposals (such as Carolina Kawakubo’s) as new trends, arguing that many of the designs, styles and techniques that have been made throughout our history are a great mix of everything and everything. that in this way many good styles or designs have come to light that we now consider as art.

So, why not give way to these new proposals and let the comings and goings of society decide if it is here to stay or not?

AI art is forcing us to rethink our relationship with art and we will need to create new terminologies and categories to make sense in our culture and times.