Meet Veronique!
Sharing the world of Veronique, (IG: @ai___vvdb) an artist from Germany who seamlessly melds everyday life with a fantastic creativity through AI art. Veronique's decades of experience in various artistic expressions, including being a props master, a stylist, and exploring fine art, converge magnificently in her current exploration of AI. While her creations are strikingly vibrant and fantastical, they are also grounded in her reflections on daily life, societal issues, and a genuine appreciation for the absurdities that life presents. Veronique's pieces not only reflect surreal scenarios but also touch upon intricate patterns, atmospheric mystique, and subtle horror elements.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got interested in AI art?
Hi, I'm Veronique. Creativity plays a significant role in my private and working life. I have worked in the creative and art industry for nearly my entire life. For about 10 years, I worked as a props master in a large state-owned theater and as a freelance and employed prop/interior stylist. I have always been interested in fine art and have experimented with various forms of artistic expression. I have painted, drawn both analog and digitally, and worked with clay. When I started working as a stylist, I became involved in professional photography. I bought a small digital SLR camera and started taking photographs. However, I never had the patience to improve my photography skills.
About 3 years ago, there was a turning point: I wanted to pursue work that was more meaningful and decided to make a radical new start. 1.5 years ago, in my mid-40s, I began studying culture and media education, and I am still very happy with this decision. It is not an art-based study, but it has points of connection to art. Culture, media, and art are interconnected and dependent on each other. Additionally, I found a job as a student assistant in my field of study.
My interest in AI started about a year ago. AI suddenly became omnipresent in the media. Of course, there is much more to AI than just generating images, but I am particularly interested in creating visual content. Furthermore, a photographer friend began experimenting with AI. I found the results amazing and became more interested in AI-generated photos. So, about six months ago, I tried DALL-E2 and Midjourney, and I was deeply impressed by the possibilities that this new technology offers.
Who or what are your artistic inspirations, and how do they influence your work?
That's hard to say. There are many things that inspire me. I appreciate the absurd aspects of life that present themselves daily, but I typically don't take them to the extreme in my images. The absurd can be found everywhere. My primary focus is on photographically depicting surreal things and situations that cannot exist in our reality. For me, this is the unique appeal of AI. I am also influenced by everyday life, as well as social and societal issues, although I believe my images don't always overtly display this. I also have a passion for patterns, glitter, shiny objects, mysterious atmospheres, and a touch of horror. Other AI artists inspire me, as do the distinctive visual styles of filmmakers.
How do you approach the creative process when working with AI?
Most of the time, I have a clear idea that I would like to transform into AI-images. Sometimes, it's just a feeling I want to express, and I have no idea how my images should convey this feeling. So, I may simply type "feeling lost," "mirror," and "flowers" into the prompt and wait to see what comes up. It's always a big surprise and quite exciting because I never know whether it will work out or not. It's a trial-and-error process, and it's okay with me if it doesn't work out. However, if I've already visualized an idea in my mind, and then, after many prompts, it doesn't turn out the way I would like, that can be frustrating. In such cases, I stop and move on to other things, returning to it when I have the patience and time. Honestly, for me, it's still not entirely clear how to effectively overcome creative blocks in this process. I don't have a specific technique for that.
In my view, the artistic creation process with AI is not comparable to other creative processes. I can't say that I feel like an artist in the traditional sense. It feels more like being a creative director who has an idea, and someone else must implement it. I provide precise instructions and observe what the AI does with them. Then I might say, "That's not bad, but now try this and that differently. No, not like this; let's go one step back and try this. Ah, okay, this is good, but maybe navy blue instead of pastel blue would be better." I continue in this manner until I am satisfied with the AI's work.
I believe that other creative processes are more self-determined and can be controlled more reliably. I know that in any artistic process, you can encounter blocks and setbacks and must reconsider your project. However, the creative process with AI is always a little more unpredictable for me. For instance, with just one prompt, you may get your idea exactly the way you want it. The next time, you might need 20 prompts or more. Or the AI may disregard certain words in your prompt. Furthermore, the fact that AI is an entirely different medium alters the creative process. To put it plainly, the process of taking photos, for example, cannot be compared to the creative process of a ceramist. The technical journey leading to the finished artwork is entirely distinct in my examples and may give rise to specific issues. Like other artistic techniques, AI has its own unique challenges that arise during the process and must be addressed.
In your opinion, how does AI redefine the concept of creativity?
AI elevates creative expression to an entirely new level. People can visualize things with AI that were previously unimaginable. However, what is important is that AI is nothing without the human who operates it. To create art with AI, it takes a creative mind, just like any other form of artistic expression. AI as a new medium for creating art brings forth questions and the need for discussion. From the perspective of a prospective culture and media educator, I could write extensively about AI, the areas it could impact, and what still needs to be discussed.
The concept of art needs to be redefined to include AI art. AI will coexist alongside our familiar and established art forms but will not replace any of them. This is my personal opinion at the current stage. AI as a medium for artistic creation is probably still too new to make reliable future predictions. People worry that AI could take the place of photography or digital illustration, for example. I understand these concerns because livelihoods depend on them. Some want to deny the artistic potential of AI-generated images, which I find challenging. It brings us to the question of who has interpretative authority and decides what is art and what is not.
For me, AI works have the same claim to be recognized as artworks as any other work created within a different art form. Not every AI image is art, but similarly, not every photo is a work of art. It remains intriguing. I hope that future discussions about the artistic potential of AI are conducted constructively. Only in this way can AI be perceived as a serious artistic means of expression while addressing critical issues that come with it, such as data protection and copyright.
For more of Veronique’s incredible work, make sure to visit her Instagram account: @ai___vvdb