This is the weekly dispatch from Bizarro Studios North, where I have been writing and drawing the Monday through Saturday Bizarro comics since 2018. My partner and friend Dan Piraro created Bizarro in the late twentieth century and continues to do the Sunday comic from Rancho Bizarro in Mexico.
Wayno
Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable, and nasty about a new
medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness
of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit—all of these will be
cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided. It’s the sound of
failure: so much modern art is the sound of things going out of
control, of a medium pushing to its limits and breaking apart. The
distorted guitar sound is the sound of something too loud for the medium
supposed to carry it. The blues singer with the cracked voice is the
sound of an emotional cry too powerful for the throat that releases it.
The excitement of grainy film, of bleached-out black and white, is the
excitement of witnessing events too momentous for the medium assigned to
record them.
Brian Eno
That lengthy passage comes from Brian Eno's fascinating book A Year of Swollen Appendices: Brian Eno's Diary, 1995. It's been popping up on my social feeds lately, with some people erroneously applying it to artificial intelligence.
I don't consider AI a medium any more than larceny, fraud, or plagiarism, but there's certainly plenty that's weird, ugly, uncomfortable, and nasty about it. The effortless thievery and gluttonous energy consumption come immediately to mind.
Recently, some anonymous accounts on YouTube and TikTok have been scooping up editorial cartoons made by humans, feeding them through AI to redraw them, and then uploading video compilations to generate ad revenue. The cartoonists are fighting back and have made some headway, but it looks like the makings of an endless battle.
I ask you to avoid using AI to try to make art of any kind, even as a fun diversion, because every time someone does that, it's one more lesson to train the virtual vacuum to suck up and imitate more of humankind's creative works.
Instead, please support and enjoy the artistic gifts offered by actual human beings. You could do worse than checking out Eno's Diary. Many of the diary entries refer the reader to one of the book's (swollen) appendices, which consist of more formal essays, letters, articles, or other items related to the events in the author's daily life.
Another book made from a diary I thoroughly enjoyed was Michael Palin's Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years. Palin is a dedicated diarist (at least four volumes of his diaries are available) and has also written a dozen travel books.
As a snotty adolescent, Monty Python's Flying Circus landed in the US at the perfect time. I had learned about them slightly earlier thanks to the excellent stock of imported LPs at the Heads Together record shop in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood and was primed when our local PBS station picked up the show.
My first thought when I read Eno's observation was the beautifully grubby textures of old-fashioned letterpress beer coasters.
This item is from the Bizarro Studios North archive. To fully appreciate the spectacular imperfections of the letterpress medium, take a closer look.
The off-register halftone dots! The blue jacket overprinted on Bert's sweater! The yellowed pulp! I may burst into tears here.
While I pull myself together, here's this week's pipe pic, a Macanudo comic strip by my colleague and friend Liniers.
Thanks to Dan M., a good friend of Bizarro for sharing the delightful comic by the equally delightful Liniers.
All the gags you are about to read were created without artificial intelligence.
Monday's panel takes place just prior to the invention of optional rustproofing.
Alternative Roman history.
If nothing else, it's a creative explanation for neglecting to refresh the moth crystals.
Real-life examples for sale, and some of the models in the listings look even more pretentious than my comic character.
Fortunately Canada Five-1 never got off the ground.
Other badges are awarded for Vegetable Avoidance and Snot Rocketry.
That's it for the latest batch of handmade digital cartoons from Bizarro Studios North. See you next week with more of the same.
Bonus Track
Sammy Davis, Jr.: "You Can Count on Me"
Twentieth Century Records, 1976
I can add nothing in the way of commentary. You simply have to hear it.
Copious Quantities of Bizarro Curiosities
If you like what we do and appreciate that it's free, we encourage you to explore the following links.
Canada Five-1 will be the next sitcom on Comedy Central.
ReplyDeleteIt would not surprise me at all, Ed!
DeleteTalk about unintended consequences! That Piels coaster brought back memories of the animated characters depicted, Bert and Harry Piel. But more than that, the voices of the characters on the animated tv ads were none other than Bob and Ray (Elliot and Goulding) humorists who left their mark on me from a very early age. Bob also sired a couple of talented performers, too.
ReplyDeleteIndeed! There are some Bert & Harry ads on YouTube. Lots of fun.
DeleteGreat post, amigo. Your notions about AI are dead right and I avoid it like anti-vaxxers avoid reason. Eno is a genius. Sammy Davis Jr. on that recording, not so much. What a weird find!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, partner!
DeleteThere's always more weird and messed-up
music waiting to be discovered.
minor typo: ...feeding them (not time) through AI to redraw them...
ReplyDeleteThanks for catching that, Bill! I've corrected it, and appreciate the help!
DeleteAwesome blog this week, W! I have an artist friend with whom I'd like to share your AI thoughts. He's been experimenting with AI and posting his results on Facebook for about a year. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFrom GJ ABQ NM USA
DeletePlease feel free to share with your artist friend, person of many initials.
Delete(I thought I had figured out who you are, but ABQ NM doesn't fit. The person I'm thinking of would have used FRS CA.)
Two comments. When I was at Penn State in the 70's, I made a filmstrip to teach about the metric system. For the slide change tone I used a harmonic on the high E string of my guitar. Recently I read about a guy who is trying to sabotage AI learning music by writing really BAD songs and submitting them to AI. The idea is Garbage In, Garbage Out. Someone said, paraphrased, I don't want AI doing art, I want AI to wash the dishes, clean my floors, do my taxes so I can do art.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, Kurt! That sounds like a good simulation of a filmstrip tone. They're a nearly-forgotten format!
DeleteOne of my favorite YouTube channels, Tested, sells a whole line of demerit badges, mostly pertaining to things that would happen in a shop: https://tested-store.com/collections/demerit-badges
ReplyDeleteJon! Those are absolutely hilarious! Thanks for sharing!
DeleteWhat is rust proofing we don’t have that in down in San Diego just kidding. I remember that from growing up in northern Minnesota before I moved here
ReplyDeleteWho knew the Hawaii Five-0 theme had words I just know the ventures version
ReplyDeleteSammy Davis Jr. recorded a whole album of songs which were TV tunes that had no words and he wrote lyrics to them. They are all just as amazing as this one.
DeleteI just found that album on Discogs. It looks... interesting!
DeleteI feel kinda bad for Sammy Davis Jr. I doubt very much that he wanted to do that song.
ReplyDeletei had never understood that Hawaii 5-0 meant they were the 50th state. what a beast I am (from Italy)
ReplyDeleteIt took me years to realize that!
Delete