In a world increasingly influenced by rapid technological change, where algorithms and AI can generate art in mere seconds, what becomes of authenticity, creativity, and craft? The author wrote exclusively for Stankevicius in January about At the Cusp of Tomorrow: AI’s 2024 Milestones and the 2025 Horizon.
To further explore questions on the cusp of tomorrow, I sat down with Alex Beard, artist, author, and keen observer of nature’s intricate patterns. Beard shared his reflections on art, AI, and the enduring human spirit that breathes life into creative work from his New Orleans studio.
Introduction: A Potpourri of Art, Technology, and AI
Throughout history, artists have embraced and adapted technological innovations, profoundly reshaping their mediums and transforming artistic expression. The intersection of art and technology – from early advancements to today’s digital era – reveals a compelling narrative of creativity, disruption, and cultural exchange.
Jan van Eyck’s adoption of oil-based paints in the early 15th century marked a technological breakthrough. His idiosyncratic brushwork and layered glazing, exemplified in The Arnolfini Portrait, elevated realism and luminosity in painting. Leonardo da Vinci, a painter, engineer, and scientist, invented the sfumato technique, blending colors seamlessly to create lifelike images such as the Mona Lisa. The Dutch painter Rembrandt (1606-1669) refined chiaroscuro into “Rembrandt lighting,” a subtle gradation technique capturing profound human emotions and dramatic narratives, vividly illustrated in The Night Watch. In Japan, Hokusai produced The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1831) using advanced woodblock printing techniques of the Edo period. His precise layering of multiple color blocks created dynamic compositions, influencing art worldwide.
Using portable paint tubes introduced in the mid-19th century, Claude Monet reshaped plein-air painting with rapid, short brushstrokes, vividly capturing fleeting moments and atmospheric effects, leading to the Impressionist movement. Vincent van Gogh embraced synthetic pigments and developed impasto, characterized by thick, textured brushwork. His emotionally charged and dynamic compositions, notably Starry Night, pushed artistic expression to new emotional depths. In the early 20th century, Ansel Adams harnessed photographic technology by mastering exposure techniques and the zone system. Today, AI controversies are already at work, such as news that Ansel Adams’s Estate Rebukes Adobe for Selling AI Images in the Style of the Late Photographer.
A contemporary Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei leverages digital technology and social media as artistic mediums and tools. His innovative installations, such as Sunflower Seeds, combine traditional craftsmanship with contemporary critiques, illustrating technology’s potential to amplify artistic and social expression. AI presents artists like Mario Klingemann and Refik Anadol with unprecedented creative possibilities. Employing machine learning algorithms, these artists generate immersive artworks that challenge traditional ideas of creativity and authorship, marking AI as both a disruptor and an enabler in the contemporary art scene.
Thus, technological advancements – from oil paints and sfumato to photography and AI – continuously redefine artistic expression across cultures and centuries, underscoring art’s perpetual evolution through innovation.
The Sprawling Structure of Artistic Innovation
“Art and technology have always been intertwined,” Beard asserts early in our conversation. He draws a line from the first mixing of pigments in antiquity to today’s AI image generators. “When a new pigment like purple emerged, it revolutionized art. The same holds for chiaroscuro, one-point perspective, and even the Gutenberg press. Each was a technological leap that expanded the artist’s palette.” To Beard, AI is simply the latest branch growing from a centuries-old tree. It neither threatens nor replaces human creativity but adds another limb to the sprawling structure of artistic innovation.
Still, he cautions against viewing this development through a narrow, immediate lens. “A decade isn’t enough to gauge its impact,” he explains. “The real transformations will play out over a century, as new generations, fluent in technological mediums, reinterpret what art can be.”
This interview took place on April 23, 2025. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview
JC: Hi Alex, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Could you introduce yourself and the scope of your work?
Alex Beard: My name is Alex Beard. I’m an artist and author based in New Orleans, originally from New York City. I’ve published a collection of illustrated parables called Tales from the Watering Hole, now four volumes. As a painter and draftsman, I work in a style I call “abstract naturalism,” where naturalism meets abstraction. My art draws on visual mathematics, intuition, and experiential observation of the natural world.
JC: Your work often emphasizes honesty and integrity through narrative parables. What ethical challenges do you foresee in a world where AI can rapidly generate art? How might artists maintain authenticity?
Alex Beard: That’s a big question, and I’d split it into two parts: authorship and ownership, and the integrity of the artistic process itself. Ownership raises real ethical concerns. If an artist creates a work and someone else runs it through an AI filter, it commercializes the result, and the original artist receives nothing—that’s a serious problem. There must be legal mechanisms ensuring royalties or licensing fees for original creators. On the artistic side, authenticity requires that an artwork isn’t merely a mechanical tracing. There has to be dynamism between the artist and the piece. Art must originate from genuine emotion, observation, or intent, not just process. I’m liberal about my images being reused non-commercially. But once money is involved, fairness demands that the original creator be considered.
“When in doubt, the original artist should be considered. That’s where you fall on the right side of the ethical line.”Alex Beard
JC: You make a distinction between tactile remixing, like collage, and AI remixing. Could you elaborate?
Alex Beard: In both cases – physical or digital – the core issue is respecting the original creator. Traditional collage, even though transformative, usually honors the raw material more overtly. Digital remixing feels more detached. When in doubt, acknowledge and compensate the original artist.
JC: Does derivative AI use undermine the authenticity of the original artwork?
Alex Beard: I don’t think so. I find it flattering if someone transforms one of my paintings through AI for personal exploration. It doesn’t diminish the authenticity of the original work—unless it’s commercialized without acknowledgment.
JC: Given the profound influence of technology on art and vice versa, what do you predict the creative process might look like over the next decade?
Alex Beard: A decade is too short to see systemic change; it’s more a century-long shift. Artists entrenched in traditional media won’t immediately abandon their methods. New generations, however, who grow up digitally fluent, will innovate naturally. Fundamentally, art and technology have always been intertwined. AI is simply another evolutionary step—another branch growing from the centuries-old tree of creativity.
JC: Are you concerned about NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and digital-only ownership of art?
Alex Beard: Frankly, I think NFTs are garbage. They’re financial instruments masquerading as art. It’s speculation, not embodied creative experience..
JC: Your Tales from the Watering Hole illustrate profound moral insights through parables. What draws you to this form of storytelling?
Alex Beard: The parable speaks to universal truths. It isn’t trapped in the moment. I strive for timelessness, not transient commentary. The combination of words and illustration deepens the narrative.
JC: With AI now capable of generating narrative content, do you foresee algorithmically generated parables challenging traditional storytelling?
Alex Beard: AI will generate stories but not improve on human storytelling. Look at Hollywood sequels: by the fourth or fifth installment, originality is lost. AI narratives will likely follow that same formulaic decline.
JC: What advice would you offer artists trying to integrate AI, or those struggling with losing ownership over their creative process?
Alex Beard: If you want to explore AI creatively, go for it. If you’re worried about ownership, get a good lawyer. And if you’re stuck creatively – work through it. Waiting for inspiration rarely works; practice does.
JC How important are your travels and first-hand experiences to your artwork?
Alex Beard: Vital. Painting the natural world authentically requires experiencing it firsthand. The dynamism of nature—the interconnectedness of ecosystems—inspires my compositions and informs my brushwork.
JC: How does physical engagement with your materials distinguish your work from AI-generated visuals?
Alex Beard: Craft matters. Knowing how different brushes, pigments, and surfaces interact shapes the final work. AI-generated images can be beautiful, but they lack that embodied, tactile history layered into each piece.
JC: Reflecting on your journey, what lessons have most shaped your creative spirit?
Alex Beard: Life isn’t a straight line. Everything I experience feeds the work. An unwillingness to accept defeat – and a deep, stubborn commitment to living an artist’s life – define my path.
JC: Do you see AI and traditional art as adversaries?
Alex Beard: No. They are parallel branches. Great AI art will exist, just as great handmade art will endure. If anything, the flood of digital work will make hand-crafted pieces even more valuable.
JC: Do you use AI in your own creative process?
Alex Beard: Not directly. I prefer work that comes from heart and hand. That said, I’ve drawn inspiration from AI-generated images, just as I draw inspiration from countless sources, from ancient art to modern life.
JC: What advice would your current self give your younger self?
Alex Beard: Relax. Trust the process. Anxiety is a distraction. Focus on doing your best work, and let the rest unfold naturally.
Conclusion: Art, AI, and Nicomachean Ethics
In our conversation, Alex Beard resists the binary framing of AI as either a creative savior or cultural saboteur. Instead, he locates it within a centuries-old continuum of artistic innovation, akin to the invention of oil paint or the camera. Yet, what emerges most forcefully from his reflections is the Aristotelian principle that techne – craft guided by ethical purpose – is central to the moral value of artistic production. Just as Nicomachean Ethics distinguishes between mere ability and phronesis (practical wisdom), Beard underscores that authentic creativity arises not simply from capability, but from intentionality, humility, and an embodied relationship to the medium.
The ethical terrain of AI art thus demands more than regulatory oversight; it calls for an aesthetic ethos anchored in fairness, authorship, and the human experience of creation. As we enter an era of algorithmic abundance, perhaps what will matter most is not whether AI can generate beauty, but whether ‘human’ artists – and their audiences – continue to value the labor behind the brushstroke, the parable, the pause. As Beard reminds us, the future of art lies not in technological novelty alone, but in the enduring commitment to truth, narrative integrity, and imagination.
Dr. Jasmin (Bey) Cowin, a columnist for Stankevicius, employs the ethical framework of Nicomachean Ethics to examine how AI and emerging technologies shape human potential. Her analysis explores the risks and opportunities that arise from tech trends, offering personal perspectives on the interplay between innovation and ethical values. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
