There are many philosophies of art these days. When I try to come as close as I can to a unifying theory, I find myself landing on the notion of relationship.

At the time I write this, there is a great deal of contention over the growing presence of 'art' constructed by generative AI systems. The debates over the resulting artifacts always get bogged down in the aesthetic powers of the technology. If you argue against AI art on this basis you run the risk of painting yourself into an unwinnable corner as the artifacts become more compelling, as we discover more and more that many people don't notice or care about the extra digits or the relentlessly homogenous 'quirks' of phrasing. But the argument completely misses the point anyway.

There are those who say all that matters is the connection someone makes to art when they engage with it, and not the circumstances of its creation. The strident objections to AI art indicate that the relationship an artist has to their art also matters. Even if we have no idea what that relationship is exactly, even if we aren't really interested in its details, the expectation that the relationship is there is what something like the use of commercial AI breaks. Though there are other tools that stand between the artist and literally creating their visions in blood and excrement, this one, premised on substituting someone else's code and many other people's ideas for the more direct process is largely being perceived as a disconnect too far. The legality issue is a part of it, but not the real issue. We only deplore fan artists who seek to profit. Uncredited plagiarism is still usually regarded on its merits (although this tends to naturally skew unfavourably towards the plagiarist).

I think all of this suggests something that could end up being of tremendous importance to anyone who values humanly personal art going into the future: the final connection in this creative trinity, the relationship between artist and appreciator, which now stands to be either validated or completely disregarded. And fortunately I don't mean this in a parasocial sense, or in the way that every artist is expected to be their own social media hero these days. I see it as us needing to have a concept in the creative world like the relationship between an individual who cares about the history of the food they eat or the clothes they wear, and the producers who work to both supply and inform them.

When it comes to concepts such as free-range or organic farming, there are either explicit standards or general expectations that emerge so that an understanding can crop up naturally, and can be clarified in a few words. For art, where living creatures usually exist only at the edge of rather than at the centre of the business and the ethics can be more nebulous as a result, there are many ways in which someone who calls themselves an artist may meet the needs of the one who seeks a relationship with their art. It may be as simple as creating a kind of art that person likes. It may be as complicated as whether the artist considers the environmental and societal impacts of all the tools they use in their art creation—and what is likely to be expected is something that may be influenced by evolving trends.

Today, generative AI is under the microscope. Tomorrow it may be the online methods of distribution employed by artists, many of which have exploitation baked into their ease of use... and many of which are essential to the artists of today. We artists must not allow ourselves to be misled by the hubris of believing we will always be above criticism because we are not presently being criticised... or that it will always be easy or possible for us to follow what is the current most moral path. We must be honest with ourselves as well as with those who follow our careers that even an ethical or honourable path through art may require compromise and making peace with imperfection. It is not the exact moral makeup of the artist that matters, but their forthrightness about what they can (and can not) provide within the artistic relationship. We must guard the future of human art by remembering to centre the human, the artist, somewhere within the scene where they can speak for themselves.

My commitment to my version of values-focused, 'free-range' creation means, yes, I do not employ software to create for me, because I would derive no value or joy from that. But let's take things to the very foundation of who I am when I let my imagination transform reality. I work as independently as I can, choosing not to seek out many optional but potentially beneficial relationships with other entities. Being able to retreat into myself when I create just works best for me and for my art. When it comes to services I do use to share my work with the world, I'm trying to move more towards options that are respectful of human life at all levels. I'm not perfect in this regard. But I am trying to do better!

I also like to be free to create without being limited by what I have done before. I don't want to be typecast as someone who writes about gay characters or straight characters or fantasy or reality scenarios. I just want to write. Or sometimes I want to draw, or build software. I guess if you were to show me a picture of a traditional free-range farming enterprise, I would tag myself as the chicken! Out in the field, moving this way or that, scratching and pecking where I choose and not in a little cage and box defined for me. And subsequently I'm looking to build a relationship with an audience that will be interested in the ideas I'm putting forth into the world and the fun that can be had along the way, even if not every project is precisely for them.

That audience isn't going to be everyone. A lot of people are going to find the taste of my produce too unrefined, too inconsistent. I sincerely wish them well finding the relationships that will suit them best! And I hope that anyone looking to be a free-range chicken with me will flap awkwardly on over and join the fun of pecking and scratching.

Hm, this metaphor seems to have taken a wrong turn while crossing the road...