Art: From Caves to Canvas to Computers to Artificial Intelligence

Prehistoric Age: The process of creating art went through gradual changes for thousands of years. Early civilizations used twigs and mixed pigments directly from the earth to make a limited pallet for painting on cave walls.

Note: We, ‘modern man’ are descendants of Adam and Eve, whom God created approximately 6,000 years ago. The prehistoric age extends back to pre-Adamite civilizations.

Antiquity: In ancient days, artists continued to mix pigments from the earth, but added substrates like papyrus to paint on. Later, Greeks and Romans developed new techniques like encaustic painting (using heated wax). Fresco painting became popular as artists painted on wet plaster.

Middle Ages: During the Middle Ages, Monks, who also served as artists and scribes, created beautiful illuminated manuscripts. They worked on papyrus and often depicted Biblical scenes.

The Renaissance: This period saw the development of oil and watercolor painting. In the 18th century, a machine called the Paint Mill would grind pigments. Soon, artists could purchase paint in tubes. This allowed artists to easily take their paints outdoors and thus fueled the impressionist and plein air painting movement.

Industrial Revolution: The period brought an even greater advancements in art materials. Synthetic pigments allowed for a wider range of colors. Speciality papers were developed specifically for the medium of watercolor. The substrates had textures that allowed the paint to be absorbed into the surface while still maintaining its vibrancy.

Baby Boomers and Beyond: The mid 20th century saw further innovations in materials and techniques, with the introduction of acrylic and spray paint. However, the definition of painting took on a whole new meaning with the invention of computers, thus leading to digital artwork. One thing that remained relatively constant with art techniques of the past was the skill of the artist to hand craft works of art. They even worked on glass surfaces using a stylus in the place of a paintbrush.

Artificial Intelligence: Possibly the greatest leap forward in the creation of art has come with the development of Ai. Imagination now substitutes for a stylus or paintbrush. Words work as pigments. What once took artists days, weeks or months to create a work of art can now be done in seconds.

Ai tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and Adobe’s Firefly are delivering stunning images based on their user’s typed commands, also known as ‘prompts’. The technology is also reaching into practically all creative pursuits; animation, film, music and who-knows-what next.

• The present capabilities of Ai-produced art make it a decent tool for generating ideas. Commercial artists, i.e., designers and illustrators can work up ideas and go to finished artwork quickly.
• New trends and technologies often create new careers. I look for entirely new job descriptions to surface as artist who are accustomed to working with technology forge new paths in the arts.
• Art created by Ai is quick and easy. Simply type a prompt, sit back and watch your creation appear…in a matter of seconds.
• The novice or non-artist can have the satisfaction of creating a work of art.
• Although some artists don’t want to admit it, there are many attractive works of art being created by people using Ai; some of whom are those novices.

• The predictions have been nearly unanimous concerning this; job looses coming to creatives. It will affect not just artists, but animators, film makers, musicians and others.
• There are many dark, disturbing works of art created by humans and Ai. Demonic imagery seems to be a popular in Ai.
• Copyright violation if artist’s work is almost ubiquitous. Over 5 billion images and works of art and photos have been scraped from the internet. Companies like Midjourney use them to create new models. Artists have not yet found a way to prevent their copyright violations. Neither have they (we) been compensated for the use of our work. We should at the minimum get attribution for our work, but not even that has happened.
• With ‘deep fake’ technologies on the rise, people have the quick and easy ability to mimic an artist’s style, and thus encroach on their reputation.
• When everyone thinks they can be an artist by using Ai, what does it mean to be an artist?

Buckminster Fuller spoke of the “Knowledge Doubling Curve”. He suggested that in 1900, human knowledge doubled approximately every 100 years. By the end of 1945, the rate had come down to every 25 years. Today, some estimate that knowledge is doubling every 12 hours.

From Daniel’s day until 100+ a few years ago, the fastest mode of travel was on the back of a horse or camel. In very quick order, we sped from 4-legged travel to steam powered transportation to supersonic flight to space travel. Remember, Daniel wrote this prophecy about knowledge and travel some 2,200 years ago. Since all that has come to pass, I’d say the prophetic words God gave to Daniel indicates that the generation that sees this fulfillment is at the time of the end.

You’re probably aware that some businesses have chipped their employees to gain access to their facilities. As technologies rapidly advance, an upgraded version will allow for global implementation and acceptance. Adoption will not be an option. You will comply if you want to buy.

In order to monitor purchases and sales worldwide, you’ll need the tracking technology which Ai provides.

You’ll also need a global banking system. Many nations have been testing Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC. That includes the United States. Once fiat currencies have collapsed and independent crypto currencies have been crushed, you’ll begin to the nation states consolidate their financial transactions under a global CBDC.