In an era where technology increasingly mediates our visual experiences, the question of authorship in art has become more pressing than ever. As digital systems generate, manipulate, and transform imagery, artists are challenging conventional notions of creativity and ownership. Their work pushes boundaries, revealing authorship as a complex web of intentions, biases, and interpretations that cannot be easily categorised.
The Evolving Face of Authorship
The emergence of machine learning and generative software is not just reshaping the landscape of art; it is also prompting a deeper examination of what it means to create. Traditionally, authorship has been the domain of the artist alone. However, when images are produced through code, the lines blur. Is it the artist’s vision, the algorithm’s logic, or the data’s inherent biases that shape the final outcome?
Across the UK and beyond, artists are resisting simplistic answers to these questions. They are utilising computation as a catalyst for dialogue rather than a mere tool. This approach highlights the instability and political nature of authorship in the digital age, moving beyond the surface to explore the profound implications of machine-generated art.
Spotlight on Camilla Ridgers
One artist at the forefront of this movement is Camilla Ridgers, an intermedia artist who deftly navigates the intersection between generative technology and traditional painting. Ridgers’ work challenges the perception of digital systems as neutral entities. Instead, she presents them as dynamic frameworks that distort and recontextualise imagery before it is reinterpreted by human hands.
Her project, Pixel Pants, serves as a poignant example of this exploration. Rather than perceiving algorithmically generated images as final products, Ridgers treats them as stepping stones in a larger conversation about visual representation. By taking visual material from her archive and subjecting it to processes that abstract and misinterpret it, she creates pieces that resist immediate comprehension. These fragments are then reimagined through painting, where human judgement re-enters the equation, reintroducing complexity and nuance.
The Role of Translation in Art
Ridgers’ work invites us to reconsider the very essence of authorship. Instead of framing it as a question of control, she suggests it is about responsibility—an obligation to acknowledge how images are constructed, mediated, and perceived. This perspective places emphasis on translation rather than mere automation, creating a richer dialogue about the role of technology in art.
In the UK, as discussions surrounding artificial intelligence and the creative sector often centre on economic and legal implications, Ridgers and her contemporaries are advocating for a broader understanding. They scrutinise how various systems of vision, whether human, mechanical, or a hybrid of both, shape perceptions and values in the art world.
A Critical Examination of Context
This inquiry extends beyond individual works to encompass larger institutional frameworks. Ridgers’ piece, In Between Subjects II, currently featured in the 16th East Wing Biennial at The Courtauld Institute of Art, exemplifies this. It positions itself within a dialogue about perception, transformation, and technological mediation, revealing how subjectivity is reshaped through computational processes. The work highlights the relational aspect of authorship, produced through interactions between viewers, context, and interpretation.
Ridgers’ curatorial projects also reflect these themes. Her earlier exhibition, Uncensored, employed a live-streamed installation that documented visitors, transforming them into both subjects and data points. This raises significant questions around surveillance and consent, underscoring how curatorial practice can serve as a form of critical authorship.
Global Perspectives on Digital Authorship
Looking ahead, Ridgers will further expand her exploration of these themes during Mexico City Art Week, as part of the Fundación Maceta × Salomon programme. This engagement promises to continue her examination of how images circulate across diverse cultural and technological landscapes, reinforcing the idea that authorship is not confined to a singular place but emerges from a network of interactions.
What arises from this multifaceted dialogue is a conception of digital authorship that resists the binary of technological determinism versus nostalgic craftsmanship. By embracing the complexity of computation, artists like Ridgers illuminate the limitations of machine objectivity and reveal how systems reflect the values of their creators.
Why it Matters
As computational technologies become increasingly embedded in artistic practice, the imperative is no longer whether artists will collaborate with these systems, but rather how critically they will engage with them. The most compelling contemporary art does not simply defer to machines; instead, it interrogates what our reliance on technology reveals about human creativity and perception. In decelerating algorithms and reasserting the tactile nature of paint, artists are not relinquishing authorship; they are redefining it for a new era where images are shared, interpreted, and transformed in ways that challenge our understanding of art itself.
