AI Art experience
I'm interested in AI not as a creator but as a learning tool and support when it comes to art projects that involve coding. The project I shared contains quite a bit of Python code and AI has been a great resource for programming, allowing me to work much faster and find answers quicker as opposed to asking humans on the web for help. AI doesn't get annoyed by basic noob questions, doesn't get bored or lives in a different time zone. It's not perfect though and makes mistakes, which in turn forces me to look critically at the answers I received.
Personal experience
I studied computer science for a while before switching to photography. The project I shared is a combination of those interests, merging my love for analogue photography with my interest in building technical devices.
Unexpected thought
The random aspect of AI-based creation can be fun but I realized that I prefer to stay in control of the final outcome. Otherwise it doesn't feel like "my" work.
Description
The Cybook (cyborg + book) is an experimental digital photo book build around a Raspberry Pi Zero and 3D printing. The backside of the case clear, making the technology inside visible and comprehensible. Self publishing has a long tradition in the analogue realm, the cybook is an update for the digital age. The project documentation and files for Version V02 are also available online, so everyone can build their own cybook. Version V03 contains a previously unpublished photo series from Tokyo, taken in 2019. Tokyo is an ever changing city, constantly being torn down and rebuild, often in the aftermath of natural an man-made disasters. A printed book, however, is static and unable to capture this fluid state. By utilizing a randomising function (programmed with help from ChatGPT) the book changes every time you press the knob, generating a new version of Tokyo which is only seen once and then disappears again. This is also a new take on ai art where the ai is utilized as a tool during production but isn't visible in the final object.
Process
The cybook project is an ongoing exploration into the fusion of photo books and technology. This includes (but is not limited to): expanding the traditional printed book with augmented reality, the usage of non-conventional "technical" materials for bookbinding, re-publishing physical books in digital form, and finally, building a custom digital photo book based on 3d-printing. On the theorectical side I'm interested in how science fiction shapes our ideas of how books, cameras and photos will look like in the future as well as the history of the development of digital reading devices, and the points where fiction has become fact.
Tools
The content: Olympus XA camera, Kodak Tri-X 400 film, Rodinal developer and various other chemicals. The container: Fusion 360 for 3d modelling, 3D printer and laser cutter for the case. The hardware: Raspberry Pi Zero, a rotary encoder, a physical button, a bunch of cables, usb drive, micro sd card, soldering iron and various screwdrivers. The software: Raspberry Pi OS and a custom python script made with the help of ChatGPT.
Grit Wolany x Midjourney
Sarah Kastrau introduces an innovative dimension of AI art with her Cybook v03. While most
artists use AI to generate visible images, for Sarah, AI plays an invisible yet essential role in coding an interactive photo book—a surprising approach in a field otherwise dominated by AI-generated images.
The innovation lies below the surface: instead of having AI create the final images, Sarah engaged in a behind-the-scenes dialogue with the technology. Similarly to the hidden layers in neural networks that process information unseen, the AI worked in the background, helping to write the code powering the project. A Raspberry Pi computer uses this code to continuously rearrange traditional black-and-white photographs of Tokyo. Each press of a button reveals a new sequence of images—much like ‘prompting’ in AI image generation. Through the transparent back of the 3D-printed case, Sarah makes this usually hidden technology visible.
The project combines traditional photographic craft with the smart use of generative AI technology. While Sarah developed her photos in the darkroom, AI assisted her in building the technical system. Two parallel processes emerged: as Sarah created analog images using traditional expertise, AI became the translator between her artistic vision and its technical implementation.
The Cybook v03 demonstrates a bold new approach to AI in art: rather than generating images, the AI’s impact unfolds in the hidden layers of artistic creation, expanding our understanding of human-machine collaboration.
