Marcus Chen
AARON, the first digital paint program, was developed by artist and University of California at San Diego art professor Harold Cohen. Cohen began developing the program in 1973, seeking to codify the act of drawing and understand what art is. AARON creates original artistic images autonomously, evolving from simple shapes and symbols to more figurative imagery and eventually full-color images. The program can differentiate between figure and ground, inside and outside, and function in terms of similarity, division, and repetition, generating evocative images that suggest an external world. While Cohen was careful not to claim that AARON is creative, he asked thought-provoking questions about its nature and the definition of art.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Creator | Harold Cohen |
| Development began | 1972 |
| Language used | C programming language, then Lisp in the 1990s |
| Purpose | To identify the functional primitives and differentiations used in the building of mental images and, consequently, in the making of drawings and paintings |
| Can differentiate between | Figure and ground, inside and outside |
| Functions in terms of | Similarity, division and repetition |
| Image type | Abstract drawings that grew more complex through the 1970s, more representational imagery was added in the 1980s (rocks, plants, people), and more representational figures set in interior scenes were added in the 1990s |
| Can | Create original artistic images autonomously |
| Is | One of the longest-running, continually maintained AI systems in history |
| Can be downloaded on | Microsoft Windows PCs |
| Can also | Produce printable images |
| Is not | Creative, according to Cohen |
| Is | The first artificial intelligence (AI) program for artmaking |
| Is not | Open source |
| Can | Produce physical artwork |
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What You'll Learn
AARON's ability to differentiate between figure and ground
AARON is a series of computer programs written by artist Harold Cohen that autonomously creates original artistic images. It is one of the longest-running, continually maintained AI systems in history. Cohen began developing AARON in 1972, and he worked on it until his last years, with his death in 2016. The program was conceived as a way to codify the act of drawing and understand what art is.
Figure-ground perception involves using perceptual clues such as blurriness, contrast, size differences, and separation between the figure and background to make sense of the world around us. In the context of art, the figure is the main focus of the image, while the ground is the background or negative space. Painters use both the "stuff" (the figure) and the "non-stuff" (the ground or negative space) to create their compositions.
Cohen wrote that the early versions of AARON dealt exclusively with internal aspects of human cognition and the functional primitives and differentiations used in the building of mental images. AARON's ability to differentiate between figure and ground was a part of this process, allowing it to generate highly evocative images.
Over time, Cohen added more rules and forms to AARON's knowledge base, including everyday objects, plants, and people. This increased AARON's ability to create more complex and representational imagery. By the 1990s, AARON could produce colour images and was able to choose and apply colours itself, resulting in digital prints that were entirely the work of the program.
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AARON's evolution from simple shapes to complex imagery
AARON, a series of computer programs written by artist Harold Cohen, created original artistic images autonomously. Cohen began developing the program in 1971, and it was born in 1973. AARON's evolution from simple shapes to complex imagery can be divided into several phases.
In its earliest form, AARON created abstract drawings, evolving from simple pictographic shapes and symbols. These initial versions were hand-coded and were not AI in the modern sense, but rather "expert systems" that simulated human decision-making. The program was able to differentiate between figure and ground, inside and outside, and function in terms of similarity, division, and repetition, generating evocative images that suggested an external world.
In the 1970s, AARON's images grew more complex. Cohen added more sophisticated features, creating a feedback loop that utilized archival memory so that past actions could inform future actions. By the 1980s, AARON could produce more representational imagery, including foliage, human figures, and eventually, full-colour images. Cohen taught AARON to draw human figures by creating thousands of rules governing different aspects of the body, such as how a nose fits on a face.
In the 1990s, AARON continued to evolve, gaining the ability to choose and apply colours independently. This version of AARON could colour its own images using a variety of brushes and a robotic arm. Cohen also built a series of digital painting machines to output AARON's images.
In the early 2000s, AARON returned to creating more abstract imagery, this time in colour. Cohen would export AARON's drawings to a paint program, selecting a digital brush type and colour palette, and then applying colour and texture to the image using his fingers on the screen. This marked a different form of interaction with his creation, adding a layer of intentionality and complexity to the works.
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AARON's use of colour
AARON is a series of computer programs written by artist Harold Cohen that create original artistic images autonomously. Cohen began developing the program in 1971, and it is considered the earliest artificial intelligence (AI) program for artmaking.
Initial versions of AARON created abstract drawings in black and white. Cohen would sometimes colour these images by hand using fabric dye. In the 1980s, more representational imagery was added, including foliage and human figures. During this time, Cohen modified the program so that it could choose and apply colours itself, resulting in digital prints that were the unmediated work of AARON.
In the 1990s, Cohen built a series of digital painting machines to output AARON's images in ink and fabric dye. The 1995 version of AARON could colour its own images using a variety of brushes and a robotic arm. This version also allowed Cohen to select images to send to a Windows machine attached to two monitors: one displaying a paint system control screen, and the other a 7-foot-tall display showing the artwork. Cohen could select a brush type and colour from the palette on the control screen and then colour the work using his fingers on the large screen.
In the early 2000s, AARON returned to creating more abstract imagery, this time in colour. Cohen used a large-scale inkjet printer on canvas to produce these works.
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AARON's creation of physical artwork
AARON, the first digital paint program, was created by artist and University of California at San Diego art professor Harold Cohen. Cohen's project was in line with various efforts in the 1950s and '60s to integrate technology and art. Cohen's work with AARON began in 1971 when he presented an initial prototypal painting system to the Fall Joint Computer Conference. This resulted in an invitation to Stanford's Artificial Intelligence Lab, where, in 1973, AARON was born.
In the 1990s, Cohen built a series of digital painting machines to output AARON's images. The 1995 version of AARON could colour its own images using a variety of brushes and a robotic arm. This was achieved by modifying the program so that it chose and applied the colours itself, resulting in digital prints that were the unmediated work of AARON. Cohen also created a feedback loop that utilized archival memory so that past actions could be recalled to inform future actions according to specific instructions, such as never to cross two lines.
In the last few years of his life, Cohen revisited painting. He painted over AARON's drawings, adding a layer of intentionality and greater complexity to the works. Cohen's latest iteration of AARON, presented just before his death in 2016, generated line drawings like those of the program's earliest versions.
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AARON's impact on the art world
AARON, a series of computer programs written by British-born artist and University of California San Diego art professor Harold Cohen, is one of the longest-running, continually maintained AI systems in history. Cohen, a painter, printmaker, and designer of textiles, is perhaps best known as the creator of AARON, a computer program that uses artificial intelligence to generate artworks.
Secondly, AARON expanded the possibilities of artistic expression by combining human creativity with machine precision. Cohen's collaboration with AARON resulted in a unique style that evolved over time. AARON's early versions created abstract drawings, which became more complex in the 1970s. In the 1980s, AARON progressed to more representational imagery, including rocks, plants, and human figures. By the 1990s, AARON was producing full-colour images and applying colours independently, leading Cohen to claim that the program "drew so much better" than he did.
Thirdly, AARON influenced the development of computer-generated art and algorithmic art. Cohen's work with AARON inspired and paved the way for other artists to explore the potential of machine learning and AI in their creative processes. AARON's outputs, some of the earliest examples of computer-generated art, have been exhibited in renowned galleries and museums worldwide, including the Tate Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Whitney Museum.
Finally, AARON raised important ethical and copyright considerations regarding the use of machine learning in art. Some detractors highlighted the potential copyright issues of training AARON on millions of images scraped from the web without permission, as well as the threat it could pose to creative livelihoods. On the other hand, others embraced the inevitability of such new technologies, arguing that artists would collaborate with rather than compete against these tools.
In conclusion, AARON's impact on the art world is far-reaching. By pushing the boundaries of what is possible in art, AARON sparked discussions about creativity, inspired new artistic expressions, influenced the development of computer-generated art, and prompted important ethical considerations. AARON's collaboration with Cohen left a lasting legacy that continues to shape the art world and our understanding of creativity and technology.
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Frequently asked questions
AARON is a series of computer programs written by artist Harold Cohen that create original artistic images autonomously.
AARON was initially taught to differentiate between figure and ground, inside and outside, and to function in terms of similarity, division, and repetition. Cohen added more sophisticated features to the program over time, eventually creating a feedback loop that utilized archival memory so that past actions could be recalled to inform future actions.
AARON's initial versions created abstract drawings that grew more complex through the 1970s. More representational imagery was added in the 1980s, including foliage, human figures, and interior scenes. In the 1990s, AARON returned to creating abstract imagery, this time in colour.
