We then paired visual artist and videographer Steven J. Yazzie (Navajo/Laguna) with Jennifer to develop a video that complemented the poem. Steven saw similarities between Jennifer’s process and the way artificial intelligence (AI) image generators process the imagery they are trained on to create new work. When Steven proposed his approach and shared an initial proof of concept, the team was excited by the prospect of utilizing AI for the video. While we were aware of concerns around the technology, this project offered the opportunity to explore the constructive creative potential of artificial intelligence.
As the animation continued to develop, we recognized additional depth in the choice to engage AI for the project. Interestingly, AI image generation echoes of the way nineteenth-century artists absorbed visual culture and recombined elements to generate their representations of North Africa and the American West. Both artists and AI pull from visual culture and representation to create new imagery. Because AI draws from huge databases of visual sources, it also has the potential to reflect back to us the biases and stereotypes that permeate our culture.
The resulting poem and accompanying animation culminate in a dreamlike meditation on the themes and motifs found in the exhibition. Our hope is that through the work of Jennifer Foerster and Steven Yazzie, our visitors are—at least for a moment—unsettled in the way they view the artwork in the exhibition. Perhaps they are given pause to consider the works in a new way and to reorient their perspective on North African and Indigenous people.
