It’s been a while since I gave an Etteilla deck-in-progress update. I finished working on Card 18, The Hermit, oft named The Capuchin (an order of Franciscan friars) or simply titled with the keyword “Traitor.”

As I was drawing, I got to thinking about the qi in works of art, per the qi of their artists. That in turn got me thinking about the qi of AI and AI-generated images.

Just so we’re clear, no part of my art process includes AI, AI generated images, just– any of that stuff. The most high-tech we get is the capabilities of a 2004 digital painting software that has since gone defunct, so this software program no longer even exists.

But back to the point of this rumination…

If we are to believe in the principle of qi as a force imbued in all things that are sentient or created by sentient beings, then works of art have qi.

In fact, that has always been one of the fundamental factors of valuing art from a Taoist perspective — assessing the qi of the artist’s hand apparent in the art.

Continue reading “Thoughts on Machine Qi (Soul?) & Drawing The Hermit Card” →