cdata#capitalism #ai #art #labor #microfiction
I'm booking our tickets to Comic-Con. I tap through the ancient web form, maneuvering past the cumbersome AI-generated takeover promoting a new prestige TV show.
The AIs are getting pretty good these days, and seem to have moved beyond the glassy-eyed doll faces characteristic of the Stable Diffusion era. Still, the ads are obnoxious and I can't wait to submit the form and get off of this website.
There was a time when I felt cozy in this wasteland that is the web. We made "content" here, and posted it where it was free for all to see. We made "web comics." Wild.
A few months pass and I'm circuiting the convention hall. It is a brightly lit maze, festooned with endless AI-generated promotions for Marvel supers and yesteryear reboots. The cast of Friends is back, youthful as ever, and apparently we will be getting at least three more seasons of the show. I round a corner and..
Here. Yes, here. This whole row was once filled with tables showcasing prints and original works of art. Behind the tables: a spouse, a friend, or the artist in the flesh.
The artists here were remarkable in their day for their contributions to the pop culture that drew me to the convention. Despite their labor and their infamy among certain fandoms, they never seemed to feature in a legible place on the credit roll.
They worked day jobs: producing unused concept art; packing Amazon boxes; approving Disney licensee merchandise. Of an evening they bent their backs, put stylus to tablet and spilled their imaginations across the screen.
The artists labored toward a dangling opportunity: that many eager fans like me would arrive at Comic-Con and, having found the artists sequestered in the back of the convention hall, might appropriate an original work of their art.
Where once there were artists, now there is Hello Kitty. Sanrio has taken over the whole row. I can walk up to Hello Kitty and ask her for a customized depiction of officially licensed characters, with optional accessories if I have but a few more dollars to spend.
A 3D printer hidden by the booth's facade produces a bespoke toy on-demand in food-safe ABS. I hold it in my hands, its multi-colored plastic sparkling in the sterile glow of the convention hall: an original work of art.