Year 6 Digital Art - West Lakes Shore School

The introduction of AI technology has posed some critical questions for creators. For years, artists have relied on specialists and artist assistants to create a work of art physically – but are you still an artist if you rely on programs to make a work of art? To what extent do these new technologies blur the lines? Emerging AI tools and techniques are shifting our paradigm of art itself.

After attending the Andy Warhol & Photography: A social media exhibition at AGSA and a digital art professional development workshop run by @agsa.education and DJ Trip, Yr 6 students created their own Andy Warhol AI Art. Using the application Wombo Dream, students wrote their own prompts including Andy Warhol in different activities and inputting their own posed photo in some of their art to influence the outcome.

This unit explored image-generating programs, creating impossible images and curating the outcomes. These lessons challenged students' perception of art and ideas, and helped them to use such technologies as a starting point for art making to express themselves and to be artists. As well as a visual arts lesson, students were encouraged to experiment with language, curate their images and revise their prompts which yielded interesting results.

Some of the prompts included:

• Andy Warhol as a DJ while playing a computer game
• Andy Warhol taking a selfie in front of fans
• Andy Warhol wearing a pink jacket holding a pet bug
• Andy Warhol obsessed with cats
• Andy Warhol crying while baking cupcakes and riding an orange elephant

Lisa Zappia, Visual Art Teacher