Michelle Graves

Title: Prolifics in Resistance (to make a picture frame)

For this project, I am revisiting a previously explored term, “resistance.” I looked for resistance in the mundane - why do I feel so much resistance? I researched the physicality of resistance in magnets, broke it down to the quantum level where resistance dissipates, and found the potential for change. This revisit is called Prolifics in Resistance, where I generated a quantity of AI images with the prompt “resistance to making a picture frame” and "resistance to let customer service win" among others. The subtle variance images were then sequenced to create morphing still lifes. While confronting these resistances, I experienced the embodiment of the conclusion as before.

The Hive: Dream Series

I have been writing down my vivid and typically morbid dreams for years in hopes of a Jungian psychoanalyzation of my shadow and unconscious self. These AI images were generated with a paraphrased prompt describing a few of the many dreams I have recorded. It has been a contemplative process to paraphrase the main points of my dreams to build a potential composition. Which adjectives gain hierarchy in hopes of their presence in the generated image? Which result really is the best representation of the tone of the dream? Once the image is created, it still feels very personal that my creative brain somehow produced this imagery from deep within my subconscious. To bring back this human element into the final printed output, the prompt and the date of the dream are handwritten on the page.

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Creative Experience

As I become more familiar with using AI to generate images, I have grown to appreciate how one has to be open to the outcome to be satisfied with the result. It has become apparent that there are synchronicities between experiencing life and anxiously anticipating the result of a prompt. As a human walks through life, they send energy in specific directions in hopes of an outcome in line with their intention. The more one is open to the outcome of their directed energy, the more satisfied one can be with the result. When an idea or hope is too specifically manifested in the mind, the less likely that specific culmination will happen, which leads to disappointment.

Biography and links

Interdisciplinary artist Michelle Graves received her BFA in Photography from Indiana University (2003) and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and Media from Columbia College Chicago (2012). She thrived as a working artist, curator, and teacher in Chicago from 2004 - 2020, then began a new life exploring Las Vegas, Nevada, in January 2021. Graves’ interdisciplinary and existential art practice involves intersecting science and consciousness by breaking down its essence, finding patterns across disciplines, and forming a conclusion of sorts. She analyzes and embodies themes including quantum physics and time, gun violence, breath/breathing, and resistance, among other topics. In both large and small scales, she works with but is not limited to painting, drawing, abstract videos and documentation, sculpture, installation, and zine formats.

https://www.gravesmichelle.com

https://www.instagram.com/gravesmichelle

Exhibition / Gallery