This project began as an homage to my former band, The Space Merchants, who self-described our off-beat sound as “space country.”
The Rhinestone Space Cowboy represents this identity: an astronaut adorned with Nudie Suit-style embroidery on their spacesuit. While this art piece is a "sketch" of a larger concept that might never materialize—imagining personalized embroidered spacesuits for each band member for music videos or album art—it stands as a testament to the DIY ethos of indie musicianship.
To create this piece, I first designed the bitmap in Photoshop, printed it on acetate, and burned it onto a screen for silkscreening. After printing the astronaut onto paper, I meticulously embroidered the flowers and symbols by hand, each stitch a deliberate nod to the craft and effort behind the art.
The process took about 20 hours, not counting the time I spent learning silkscreening and embroidery.
In contrast, I explored the same concept using AI. By typing a single sentence into ChatGPT, I generated a detailed image in under 20 seconds. Seeing my vision rendered so quickly and with such clarity was thrilling—and a little disheartening. The composition mirrored my hand-crafted work so closely it felt as though the AI was reading my mind. This juxtaposition of "Material Intelligence" and Artificial Intelligence encapsulates the tension I feel as an art director with a background in traditional craft.
While AI is undeniably a powerful tool for generating concepts, it can never replicate the soul and intention of a skilled artisan's hand. Craftsmanship brings imperfection, texture, and humanity—qualities that can’t be automated. Both approaches have their place, but the authenticity of creating something tangible will always resonate in ways technology cannot.
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Still, I hope to see Artificial Intelligence and Material Intelligence find a way to hold hands and walk side-by-side into the future.
