Natural Disasters, Design, AI & Relationships

An unexpected outcome of natural disasters are the bonding experiences that they provide within community. Earlier this week, Houston was hit by a category 1 hurricane. 5 days later in the peak of the summer, almost a million households still remain without power.

As we gather to voice our concerns at the lack of structural integrity within the city, I am reminded of the importance of relationships.

Throughout the course of my art career, what I’ve come to realize with a fair amount of certainty, beyond the finished product, the foundation of art & design is relationship:

• the relationship between the client and the artist

• the relationship between the artist and the community they serve

• the relationship between the artist and the community they are servicing through the client

• the relationship the artist has with themselves

• the relationship the client has with themselves

• the relationships that are created through the artist and the client threading of their networks.

We are in an age now that is moving increasingly fast. It’s very easy in this climate to fall into survival mode. Like most designers in my industry, I’ve been cornered into having to learn these new tools as they are being integrated more and more into our softwares and workflows.

When I’m asked for my opinion on artificially generated art, it’s difficult to hide my disapproval. There are far reaching consequences to moving at this speed, and the cost of all of this technological innovation is the devaluation of the human spirit and the physical limitations of our planet.

In its own way, AI is very much a hurricane. It’s forcing people to reevaluate where they stand and what they truly care for. Maybe I have meditated too much and done too many psychedelics trying to wrap my being around this meta crisis, because what matters to me more than anything now. is the human experience.

Believing in what is real, here and now, our bodies, our minds, the people that we love, our natural environment — there lies my solace.