Google recently collaborated with four visual artists to reimagine original Alice in Wonderland illustrations using AI, resulting in a project titled Infinite Wonderland. The artists, including CG artist Haruko Hayakawa and graphic designer Erik Carter, utilized Google DeepMind’s Imagen 2 model to generate images in their distinct styles. The project aimed to explore the intersection of art and AI, with the artists making creative tweaks to ensure the AI-generated images reflected their vision of the classic tale.
Each artist brought a unique perspective to the project, reimagining Alice as a porcelain figurine, a redheaded girl with green eyes and yellow skin, a vibrant airbrushed character, and a young Black girl with flowing blonde locks. The white rabbit also underwent transformations, appearing as a Japanese folk-style toy on wheels, a chipper creature in a red bowtie, and a giant pink caterpillar. The resulting images offered fresh interpretations of Lewis Carroll’s iconic characters and scenes.
Participants in the Infinite Wonderland project, such as Eric Hu, Shawna X, and Erik Carter, expressed their excitement about exploring new creative techniques with AI. Despite concerns about AI potentially altering the creative process or stealing artists’ work, these individuals viewed AI as just another tool to enhance their artwork. By incorporating AI into their practice, they discovered new aspects of their unique style and ways to evolve as artists.
The project also included an interactive online experience where viewers could explore the artists’ interpretations of Alice in Wonderland alongside AI-generated images. This platform allowed audiences to engage with the classic tale through a modern lens, experiencing the AI-generated illustrations alongside pencil sketches by John Tenniel, who originally illustrated the story in 1865. The project aimed to spark conversations about the role of AI in art and inspire new ways of storytelling.
Google Labs, known for experimenting with AI technologies, initiated the Infinite Wonderland project as a means of involving artists in shaping AI tools. By collaborating with creatives like Hayakawa, Carter, X, and Hu, Google aimed to showcase the capabilities of AI in generating diverse and imaginative artwork. The project highlighted the unpredictable nature of AI and its potential to push artists in unexpected and wondrous directions, prompting them to explore new possibilities in their creative practice.
In conclusion, the Infinite Wonderland project offered a glimpse into the exciting intersection of art, technology, and storytelling. By combining the talents of visual artists with the capabilities of AI, Google created a unique and thought-provoking reinterpretation of Alice in Wonderland. The diverse perspectives brought by each artist, along with the AI-generated images, opened up new avenues for artistic exploration and showcased the power of collaboration between humans and machines in the creative process.
