ai experiments
In the fall of 2021, I experimented with a brand-new AI art generator called VQGAN+CLIP. I'd think up a prompt, then run a Python notebook on Google's free GPU instances. Every image took 10+ minutes to generate, starting from grey noise and ending in strange, fragmented dreamscapes. At a certain point, some of the images started inspiring poems.
poems inspired by images
The Secret Society of Lightning Strike Survivors
The Electric Mandala of Dreams
A Purple Pirate Ship of Clowns, Sailing the Silly Sea
A Perilous Journey into Imagination Land
The Laboratory of Emotional Alchemy
A Field of Sunflowers on the Moon
Christopher Columbus Conquering Jupiter
The Turbulent Love Lives of Trapeze Artists
Daydreaming Under the Electric Banyan Tree
The Twin Engines of Creation and Destruction
Butterfly Kisses
The Holy Council of Mothers and Daughters
Little Red Writhing Hood
The Sky High Temple of Money and Power
Popsicle Exoskeleton
Purple Pinball Paradox
The Lunatic Fringe
Perpetual Emotion Machine
The Treacherous, Lecherous, Troll-Faced Twins
images without poems
Noah's Horrible Ark of Misfit Monsters
Steampunk Airship Plumbing Manifold
It Sucks to be a Succubus
Muscle Memory
Bloodshot Eyes and Bloodstained Hands
Soul Thieves, on the Midnight Prowl
The Dim Sum Restaurant in the Sky
The Ice Cream Sculpture Garden
The Magical Land of Purple Turtles
The Muscular and Skeletal Systems of a Common Tree Faerie
Ruby Cabins in the Sapphire Forest
The Tarnished Skull of an Ancient Insect God
A Wedding Banquet at Gargoyle Castle
Frank Lloyd Wrong
The Cave of Wonders
The Crystal Palace of the Mind
The Feral Island of Unusual Ideas
Burn the Witch
Elegant Ballerina Spine
Snow White and the Craven Dwarfs
Strawberry Feelz Forever
The Automatic Robot Candy Factory of Your Dreams
The Illegible Dirigible
The Underground Circus of Paranormal Delights
Whimsical Dream Machine #1
Whimsical Dream Machine #2
You and Me, Under the Umbrella Tree
Suffering Succotash
Another Crazy Contraption, With All the Bells and Whistles, and the Whole Kitchen Sink
Two Ravens Perched on a Typewriter
Whispering Secrets to Turing Machines
Glowing Glass Marble Machine
Infrared Infinity Lakes in Heaven
Koi Pond Rooftop Gardens
Isle of Majesty, in Cloud Pine Forest
Thanksgiving Feast
Magical Beijing Graffiti Temple
The Seduction of Medusa
Mermaid Jellyfish
The Ghost of Andy Warhol