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
The Ghost of Andy Warhol
Snow White and the Craven Dwarfs
The Underground Circus of Paranormal Delights
The Muscular and Skeletal Systems of a Common Tree Faerie
Noah's Horrible Ark of Misfit Monsters
The Automatic Robot Candy Factory of Your Dreams
The Seduction of Medusa
Suffering Succotash
The Feral Island of Unusual Ideas
Whimsical Dream Machine #1
Whimsical Dream Machine #2
You and Me, Under the Umbrella Tree
Whispering Secrets to Turing Machines
Glowing Glass Marble Machine
Burn the Witch
Magical Beijing Graffiti Temple
The Dim Sum Restaurant in the Sky
The Tarnished Skull of an Ancient Insect God
Two Ravens Perched on a Typewriter
A Wedding Banquet at Gargoyle Castle
Another Crazy Contraption, With All the Bells and Whistles, and the Whole Kitchen Sink
The Cave of Wonders
The Crystal Palace of the Mind
Isle of Majesty, in Cloud Pine Forest
Infrared Infinity Lakes in Heaven
The Illegible Dirigible
The Ice Cream Sculpture Garden
Steampunk Airship Plumbing Manifold
Muscle Memory
Soul Thieves, on the Midnight Prowl
Strawberry Feelz Forever
Bloodshot Eyes and Bloodstained Hands
Elegant Ballerina Spine
Frank Lloyd Wrong
Thanksgiving Feast
It Sucks to be a Succubus
Koi Pond Rooftop Gardens
Mermaid Jellyfish
Ruby Cabins in the Sapphire Forest
The Magical Land of Purple Turtles