Culturally Relevant GenAI +Traditional Art & Craft Practices
Many of the patterns in different cultural art forms demonstrate the transfer of ancestral knowledge across generations. Artifacts such African textiles and African American quilts can be used as data (input) in generative artificial intelligence. Two weeks ago, I discovered sashiko, a form of embroidery or hand stitching that is used to reinforce worn or fraying fabric. I used “sashiko” in a Midjourney prompt (see above).
The fabric whispers, tales untold,
Of mathematical mysteries, ageless and bold.
Sashiko math, a silent conversation,
An equation of beauty, a stitched sensation.
I used ChatGPT to generate a poem about “sashiko math”, then I used portions of the poem as prompts in Midjourney. The results were close enough to invoke sashiko but became something else, something new. I ititerated on the initial output to create unique imagery. The process reveals the nature of generative AI. It can’t duplicate or copy specific designs but it can make predictions based on general ideas about them.
I created a math and maker lesson for grades 3–8+ that included using a culturally situated design tool or CSDT to demonstrate the algorithmic qualities of some of the sashiko designs. CSDTs use block-based computer programming or coding to explore math and computation. Then, I used the design created by the CSDT to make a sashiko bag.
I was drawn to one particular motif called “asanoha” (asa — hemp; no — of; ha — leaf) and it represents radiating light, or the inner light of the soul. I made my first attempt to create a pattern using asanoha, using more traditional sashiko materials.
I had to use math to create a proportional pattern and I had to practice my hand stitching technique as I went along. My plan is to re-create one of my Midjourney variations using traditional sashiko, using a similar process as the CSDT design to burlap cloth. I will use the collage technique to create the composition, with colorful fabrics and threads.
I did stop at sashiko (or start there). I’ve been using GenAI to combine multiple cultural designs in one image. For example, the image above combines African textile patterns such as Kente cloth and Kuba cloth. Perhaps in the near future I will get access to a wooden loom to learn how to create these patterns. In the meantime, I use culturally relevant GenAI that, like collage, represents the “mechanism of function of symbols” (Xiang 2020). These symbols originate from the naming and marking of things, and they can be repeated, manipulated, remixed, and combined to create new relationships between symbols and subjects (matter).