I would like to respond to the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust recent statement criticizing my creation and exhibition of an A.I. generated color version of Ansel Adams’ famous “Moonrise Over Hernandez” at the AIPAD art fair.
As the image is in the public domain I had every right to create a new and transformative work. My interest in doing this was based on my love of the iconic image, my interest in seeing how A.I. could be used as a tool for creativity, and to create an imagining of what Adams saw in real life as he was driving along US. Highway 84 that made him stop his Pontiac station wagon and scramble to set up his bulky 8x10 view camera as the sun was setting on the adobe church and cemetery crosses while the moon appeared through the clouds.
I had long believed the image was in the public domain but to confirm this beyond doubt, I hired one of the most respected copyright lawyers in the country to insure this was the case. It was indeed confirmed to be in the public domain and I was free to create a transformative color rendition of the image and to exhibit and sell the resulting prints.
From my perspective, this was done with great respect to the image and the artist. When it was exhibited it was very clearly attributed as to exactly what it was. (See the actual wall label above). As for the print itself, while A.I. served as the starting point, the final image involved extensive human intervention, editing, proofing, and refinement over many months. My goal was to create an image that felt visually convincing and compelling on its own terms while remaining grounded in admiration for the original photograph. As far as I was concerned, I would only show or sell the image if I felt it was perfect.
This was obviously a subjective judgment. You can see the result above. But what it meant to me was that the color version I was creating had to be two things. It had to look completely convincing (not “colorized”) and it had to be a beautiful image on its own, both to people who knew the black and white original as well as to people who did not know the image. The response at the AIPAD fair was largely positive. Most negative comments were directed at A.I..
Interestingly, it should be noted that in Adams earliest prints of the image the sky was a light grey. As he began to make more prints Adams printed the sky darker and darker and eventually he took the risky step of chemically intensifying the negative to make the sky even darker. As The Trust pointed out in their statement “Ansel Adams was an innovator who continually expanded the expressive and technical possibilities of the medium. He was remarkably prescient about – and excited by – the potential of computers to transform photography.”
As anyone who is familiar with my 50 year career in photography would know, I have always stood up for photographers’ rights. I have publicly defended photographers whose work was found to be illegally appropriated and spoken at legal forums on the subject of appropriation, taking the side of photographers whose work was unfairly copied, but also understanding the nuances involved in the subject. Given both the public domain status of “Moonrise” and the transformative nature of my exercise, it was clear I had the right to create a new work. Public domain works have long served as foundations for reinterpretation, experimentation, and new creative dialogue across generations of artists.
Finally, I have turned down requests to talk to writers at several publications about the issue, as my intent was not to create controversy but to create something beautiful and interesting. As the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust’s statement was publicly disseminated across social media I am now responding, however, I would like to apologize for not informing them in advance of this project.
I would like to give the last word to Ansel Adams as posted on the official Adams Instagram:
"I am frustrated by both exposure-scale limitations and rigid film-color response. As 'reality' is out of the question, I can indulge myself with explorations of the 'unreal' color which may or may not have intriguing aesthetic effects: I would not want 'post-card' realism, but I would enjoy 'enhancements' of the colors which I fear is not possible with conventional material today….. The scope of control with the electronic image has not been explored, but I feel confident astonishing developments await us in this area." - A.A. (1983).
James Danziger.