A fashion show that features elderly people as models is a rarity. One with elderly Black African models is even rarer. Perhaps that’s why Nigerian visual artist Malik Afegbua got so much attention from around the world when he posted images titled “The Elders Series” on social media last month showing seniors on a fashion runway, dressed in stylish and colorful clothes.
“The inspiration behind this series was my mum,” explained Afegbua, 38. “She had a stroke(中风), and I am very close to her. I just needed an outlet to find a way to express myself and not think about her on a life-support machine. I wanted to think about her in a happy place.”
But what’s truly remarkable about the images is that the ground-breaking fashion show never actually took place. While the images look like photographs of a genuine vent, they were entirely generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
“The Eiders Series” is an extension of other projects that Afegbua has created through AI. He uses the AI Platform Midjourney, which generates images in response to text prompts (提示). Afegbua says he experiments with different phases, refining his search terms until he gets an image he likes, and then edits it in Photoshop-repeating the process until he achieves the effect he’s looking for.
Afegbua believes AI can be a powerful tool for the arts-film and television in particular. “It’s here to say...it’s going to advance and it’s going to get better,” he said. But he says the role of a human creator is still key. “AI is not All. It can’t think by itself. There is always s human being behind it-to put things in motion,” he added.
【小题1】Why did Afegbua create “The Elders Series”?| A．To raise money for his mom in hospital. | B．To express his sadness in a positive way. |
| C．To call on people to care for the seniors. | D．To earn money to buy a life support machine. |
| A．Their production method. | B．Their pretty models. |
| C．Their shooting location. | D．Their photographer. |
| A．What the AI platform Midjourney is. | B．Why “The Elders Series” is so popular. |
| C．Why AI performs better than man. | D．How Afegbun uses AI to create artworks. |
| A．Human creators are to be replaced. | B．AI can be used as tools only in art. |
| C．AI just plays an assisting role in art creation. | D．AI has advanced to the highest level. |
