Words as Art

The new transformative digital AI (Artificial Intelligence) art exhibit at the Marco Island Center for the Arts is sure to make you think hard about what are the new norms and definition of art. The image creators are accomplished photographers who belong to the Naples Digital Photography Club (DPI-SIG) and meet monthly to explore the creative possibilities of digital art in addition to their interest in photography. The digital art in this exhibit was juried from 336 entries by a panel of judges. Congratulations to all the exhibitors who brought a total of 87 stunning AI-enhanced artworks to the exhibit. The image creators are Art David, Donna Sutton, Jim Robellard, Karen Lund, Mahlon Stacy, Sue Christensen, and Wes Bloemker. The exhibit will be at the Marco Island Center for the Arts through November 24, 2025. 

Words as Art is an innovative exhibition presented by DPI-SIG Naples showcasing a fusion of photography and AI-enhanced artwork. This exhibit explores the intersection of visual storytelling and artificial intelligence, highlighting how technology can transform traditional photographic art into dynamic, thought-provoking pieces. Visitors can expect to experience a diverse range of works that challenge perceptions and invite deeper contemplation on the role of AI in contemporary art. The exhibition underscores DPI-SIG Naples’ commitment to embracing technological advancements while celebrating the art of photography. 

According to DPI-SIG Naples, computer programs provide tools for artists to create using words, images, styles, and other inputs instead of paint or a camera.  Here is how it works: 

Text-to-Image Models: AI systems like ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, or MidJourney take a text description (“a surreal landscape with floating islands”) and generate an image that interprets the prompt. The AI has been trained on vast data sets of images and their descriptions. From that data, it learns how styles, objects, and colors are represented. It typically uses a process called diffusion to craft digital noise into an image based on that training. 

Style Transfer: AI can apply the style of one artwork to another image (for example, turning a photo into something that looks painted in the style of Van Gogh). Because the model was trained on Van Gogh’s art, it knows the style or any style it was trained on. 

Image Editing and Inpainting: AI can fill in missing parts of an image, remove unwanted elements, or change details (“make the sky sunset-colored” or “replace the cat with a dog”). 

Bing, Adobe, Firefly, ChatGPT, MidJourney, Flux, and Ideogram are the programs (models) used to create these images. 

A prompt is a set of words provided by the user/creator. The model uses the words to develop the image/idea into an image. It’s like a language where the inner workings of the model interpret the words according to how the model was trained. Short prompts allow the model to create images with greater freedom/creativity, while longer specific prompts focus the model into a more exact interpretation. 

AI doesn’t replace the artists – it acts more like a collaborator or tool. Digital AI is essentially a blend of human imagination and machine generation. The human provides:  

The La Petite Galerie October Exhibit features Pat Howard’s art, which is very ethereal, warm, and soft, and influenced by Marco’s coastal landscape. “My favorite subject matter includes still life, animals, and landscapes of places I’ve travelled and visited. Anything that examines the effect of light and shadow is my favorite study,” Howard said.  

You are invited to a Second Tuesday Gallery Reception on October 14th (5:30-7:00 PM) and November 11, 2025 (5:30-7:00 PM) to view two types of exhibits. Marco Island Center for the Arts is located at 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island.