How did Midjourney turn AI into an art revolution?
An AI art tool run through Discord won a state fair art competition - and ignited a culture war.
The answer
Founded by David Holz in 2021 and entering open beta in July 2022, Midjourney became the most popular AI art generator by focusing on aesthetic quality and artistic style rather than photorealism. Operating entirely through Discord, it attracted millions of users who generated images via simple text prompts. In September 2022, a Midjourney-generated artwork titled 'Theatre D'opera Spatial' won first place in the digital art category at the Colorado State Fair, sparking fierce debate about whether AI-generated works qualify as art and threatening traditional artists' livelihoods.
Source: The New York Times
- midjourney
- ai art
- creativity
- image generation
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