Most of my readers know, by now, that I spend a certain amount of time on the website DeviantArt. I initially went there with the intention of getting artwork for the covers of some of my books. (And I succeeded; at least 5 of my covers are from DA artists.)
The usual arrangement on the site is to show visitors (or at least members) a series of images; you get to give each one a positive vote, or make a comment, or just scroll along. But having been—however briefly—a professor, I just have to make a comment. I can't make negative comments—that would be rude—so I get into this blog, and complain!
I'm now realizing, once again, that I'm thinking about the girls in the images—they're invariably girls—in terms of whether I like them as people, rather than whether they're beautiful images.
This makes no sense whatever! When we approve of the Mona Lisa, for instance, are we judging the painting as something Da Vinci painted, or as a prospective bride? Or a picture of Aphrodite, say, as a work of art, or as an entry in a dating service? This is a measure of how unprofessional I am as an art critic.
Actually, there is a tiny minority of women members who invariably post selfies 🤳. I have made friends with a few of them, and they're nice people, but there are only a handful of them. Often it's their boyfriends or partners (of either sex) who take the pictures; that's what I conclude from their pronouns being 'They, and Them'.
Finally, in the vast majority of cases, the images are neither paintings nor photographs, but images produced by AI apps. So the connection to an actual person is very loose indeed! It's rather desperate to have feelings for an AI- generated image. To go a little further, this is what people on online dating sites are up against: Real, or AI?
Kay
P.S. Girl I could fall for <blush>: I know, that's a bit personal, but I guess it's too late now!
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