“Pictures and words together make a third thing” *

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The original “Lies on Paper” series, part of my University of Minnesota Honors Thesis Exhibition (1977), featured darkroom prints paired with typeset narratives that were sometimes literal, somewhat speculative and possibly fabricated interpretations of the associated images. During that time, and for some years after, photographs were considered to be evidential, truthful and real. The paired narratives in the original 1977 series challenged those assumptions and asked the viewer to reconsider their interpretation. (“Pictures and words make a third thing”.)

Artificial intelligence developments in late 2024 inspired me to consider how both my images and texts might be 'seen' again and what that response might render. For each original pair I submitted the images and texts separately as prompts to a variety of AI engines. The results were then printed on adhesive paper to be applied to a wall where the original 10 x 10 framed pair would be centered between to allow for comparison. 

The example below is one of three updated 1977 pieces.