Welcome to the Most Sublime community!
I’m Joe Newman, a Washington, DC-based photographer, writer and editor. I’m a veteran journalist, experienced media strategist and adjunct public interest communications professor at the University of Florida. I started this newsletter because I’m fascinated with the way technology and artificial intelligence are rapidly changing the way we create art and tell stories.
This newsletter is a place for me to share thoughts and observations about the impact of AI-generated art on the media landscape and on those of us who produce and consume visual stories.
Upgrading to a paid subscription doesn’t get you anything extra but it does help support the creative development of this newsletter. And, in a way, it keeps this site running because it lets me know there are folks out there that value the time and effort it takes to produce this content. Whether you have a paid or free subscription, your support is greatly appreciated!
What to Expect
For now, most of what I send out will fall into four main areas:
Frequent curated news roundups that highlight the most interesting stories and trends happening in the world of AI-generated art.
Articles that explore the philosophical, legal and cultural impacts of technology on visual storytelling.
Interviews with folks making waves in the field of generative art and a spotlight on some of the cool AI-art being created.
Tips, tricks and tutorials for those discovering the joy of AI-generated art.
About Me
I find the merging of art and technology fascinating and, I’m not going to lie, playing around with generative art is pretty fun.
Is it art? Is it pablum? I suppose that’s entirely up to the beholder. (I try to address that subject in my introductory blog post, “Is it art? Am I an artist?”).
As far as my credentials, this is from my initial blog post linked above:
My background is as a journalist and media strategist, having spent many years working as a newspaper reporter and editor and then later as a public interest communicator for nonprofit organizations. I'm a (mostly) self-taught photographer; I bought my first DSLR in 2004. Today, I work as a commissioned photographer, shooting corporate and nonprofit gigs, portraits and family sessions. I also organize and run travel photography workshops. I'm part of the local art scene – I founded an annual photo festival in the nation’s capital, I’ve edited and published three collaborative photo books (a fourth is underway), I’ve curated photo exhibits and projections. My photography has been exhibited in group shows and has won awards. I’ve made photographs that I feel are artistic, if not actual works of art. I don’t know if all this qualifies me as an artist. Maybe, I’m just “artist adjacent.”
You can follow along in real time on Instagram, where I’m posting AI images and composites at @most_sublime_photo.
