July 22nd, 2025
2 min read
For painter/AI artist A3L3XZAND3R HARRIS and sculptor/visual development artist James Stewart, AI is a tool that will complement – and not replace – human artists. The duo met in Florence, Italy, where their shared passion for sculpture and painting laid the foundation for their artistic journeys. Despite finding traditional art education limiting, they both cherish the invaluable experiences that shaped their careers. Today, both are integrating AI into their work, challenging what it means to be an artist in the 21st century.
HARRIS and Stewart discuss the ways in which AI is intersecting with traditional art forms, offering insights on how technology is expanding creative boundaries while still honoring the core of human expression.
Bridges and Barriers
The growth of AI in the art world has sparked both excitement and concern among artists. While some fear it could diminish the value of human craftsmanship, HARRIS sees it as an opportunity for future generations to refine their individual passions. “Technology is enabling us to go deeper into what we care about,” HARRIS explains. “It’s not about replacing the artist. It’s about giving them more tools to execute their ideas with greater ease.”
For HARRIS, AI is just another brush in the toolkit – one that can help manage complex ideas, execute concepts faster and offer new possibilities for creativity. “I began experimenting with AI as a tool to enhance my creativity, just like I would use paint or clay,” he says. “AI is just another medium to explore ideas.”
Stewart, who started his career in animation, brings a unique perspective. Having worked on shows like Beast Wars and later at DreamWorks, where he contributed to creating realistic, expressive characters, Stewart’s background has deeply informed his approach to AI. “I was always fascinated by how we could translate real human expressions into animated characters,” he says. His work with characters including the lion, Aslan, in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, for instance, used real human facial movements to inform the animation process. For Stewart, AI is an evolution of the techniques he’s been honing for years.
Art is a means of expression and thoughtfulness… It's a process that's participatory, and for it to be art, it has to have someone to look at it or participate in it
AI in Society
As AI becomes more integrated into the artistic process, both HARRIS and Stewart stress the importance of human involvement. They believe AI can be a tool for amplifying human creativity rather than diminishing it. “Technology opens up new possibilities,” Stewart says. “It allows us to explore new dimensions of what art can be.”
AI, HARRIS adds, helps artists create concepts that might be impossible in real life but still feel human and engaging.
As AI continues to evolve, the line between traditional art and technology becomes increasingly blurred. For HARRIS and Stewart, this intersection represents a promising future where art is enriched by both human intuition and technological innovation.
“While AI is revolutionizing how art is created,” HARRIS says, “it will always be the human element – the passion, the emotion and the thoughtfulness – that remains at the heart of true artistic expression.”
