Art, AI and the Stars

Uranus in Taurus. AI should I Ignore it?

^{This article discusses the impact of Uranus’ transit in Taurus on art and artificial intelligence. A transit that has brought significant changes to the art world, sparking questions about the role of AI in art and its implications for artists.}

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

No doubt Uranus is my favorite one among the planets. Because it is about possibilities beyond our limited senses and perception. It is the planet of change, but these changes are more about liberation. It has a symbolism connected to our liberation from whatever restricts us. For this reason, I was excited when it entered Taurus in 2018.

The whole astrology world, including me, was talking about the possible effects of this change. Because for 7 years there could be radical changes in the subjects of Taurus. Which relates to money, resources, our understanding of nature and our relationships with our bodies. In other words, very earthly basic issues. And there have been. For example cryptocurrencies. Which have been on our agenda in recent years, coinciding with the Uranus-Taurus symbolism in a tremendous way.

Art, AI and the Stars. Seven Years of Change

However, what excited me was art. Taurus, as a sign ruled by Venus in astrology, is directly linked to art. This means there would be great changes in our perception and practice of art during this 7-year transit of Uranus in Taurus. 

Uranus transits always reminds us of other possibilities. We can also call it a harbinger. Whatever is in our collective consciousness regarding the symbolism of the sign it transits will undergo a change. Whether these changes will be for the highest good of the people or not depends entirely on how people perceive and use them.

Technology and Progress

When it was art that was subject to change, I was wondering; what kind of a breakthrough would we experience? Uranus is a planet associated with progress and scientific and technological developments. It gives clues about the nature of this change. An acceleration could be seen in the relationship between art and technology. However, the issue could not be that simple. We could already see technology in many art movements such as kinetic art. So this change should not only be about art and technological developments, but it should be a change that would make us question art. It could have been time to experience a revolution regarding art, the artist and our perception of them.

A Time to Question Art

And so it was. In the last two years especially with the entry of Pluto into Aquarius (let this be the subject of another article), there have been very rapid developments in the field of artificial intelligence. And suddenly we started to talk about works of art made by artificial intelligence. This sudden development led to questions such as “If it wasn’t created by a human artist, is it still art?” and “How AI is changing the art world and art market?” “Is art generated by AI real art?” in the art world. 

As a result; Uranus Taurus transit did not only manifest itself as a change in the field of art as we predicted, but also caused us to question our perception of art. We have not yet been able to fully answer these questions. The questioning of art and artificial intelligence is still very fresh. We do not yet know where we will position art and the artist at the end of these discussions. However, astrology can give us a little more clues. At this point, we can ask our question in two different ways; 

The Art of Hindsight

If we look at the history of Western art, when have we experienced a major change in art and started to question what art is? What happened when Uranus transited in Taurus before, was there a similar change?

When we think of the answer to the first question, I think many of us will think of the century we left behind. Although the footsteps of the change to come in Western art through Cezanne and his contemporaries began to be heard in the 19th century. The foundations of today’s modern art were laid in the first half of the 20th century. In this period, which saw a radical break with tradition, there was a tremendous change, especially in the visual arts, from Picasso to Marcel Duchamp. It was also a time when art and the artist were being questioned, such as “What is art?” and “Who is the artist?”.

We also see that Uranus was transiting in Taurus during this period. When many movements came to the forefront of Western art. When artists were constantly questioning life and art through their work with the pains of this century, which included two world wars. Therefore, the answers to the two questions we asked above have taken us to almost the same period in the past.

Uranus was transiting in Taurus between 1934 and 1942. Although we cannot fit this radical change that started in Western art only within these years, this synchronicity is remarkable. During these years, the work of the pioneers of modern art had reached its peak, and these new conceptions of art, which were still viewed with scepticism at the turn of the century, were now eagerly awaited.

Art, AI and the Stars. Looking Through History

These 8 years of Uranus transiting in Taurus also coincided with the Second World War. During this period, we also see that modern art which started in Europe, was restricted as a result of the pressures of fascist governments. Many of the painters, whose works are priceless today migrated from Europe. Especially from Paris, which is considered the capital of art, to America and New York due to the war and oppressive governments. This is quite in line with the symbolism of Uranus in astrology. Because Uranus is a planet associated with freedom and independence. It is also interesting to note that during the years when Uranus began to transit in the sign associated with art, artists migrated to America, which promised more freedom.

A Clue From the Stars?

Present day. As I mentioned at the beginning of my article, we started to experience a change in art through artificial intelligence technologies in 2018 – 2026 when Uranus transits in Taurus again. We will most likely start to see the impact and magnitude of this change after Uranus completes its transit in Taurus. Moreover, this time, in a globalized world order, this change is not only affecting the Western art world, but the whole world.

_{Art, AI and the Stars written by Eda Ocak. Her first article with Sawidji. We look forward to Eda’s insightful reflections through a unique perspective. Reflecting on art, mindfulness and the spirit of community together. Feature image ‘Night at Ijen‘ by ManButur Photography.}

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