Scribbles, Spirographs, and AI, Oh My!: Postdevelopmental Sociomaterial Practices of Graphicality

Abstract

Using assemblage as a conceptual framework, I articulate the entangled relationality of graphicality when perceived as a postdevelopmental sociomaterial practice outside of developmental stage discourses. Considering multiple practices, from children drawing, to mark making with mechanized drawing machines, and generative artificial intelligence (AI) image platforms, I identify matters of concern that relate these varying practices in graphicality to question our conceptions of graphicality and creative expression. I consider Drawing Together, which is a series of workshops in performing techno-mechanical markmaking, questioning our ethical commitments through material engagement, and speculating on the pedagogical force of these types of techno-aesthetic making. I glean from this analysis an approach to gain perspective on the emerging sociomaterial practices of generative AI in considering issues of access, prompt engineering, and the carbon footprint of AI computing.