For my final essay I was interested in exploring illustrated letters, letters with an attached drawing, and more specifically, the role that hand-drawn art plays in comparison to the rise of AI generated art. Letters, already a very personal means of connecting, can be enhanced with the inclusion of a drawing. These drawings are often used as an extension of the content within the letter, adding an extra layer of joy or demonstrating a surge of affection towards the recipient. In many cases, these illustrations serve to speak where words fail, since, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Although we have the historical records that state people have been sending letters since 500 BC, there are no sources for the first ever illustrated letter. There are records of illustrated manuscripts from between the years 400-600 but there is no specific letter that is deemed the first to include illustrations. The letters that I did research on are primarily from the Smithsonian Institution’s exhibit on illustrated letters from the early nineteenth century through 1980. This exhibit was combined with the work of author Liza Kirwin in her book More Than Words: Illustrated Letters from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art.
There is discussion as to whether or not letter writing is still relevant in the twenty-first century. Today we explore the psychological impact of a letter because someone took time out of their day to handwrite a message instead of shooting a quick text or email. The act of writing a letter was not always so novel because, for a long time, it was the only means of communication. Letters were revolutionary because they allowed for family and friends to hear from one another even if they lived in other states or countries. As technology has advanced, however, we have seen a steady decline in the use of mail, as it is no longer a necessity. We have created much faster ways of sending messages, and, in the digital age, speed is of the utmost importance.
Art has undergone a similar history. Human beings have been making art for as long as we have been on this planet. It has taken on various forms, but it has often always been created for someone, usually as a gift. Similar to letter writing, the creation of art, especially in letters, could be on the precipice of extinction. In a society that values instant gratification, the process of making art does not appeal to those who are not naturally creative. Creating good art requires lots of time, patience, trial and error. These traits can be hard to come by for people who are impatient to skip a five second Youtube advertisement. The idea of spending hours perfecting minute details for a painting seems like a waste of time, especially with the rise of artificially generated art.
Making a drawing for someone, regardless of the level of artistic skill, is always admirable because art does not come naturally to everyone. Language, and the desire to communicate, is very natural, meaning writing a letter is something that is well within the range of most individuals. But making a drawing requires a certain artistic eye that is not as inherent among all humans. That is why I wanted to explore those individuals who not only wrote letters but also imbued their letter with a small glimpse into their personality. Art gives the reader of a letter a much more exposed look at the author’s personality than just the words on the page.
The first letter that I was interested in was from Warren Chappell to Isabel Bishop. The letter itself is quite short, but it is the attached self portrait of Chappel that makes this letter so impactful. The letter simply states, “I’ve just thrown a couple of drawings away and I realize – there’s no friend like a trash basket. I share this awareness and a greeting.” The purpose of this essay is not to analyze the contents of letters, but to explore how much more impactful the letter is with the inclusion of a handmade drawing. Chappell felt that the best way to express himself in this letter was to include a drawing. Another reason could be that he wanted to make Bishop laugh. It is evident in the other letters from Chappel to Bishop that they were in a romantic relationship and it is very likely that Chappel created these letters in order to make his girlfriend happy. It is clear that the inclusion of the drawing in this letter was intentional. The art on its own comes alive with meaning because it was created with the purpose of elevating this letter.
Another example of the impact that a drawing can have on a letter is in the letter from sculptor Alexander Calder to painter Ben Shahn. Once again, the letter itself is not very exciting, just a simple invitation from Calder to Shahn. Yet what makes this letter so meaningful is the inclusion of the hand drawn map that Calder made for Shahn. The drawing might not be winning any prizes for its artistry, but that isn’t the point. Calder and Shahn were very good friends, in fact, Calder made a painting entitled, Homage to Ben Shahn in 1970 a year after Shahn had passed away. They clearly had a very close relationship, so this was Calder’s way of demonstrating his care for his friend. Another reason this letter is so sweet is because it is from 1949, long before the invention of Google maps. Calder went out of his way to draw things like the length of roads and highlighted exactly what route for Shahn to take. All these small details are what make this letter so impactful, since the art that is included emphasizes people’s humanity.
Something that has been fascinating to me lately has been the rise of AI generated art and the fear that AI will deprive humans of the purpose of making art. Arne Eigenfeldt, a professor at the School for Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University, wrote an article entitled, “Why the Growth of AI in Making Art Won’t Eliminate Artists.” In this article Eigenfeldt talks about his job as a composer and how he works to create collaboration between artists and artificial intelligence. He even credits the AI generator he uses in the titles of his music before his own name. Eidenfeldt says AI is incredibly useful in musical composition because it can come up with music based on the prompt’s that he feeds the website. Then his job is to go through what the AI provides him and decide whether that music is usable.
Eidenfeldt relies on AI to basically do the heavy lifting for him. He says that AI is such a great asset because it allows artists to experiment with ideas in a much quicker and efficient way. They do not need to waste time toiling over the composition of a piece of music only to realize that the music is unusable. Despite this benefit of speed, I completely disagree with Eidenfeldt’s belief that AI generated music is helping the music industry. Just because we possess the means to create art quicker, does not make the art better. Eidenfeldt is using AI generators as a shortcut to create art. I firmly believe that the statement “it’s not about the journey, it’s about the destination” is a fundamental truth when it comes to the creation of art. Art cannot have meaning if there is no story or emotion behind it.
This lends me well to the last letter that I explored. A computer cannot create art that is nearly as impactful as art created by a human. When any kind of art – music, drawn, or written – is created by a computer there is an automatic shift in tone because a computer does not possess emotion, nor has it toiled to reach its goal. The final letters that I explored were written by American artist Max Bohm to his mother Emilie Bohm. Once again, the content of the letters is less important than the inclusion of the art. Since these letters are being sent to his mother, they have a kind of automatic human connection that can only be found between two humans. These drawings are Max’s way of sharing his life away from home with his mother. They depict the everyday goings on of life around him. They might be able to be replicated by an AI generator, but the intention to share his life through art in order to connect with his mother requires a level of emotion that AI can never recreate.
So where does all of this leave the future of letter writing? Is letter writing going extinct? Are letters even valuable anymore, especially ones that are not from powerful people and are covered in scribbles? I think that now, more than ever, it is important that we preserve this unique and wonderful art form. Letter writing gives us the space to really think about the person we are addressing. Letters are no longer the fastest means of communication, so writing letters demonstrates that the message is truly personal. You are really thinking about your recipient, what you want them to know, and how best you can share your emotions with them. Sometimes the best way to do that is through art and the inclusion of a drawing. No matter how realistic artificial intelligence becomes, nothing will ever compare to the feeling of knowing that someone is really thinking of you.
Warren Chappell letter to Isabel Bishop, 1982 Sept. 6. Isabel Bishop papers, 1914-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
https://www.si.edu/object/warren-chappell-letter-isabel-bishop:AAADCD_item_3193
Max Bohm to Emilie Bohm, 1889 May 12. Max Bohm papers, 1873-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution https://www.si.edu/object/max-bohm-emilie-bohm:AAADCD_item_1910
Alexander Calder, Roxbury, Connecticut letter to Ben Shahn, New York, New York, 1949 February 24. Ben Shahn papers, 1879-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution https://www.si.edu/object/alexander-calder-roxbury-connecticut-letter-ben-shahn-new-york-new-york:AAADCD_item_504
Kirwin, Liza, December 27, 2005, Princeton Architectural Press https://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Words-Illustrated-Smithsonians/dp/1568985231/
Eidenfeldt, Arne, Why the Growth of AI in Making Art Won’t Eliminate Artists, The Conversation, October 20, 2023, Accessed December 5 2023 https://theconversation.com/why-the-growth-of-ai-in-making-art-wont-eliminate-artists-210187#:~:text=On%20one%20hand%2C%20the%20answer,less%20time%2Dconsuming%20with%20AI
Handwritten Letters as a Revolutionary Communication Tool, Boston University College of Communication, January 1, 1965 https://sites.bu.edu/cmcs/2018/09/14/handwritten-letters-as-a-revolutionary-communication-tool/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20most%20basic,112
The Future of Letter Writing, National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution https://postalmuseum.si.edu/research-articles/letter-writing-in-america/the-future-of-letter-writing
