AI Misuse at Local Art Market — Full Breakdown & Transcript

[00:02] artists with AI and using AI in place of artists, this is some like local LA art AI drama that I just wanted to share with you guys. It's a lot more niche because it is related to like the art vendor space in LA. This is involving a

[00:16] situation with an art market that is local to SoCal. Now, again, before I delve in, please don't send hate to any parties involved. So, the art market in question is actually this market called So Real Market. This is like a flea

[00:30] market where they bring in a lot of artists, a lot of vendors, and then local artists can basically show all of their goods. It's a really fun time. They also bring in like foods and sometimes they'll have DJs and things

[00:42] their events and, you know, saw a couple people that I knew. And of course, like any other event that happens, you would need promotional material for the event. So, this event is kind of known they have this really cutsey style and they

[00:55] have a lot of promo material that they post. So, this is kind of like an example of some of the artwork. It's very cutsey, very hand-drawn, and it seems really like artist forward. They have a lot of cute graphics they work

[01:08] with a lot of artists. And a very recent post that they had was this one. And highlighting another one of their markets that was supposed to happen June 13th in Anaheim. The design is super super super cute and they had tagged the

[01:23] artist who had made the event flyer. The artist by the handle of one.stardust. This artist, by the way, has a super unique art style. It is so cute, very, very retro. I love the way their art looks so much. It's absolutely adorable.

[01:36] They were saying they love it so much that they would love to buy a print of it, actually asking who the artist was, etc. And then, a couple days after that, they had actually uploaded this graphic, which uses a lot of the little cute

[01:50] characters that was originally on the first flyer, and they added some extra information. They added the vendor lineup, they also added new vendors, new food, whatever. But again, it notably is in the same style as the original flyer

[02:02] this one scrolling, right? Cuz I was originally following this page, and I was like, "Oh, wow, this is a really cute graphic made by the same artist." And that is exactly what you would hope and think is what happened, until some

[02:16] more information came out that revealed something more nefarious actually went on behind the scenes. On June 12th, on their page, they had posted this: "NSFW AI content" with like a little sad emoji face. This already felt like really odd,

[02:32] because the whole NSFW AI like, dude, maybe I'm too sensitive or whatever when it comes to reading this, but it's like, when you put like NSFW tags or like trigger warning sensitivity tags, it is for triggering topics, things that are

[02:45] more sensitive. When it comes to making like an apology for something that you did wrong, being like NSFW AI content sad eye emoji, it feels like you're making light of the situation. And maybe

[02:58] they were, you know, trying to stay on brand with their like very Y2K, very retro-looking brand aspect, but I feel like the apology statement is really not where you're, you know, "Ooh, will kawaii desu, you know," all over it. But

[03:13] they write, "Hello, So Real Market would like to publicly address its now-deleted post highlighting our vendor lineup for tomorrow's event, June 13th, as the use of AI was involved to help create the graphic below, aka the left image with

[03:25] the vendor lineup. We would like to be transparent and let the community know that with our lack of resources and organization, the team was unable to create a vendor flyer in a timely manner, and instead opted to utilize AI

[03:37] to generate separated individual PNG assets of the main event flyer, without the original artist consent, in effort to make the flyer. Such action was done amazing vendor community at our Tamagotchi Paradise Market, but with no

[03:51] energy into their craft. This already feels like kind of weird cuz on one they did, right? That's like part of, you know, the acknowledgement. They artist's consent. And they also acknowledge that the artist spent a lot

[04:05] of time and effort putting their work together and that it was wrong. But, what is really odd is like the excuse they gave in here where they were like, "Oh, you know, we didn't really have time to like make the asset, so we used

[04:18] AI to rip the PNGs off of the original flyer." There was an artist who made the flyer, right? Have you guys not thought about, "Hey, artist, can you give me the PNGs for the cute little characters you made so that we can use it?" Or, "Hey,

[04:34] artist, can you make me a second flyer? I love your art style, you know?" That's just very odd because I feel like that's kind of like the first line of thinking artist for it. Maybe there's a situation where the artist was busy and said no or

[04:47] said no or something like that. But, like, really? That was the best case scenario we could come to? There was a lot of other options. Also, secondly, it around for four years. So, it's not like they are brand new and disorganized

[05:02] They've been around for four years. They just recently had a post highlighting they've been around for a while. So, it's just a little bit odd that they list cuz they've hosted a whole bunch of

[05:15] "Hey, for this upcoming event, we're going to need these graphics including a vendor lineup, you know?" So, why wasn't that also part of the pitch to the ask, "Hey, I need a main flyer, I need a vendor lineup, and maybe I need some

[05:29] like a banners, you know, on site with your cute artwork to advertise it." Also, secondly, the lack of resources implies they didn't have enough money to hosted events, so I don't really know how. But, you know, you probably would

[05:43] need like the tables, the chairs, and then money to rent the space. But, these people who vend here have to pay a vendor fee to be there. So like money is exchanging hands one way or another. So that just means you guys didn't account

[05:56] for like an artist budget in this case. The whole thing is just really odd. And people in the comments also were not happy about it at all. Especially because this whole event is supposed to support local artists, small

[06:10] artists, small businesses. And it feels like a big [ __ ] you if you use AI for more things. They write, "The So Real Market team truly does not take AI-generated content nor the improper allocation of credit towards our artists

[06:23] our community, especially our artist community, that such behavior will not been impacted through this action, we sincerely apologize for our lack of so much for reading." So like, okay, if

[06:37] you guys don't take AI-generated content lightly, you know, how did this happen? Somebody fed the artist work to AI to generate that other flyer. So a lot of person on our team did something that we completely do not support. We fired

[06:51] harassing or bullying or anything, but like it's interesting that that wasn't whoever did this, but people in the comments were not happy at all. A user went on their burner account to go and give a whole heartfelt write-up against

[07:06] how they feel. And honestly, their frustration is felt. And a lot of people something else. If y'all did support small businesses, you would have acknowledged the work and hours that goes into a piece. Exposure is not a

[07:21] form of payment. Because apparently, as word on the street has it and people videos, it kind of sounds like the artist who made the original flyer wasn't even paid. If that is true, because this is alleged, it's absolutely

[07:33] wild to ask an artist to go and make a flyer for you for exposure and then run artists is already not really a great look in this economy, like right? that taking artists' jobs, we want to support artists, want to support local

[07:47] supposed to support local artists. But on top of that, beyond that, taking their art and running it through AI, I'm crazy. This person continues, "You guys team, and not one of them had time to make a flyer on Canva? You have

[07:59] application deadlines a month in advance, so excuses. And you were just looking to hire more staff. Your market has so many issues. I have seen MLM shop that literally sources their items from Temu. That spot could have gone to

[08:12] a real artist." Another person writes, "Whoever said this is not deep is not a true artist and/or is somebody who just cuts corners at the expense of others. I resources and money is a huge factor, but the vendor fees are kind of high. I

[08:25] knowing that part of my payment is going towards the artist who maintained the branding and create awesome flyers. Oh, and like everyone is saying, Canva is found out you guys don't even pay artists for their flyers. Please tell me

[08:38] I'm wrong." For a market that solely relies on small businesses and artists, guys have the money to rush order a commission for a flyer? I lost so much respect for y'all." For more info about the pricing, a user writes, "Not only is

[08:51] harming the environment, it makes me question where the high vendor fees are going. There are 50 plus vendors paying $120 per spot, and you guys can't pay and why is it not going back to the community? Also, NSFW AI content, ooh

[09:07] really disappointing." As a long-time supporter of So Real Market, it's sad to see the greed that has taken over this market. A lot of people were also campaigning and arguing that the original artists should be compensated

[09:20] the misuse of their work, and the fact that it was run through AI to create the people were adding, "Hey, just as a reminder for artists to go out a no AI clause in your contracts." Which like, it sucks that it has to come to at point

[09:35] in the first place. Like, "Oh, you have to add a don't steal my art in the clause of your contract? It feels like it should be self-explanatory and understood, but it's always a situation where like what should be obvious isn't

[09:47] always obvious. Also, apparently they turned off comments on that apology post kind of looks like they're deleting comments because a lot of their recent again, don't send hate, don't bully any parties involved, but just, you know,

[10:01] the flyer. It's not cool to be an event where you claim to uplift local and small artists and then you turn around and just do something very, very awful to an actual artist and not pay them for their work as well. But also secondly,

[10:13] who are vending there because if you're a vendor and you paid $120 for your booth, like what are you supposed to do? Take the L on the $120? If you're rich got to do to make money. So, I'm not going to fault artists who are vending

[10:27] It's a privilege to be able to say no to work. But again, support the original cute. They deserve all of the love. And I'm curious to hear your thoughts on that happened kind of like in the local LA space, but just wanted to share it

[10:42] harass anybody, that's not what this is about. If you like this video, I'd Don't forget to check me out on Etsy. I have digital art there for streamers and resources. I'm also cooking up some merch and I know I've said that for a

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