The Symbolic Capitals of Artists and the Legitimacy of Artificial Intelligence Arts: Focusing on Damien Hirst’s 「Beautiful Paintings」

This study aims to understand the linkage between an artist's symbolic capital (reputation) and the legitimization of that artist's AI art. Based on Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital, to do so, we theoretically reviewed symbolic capital. Then, the qualitative study was conducted by considering contemporary artist Damien Hirst's AI art project “Beautiful Paintings” as a case. Secondary data such as Hirst's career records, research papers, articles, reports, websites, and the artist's social media were collected and analyzed. The results indicate that the symbolic capital of Hirst has accumulated in the art world and the art market influences the acceptance of his AI art in the market. Hirst, to transfer his symbolic capital to AI art, highlights his role in producing the AI art via social media and connects his established image with the debate surrounding AI art. Furthermore, Hirst intends to generate a visual similarity between his recognized artistic style (Spin Painting) in the art world and Beautiful Paintings, as well as emphasizing the 'randomness' inherent in both AI art and Spin Painting. By doing so, the success of AI Art, supported by the symbolic capital of the renowned artist, implies that the hierarchical structure built within the art world for the legitimization of artworks is partially maintained even in art applying new technologies.