What's Going On With Keith Haring's 'Unfinished Painting' Being 'Finished' By AI? The Last Controversy Of 2023 Explained

Right before the clock struck midnight on 2023, one Twitter unleashed what was arguably the finest bait post of the year: using AI to "finish" Keith Haring's famous self-portrait, 'Unfinished Painting.'

The resulting fracas led to an impassioned debate between memers, art lovers, right-wingers, left-wingers and ethicists, as people argued about the value of AI and Bait as a tool in the forever Posting Wars. Here's what you need to know about the controversy around 2023's final troll job.

What Is Keith Haring's 'Unfinished Painting'?

Keith Haring was a street artist who rose to prominence in the 80s. His trademark style utilized curvy lines arranged in eye-catching patterns, often involving faceless people, and it was ubiquitous in the '80s and early '90s.

Haring was a gay man and activist who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, during an era when AIDS was essentially a death sentence. Unfinished Painting, painted in 1989, is a self-portrait, where a typical Haring design takes up the upper left quarter of the canvas but the rest is intentionally left blank, intended to symbolize the life he would not be able to live after his death. It is considered one of Haring's most powerful works. Haring passed away in February of 1990.

Who "Finished" Haring's Painting With AI?

On December 31st, 2023, Twitter user @DonnellVillager posted that they'd used AI to "finish" Haring's piece, filling in the rest of the empty canvas with a continuation of the pattern Haring started. The post instantly went viral, as it drew impassioned responses from many corners of the internet.

It's important to note that the tweet is likely bait, meaning it's a satirical post intended to garner intense negative reactions. While @DonnellVillager hasn't explicitly stated they were only joking with their post, most people who post about the wonders of AI typically tend to post about the technology enthusiastically over numerous tweets. The other tweets by @DonnellVillager tend to be cringeworthy memes and nonsensical jokes, which would suggest that the Haring post was made as a satire of AI art's champions.

What Is The Debate Around The "Finished" Haring Work?

Still, while some people praised the post for being excellent bait, others acknowledged it was bait but still felt it was in poor taste. For example, user @MeganRoseRuiz called the poster "vile" and "deranged" while acknowledging she understood it wasn't created sincerely.

Among the reasons why she felt the post was in poor taste was that it encouraged some homophobic responses — some users on Twitter indeed reveled in the "ruining" of Haring's work with AI, cheering that a famous piece in the LGBT community was desecrated.

Others interpreted @DonnellVillager's post as a satire of AI art. Some users felt it demonstrated the callousness and soullessness of AI art, as well as its most ardent defenders, by parodying how an enthusiastic "AI artist" would see Haring's piece. The "piece" by DonnellVillager isn't very dissimilar to other AI Art "improvements" to existing media posted online before.

Many just wanted to acknowledge that they'd seen a masterful troll at work, and there were plenty of celebrations that @DonnellVillager had so successfully riled Twitter up right before 2023's proverbial "buzzer."

For more information, check out the Keith Haring 'Unfinished Painting' AI controversy entry on Know Your Meme.