History Channel’s ‘Mountain Men’ campaign honors human-made art in the age of AI

Generative AI not only seems to advance by the day, but its adoption for day-to-day content generation seems to be increasingly common as well. A scroll through Twitter, TikTok or Instagram shows everyday people experimenting with AI’s ability to generate headshots, expand the frame of photographs and whip up a piece of art. But for season 12 of History Channel’s “Mountain Men,” the network is rejecting all things emerging tech in favor of doing things per tradition. The season’s promotional campaign hired four artists—Albin Veselka, Jeff Watts, Julia Northrup and Luciano Neves—to create works of art for its marketing. The campaign is meant to mirror the show’s sticking-to-roots themes, and an accompanying video compares the fine art process to the “age-old tradition” of living in the wilderness. The paintings by Veselka, Watts and Northrup depict the show’s subjects hunting, riding horses and kicking back with dogs among gorgeous mountains, fields and natural vistas. Neves is a digital artist, whose work similarly captures the beauty of America’s far reaches with texture that mimics physical brush strokes. Neves’ inclusion is a thoughtful acknowledgment of the breadth of art forms humans are capable of, as the show takes a stand against AI’s intrusion. “Mountain Men” season 12 premieres today (Aug. 24). See more paintings below: Digital painting of a man riding a horse by Luciano Neves: Painting of 'Mountain Men' subject Jake by Albin Veselka: Painting of 'Mountain Men' subject Jake by Julia Northrup:

History Channel’s ‘Mountain Men’ campaign honors human-made art in the age of AI

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