MARTIN GORE OF DEPECHE MODE SAID THAT WITHOUT AN AFTERNOON NAP THERE IS NO MORE ROCK AND ROLL AT HIS AGE.
BUT PART OF THE TRICK IS ALSO, WHERE DO YOU PUT YOUR ATTENTION.
TININTUS TAUGHT
ME THAT. YES, THIS IS ANOTHER CLOSE FRIEND OF MINE: A CONTINUOUS PHANTOMIC SOUND IN THE BRAIN, WHICH DEVELOPS AS A RESULT OF A DEFECT IN THE EAR CANAL.
AS A CHILD, I HAD A REALLY BAD EAR INFECTION.
MOM SAYS I WAS IN SO MUCH PAIN THAT I WAS BANGING MY HEAD AGAINST THE WALL, AND IN THE MORNING THERE WAS A PILE OF PUS ON MY PILLOW.
SHEER HORROR.
THAT'S PROBABLY WHEN THE INJURY HAPPENED, WHICH I FIRST NOTICED IN HIGH SCHOOL WHEN I STARTED GOING TO CONCERTS AND CLUBS.
WITH BASS SOUNDS SOMETHING ALWAYS STARTED TO TWITCH IN MY RIGHT EAR, AS IF I HAD A SLIGHTLY TORN EARDRUM.
AT LEAST THAT'S HOW I IMAGINE IT, I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY HAD IT CHECKED.
IT BEEPS NONETHELESS AND I NOTICE THIS EVEN MORE IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, WHEN THERE ARE LESS OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES.
IF A CERTAIN SOUND IN THE SPECTRUM IS MISSING, THE BRAIN CREATES A REPLACEMENT FOR THAT SOUND, BUT THIS REPLACEMENT IS NOT REALLY GOOD, WE HEAR IT AS A HIGH-PITCHED HUM.
THEY SAY THAT TINNITUS CAN ALSO BE IMAGINED AS PHANTOM PAIN OR PHANTOM ITCHING
IN A PERSON WHOSE ARM HAS BEEN CUT OFF, BUT IT STILL FEELS ITCHY.
IT SURE IS A COMPLICATED THING – THE BRAIN!
MY EAR STILL TINGLES WHEN THE CAR DOOR CLOSES OR WHEN I DRIVE INTO THE TUNNEL ON THE HIGHWAY, BEACUSE THE PRESSURE CHANGES SO QUICKLY.
THE SOUND OF THE HIGHWAY IS THE MOST OBVIOUS WHEN THE SOUTH WIND IS BLOWING. THEY CALL IT THE »HAIR DRYER« AND ALSO THE »SUICIDE WIND« BECAUSE IT BRINGS CHANGE AND USUALLY LOW PRESSURE WITH RAIN. ALONG WITH THE DUST, IT ALSO BRINGS MORE SOUND.
THE BEST TIME, HOWEVER, IS WHEN IT STARTS TO...
THE HEART GOES EXTATIC. SUDDENLY EVERYTHING BECOMES QUIET. EVERYTHING ENDS. EVEN IF THERE ARE SOME CARS, YOU WON'T HEAR THEM.
FOR PEOPLE WHO LIVE BY THE HIGHWAY, SNOW EQUALS BLISS.
IT IS NO WONDER THAT AROUND THE AGE OF TWENTY I WROTE A SUBLIME EULOGY TO THE SNOW, WHERE I ALSO EXPRESSED THE HOPE THAT I WOULD NEVER BE AS COLD AS IT AND THAT I WOULD ALWAYS BE READY TO MELT IN THE PALM OF ANOTHER PERSON.
TO BE HONEST, I WAS ALSO COLD AT TIMES. AND OF COURSE IT IS ALL BEACUSE OF – THE HIGHWAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IN THE FIRST YEARS WHEN WE MOVED TO THE SUBURBS, THE FENCE ALONG THE HIGHWAY WAS BAD AND FULL OF HOLES. WE CLIMBED OVER IT OR CRAWLED UNDERNEATH, AND THEN THROUGHT THE TUNNEL BY THE DITCH TO THE OTHER SIDE.
THE BANKS WERE SLOPING AND YOU HAD TO BE CAREFUL WHEN WALKING.
WE SOMETIMES HUNTED LEECHES THERE, BUT ABOVE ALL WE WERE CAREFUL NOT TO STEP INTO THE WATER WITH OUR SHOES.
NOWADAYS, HALF OF EUROPE PASSES BY OUR HOUSE TO THE NORTH ADRIATIC SEASIDE.
AND BACK THE SAME WAY.
WE GET THE FRONT ROW IN OBSERVING ALL THE TRAFFIC JAMS.
... AND I WOULD NEVER HAVE THOUGHT THAT ONE DAY IT WOULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN.
UNLIKE THE TIME DURING THE CORONA, WHEN EVERYTHING WAS AT A STANDSTILL FOR A FEW WEEKS. IT WAS QUITE INCREDIBLE. THE MUSICAL GROUP
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN HAS A GREAT SONG
'I WANT THE WORLD TO STOP' ...
BUT IT DID.
ON OUR WALKS, WHICH WE DID AT FIRST WITH MASKS ON OUR FACES, WE STOOD ON THE OVERPASS AND WATCHED THE HIGHWAY IN DISBELIEF. ON THE ONE HAND UNCERTAINTY DUE TO THE VIRUS, ON THE OTHER HAND AN EXCITED HEART DUE TO PEACE AND QUIET.
WHAT A WILD CONTRAST!
THEN ONLY LONG CONVOYS OF TRUCKS BEGAN TO DRIVE. TOGETHER, IN A ROW, ONE BY ONE.
ACROSS EUROPE.
SEE, I DIDN'T EVEN THINK OF THAT WHEN I STATED TO CREATE THIS COMIC A FEW HOURS AGO…
BUT ON THE HIGHWAY OVERPASS SOMEWHERE AROUND THE AGE OF TWENTY-TWO, I ALSO CONCLUDED THAT NO MATTER HOW LONG THE CURRENT DEPRESSION WOULD PERSIST, I WILL NOT LAY HANDS ON MYSELF.
I WAS LOOKING DOWN.
CARS. VANS. TRUCKS. TRAILERS.
WATCHED, SUFFERED AND PONDERED...
IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH. I HAVEN'T BEEN SMILING FOR YEARS.
SOON AFTER THAT DAY, THE RADICAL EMOTIONAL SWINGS THAT I WAS EXPERIENCING, SUBSIDED.
LIKE I WAS FINALLY MAKING FRIENDS WITH... DEATH.
WHEN THOSE DEPRESSIONS SUBSIDED, I FELT AND INCREDIBLE, ALMOST ROBOTIC CREATIVE ENERGY.
I STILL HAVEN'T LOST IT.
I CREATED THIS ENTIRE COMIC IN LESS THAN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS: WROTE THE TEXT, »DREW« IT WITH THE HELP OF THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM »MIDJOURNEY« AND COMPLETED IT IN THE GRAPHICS PROGRAM »INDESIGN«.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MAY BE ABLE TO DRAW ACCORDING TO MY INSTRUCTIONS, BUT IT CAN'T FEEL THE HUMAN STORY.
IT WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO DO THAT. ONLY YOU AND I HAVE THE CHANCE TO DO THIS.
TO FEEL. THE RESOLVE.
BUT OF COURSE... NEXT WEEKEND WE WILL PROBABLY GO TO THE SEASIDE, TO SEE IT ONCE MORE IN THE AUTUMN, MAYBE EVEN TAKE A SWIM.
WHAT WERE THE WORDS TO THAT KRAFTWERK SONG?
...WIRFAHREN,FAHREN,FAHREN AUFDERAUTOBAHN,
...VORUNSLIEGTEINWEITESTAL, DIESONNESCHEINTMITGLITZERSTRAHL, FAHRBAHNISTEINGRAUESBAND, WEISSESTREIFEN,GRÜNERRAND...
24 HOURS
Commentary on the creative process
I've always wanted to create my own comic book, but without drawing skills it's not possible. Or is it? A few months ago, information spread on the Internet about at least two computer programs that, with the help of artificial intelligence, allow a person to draw »on command«. I decided to check out the Midjourney program and in the last month I have already prepared two book covers, which were drawn by UI according to my guidelines. Of all comics, I've found the autobiographical to be the most exciting, and just in the last month I've compiled a comprehensive list of 428 such works throughout history. Most of the essayistic books on the subject are stating that trauma is the one thing that is best portrayed in such comics. All of a sudden it struck me: »Of course, the highway!«
Yesterday at eleven o'clock I had a medical check-up due to elevated cholesterol levels (they found that the veins are just okay), and at twelve o'clock I started to work on this project. I wrote the story in two hours, then started directing the program, which drew, drew, and drew. First until midnight (I cooked macaroni in the meantime), then we continued the session and finished it in the morning. I spent twenty euros for the service.
It's now ten o'clock another day and I'm about to publish the comic on the Internet. I will also have about fifty copies printed, because I find it simply incredible that something like this is even possible. I'm not just testing my personal abilities, I'm testing the abilities of this world. Of everybody.
This is the first long-format Slovenian comic, which was created with the help of artificial intelligence. And perhaps even the first autobiographical graphic novel in the world, created with such a process.
And what is my first impression? I feel like a screenwriter who is beeing shown a film based on his story, and this film is, of course, visually quite different from the initial imagination. What if I'd be also a director here? It would probably take me a year to create it. But would it be any better?
Žiga Valetič, Ljubljana, Slovenia
September 16, 2022
(P.S. The quote on the previous page comes from the song Autobahn by the German group Kraftwerk.)