Why would you "keep AI out of every other category" and what would be the point?

I was curious. I looked up the "Colorado State Fair" "Digital Arts/Digitally Manipulated Photography" rules. Are you ready?

1. A complete exhibit eligible in more than one Division and/or Class shall be entered and judged only in the

Division and/or Class for which it best qualifies. The Colorado State Fair or the judge may disqualify or transfer to the

correct Class (at his/her discretion) any exhibit which is not a true representative of the Division or Class in which it is

entered. It is not, however, the responsibility of the Colorado State Fair or judge to transfer an entry to the correct

Division and/or Class.

Once upon a time there was an artist who started using photographs as well as posed models in order to improve his paintings and the world was outraged.

Once upon a time there was an artist who started using electrical amplification as well as acoustical and the world was outraged.

This photo was taken in 1932. 90 years later, "artists" were dunking on it without having a clue what they were looking at.

Cindy Sherman photos sell for millions and there is most definitely a crowd - a crowd well-represented at the Colorado State Fair - that firmly believes if you don't grind your own pigments you aren't really an artist. And I mean... there were like 12 people in competition. Here's second place.

Which would you rather put on your wall, that... or this?

Here's the core thing that will ALWAYS annoy the shit out of artists:

Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.

- Frank Zappa

First place? Yeah he might sell something someday but I mean... yeah. All that stuff is cheap and easy and nobody cares. Second place? Holy shit there's a lot of effort there for something that's truly wretched. What do you think the other 30 entries look like? 'cuz let's take a breath here - "Colorado. State. Fair." You've never given a shit about it before and you'll never give a shit about it again but oh holy crap every time the tools of art change, the calcified artists who have managed to convince themselves they're artists not craftsmen because they've gotten mediocre-to-passable at the existing tools all gather 'round and howl.

Every guitarist in the '80s: "synthesizers aren't real music"

Real music: