Bubble lettering reminiscent of the groovy 1970s announced the 11th annual Downtown Aurora Art Fair on May 21 and 22 above a line drawing of a stretched overhead awning and large, leafy trees shading artist booths and the outlines of attendees on Water Street Mall. The yellow poster’s black-ink-lettering also shows a rain date for the next weekend of May 1977.
A print of the poster by my great uncle Robert E. Clark, a freelance artist from Aurora who worked in advertising and illustration (Lyon Metal being one client), is framed in my house. I discovered it while on display at a show hosted by Aurora Historical Society on the first floor of the David L. Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer Pl., Aurora.
I picture my Uncle Bob at his desk in his studio that I remember being off of the kitchen in their ranch at the southeast corner of Rosedale and Kensington on Aurora’s west side. I imagine the creativity and passion that went into both his graphic design work and his paintings, and I don’t think that can be replaced by artificial intelligence.
Cringeworthy AI flyers, known as “AI slop” are becoming more common, and I find it disturbing that they are used and shared by public entities that should be endorsing and supporting the arts. AI flyers might be simple to create, but I challenge that they are easier than taking that same information to a graphic designer for a flyer.
Many print companies have an in-house designer for such needs. I use Aurora Fastprint for my graphic design needs, and instead of entering information into ChatGPT or the like, I email Stephanie that info and she creates a unique flyer that will stand out and be original.
AI flyers are defined by these features: Visual sameness, information overload, uncanny errors, and lack of local or brand identity. They all share that very odd, bright and bold, shiny, and caricatured version of complete gaudiness.
They don’t look good. They’re also not helping a brand or an event. I would put money on AI flyers actually hurting marketing and event attendance. If flyers look fake, as AI-produced flyers do since they pool from the same limited flyer source or dataset, then a business or event will lack credibility.
I was surprised and saddened to see so many AI menus and signs at food trucks at the latest Food Truck Fest this past September in downtown Aurora. I challenge small business owners to see if they can save more time and money by working with a local print shop. When a business can be original, they are also saying that they care to take the time to support other small businesses and trades.
I get that it can be tempting and possibly fun to try the latest time-saving offering. I use Canva on occasion to whip something up, but there is a skill to graphic design, and it’s worth it to let the designers and artists use their creativity and knowledge to come up with logos, flyers, and other business materials.
With businesses, it’s a personal choice, albeit an important one to shun AI design, but public entities should be held accountable for using AI and sharing AI flyers.
I especially encourage our local school districts and the City of Aurora to only share non-AI flyers. It’s not enough to make a disclaimer that an event flyer was submitted to the city, for example. The city can take the stand that they will not disseminate AI flyers.
A simple event flyer can some day become a piece of history, like my Uncle Bob’s hand drawn flyer from 1977. Let’s ask ourselves if an AI slop flyer is something that will one day be hanging on display in an exhibit. If it is, I hope that it’s as a relic from 2026.
We can work together to bury AI slop and hold our public institutions accountable when they use or repost AI flyers.
Add these upcoming events to your calendar:
•October 25 Scary Movie Night: “Carrie” at The Venue, Aurora. themusicvenue.org
•November 6 First Fridays, Aurora
•November 13 The ArtBar at Sturdy Shelter, Batavia
Marissa Amoni has been championing local arts and culture for two decades. Follow her on Instagram @marissashinesbright. View a calendar of local art events on alleyartaurora.com/artscene.