A fan theory about Degas
Plus, Padma Lakshmi and AI gone wrong
Short and sweet newsletter today xx
Art News This Week:
No, Degas was not Jack the Ripper. But this very viral TikTok video suggests he was.
Art Money (the Australian start-up that provides interest-free loans to buy art) has partnered with Christie’s to launch an initiative that allows collectors to bid at Christie’s auctions and pay Art Money in installments. Bid now, pay later!
I’ve seen Cecilia Jurado Chueca’s work everywhere lately—Art Toronto, Plural, Untitled Miami. Cecilia will be in conversation at the upcoming NADA New York on “the experience and intersection of migration and Latine art.” The sculptural paintings evoke a strong sense of nostalgia and longing for me.
A new Padma Lakshmi profile in The New Yorker opens with her being photographed by artist Marilyn Minter: “That’s perfect! That’s goofy!” Minter cried, clicking away. “It doesn’t look like a cliché.” She asked an assistant to spray Lakshmi’s hand with Reddi-wip.” The profile also includes nods to Helmut Newton and Francesco Clemente’s portrayal of Lakshmi.
If you’re in NYC next Tuesday, don’t miss Sara Antis’s exhibition opening at Kasmin. There’s an accompanying book with a new short story by Vida Adamczewski. Sara told me via email that the short story is an intrinsic part of the show—Vida wrote the text using drawings that would be in the exhibition. “The story, in turn, led me to some titles and changed the narrative in the drawings. I’m tempted to do this with every exhibition I have now, as it underlines the capacity of storytelling in shaping perception,” said Sara.
Netflix has been accused of using AI-generated images in its true crime documentary about Jennifer Pan. Netflix responded that the photos aren’t AI—they’ve just been manipulated. I don’t know what to believe; the images look AI-generated to me. This difficulty in parsing what’s AI is concerning. People in the comments on Reddit and X are demanding more regulation around how AI images are used.
In the US, lawmakers are attempting to pass a NO FAKES bill. “If passed, the bill would allow individuals to authorize, and even profit from, the use of their AI-generated likeness — and bring lawsuits against cases of unauthorized use.”
Controversial AI photo comes to the market. German artist Boris Eldagsen’s photograph, which won and was removed from the Sony World Photography Award, is available to collect for the first time from Palmer Gallery.
If you’re an artist, you can check if you’re one of the 16,000 artists Midjourney used to train its AI without permission.
Where you can find me tonight: I’ll be stopping by United Contemporary for their Last Thursday event and then over to Franz Kaka for the opening of Karice Mitchell’s exhibition. Double feature! Come and say hi.
Latest Art Forecast Posts:
Upcoming: A Studio Visit with Elise Lafontaine
April 22: The Price of Art
April 18: The Armory Show Director makes how much?
April 11: The Older Artist Facebook group
April 6: Dallas Art Fair Round-up
April 4: Author of Happy Hour, Marlowe Granados, On Collecting
I don’t consider myself a conspiracy theorist but I’m like part 7 of her videos down the rabbit hole and convinced Dega was Jack the Ripper