“While it’s absolutely true that this AI art couldn’t exist if it weren’t trained on copyrighted images and the work of artists, the end result is something we don’t have a precedent or parallel for,” Baio told me. “This technology is a black-box machine that generates high-quality imagery endlessly. - The Atlantic
The torrential monsoon that has swamped the country has damaged the 4,500-year-old ruins, which were once the largest city in the Indus Valley civilization. There have been no floods at the site yet, but some walls have cracked, and a few have collapsed, due to the downpours. - AP
"In June and July, Pennsylvania and Washington quietly became the first two states in the nation to explicitly list non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as digital assets subject to sales and use taxes." - Hyperallergic
The items, seized under the terms of three separate search warrants executed during the last six months, will be returned to their countries of origin — 21 to Italy and six to Egypt — in ceremonies scheduled for next week. - The New York Times
AAM’s announcement comes alongside heightened calls for salary transparency in the museum world and as salary transparency laws have taken effect across the country. In New York City, all employers will need to disclose salaries beginning November 1. - Hyperallergic
"The paintings ... were initially found by Sudanese archaeologists in 2021 while excavating the remains of the El Lagia church at el-Ga’ab depression on the west bank of the Nile. ... The works have now been documented and restored by a team of Polish researchers." - Artnet
"When (the Islamists) returned to power a year ago, many cultural heritage advocates worried about the fate of the National Museum and its irreplaceable treasures. ... When the museum reopened in December, it was a hopeful sign to cultural heritage advocates that things might be different this time under Taliban rule." - NPR
A London-based project called Oxia Palus has already produced speculative versions of works by van Gogh, Modigliani, and Picasso which the artists later painted over; now it's using DALL-E 2, the text-to-image AI software, to reconstruct Old Master paintings we know of only by description. - Artnet
Known at its 2008 opening mainly for its building, one of the last major designs by I.M. Pei, the MIA has completed an 18-month "reimagination and reinstallation of its permanent collection galleries," with which it means to re-establish itself as one of the Mideast's most important museums. - The Art Newspaper
Several public museums and universities in Germany have become embroiled in criminal investigations into the widespread trafficking of Middle Eastern antiquities. - The Art Newspaper
Set to be 550-metres tall and 3,000 metres in circumference, the skyscraper would be composed of two interconnected main rings that will house residential, public, commercial and cultural spaces. - Dezeen
Jason Allen did not paint “Théâtre D'opéra Spatial,” AI software called Midjourney did. It used his prompts, but Allen did not wield a digital brush. This distinction has caused controversy on Twitter where working artists and enthusiasts accused Allen of hastening the death of creative jobs. - Vice
"Chairs have done the same job for centuries, whenever we wanted to sit. Presented like art, however, their variety is striking, from the delicate sensuality of the lyre-back to the plush comfort of a wing-back. Like most art, there's a social story of status and prestige attached." - Broad Street Review (Philadelphia)
"Unionized workers ..., in talks since October of 2020 on their first labor contract with museum management, voted Tuesday night to authorize a strike should leaders deem it necessary." The vote count was 164 to 0 with one abstention. - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Ruling that it lacks jurisdiction, the federal District Court for Washington, DC accepted the motion to dismiss the suit by the German state foundation governing Berlin's museums, the defendant in a case brought by the heirs of Jewish art dealers who sold the medieval trove in 1935. - AP
