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☆ ChatGPT isn't the only cool AI tool made by OpenAI — check out DALL-E, Whisper, and Codex
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

DALL-E, OpenAI's AI art generator, creates images based on detailed text descriptions from a person. Just months earlier, OpenAI removed the waitlist for its generative AI art generator, DALL-E, which grew to over 1.5 million daily users. The tool sparked controversy among artists who debated what DALL-E, and other AI art generators like it, could mean for people in creative jobs. DALL-EScreenshot of DALL·E search for "astronaut fish swimming in an ocean in outer space, digital art" DALL·E/OpenAIJust months before ChatGPT launched, OpenAI removed the waitlist for its generative AI art generator, DALL-E. The AI art generator creates original images called "generations" from detailed text prompts input by a person.

☆ Wolfgang and Helene Beltracchi fooled the art market — and made millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“The forgery was almost incidental,” Wolfgang told Fischer. “They are storytellers, together, which is why they did a lot of research,” Fischer told CNN in a video call. Wolfgang told her that he only produced pictures he considered beautiful, and he believed the owners enjoyed them as much as the art market profited from them. In 2014, Wolfgang told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that in addition to the court-imposed damages, he had settled lawsuits worth $27 million. From her conversations with Wolfgang, Fischer concluded that both of his parents were “severely traumatized” by their experiences during World War II.

Persons: Wolfgang Beltracchi, Heinrich Campendonk —, Steve Martin, Wolfgang, Helene, Heinrich Campendonk, Peter Endig, Max Ernst, Fernand Léger, Kees van Dongen, Derain, Jeannette Fischer, Fischer, ” Wolfgang, “, ”, ’, ” Fischer, Paul Hahn, Hendrick Avercamp, Christie’s, Robin Hood, hadn’t, CNN Fischer, Picasso, —, aren’t, Leonardo da Vinci’s, Salvador Mundi, Andy Warhol, Vincent van Gogh Organizations: CNN, New York Times, Der, Art, CBS, Scheidegger Locations: Halle, Germany, Hitler’s Germany, Switzerland, France, Cologne, ”, Stalingrad

☆ Art collector says a Van Gogh painting that he owns went missing for nearly six years and resurfaced in a Detroit gallery
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An art collector says a Van Gogh painting he owns went missing and resurfaced in a Detroit museum. The 1888 oil painting is hanging in the Detroit Institute of Art. The collector said in a lawsuit he hadn't seen the artwork since shortly after he bought it in 2017. He wants the painting to be given to him when the DIA's "Van Gogh in America" exhibition closes on January 22, court documents said. Representatives for Soter and the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ 'Kidults' age 12 and up are buying more toys than ever, with teens and adults driving significant growth for the industry thanks to the pandemic and TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

'Kidults' age 12 and above are comprising a growing sector of the toy industry, according to NPD Group. NPD Group's Juli Lennett told Insider the growth is largely due to the pandemic and social media. "Now many of them are hooked," Lennett said of kidults who purchased toys early in the pandemic. Today, Lego now sells 100 adult Lego sets, according to the Associated Press, including a replica of Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night and a functional roller coaster. "We make LEGO sets specifically for adults with more detail, challenging building techniques, and cool ways to display."

☆ The Biggest Debates and Opinions in 2022 - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +30 min

Opinion The 22 Debates That Made Us Rage, Roll Our Eyes, and Change Our Minds in 2022Debating is what we do here at Times Opinion. To many, she was an icon: She ruled for 70 years, presided over the transition from empire to commonwealth and served as a living link to the generation that won World War II. (Though Ben Bernanke, a former Fed chairman himself, wrote in The Times that that wasn’t going to happen.) The United States and its European allies poured weapons and aid into Ukraine, but how was this going to end? As 2022 draws to a close, the fighting continues and peace talks look as distant as ever — which probably means that the debates will continue.

☆ Climate protesters hurl paint at Milan's La Scala opera house
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Climate-change activists in Italy on Wednesday threw paint at the entrance of Milan's famed La Scala opera house ahead of the opening performance of the season, local police said. Activists have staged high profile protests across Europe in recent months, sometimes targeting museums and art works in calling for tougher action to tackle global warming. Police said they had detained five people following the incident at La Scala, while cleaners swiftly removed the paint from the entrance of the theatre. La Scala will open its 2022-23 season on Wednesday, one of the highlights of the Italian cultural calendar, with a performance of the Russian opera "Boris Godunov" composed by Modest Mussorgsky. Reporting by Sara Rossi and Fabiano Franchitti; Writing by Gianluca Semeraro; Editing by Gavin Jones and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bob Marley immersive experience to land in US next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A massive immersive experience celebrating Bob Marley is heading for its U.S. premiere early next year, complete with photographs, lots of music and even a pair of the reggae giant’s footwear. The multi-room exhibit “Bob Marley: One Love Experience” will open in Los Angeles on Jan. 27 at Ovation Hollywood, following runs in London and Toronto. The 15,000-square foot (1,393-square meter) experience includes previously unseen photographs, concert videos, lyric sheets, rare memorabilia like guitars, a soccer jersey, sneakers and art that highlight Marley’s influence. “After being in London and Toronto, it’s going to be amazing bringing the experience here to the U.S. for the first time and just steps from Daddy’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,” Cedella Marley, CEO of Bob Marley Group, said in a statement. The exhibit is produced by the Marley Family and Terrapin Station Entertainment.

Many in the art and insurance world, however, say it may be only be a matter of time before art works are vandalised, especially if protests spread beyond climate activism. The art insurance market globally earns around $750 million in premiums. PRESSURE ON PREMIUMSLosses and levels of insurance availability tend to dictate insurance premiums. Commercial museums and galleries, however, buy art insurance, and its use is also more prevalent among larger museums in the United States than in Europe. While five insurers contacted by Reuters said they were not yet factoring climate attacks into premiums, some artists say they already face increased costs.

☆ Climate protesters are chucking food at priceless paintings. A social movements expert says these tactics only convince people who already think climate change is serious.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A string of climate protests this year involved throwing food at famous pieces of art. But disruptive tactics won't sway those who aren't already concerned about climate change, a sociologist told Insider. "What I've found is that these tactics are likely to be viewed as positive by people who already believe that climate change is a serious social problem," Dylan Bugden, a sociologist at Washington State University who studies global climate change protests, told Insider. In Bugden's research, he's found disruptive and confrontational tactics aren't effective on people who are not already concerned about climate change. Tomato soup on van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'The van Gogh painting was unharmed due to protective glass, in October.

☆ Climate activists throw liquid at Klimt painting in Vienna
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

BERLIN — Climate activists in Austria on Tuesday attacked a famous painting by artist Gustav Klimt with a black, oily liquid and one then glued himself to glass protecting the painting’s frame. Members of the group Last Generation Austria tweeted they had targeted the 1915 painting “Death and Life” at the Leopold Museum in Vienna to protest their government’s use of fossil energies. After the attack, police arrived at the museum and the black liquid was quickly cleaned off the glass protecting the painting, Austria Press Agency reported. It’s one of the latest pieces of art to be targeted by climate activists to draw attention to global warming. Just Stop Oil activists also glued themselves to the frame of an early copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, and to John Constable’s “The Hay Wain” in the National Gallery.

☆ Climate activists throw black, oily liquid at Klimt painting in Vienna
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Gustav Klimt's painting "Tod und Leben" is seen after activists of Last Generation Austria (Letzte Generation Oesterreich) spilled oil on it in Leopold museum in Vienna, Austria, November 15, 2022. Climate activists in Austria on Tuesday attacked a famous painting by artist Gustav Klimt with a black, oily liquid and one then glued himself to glass protecting the painting's frame. After the attack, police arrived at the museum and the black liquid was quickly cleaned off the glass protecting the painting, Austria Press Agency reported. It's one of the latest pieces of art to be targeted by climate activists to draw attention to global warming. The British group Just Stop Oil threw tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" in London's National Gallery last month.

☆ Trump D.C. hotel receipts reveal $10,500-a-night rooms for foreign officials seeking to influence U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Anna_Byline.Jpg | Anna Schecter | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

For their part Qatari officials and connected companies spent at least $307,941 at the Trump hotel from late 2017 through mid-2018, according to the Oversight Committee’s findings. In the letter she requests presidential records from NARA that could be related to attempts by foreign governments and lobbyists working on their behalf to influence the Trump administration by spending money at the Trump Hotel. A spokesperson for the Malaysian Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the Oversight Committee, documents from Mazars show the Turkish Embassy sponsored two stays at the Trump hotel around the time of Erdoğan’s visit. The documentation obtained did not show how much the embassy spent at the hotel during either of these stays.

☆ Trump D.C. hotel receipts reveal $10,500-a-night rooms for foreign officials seeking to influence U.S. policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Anna Schecter | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The Saudi revenues for the Trump hotel came during a period when Saudi Arabia and the UAE were lobbying the Trump administration to support them during their blockade against economic rival Qatar. In the letter she requests presidential records from NARA that could be related to attempts by foreign governments and lobbyists working on their behalf to influence the Trump administration by spending money at the Trump Hotel. The Malaysian expenditures at the Trump Hotel were the most extensive in a one-week period found by the Oversight Committee to date. A spokesperson for the Malaysian Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The documentation obtained did not show how much the embassy spent at the hotel during either of these stays.

☆ An auction of 60 works from the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's art collection smashes records by raising $1.5 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An auction of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's art collection raised just over $1.5 billion. The Christie's auction has set a new record as the biggest art sale in history. The most expensive work was Georges Seurat's "Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)", which fetched $149.2 million. This painting, which depicts three nude women, is considered a pioneering work of Seurat's signature style of Pointillism. A total of five pieces went for more than $100 million each at the auction in New York on Wednesday night.

☆ Paul Allen's art collection hauls in record $1.5 bln at auction
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The total represented the highest amount ever collected at a single art auction, according to the auction house, Christie's in New York. Among the priciest works sold was Pointillist pioneer Georges Seurat's Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version), an 1888 oil on canvas depicting three nude women. Cezanne's "La Montagne Sainte-Victoire", a colorful landscape painted from 1888-1890, sold for $137.8 million, another record. And a Gustav Klimt 1903 painting, "Birch Forest," set the high mark for a Klimt work, selling for $104.6 million. Additional pieces from Allen's collection will be offered at auction on Thursday.

☆ Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's art collection tops $1.5 billion at auction
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Christie's sold 60 works from the Paul G. Allen Collection for over $1.5 billion Wednesday night, as wealthy collectors around the world shrugged off economic and crypto worries to invest in trophy artworks. Several works sold for three or four times their estimates, with several artists setting new records at auction, including Vincent van Gogh, Edward Steichen and Gustav Klimt. The sales total of $1.506 billion shattered the previous record for the most expensive collection ever auctioned, set by the Harry and Linda Macklowe collection auctioned at Sotheby's for $922 million. The sales total for the Allen collection will soar even higher Thursday morning, when another 95 lots head to auction. The collection of Paul Allen, the late co-founder of Microsoft, was a treasure trove of masterpieces spanning 500 years.

☆ Activists glue themselves to Goya paintings in Spanish climate protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Climate protesters from Extinction Rebellion stick themselves to Goya's paintings "Las maja naked" and "La maja ropa" to alert about the climate emergency in Madrid, Spain November 5, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media. Climate activists glued themselves to the frames of two world-famous paintings by Spanish master Francisco de Goya in Madrid's Prado museum on Saturday, the latest in a string of protests targeting artworks across Europe. A man and a woman attached themselves to Goya's "La Maja Vestida" (The Clothed Maja) and his "La Maja Desnuda" (The Naked Maja), and painted "+1.5 C" on the wall between the two works, video footage showed. Groups of climate activists have mounted a series of similar protest in recent weeks in the build-up to next week's COP27 climate change conference in Egypt. "We condemn the use of the museum as a place to make a political protest of any kind," the gallery added.

☆ Paul Allen’s Quest for Sunken Warships
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Alexander Wooley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

On Nov. 9-10, Christie’s New York will auction off the art collection of Paul Allen , the late Microsoft co-founder. With more than 150 items, including paintings by Van Gogh, Cezanne and Seurat, the sale is expected to fetch some $1 billion. Allen’s interest in art was well known, but less attention has been paid to another of his passions: tracking down and documenting World War II ships sunk in action. Through his umbrella company Vulcan, Allen funded the discovery and exploration of more than 20 warships, including the American aircraft carriers Lexington and Hornet, the cruiser U.S.S. “Paul Allen single-handedly, privately, set out to find every significant U.S. World War II warship that fought in a major battle or had a significant story to it,” said explorer David Mearns, whose company Blue Water Recoveries worked with Vulcan for more than five years.

☆ Soup thrown at Van Gogh painting in Rome climate change protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Italian environmental protesters threw pea soup over a Vincent Van Gogh painting on display in Rome on Friday before gluing themselves to the wall of the gallery. Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano condemned the attack on the painting, which comes after another Van Gogh work was targeted in London by climate change protesters. Representatives from nearly 200 countries will gather in Egypt next week for the COP27 climate change conference, as pressure for tougher action to tackle global warming grows. Climate change protesters threw soup over Van Gogh's painting "Sunflowers" at London's National Gallery last month, causing minor damage to the frame. Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Alvise Armellini, John Stonestreet and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Greta Thunberg: COP27 an opportunity for "greenwashing, lying and cheating"
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks with British journalist Samira Ahmed (not pictured) on stage at the Royal Festival Hall during the launch event of her new book "The Climate Book", during The Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival, in London, Britain, October 30, 2022. REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Climate activist Greta Thunberg on Sunday called out next month's United Nations climate summit in Egypt for being "held in a tourist paradise in a country that violates many basic human rights." Speaking at the London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre where she was promoting her new book, "The Climate Book", 19-year-old Thunberg dismissed the looming climate summit, known as COP27, as an opportunity for "people in power... to [use] greenwashing, lying and cheating." While Thunberg did attend protests in Glasgow last year for COP26, she said she won't attend COP27, scheduled to be held from Nov. 6 to Nov. 18 in Sharm El Sheikh. Thunberg rose to prominence in 2018 at the age of 15 by staging school strikes in her native Sweden, becoming the face of the youth activist climate movement.

☆ Climate protesters campaign by throwing food at art, but does that work?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

From cake smeared over the “Mona Lisa" to soup splashed over “Sunflowers,” recent climate protests at art galleries have grabbed international headlines but also raise questions about the effectiveness of these high-profile guerrilla tactics. But he said that war in Ukraine, the cost of living and energy crises had added urgency to the protests. While politicians have taken note of the protests, they have tended to criticize the way they have been carried out. Attacking defenseless works of art is not the right way,” Gunay Uslu, the Dutch culture and media minister tweeted Thursday. “What we’ve seen from Extinction Rebellion and other climate activist groups is that they’re very prepared to go to prison,” he said.

☆ I'm a professional pumpkin carver whose creations resemble celebrities, famous artwork, and characters like Paddington. They take up to 20 hours to make and can costs thousands.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Jenny Powers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Marc Evan started Maniac Pumpkin Carvers with his childhood friend after graduating from college. I run Maniac Pumpkin Carvers, which I started in 2008 with my childhood friend Chris Soria after graduating from college. We were really taking a nostalgic pastime like pumpkin carving that we did at home as kids and elevating it into an art form. Courtesy of Maniac Pumpkin CarversWord about us got out after Wired did an article on us in 2009. Courtesy of Maniac Pumpkin CarversThe farmers market Union Square Greenmarket in downtown Manhattan was home base for us for a very long time.

☆ 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' targeted with glue and liquid by climate activists
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Climate activists targeted Johannes Vermeer’s masterpiece “Girl with a Pearl Earring” with glue and liquid on Thursday but one of the world’s most iconic paintings was not damaged in the latest of such publicity-seeking stunts. A video posted on Twitter showed one man pouring a can of red substance over another protester who appeared to attempt to glue his head to the glass-protected painting. The second man stuck his hand to the panel holding the centuries-old painting. “Art is defenseless, and the Mauritshuis firmly rejects attempts to damage it for any purpose whatsoever,” the museum said. It refused further comment since it argued it would only give the protesters further publicity.

☆ Claude Monet, Larry Fink, and Ted Cruz: Climate stunts grab headlines but can they get results?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

That was an improvement over the previous year, but still not nearly enough given the threat the climate crisis presents for humanity, Hu told Insider. "I could spend 20 minutes talking about the destruction from climate change. "More people are aware of this climate crisis and that we have to do something about it because of our actions," Harris said. "Journalists don't report on the climate crisis like it is an emergency. Ridiculous stunts like the art action gets the climate crisis into the headlines and millions of people talking."

On Sunday, two climate activists hurled mashed potatoes at “Les Meules,” a valuable Claude Monet painting in a German museum. If climate activists focused only on symbols directly related to what is damaging the planet — like a pipeline or an oil refinery — then it may not have gotten quite the same buzz. If climate activists focused only on symbols directly related to what is damaging the planet — like a pipeline or an oil refinery — then it may not have gotten quite the same buzz. In order to shift the public’s conception of acceptable climate policies, it’s essential the media cover the issue in a big way. “Climate change is no longer just a science story,” said Max Boykoff, lead project investigator for the observatory.

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