Consider the way ink diffuses into water. "The algorithm first turns complex images in the training data set into simple noise—akin to going from a blob of ink to diffuse light blue water—and then teaches the system how to reverse the process." - Wired
The museum's director calls museums "empathy machines" and says the mission goes "beyond caring for objects and collections to 'caring for beliefs and ideas and relationships.'" - The New York Times
The Navy images’ "unusual lighting and dramatic composition ... smooth individual sailors into heroic archetypes and make the calm, pre-dawn Atlantic seawater as lush as oil paint." - The New York Times
First the local council said the freezer that was part of the artwork was a hazard, and now a gallery says they can't figure out a way to keep it safe. What's to be the fate of the sculptural mural? - The Guardian (UK)
At a preview, a woman brushed the sculpture - and, said a collector, "Before I knew it, they were picking up the Jeff Koons pieces in a dustpan with a broom." - The New York Times
After a 24-year renovation and expansion and a $180m capital campaign (of which $156m has been raised), the Hammer has announced 26 March as the completion date for its building transformation. - The Art Newspaper
"Before the proposed design had been chosen, the Association of Greek Architects had threatened to (go to) the country's supreme administrative court after it became clear that only award-winning foreign firms with experience in museum work would be permitted to participate." - The Guardian
"The group includes Renoir's 1883 seascape Marine Guernesey, and a study, completed around 1908, for The Judgement of Paris (in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art), as well as Gauguin's Still life with mandolin (1885) and a watercolor titled Undergrowth (1890-1892) by Cézanne." - ARTnews
Instead of thinking of AI-generated art as a doomsday development — a cluster-bomb thrown by Big Tech into the heart of the art world — you can think of it as something with its own fascinating history, intoxicating present and unknown future. Something to be curious about. - Washington Post
As part of its commitment to diversifying its collections, great female artists from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries – including some never seen at Tate before – will be given prominent positions. - The Guardian
"Starting in the 1980s, (Michael) Steinhardt amassed one of the world's great collections of antiquities. Renowned for their breadth and quality, his private holdings spanned centuries and rivaled those of many museums. ... (Prosecutors believe he) was the principal buyer in some of the world's most prolific antiquities-trafficking networks." - New York Magazine
“Recent events question the quality of acquisition procedures and the functioning of its market. A reaction is necessary to guarantee France’s capacity for influence in the cultural and heritage domain.” - ARTnews
At the ancient citadel of Aleppo, which was also recently damaged during Syria’s civil war, parts of an Ottoman-era mill collapsed along with parts of the minaret at citadel’s mosque. - ARTnews
The legislation moves five major antiquities museums out of the Ministry of Culture, giving them more independence but also requiring more fundraising. The archaeologists running these museums fear that the new governing boards will no longer be required to have experts in the field as members. - ARTnews
A compact man with a round face, Adam Lindemann, 61, is an unusual character in the art market, combining the passion and obsessiveness of an old-school collector steeped in art history with the cool pragmatism of a businessman looking to profit off his assets. - The New York Times
