Art that Makes People Mad

"You have to know how to use the accident."

"You have to know how to use the accident, how to recognize it, how to control it, and ways to eliminate it so that the whole surface looks felt and born all at once."
- Helen Frankenthaler

Gordon Parks
Helen Frankenthaler, American abstract expressionist painter and artist in her New York studio, 1956
Photograph for LIFE magazine

Kunsthaus Graz, designed by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier and completed in 2003 for the European Cultural Capital celebrations, is a striking contemporary art museum in Graz, Austria. Its biomorphic form contrasts with the baroque surroundings of the Murvorstadt district while integrating the historic 1847 Iron House. The museum specializes in contemporary art from the 1960s onwards, with flexible 11,100 square meters of exhibition space but no permanent collections. An iconic feature is the BIX media façade, created by realities:united, which uses 930 fluorescent rings to project text and images, transforming the building into an interactive urban screen. Internally, the "black box" design enables versatile curatorial spaces, establishing Kunsthaus Graz as a symbol of futuristic Austrian architecture.

Mark Rothko, (2023) “The Artist’s Reality: Philosophies of Art”. Yale University Press.

(*) “Mark Rothko’s classic book on artistic practice, ideals, and philosophy, now with an expanded introduction and an afterword by Makoto Fujimura

Stored in a New York City warehouse for many years after the artist’s death, this extraordinary manuscript by Mark Rothko (1903–1970) was published to great acclaim in 2004. Probably written in 1940 or 1941, it contains Rothko’s ideas on the modern art world, art history, myth, beauty, the challenges of being an artist in society, the true nature of “American art,” and much more.

In his introduction, illustrated with examples of Rothko’s work and pages from the manuscript, the artist’s son, Christopher Rothko, describes the discovery of the manuscript and the fascinating process of its initial publication. This edition includes discussion of Rothko’s “Scribble Book” (1932), his notes on teaching art to children, which has received renewed scholarly attention in recent years and provides clues to the genesis of Rothko’s thinking on pedagogy.

In an afterword written for this edition, artist and author Makoto Fujimura reflects on how Rothko’s writings offer a “lifeboat” for “art world refugees” and a model for upholding artistic ideals. He considers the transcendent capacity of Rothko’s paintings to express pure ideas and the significance of the decade-long gap between The Artist’s Reality and Rothko’s mature paintings, during which the horrors of the Holocaust and the atomic bomb were unleashed upon the world.”

(*) Available 👉🏻 https://amzn.to/4eF0m9c

"Under Fire"

As the discourse surrounding artificial intelligence within the art world heats up, 1980s pop rock outfit Tears for Fears are the latest group to come under fire for their views on the subject. 🧠⁠
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Despite a lot of criticism from artists and fans, the band recently unveiled plans for a brand-new live album, entitled Songs For A Nervous Planet, which features AI-generated art on its cover. ⁠
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The album cover depicts an astronaut in a field of sunflowers beneath a clear blue sky. When the sleeve was revealed earlier this month, many fans were suspicious of the artwork. ⁠
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After all, the vast majority of AI-generated images have a certain look to them, which has become easy to spot for those who have encountered AI images on the internet multiple times. Now, the band have responded to the criticism, confirming that the artwork was created with the help of artificial intelligence.⁠
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On Instagram, the band defended the cover, writing, “The Songs For A Nervous Planet album artwork is a mixed media digital collage, with AI being just one of the many tools used in the creative process.”⁠
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According to the band, the person who created that digital collage was Vitalie Burcovschi – known online as Surrealistly – who describes their own work as “art created by AI using human imagination.”⁠
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Presumably, therefore, Burcovschi is using the common defence of AI, which is that the program still requires a human to input creative ideas as prompts. For many fans and fellow artists, however, it is a defence which simply does not wash. Nevertheless, Tears for Fears continued their explanation by saying, “We wanted vibrant artwork that evoked a sense of sci-fi, futuristic themes, and an escape from what is known.” ⁠
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“The sunflowers are a joyful nod to classic Tears For Fears imagery,” the post continued, “while the juxtaposition of the astronaut is a link to our upcoming song, ‘Astronaut’, and a sense of alienation and not belonging. We have been fans of Surrealistly’s work for a long time and knew he would be the perfect artist to bring our vision to life.”

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Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth: Two new sculptures unveiled The artists Tschabalala Self and Andra Ursuta will have their creations put on the iconic plinth in 2026 and 2028 respectively.

"I now feel like the truest, deepest form of my creativity has been released because of my work with AI."
- Becky Constantinides

"inconsiderate gesture"

Man smashes Ai Weiwei sculpture at Italy art show opening A man shattered a sculpture by Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei on Friday during the opening of his exhibition at Palazzo Fava in the Italian city of Bologna, a spokesperson for the show said.

Gosh, there sure is a lot of Art that Makes People Made today.

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Morning!