Good Morning!
- Greenpeace activists unfurl huge, bloody Anish Kapoor work on the aspect of an oil rig.
- London’s Imperial Warfare Museum accused of “gentle Holocaust distortion.”
- Household of late mixed-media artist John Outterbridge has been sifting by way of charred ruins of his home, which burned down within the Higher Los Angeles fires earlier this yr.
The Headlines
HIGH STEAKS, HIGH SEAS. Greenpeace activists have climbed a gasoline rig within the North Sea and unfurled a 315-square-foot, crimson-stained canvas down its aspect, in a dramatic protest created in collaboration with artist Anish Kapoor. The set up is believed to be the primary paintings ever displayed on an energetic gasoline extraction platform. “I name it Butchered,” the British sculptor advised the Guardian. “It represents the butchering of our surroundings. At its core, it’s blood on a canvas—an emblem of the destruction, the bleeding, of our planet and our very state of existence.” The protest occurred early Wednesday after Greenpeace activists, having waited for preferrred climate, approached the Shell-operated Skiff rig aboard the Arctic Dawn, 45 nautical miles off the coast of Norfolk.
UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS. As Breakfast With ARTnews famous earlier this week, London’s Imperial Warfare Museum has been criticized for refusing to alter an data board in its Holocaust Galleries that two eminent historians say is inaccurate. The Spectator has now weighed in, writing that whereas the “inaccuracy” referring to the Nuremberg race legal guidelines handed by the Nazi regime in Germany in 1935 might appear to be a minor element, it’s a critical misrepresentation—and one with important penalties. “It displays a rising sample of sentimental Holocaust distortion—not outright denial, however one thing subtler, a gentle sanding down of uncomfortable truths,” the journal writes.
The Digest
A global group of researchers, led by Yamagata College in Japan and IBM, in partnership with Peruvian consultants, has introduced the invention of 248 newly recognized geoglyphs among the many famend Nazca Traces. [The Art Newspaper]
In a brand new piece for the Monetary Instances, Julia Fawcett, CEO of the Lowry arts heart in Manchester, U.Okay., makes the case for why immersive artwork is greater than an “unimaginative” “cash seize” that pulls funding and audiences away from “actual” artwork. [FT]
Sufferers at London’s Royal Bethlem psychiatric hospital had been as soon as “gawked at” by the general public, however now they’re being praised for his or her artwork. [The Times]
A brand new analysis mission performed by lecturers on the College of Toronto and the College of Bristol tried to coach an AI mannequin to emulate human responses to well-known artowrks. [The Economist]
The Kicker
SALVAGE & REDEMPTION. The Eaton Hearth, which ripped by way of Altadena, California, in January 2025, led to important cultural and historic loss. The household home of the late mixed-media artist John Outterbridge was within the firing line. The Los Angeles Instances experiences that his daughter, Tami , who was dwelling in it on the time however fortunately escaped unhurt, is now sifting by way of the charred ruins with a bunch of artists within the hope of salvaging a few of her father’s artworks, archives, and private possessions to allow them to construct a piece to honor him. “It occurred to me that I might invite artists who had been within the direct line of contact with my father to return to the property and to excavate with me,” she recalled. “Not solely would they assist me discover issues, but additionally they create a bit with what they discovered that may very well be a mirrored image upon … this man that we referred to as ‘Bridge.’” Time is up; immediately, the Military Corps of Engineers was on account of clear the rubble on Thursday. “I really feel like Dad is saying: ‘I’ve taught you this language. Now converse it,’” Tami mentioned. “There’s this language of the discarded factor. The language of transformation and redemption. This all feels very redemptive to me.”
