Review: Computer-Generated Art, Decades Before Midjourney
Futuristically thrilling but aesthetically limited
Art
Peter Bagge: From Adam Smith to Punk to Grunge
The libertarian creator of alternative comix Hate and Neat Stuff explains why he's fond of the invisible hand and individualism.
Clea Conner: America Needs More and Better Debates
The CEO of Open To Debate wants us to disagree more productively—especially when it comes to presidential debates.
Supreme Court: Andy Warhol's Prince Prints Not 'Transformative' Enough for Fair Use
The case could have long-term implications for how broadly fair use can be applied.
'Now Is Better,' Says Legendary Designer Stefan Sagmeister
His bold new exhibition draws on the work of Steven Pinker, Our World in Data, and Human Progress to document how much life has improved since the good old days.
Stefan Sagmeister: An Artist Who Believes 'Now Is Better'
The legendary graphic designer juxtaposes 18th- and 19th-century paintings with visualizations of how much life has improved over the centuries.
'It's Like Stockholm Syndrome': Gloria Álvarez Is Trying To Save Latin America From Socialism
"If there is freedom, private property, rule of law, then Latin Americans thrive," says the social media star.
Feds Say A.I.-Generated Art Is Ineligible for Copyright
Copyright law is just one area that must adapt to account for revolutionary A.I. technology.
Ayn Rand Would Hate the New Spotify Video Feed
Turning every streaming service into TikTok is bad for the internet. It'll be disastrous for music.
Copyright Is the Latest Battle in the War Over A.I.
The U.S. Copyright Office determined that images produced by artificial intelligence cannot be copyrighted, even though they are generated by user-written prompts.
Dave Cicirelli: Does Selfie Culture Destroy Real Individualism?
The "interactive artist" inspired by Jack Kirby and Barry Goldwater challenges social media and intellectual conformity.
Sex, Lies, and Social Media
Artist Dave Cicirelli challenges his audience to create meaning.
Photos Show the Transformation of Great Britain
A new exhibit at the National Gallery of Art displays how the U.K. changed in the 1970s and '80s.
After Muslim Students Complained That an Art Exhibit Was 'Harmful,' Macalester College Shut It Down
"My artwork is unapologetic," said the artist. "Sometimes it can be very political. Sometimes it can be very controversial."
No, the World Is Not Heading Toward 'Mass Extinction'
Despite an apocalyptic media narrative, the modern era has brought much longer lives and the greatest decline in poverty ever.
Don't Let Disney Monopolize A.I.-Generated Art
The indie artists suing Stable Diffusion may not realize it, but they're doing the Mouse's dirty work.
She Lost Her Job For Showing a Painting of Muhammad in Class. Now, She's Suing.
"Hamline subjected López Prater to the foregoing adverse actions because . . . she did not conform her conduct to the specific beliefs of a Muslim sect," the lawsuit states.
A College Fired a Professor for Showing a Painting of Muhammad. Now, It Could Lose Its Accreditation.
"If Hamline won't listen to free speech advocates or faculty across the country, they'll have to listen to their accreditor," said FIRE attorney Alex Morey, who filed the complaint.
Beyoncé, Lizzo, and Taylor Swift Give In To the Speech Police
"It's stories and songs and films cut apart and written over, leaving no trace and no remnant of whatever used to be," writes novelist and cultural critic Kat Rosenfield.
Dwarf Fortress, the Deepest, Most Insane Computer Simulation Game Ever, Just Got a Shiny New Makeover
The game is one of the greatest pieces of outsider art created in the 21st century, and it just got a lot easier to play.
Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Law Forces Artists To Echo the State's Message
A website designer asks SCOTUS to let her eschew work that contradicts her opposition to gay marriage.
New Movie Lists Honor Jeanne Dielman and 2001, Snub TikTok
Friday A/V Club: Sight and Sound revises the film canon again.
Steven Heller: Growing Up Underground
The legendary art director talks about the aesthetics of rebellion and his strange journey from Screw magazine to The New York Times.
Growing Up Underground With Steven Heller
The legendary art director on Greenwich Village in the '60s, the aesthetics of rebellion, and life at The New York Times.
Should Free-Speech Absolutists Defend Vandalism of Precious Artwork?
"Committing vandalism by soup to send a message about climate change may be 'expressive,' but attempting to destroy someone else's work of art crosses moral and legal boundaries."
Artificial Intelligence Will Change Jobs—For the Better
Rather than being replaced by A.I., humans should plan to work with it.
The Ballad of Rachel Maddow, Eddie Chiles, and J.R. 'Bob' Dobbs
Friday A/V Club: One cable host's capacity for unearned smugness
Brian Doherty: From MAD Magazine to Maus
A new history, Dirty Pictures, explores how underground comix revolutionized art and exploded censorship once and for all.
The Dirty Pictures That Revolutionized Art
Brian Doherty's history of underground comix chronicles how Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, and others challenged censorship and increased free speech.
Landmark Shark Attack
Government officials have declared an Oxford home's shark roof sculpture a protected landmark, against the wishes of the current owner of the house.
Zap Comix Were Never for Kids
Disreputable and censored comix improbably brought the art form from the gutter to the museums.
Agnieszka Pilat: 'I Didn't Realize People Still Think Socialism Is a Good Idea.'
The Polish-born artist is creating "heroic portraits" of machines and defending individualism and creative expression in Silicon Valley.
Why Did Pandemic Authorities Treat Tattoo Shops Like Titty Bars?
"Government restrictions came in, which literally shut us down," says Paul Smith, who co-owns Red Stag Tattoo in Austin, Texas.
Art Curator Accuses Princeton University of 'Anti-Intellectual Surrender to Cancel Culture'
An exhibit featuring 19th-century Jewish American artwork was axed after the university objected to two artists who supported the Confederacy.
Tom Sachs: Taking NFTs Where No Man Has Gone Before
The artist's Rocket Factory project, which lets users build and own their own virtual spacecraft, is changing how we think about reality.
Artist Tom Sachs: 'Apple Could Never Make Anything as Shitty as the Things I Make'
The Rocket Factory NFT project stands at the intersection of crypto, the metaverse, and persistent human longing for the new frontier.
Ross Ulbricht's First Nonfungible Token
A virtual collection of 10 artworks made by Ulbricht at various stages of his life was worth $6.3 million at the time of sale.
Free the Art! Sell the Art!
Countless works of art are locked in museum basements. Why not put them back on the open market?
The Important Choice of Law Questions Lurking in Tomorrow's Stolen-Pissarro Argument
The applicability of Klaxon v. Stentor Electric Manufacturing -- no, wait! I promise it's important . . . .
What's the Point of NFTs?
The digital tokens, secured by the blockchain, could revolutionize art markets, reduce animal poaching, and provide a cool new way for NBA fans to flaunt their collectibles.
How the Government Seized a Rare Wu-Tang Clan Album (and a DAO Bought It Back)
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, formerly owned by Martin Shkreli, was auctioned off by the government and bought by the blockchain/art enthusiasts at PleasrDAO.
The French Dispatch Is a Profoundly Great Film About the Nature of Art and Freedom
A twee, fussy, brilliant movie from a pathologically twee and fussy director.
Diversity Seminars Don't Have To Be Maoist Struggle Sessions
Chloe Valdary's Theory of Enchantment program uses Kendrick Lamar, Cheryl Strayed, and The Lion King to ease workplace racial tensions.
Louis Menand: 'Freedom Was the Slogan of the Times'
Why postwar culture from Jack Kerouac to Andy Warhol to James Baldwin to Susan Sontag to Yoko Ono battled boundaries hemming them in.