AI can produce prize-winning art, but it still can’t compete with human creativity
People consider creativity to be inherently human. However, artificial intelligence (AI) has reached the stage where it can be creative as well. A recent competition attracted anger from artists after it awarded a prize to an artwork created by an…
Siri Hustvedt in conversation with Julienne van Loon
I first discovered Siri Hustvedt through her best known novel, What I Loved (2003), which caught my attention through Janet Burroway’s review in the New York Times: “that rare thing: a page turner at full intellectual stretch”. Narrated via Leo,…
the good and the bad of pop-up attractions
This autumn, visitors to Weston-super-Mare on the west coast of England will be confronted by the strangest of sights, a repurposed oil rig and temporary art installation and high-rise garden dubbed the “See Monster”. Located in a shallow pool at…
Polar bears have captivated artists’ imaginations for centuries, but what they’ve symbolized has changed over time
Polar bears have long held visual artists in their thrall. Over time, the mythologies around these extraordinary animals have evolved – and so have the ways artists have depicted them in their work. Reflecting a deeply respectful even symbiotic relationship…
Kenya’s Samburu warriors still practise a rock art tradition that tells their stories
The Samburu people in northern Kenya’s Marsabit county are pastoralists. They migrate from place to place in search of pasture and water for their cattle, goats, sheep and camels. As part of their lifestyle, Samburu boys go through an initiation…
From Indiana Jones to Netflix’s Beef – how ‘collectors’ of cultural artefacts have gone from heroic figures to villainous thieves
Warning: the following article contains spoilers for Beef. Created by Korean director Lee Sung Jin and starring a predominantly Asian cast, Netflix drama Beef has won plaudits for its gritty yet humorous portrayal of Asian American life. The show explores…
Six decades, 210 Warlpiri speakers and 11,000 words: how a groundbreaking First Nations dictionary was made
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names of deceased people. The symbol † next to a personal name is a conventional respectful indicator that the person has died. The first large dictionary of the Warlpiri…
New book sheds light on surrealist artist Leonora Carrington’s extraordinary life and work
Surreal Spaces: The Life and Art of Leonora Carrington, Joanna Moorhead’s latest book on the pioneering surrealist painter and writer who lived from 1917 to 2011, captures a wave of fascination for surrealist women artists. Carrington’s many selves dazzle at…
