Digital, street, therapeutic, and protest: The many forms of art in the news

A SUMMARY OF THE MOST EXCITING ART NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

While we focus on Indian art, we can’t obviously function in a vacuum. It’s a small world and everything is connected, especially on the web. So, let’s train our spotlight across the world map to see what’s going on — from art trends to socio-political issues to everything that affects the great aesthetic global consciousness. Or, let’s just travel the world and have some fun!

AI just started selling NFTs

Amid the storm of artwork getting sold digitally for staggering amounts as nonfungible tokens (NFTs), technology has already taken the next step — the advent of artificial intelligence or AI into this sphere. Now, famous humanoid robot Sophia has auctioned off a digital work it produced in collaboration with a real-life Italian artist — which sold last week for a massive $688,888. In a livestream that followed, the robot asked, “I’m making these artworks but it makes me question what is real. How do I really experience art, but also how does an artist experience an artwork?” The New York Times tells you more.

It’s a Messi controversy for Budweiser

An unusual tussle has broken out in the bylanes of Delhi’s Hauz Khaz and Chapel Road in Bandra, Mumbai. Just recently, Budweiser commissioned murals depicting the life of iconic footballer Lionel Messi as part of a campaign at prominent spots — but it seems the brand painted over already existing iconic street art in both places, enraging the artist and creator community. Protests broke out, with St+art India Foundation calling this “blatant advertising under the name of street art”, even as the company issued a retort. Campaign India looks into the back-and-forth.

Wall art as a healing tool

But while wall art is sparking a battle in one place, in another, it is being used as a healing mechanism. Visual artist Avantika Mathur, a certified therapeutic art life coach, uses art “as a powerful tool to help others explore their emotions, develop self-awareness, cope with stress, release pain, and boost self-esteem”. She has also been collaborating with NGOs and orphanages to teach art to resident children, as well as to visit cancer patients for art therapy. Money Control elaborates.

#BLM: Remembering Breonna Taylor in art

A powerful new exhibition, titled ‘Promise, Witness, Remembrance’, opens on April 7 at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Through this, Breonna Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer aims to honor her daughter’s legacy one year after the 26-year-old medical worker was killed at the hands of the police. The murder sparked huge protests across the nation, with groups still struggling for accountability. The moving exhibit will feature over 30 artworks, and includes pieces by Rashid Johnson, Lorna Simpson, Kerry James Marshall, Hank Willis Thomas and others. The Guardian reports.