Tag: art

Three piglets stolen from art exhibit where they were meant to starve to death — until a 10-year-old girl spoke up

The three little pigs were rescued from the big, bad wolf.

Three piglets that were left to starve to death as part of a shocking art exhibit in Denmark have been stolen and saved from their horrific fate thanks to a 10-year-old girl begging her father to come to their rescue.

Artist Marco Evaristti opened the “And Now Your Care?” exhibit on Friday in Copenhagen to “wake up the Danish society” to the cruel treatment of factory-farmed pigs in the nation that is one of the world’s largest pork exporters.

To make his point, the native Chilean constructed a cage of hay and shopping carts, trapping a trio of adorable piglets inside with the express purpose of allowing them to starve to death. 

But the tiny pigs have been given a second chance at life after the conscience of a friend of the artist, Caspar Steffensen, prevailed over the unsavory demonstration.

Steffensen said his 10-year-old daughter begged him to “make sure the piggies won’t die.”

So the big-hearted dad teamed up with the animal rights group De Glemte Danske (the Forgotten Danes) to steal the animals even if it meant betraying his friend.

“When I was approached by an activist to help free the animals, I let them into the gallery secretively on Saturday,” Steffensen admitted to the Associated Press.

The pigs, named Simon, Lucia and Benjamin, were spirited away from their makeshift torture chamber and taken to a safe location by De Glemte Danske.

“On Saturday morning, we were contacted by one of Evarsitti’s colleagues, who informed us the pigs could be picked up before 11 o’clock on the same day,” the statement from the activist group posted Tuesday read.

Keep reading

Iranian Regime Sentences Artist to Death for Advocating Freedom and Insulting Muhammad

The Iranian regime has issued a death sentence against pop singer Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, known professionally as Tataloo, for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

This has sparked a wave of reactions both within and outside the country, highlighting the severity of Iran’s blasphemy laws.

Tataloo, whose fame has spread beyond Iran’s borders, has been a controversial figure in the underground music scene.

According to sources, the singer has been detained in Iran since his extradition from Turkey in December 2023.

He now faces a sentence that not only threatens his life but also underscores the tensions between artistic freedom and the strict interpretation of Islamic law in Iran.

Tataloo’s case is not an isolated incident.

The Islamic Republic is known for its harsh policies against expressions deemed offensive to religion. “The singer was sentenced to death for insulting the Prophet,” stated a report from Europa Press, emphasizing the gravity of the accusation and the penalty imposed.

Keep reading

“Holy Sh!t. Pun Intended”: Sequoia Partner Shaun Maguire Reveals Hunter Biden’s “Book Of Poop Art”

Let’s start with a comment from the X account Autism Capital: “Holy shit. Pun intended.”

The remark was in response to Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire’s post, which included an image of what he claims is Hunter Biden’s book of literal “poop art.”

“Hunter’s lawyers have been denying this happened,” Maguire said. 

For context, Maguire revealed on Sunday that Hunter owed his family $300,000 in back rent for a rental in Venice, California, from 2019 to 2020.

He continued, “Here’s a page from his book of poop art, which he tried to use to pay rent.” 

Keep reading

‘Anti-Hate’ Art Exhibit in LA Featured Participants Kicking Around Donald Trump’s Head

An “art exhibit” in Los Angeles designed to protest against Donald Trump “spreading hate” featured participants kicking around a soccer ball shaped like the former president’s head.

Yes, really.

A a rubber or latex object made to look like Trump’s dome was booted around by players during an indoor game at Superchief Gallery in Los Angeles last weekend.

The art installation was created by a group called INDECLINE and was first debuted the Trump soccer ball four years ago when they invited people at the Mexican border to kick it around.

Laughably, the art collective claimed the point of the display was to demonstrate against Trump “spreading hate.”

Keep reading

British gallery may lose prized £500,000 Renoir over claim Seated Nude is Nazi loot seized from original Jewish owners

A British gallery may be forced to give up a prized £500,000 Renoir after claims it could have been seized from its original Jewish owners by the Nazis.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Manchester Art Gallery is now treating the Impressionist painting – known as Seated Nude, from around 1897 – as a potential looted or ‘spoliated’ object.

The gallery has been approached by claimants who believe they may be the rightful owners of the oil painting.

If their claim of ownership is proved, the gallery could be forced to hand over the artwork.

Details of the investigation are included in a document obtained by the MoS under freedom of information laws.

It states: ‘This painting is under investigation as a spoliated object, which means it may have been stolen from or sold under duress by its Jewish owner during the period of Nazi power in Europe.’

Both sides agree that the artwork was once the property of Richard Semmel, a German-born Jewish art collector and entrepreneur.

Semmel and his wife Clara, who fled Germany for Holland in 1933, managed to arrange for the sale of about 70 of their artworks to pay for their living expenses.

It is believed the Renoir nude was offered up for the sale but did not sell.

Keep reading

Shahzia Sikander Sculpture Beheaded at the University of Houston

A Shahzia Sikander statue at the University of Houston was vandalized following previous protests by right-wing groups.

The 18-foot-tall bronze monument to women and justice was beheaded in the early morning on July 8 while the campus was experiencing harsh weather and power outages due to Hurricane Beryl.

Footage of the vandalism was obtained by campus police, according to the New York Times, which first reported the news.

“We were disappointed to learn the statue was damaged early Monday morning as Hurricane Beryl was hitting Houston,” Kevin Quinn, the university’s executive director of media relations, said in an email to ARTnews. “The damage is believed to be intentional. The University of Houston Police Department is currently investigating the matter.”

The female figure, whose braided hair forms a pair of horns, wears a lacy collar in allusion to similar ones worn by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Supreme Court justice.

The sculpture was installed in a plaza at the University of Houston after five months of display to critical acclaim at Madison Square Park in New York City. But when it traveled to Houston, it drew criticism from the anti-abortion Christian group Texas Right to Life, which called for a campus-wide protest “to keep the Satanic abortion idol out of Texas.” The University of Houston responded by cancelling a planned opening and artist talk, as well as choosing not to show an accompanying video work also by Sikander.

It’s worth noting that Sikander’s artist statement about the work contains no mention of Satanism. “The rams’ horns are universal symbols of strength and wisdom,” Sikander told Art in America earlier this year. “There is nothing Satanic about them.”

Keep reading

Public Art Portal Intended to Dismantle Argument For Borders Needs a Border to Protect It

The Portal, a public art installation intended to demonstrate how borders hinder human affinity and connectivity, now needs a border and 24/7 security to protect it from undesirables.

Oh, the irony.

The continuous live video feed, which allows Dubliners and New Yorkers to see each other and interact, has been beset with a deluge of anti-social behavior, including people flashing their private parts and engaging in other lewd, drunken and offensive behavior.

That wasn’t the intention of the artist behind the project, with Lithuanian Benediktas Gylys asserting that, “Portals are an invitation to meet people above borders and differences and to experience our world as it really is – united and one.”

“The livestream provides a window between distant locations, allowing people to meet outside of their social circles and cultures, transcend geographical boundaries, and embrace the beauty of global interconnectedness,” he added.

Keep reading

The Curious Case of the Man Who Bought Most of Hunter Biden’s Overpriced Art

How did the Central Intelligence Agency get threaded into the Hunter Biden scandal? We don’t know, but they interfered with federal investigators looking into Hunter Biden’s activities. A whistleblower has come forward alleging that Langley blocked investigators from interviewing attorney Kevin Morris, who is not just a crucial Hunter Biden ally but the primary purchaser of his overpriced art. Mr. Morris paid Hunter’s tax bills, helped subsidize his opulent lifestyle, and seemingly had the protection of the CIA. 

Morris is a big Democratic Party donor, so protection from the Biden Department of Justice wouldn’t be unusual, but the CIA? Mr. Morris appears to be a jack-of-all-trades character within the Biden orbit. Law professor Jonathan Turley, who disclosed that he was threatened with a lawsuit by Morris, broke down this intriguing tale. Morris was not just a money man for the crack-cocaine-addicted son of the president, he was also an attack dog, reportedly organizing hit campaigns against the enemies of the Biden family. Look, when someone loans your son over $6 million, you better believe there’s going to be some ironclad protections for that individual (via Turley): 

The New York Post has created a stir in Washington with its report that a whistleblower claims that the CIA reportedly blocked federal investigators from interviewing Kevin Morris, the entertainment lawyer who has subsidized the expenses and bought the art of Hunter Biden. 

[…] 

He’s Hunter’s confidant, art patron, business partner, and his lawyer. 

Now there is a suggestion that we might have to add CIA asset or protected person. 

The unnamed whistleblower told the House Oversight and Judiciary Committee that the “intelligence agency stopped IRS and Justice Department investigators from interviewing Morris in August 2021.” That has led Oversight chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) to demand answers from the CIA on whether two DOJ officials were summoned to CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. to discourage their interviewing Morris. 

Given the allegations of special treatment by the Justice Department (including blocking efforts to interview Hunter or search Biden properties), this latest report is obviously quite serious. One would expect that the CIA would simply say that no such meeting related to the Hunter Biden investigation occurred. Instead, the agency responded that it “does not obstruct investigations.” The spokesman added   “CIA does not comment on specific investigations. We can say that CIA cooperates with law enforcement partners and does not obstruct investigations. CIA also fully and routinely cooperates with our oversight committees and will continue to do so.” 

Hunter met Morris when he attended a political fundraiser as a major donor. 

Soon thereafter, he warned Biden associates that Hunter’s unpaid taxes raised political problems during Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential run. 

He later proceeded to pay off Hunter’s taxes and to subsidize his lavish lifestyle. 

He also took an apparent lead in planning public campaigns against the critics of the Bidens, reportedly pushing a scorched-earth approach to attack potential witnesses and accusers. 

[…] 

Most recently, it was revealed that, despite accounts of buyers flocking to buy Hunter’s overpriced art, it was Morris all along who bought most of the pieces. 

How the CIA would fit into any of this is anyone’s guess. 

Keep reading

Race Alarmist: Michelangelo’s Creation of Man Is ‘White Supremacist’

Robin DiAngelo, the woke white author of White Fragility, has called Michelangelo’s painting of the creation of man in the Sistine Chapel an icon of “white supremacy.”

DiAngelo recently spoke with Jalon Johnson on his “Not Your Ordinary Parts” podcast, in which she slammed Michelangelo’s portayal of God creating Adam as “white supremacist.”

“The single image I use to capture the concept of white supremacy is Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel God creating man,” she said, “you know, where God is in a cloud and there’s all these angels and he’s reaching out and he’s touching — I don’t know who that is, David or something — and God is white and David’s white and the angels are white.”

“That is the perfect convergence of white supremacy, patriarchy, right?” she added.

“I was raised Catholic so I saw many images like that as a child,” DiAngelo continued. “So I’m sitting in church and I’m looking up and I see these images. I don’t think to myself ‘God is white’ but in a lot of ways that’s power. I don’t need to. God reflects me.”

Keep reading

AI-generated art cannot be copyrighted, rules a US federal judge

United States District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled on Friday that AI-generated artwork can’t be copyrighted, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter. She was presiding over a lawsuit against the US Copyright Office after it refused a copyright to Stephen Thaler for an AI-generated image made with the Creativity Machine algorithm he’d created.

Thaler had tried multiple times to copyright the image “as a work-for-hire to the owner of the Creativity Machine,” which would have listed the author as the creator of the work and Thaler as the artwork’s owner, but he was repeatedly rejected.

After the Office’s final rejection last year, Thaler sued the Office, claiming its denial was “arbitrary, capricious … and not in accordance with the law,” but Judge Howell didn’t see it that way. In her decision, Judge Howell wrote that copyright has never been granted to work that was “absent any guiding human hand,” adding that “human authorship is a bedrock requirement of copyright.”

Keep reading