The murky world of stolen art

Artwork, jewels: Every year, art thieves steal precious objects that are worth millions. But stolen art can rarely be re-sold. That’s why it’s often ransomed, instead. Investigators call this practice "artnapping”. "Artnapping” is when museums, insurance companies or private owners are blackmailed into paying millions of euros in ransom for the safe return of their belongings.  

Ron's house: Minotaur head and lion discovered in rented Birkenhead flat

 

Ron Gittins lived in Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula in England. A curious and colourful character, he was both well-known but also a total mystery to friends, neighbours and even family.

It was only after he died in 2019, and relatives were asked to clear his rented home that the weird, wonderful private world he had made for himself was uncovered.

Now, supporters of Ron’s Place, including singer Jarvis Cocker, are trying to raise money to buy his old flat and turn it into a space for artists.

Iran from above - In the mountains

Iran’s mountainous terrain has always been an important part of people’s lives. Years ago, these mountains were populated by legendary horsemen. Today, they are the subject of scientific investigation.

The realities of peace after war

 

Two artists explore the consequences of war with their work. In Armenia, they portray people who have suffered severe loss due to conflict. The artists also dig up abandoned houses and collect huge pieces of metal with bullet holes.

Resin art social media trend prompts warnings

 

 

 Resin art is growing in popularity, particularly online. But experts are warning about its possible harm to human health and the environment. But what is resin art and what are the concerns?

NFTs: get-rich-quick scheme or the future of art?

 

Celebrities, sports people, politicians – anyone and everyone seems to be getting into NFTs. These non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have changed the business of buying, selling and owning art and digital property, and 'collectibles' like 'Bored Apes' have sold for millions online. Many say they are buying these images to be part of a community and because they love the art. But, in reality, how much of this is a speculative bubble that could soon burst?

The AI that creates any picture you want, explained

Beginning in January 2021, advances in AI research have produced a plethora of deep-learning models capable of generating original images from simple text prompts, effectively extending the human imagination. Researchers at OpenAI, Google, Facebook, and others have developed text-to-image tools that they have not yet released to the public, and similar models have proliferated online in the open-source arena and at smaller companies like Midjourney.

How Ukrainians are saving art during the war

Despite the fact that it’s a war crime to target cultural heritage, cultural sites are often treated as a second front: looted, damaged, or destroyed as a way for an aggressor to assert power, demoralize an enemy, and control — or even erase — a cultural narrative.

How AI is transforming the creative industries | The Economist

 

Artificial intelligence is helping humans make new kinds of art. It is more likely to emerge as a collaborator than a competitor for those working in creative industries.

Art is trash without social impact

 

Japanese artist Tomokazu Matsuyama was set for a triumphant return to his home country in 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. Follow his 300-day journey to protect his studio and creative vision in a time of uncertainty.

Filmmakers, Inshallah

 

The stories of five aspiring filmmakers in Morocco struggling to achieve success but united by a passion for their art.

Ismael El Ouali is a barber and fan of Moroccan film star Rachid El Ouali, no relation. Ismael not only adopted his hero’s name but also made it his mission to go and meet him.

[Eng sub] Watercolor for beginners / Master the skills in most viewed "How to paint a Tree" - Part2 and Part 1

 

[Eng sub] Watercolor painting of a man | Painting Demo | Calming art

 

Where the 1960s "psychedelic" look came from

When you picture hippies, you probably picture bell bottoms, long hair, and LSD. You might also think of a very specific graphic design and illustration style, seen on concert posters and album covers: curly, cloudy, barely legible lettering, trippy color combinations, and decorative meandering borders.

Banksy's Artwork Promoting Face Masks Removed From London Train

Banksy is at it again with new artwork on the London tube promoting the use of face masks — it has since been removed for violating anti-graffiti policies.

What did Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" really look like? | DW Docume...

In the style of a thriller, the documentary attempts to reconstruct what it originally looked like. Leonardo da Vinci was the epitome of the Renaissance Man. May 2019 marks the 500th anniversary of his death. The artist created world-famous works such as the fresco "The Last Supper" - perhaps the most famous. It is still in its original setting, on the wall of the dining room of the former Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The painting, which is 4.60 meters high and 8.80 meters wide, has been undergoing restoration for the last 19 years. But the restorers now know that only 20 percent of the original is visible today. So what did something that is the focus of so many legends originally look like? Our investigation also takes us to the small Belgian abbey of Tongerlo, where a mysterious copy of da Vinci's work has been discovered. It is a painting on canvas that could have been commissioned from da Vinci’s workshop by the French King Louis XII. It has perhaps brought the researchers a step closer to the truth.

Why this photography pioneer faked his own death

People usually associate the birth of photography with Louis Daguerre’s Daguerreotype. His process became the first widespread method of photography after France revealed it to the world on August 19, 1839. But there were actually multiple inventors of photography, and one of them was an amateur French tinkerer named Hippolyte Bayard. Even before Daguerre’s process was revealed, Bayard had achieved photographic results.

Not your ordinary treasure hunt! Meet Star Wars artist Robert Bailey!

Tomorrow We Disappear: New Delhi's Kathputli Slum

In a Delhi slum, puppeteers, musicians, jugglers and acrobats try to unite as they wrangle with an approaching eviction.

New Delhi's Kathputli slum is a place of fading traditions. For over half a century, 2,800 artist families have called its narrow alleyways home.

There are jugglers and acrobats, puppeteers and painters, folk singers and magicians, many who are well-respected artists in India and abroad.

In 2009, the New Delhi government sold Kathputli to developers for a fraction of its worth. The land is to be bulldozed to make room for the city's first-ever skyscraper, which was intially going to be called Raheja Phoenix.

Nepal: The Great Plunder

Investigating how antiquities stolen from the Himalayas end up in museums and private collections around the world.

On the global art market, Himalayan statues of religious deities fetch millions of dollars. But to the Nepalese, they are living gods who have been stolen from their communities.

In this exclusive Al Jazeera investigation, 101 East senior presenter and reporter Steve Chao takes viewers on a breathtaking journey across the Himalayas, to reveal how the art world's hunger for ancient artefacts is destroying a centuries-old culture.

As he seeks to expose the international black market in religious treasures, Chao travels across Nepal from its capital Kathmandu to remote and ancient Buddhist temples in Mustang.