Art Critic Jerry Saltz Gets Into An Online Skirmish With A.I. Superstar Refik Anadol
Is it disrespectful to compare a digital work of art to a screensaver? An online skirmish between famed AI artist Refik Anadolu and New York Magazine senior art critic Jerry Saltz escalated into a full-blown brawl over Thanksgiving weekend over X. This raised long-standing questions about the role of art historians, but this one The entire Web3 community was involved.
The battle erupted over the 24-foot-tall “Unattended” screen, installed on the first floor of New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2022 and recently acquired for the museum’s permanent collection. It's certainly impressive, but it's made up of multi-dimensional waves of color that represent an algorithmic interpretation of MoMA's entire online catalog, reflecting the forms of some of the most famous modernist movements. Artnet News special critic Ben Davis found the work extremely enjoyable but clearly overdone. MoMA boldly declared that it had “reinterpreted the history of modern art and imagined what might have been.”
As is often the case with art critics, Saltz never held back when it came to assessing the cultural value of Anatolian works. In his February Vulture review, he acknowledged that "Unsupervised " was a hit with audiences and was even "reasonably entertaining for minutes," but that he ultimately found it too terrible and, if anything, too funny on the eyes. “In this disinfected and tightly controlled environment, art and doubt live in separate bedrooms,” he said.
Most memorably, Saltz described his work as "a giant lava lamp" and "a screen saver worth half a million dollars." It is these controversial comparisons that are still being debated in X.
It all started earlier this month when Saltz evaluated his vision for Entertainment Short Art. “Remove the music and a normal screen saver will appear.”
“ChatGPT writes better than you,” Anadol replied. He explained that he was referring to those “like Jerry” who “need to explore and understand the environment.” This seems to mean that Saltz did not recognize the technical complexity of the work. Shortly thereafter, Biebel posted a photo of the confrontation between Saltz and Anadol, in which Anadol thanked him for "making it more historic."
The great digital art collector Pablo Rodriguez-Frile, owner of Anatolia Works, also took part. “The complexity and depth of his compositions go beyond visual aesthetics; they provoke thought, evoke emotions and invite the viewer to engage with art in a completely new way,” he said. “The broad connection that people feel with his work clearly demonstrates his importance and influence.”
Whether digital art can be denigrated by comparing it to a “screensaver” is the subject of much debate. “The screensavers are wild and show lots of other math possibilities,” commented artist Zach Lieberman, referring to whistles, flying toasters and Lesage characters. Magda Savon, co-founder of Postmasters Gallery in 1984, said in her book Can You Digitize? In the 1996 exhibition there was a section dedicated to screen savers. “Some of them were beautiful works of art,” he said. “25 fucking years ago.”
A few days later, Saltz reiterated to those who still didn't understand that he didn't like Anatolia's work. “I told you exactly why,” he said. “I love AI art. I love all tools and technologies!” “I criticize an artist’s work simply based on the way they use their materials and tools.”
Anatolia replied with great concern, “I don’t care about your words.” “You have never spoken to me, you have never visited my studio and you have no idea who I am or why or how I make art. But let me tell you: I truly believe in my work!”
“The world you come from has changed! The new world is bright, the new world is comprehensive, the new world has no doors!” At the end of his words he added: “I am them all!” You are nobody! ”
Many anonymous avatars with many followers rushed to his aid. 3LAU, a DJ and NFT enthusiast, wrote: “Good reviews are a thing of the past, it's funny how proud you are of your experience. Nobody remembers the critic, when he dies, people will remember Rafik Anatolia.”
Saltz defended his right to criticize Anadolu's work without having a degree in data science. “My job is to look and keep looking,” he said. “My job is to notice things and then say what I notice. That's all. We don't have to agree. I want all artists to be successful. The good, the bad and the really bad.”
The impassioned speech appears to have heightened tensions between the old guard of the traditional art world and the Web3 community, with its strong distrust of gatekeepers. The vindictive tone of some Anatolian fans was also reminiscent of the reaction of Artnet News' Davis, who wrote last month about violating "parasitic aesthetics" after reviewing an exhibition by popular TikTok artist Devon Rodriguez. The social media star, in turn, prompted her angry fans to direct a barrage of insults and threats at Davis.
Is there hope to overcome these differences? Although the public dispute does not appear to be resolved any time soon, Anadolu has since said that he and Saltz are "now in a major dialogue." “This is how we grow together,” he concluded, expressing typical Web3 optimism. “The future is bright!”
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