AI Book Pulping, Vermeer Biography, and Steidl's Financial Woes

Hyperallergic's weekly art book newsletter, edited by Lakshmi Rivera Amin, addresses the destruction of out-of-print books by AI companies like Anthropic, which scan and pulp them to train large language models. Ed Simon's essay 'AI Companies Are Pulping Our Humanity' compares this to the burning of Michael Servetus's 'The Restoration of Christianity' in 1553, noting that John Calvin saved a copy for bibliophilic reasons. The newsletter also features Natasha Seaman's review of a new Vermeer biography, criticizing its focus on the artist's religious beliefs over other mysteries like his possible use of a camera obscura. Additionally, it reports that German publisher Steidl Verlag, known for photobooks by Nan Goldin, Gordon Parks, Walker Evans, and Joseph Beuys, faces an uncertain future after near-bankruptcy. A member comment from Sally Eckhoff highlights the broader issue of libraries rejecting book donations, leading to many beautiful books being trashed. The archive piece by Imani Perry explores how Manet's portrait of Jeanne Duval reveals racialized perceptions of color.