ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Artworld Intelligence Debated at Brooklyn Symposium and Vera List Center Forum

opinion-review · 2026-04-20

In mid-October, a panel discussion called 'Language Against Intelligence' took place at a Triple Canopy symposium in Brooklyn, featuring sociologist Alix Rule and artist David Levine. They revisited their 2012 essay 'International Art English,' which critiqued e-flux press releases and highlighted frequently used terms such as 'aporia' and 'radically.' The methodology faced criticism from artists Martha Rosler and Hito Steyerl in 2013. Although e-flux's impact has waned, Rule and Levine remain doubtful about current art writing, scrutinizing a recent e-flux release for P. Staff's exhibition that included AI-generated components. A week later, the Vera List Center hosted the 'Matter of Intelligence' forum, which included a keynote by philosopher Matteo Pasquinelli and a lecture-performance by Sandra Erbacher and Ruth Estévez, linking historical connoisseurship to critiques of artspeak and AI content.

Key facts

  • Alix Rule and David Levine's 2012 essay 'International Art English' analyzed e-flux press releases using Sketch Engine.
  • The panel 'Language Against Intelligence' was part of a Triple Canopy symposium at Roulette in Brooklyn in mid-October.
  • Artists Martha Rosler and Hito Steyerl published critical responses to the essay in e-flux in 2013.
  • Rule and Levine examined a recent e-flux press release for P. Staff's show at Bonner Kunstverein, suspecting AI influence.
  • Dennis Yi Tenen argued intelligence is collective and tool-based during the panel discussion.
  • Matteo Pasquinelli's keynote at the Vera List Center forum discussed AI as modeling labor and social relations.
  • Sandra Erbacher and Ruth Estévez performed '(question–repeat–failure–record)' (2025) at the Vera List Center forum.
  • References included Giovanni Morelli's 19th-century connoisseurship and Susan Sontag's 1964 essay 'Against Interpretation'.

Entities

Artists

  • Alix Rule
  • David Levine
  • Martha Rosler
  • Hito Steyerl
  • P. Staff
  • Dennis Yi Tenen
  • Matteo Pasquinelli
  • Sandra Erbacher
  • Ruth Estévez
  • Giovanni Morelli
  • Ben Davis
  • Susan Sontag
  • Carrie Buck
  • Britney Spears

Institutions

  • Triple Canopy
  • e-flux
  • Roulette
  • Bonner Kunstverein
  • Vera List Center
  • New School
  • MIT Press

Locations

  • Brooklyn
  • New York
  • United States

Sources