Artworld Intelligence Debated at Brooklyn Symposium and Vera List Center Forum
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