The Louvre Sues PornHub Over X-Rated Art Recreations, and Other News

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The Louvre and Uffizi sue Pornhub for “unauthorized” use of masterworks in a new app.

Days after Pornhub launched the interactive “Show Me the Nudes” website and app that features campy real-life recreations of scintillating masterworks by Titian, Botticelli, Cézanne, and Rembrandt, the Louvre and Uffizi have filed lawsuits requesting the works to be taken down. “In italy, the cultural heritage code provides that in order to use images [from] a museum for commercial purposes, it’s necessary to have [the museum’s] permission, which regulates the methods and sets the relative fees to be paid,” a spokesperson for Uffizi told the Daily Beast. Pornhub has also allegedly heard from the Louvre’s lawyers, who requested the works to be removed “at once” and are seeking damages for rights infringements.  

Rebecca Ann Siegel, director of Americas and content for Frieze, is leaving her role.

Rebecca Ann Siegel, the director of Americas and content for Frieze, has announced that she will leave her position next month. She initially joined Frieze in 2018 as publisher of Frieze magazine, where she oversaw the publication’s redesign and appointed Andrew Durbin as editor in chief. Her role soon expanded to oversee the fair’s events in New York and Los Angeles. “On behalf of everyone at Frieze, I want to thank Rebecca for everything she has achieved over the past few years,” Victoria Siddall, global director of Frieze’s fairs, said in a statement. “I have greatly admired her work on the magazine, and it has been a real pleasure working with her on Frieze New York and Frieze Los Angeles. She leaves all of these in excellent shape for 2022 and beyond.” Siegel did not announce any immediate next career plans. 

Miami’s spiraling, cantilevered supertall Waldorf Astoria Tower comes into full view. 

The 100-story Downtown, notable for its sculptural glass cube exterior by architects Carlos Ott and Sieger Suarez and equipped with 360 private residences with 205 guest rooms and suites, is coming into full view with the release of interior renderings. Spearheaded by the Bay Area–based BAMO, the studio played off of the Miami colors reflected off the glass when conceiving the neutral interior palette: a smoky grey-brown oak with a cerused finish, a light European oak, and four marbles in a range from statuary white to an off-black. “Waldorf Astoria is one of the only five-star hotel brands worldwide, and we’re honored to expand this timeless portfolio to Miami,” said Kevin Maloney, managing partner of PMG, which developed the property. “We feel confident with our renowned partners on board, Waldorf Astoria Residences Miami is poised to lead the new development cycle and deliver a completely one-of-a-kind, priceless experience to South Florida.”   

The latest report on plastic pollution ignites a countdown to save the ocean in 29 years.

A new study, titled “Breaking the Plastic Wave—A Comprehensive Assessment of Pathways Towards Stopping Ocean Plastic Pollution” by Pew Charitable Trusts, forecasts a drastic uptick in the production of plastic and urges a global shift toward sustainability. Expected to double in capacity by 2040, the $522.6 billion plastic industry foreshadows a surge in ocean pollution amounting to an estimated 150 million metric tons. The report details solutions to diminish the use of plastic by 80 percent using readily available resources through boosted recycling practices, substituted materials, and assorted waste collection. Advocating a shift in investment from manufacturing to conserving, the study also calls for stronger faculties that empower sustainable practices in order to ensure the preservation of the planet’s water ecosystem.

The Bronx Museum of Art seeks to modernize its South Wing on its 50th anniversary. 

The New York City Economic Development Corporation on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs is seeking proposals for a revamp of the Bronx Museum of Art’s South Wing atrium. The museum, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, aims to create a “spacious lobby that includes seating, gathering space and large street-facing walls for artwork” in order to create an active engagement between its interior exhibitions and public programming. “The renovation will strengthen our capacity to meet our community’s needs, by amplifying our ability to educate, engage and accommodate our visitors,” says Klaudio Rodriguez, the museum’s executive director. 

China’s Maglev train will zoom at a record-shattering speed of 370 miles per hour.

Developed in the city of Qingdao, China’s novel Maglev train sets the record as the “Fastest Ground Vehicle Globally.” Relying on electro-magnetism to float above the tracks, the spectral train has no contact between its body and the tracks, allowing it to shrink travel times from Shanghai to Beijing to 2.5 hours (a 620-mile journey that usually takes five and a half hours by high-speed rail and three hours by plane). Although this technology exists on a smaller scale in Shanghai, connecting one of its airports to the city, there is no larger Maglev network bridging inter-city and inter-provincial travel. Consequently, the locomotive pioneer has already begun research in Shanghai and Chengdu to revamp their transportation system. 

In Germany, unprecedented floods are damaging museums and other heritage sites.

Emergency crews are descending on flood-swept towns in Germany to not only aid victims but also rescue heritage sites and museums, whose archives have been soaked in muddy water. Though it’s too early to assess the true impact of the flash floods, several heritage sites across Germany are affected and currently seeking donations. The city archive of Stolberg, a small town near the Dutch and Belgian borders, has been submerged in water, threatening documents dating back to the 18th century and objects from the town’s museum collection. Other affected heritage sites in the region include Burg Blessem, an historic castle that partially collapsed in a mudslide, and the grounds of Schloss Neuenhof in Lüdenscheid east of Dusseldorf.

Today’s attractive distractions:

Jeff Bezos’s phallic-shaped rocket launched a fleet of god-tier memes.

Crowdfunders save the Studio Ghibli Museum from permanent closure.

Adam Neumann smoked an ungodly amount of weed on his private jet.

Here’s what we’re discovering in Russia’s rapidly melting permafrost.