This was posted today on the official Ansel Adams instagram account:
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The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust was established by Ansel Adams to steward his artistic and environmental legacies, consistent with his own ethos and intentions. The Trust did not authorize, endorse, consent to, or acquiesce in the “AI-generated color version” of “Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico” exhibited and offered for sale by Danziger Gallery at The Photography Show presented by AIPAD in April.
This was a substantial editioned offering at a major international sales event. It exploited Ansel’s name, reputation, and his most iconic image, while failing to identify any human artist responsible for its creation.
The Trust was not consulted or notified before the work appeared. Once alerted, we reached out to James Danziger in real time, notifying him of the Trust’s rights, and asking for the work to be removed.
Correspondence shared with the Trust shows that, despite our formal notice, Mr. Danziger subsequently leveraged Ansel’s name, “Moonrise,” and the AIPAD presentation while pursuing a proposed commercial AI colorization venture involving other artists’ estates.
Ansel was an innovator who expanded the expressive and technical possibilities of his medium. He was remarkably prescient about—and excited by—the potential of computers to transform photography. The Trust’s concerns are not about AI or creative experimentation in the abstract.
This is fundamentally about artists’ rights and moral rights—and respect for human dignity.
No one should trade on another person’s name, reputation, and labor for private commercial ends without consent and candor. The unauthorized exploitation of Ansel’s actively stewarded legacy reflects a gross failure of ethical and professional judgment.
Few figures fought harder than Ansel to secure photography’s place as fine art, or contributed more to the cultural conditions that gave rise to today’s photography market. That this episode occurred at AIPAD is especially egregious and disheartening.
The Trust is committed to defending Ansel’s legacy as necessary and will continue to address this matter through the appropriate channels. We are grateful to all who have expressed concern, support, and solidarity.
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Hard to believe that a member of AIPAD had the gall to do this.
The image is still up on the Danziger Gallery web site:
www.danzigergallery.com
>>>
The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust was established by Ansel Adams to steward his artistic and environmental legacies, consistent with his own ethos and intentions. The Trust did not authorize, endorse, consent to, or acquiesce in the “AI-generated color version” of “Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico” exhibited and offered for sale by Danziger Gallery at The Photography Show presented by AIPAD in April.
This was a substantial editioned offering at a major international sales event. It exploited Ansel’s name, reputation, and his most iconic image, while failing to identify any human artist responsible for its creation.
The Trust was not consulted or notified before the work appeared. Once alerted, we reached out to James Danziger in real time, notifying him of the Trust’s rights, and asking for the work to be removed.
Correspondence shared with the Trust shows that, despite our formal notice, Mr. Danziger subsequently leveraged Ansel’s name, “Moonrise,” and the AIPAD presentation while pursuing a proposed commercial AI colorization venture involving other artists’ estates.
Ansel was an innovator who expanded the expressive and technical possibilities of his medium. He was remarkably prescient about—and excited by—the potential of computers to transform photography. The Trust’s concerns are not about AI or creative experimentation in the abstract.
This is fundamentally about artists’ rights and moral rights—and respect for human dignity.
No one should trade on another person’s name, reputation, and labor for private commercial ends without consent and candor. The unauthorized exploitation of Ansel’s actively stewarded legacy reflects a gross failure of ethical and professional judgment.
Few figures fought harder than Ansel to secure photography’s place as fine art, or contributed more to the cultural conditions that gave rise to today’s photography market. That this episode occurred at AIPAD is especially egregious and disheartening.
The Trust is committed to defending Ansel’s legacy as necessary and will continue to address this matter through the appropriate channels. We are grateful to all who have expressed concern, support, and solidarity.
<<<
Hard to believe that a member of AIPAD had the gall to do this.
The image is still up on the Danziger Gallery web site:
Presented by AIPAD - Booth A13 - Exhibitions - Danziger Gallery
Since its founding in 1990, the Danziger Gallery has established itself as one of the leading photography venues in the world, known for the originality and diversity of its programming, its representation of established photographers, and the influence of its new discoveries. The gallery was...
www.danzigergallery.com
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