User X used artificial intelligence to ‘complete’ Keith Haring’s Unfinished Painting (1989), filling in the intentionally empty space to symbolize the void left by the HIV epidemic. Recently, @DonnelVillager shared the completed image, raising concerns about the impact of AI on art and copyright.
This incident is part of a wider issue highlighted by storyboard artist John Lam’s spreadsheet, which accuses Midjourney of using the styles of various artists without permission, including renowned figures such as David Hockney, Tracey Emin, Yoko Ono and Keith Haring.
Unfinished Painting, 1989
Cover photography of KEITH HARING by WOUTER DERUYTTER
Courtesy of NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY and SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
