DESIGN DISPATCH

Lauren Halsey Will Open a Sculpture Park in South Los Angeles, and Other News

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A rendering of Lauren Halsey’s “sister dreamer.” Image courtesy of Lauren Halsey and Current Interests

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Lauren Halsey’s monumental public sculpture park will open in South L.A. in the spring.

Lauren Halsey has unveiled renderings for sister dreamer, a monumental public sculpture park in South Los Angeles, which is scheduled to open next spring. The installation will feature eight sphinxes, eight Hathoric columns, and a central seating area, all carved with images of personal heroes, family, friends, and community activists. Built with glass-fiber-reinforced concrete panels and surrounded by native plants, the park has drawn financial support from the Mellon Foundation and Los Angeles Nomadic Division. Halsey’s Summaeverythang Community Center will oversee public programming, including film screenings, concerts, and youth events, making the park a dynamic expression of Black culture and community activism.

Calvin Luo will put his namesake label on hold to “learn, explore, and experience life.”

Chinese designer Calvin Luo will put his namesake label on hold starting in early 2025 to “learn, explore, and truly experience life.” Known for his significant retail presence in China, Luo has consulted for Lanvin, collaborated with Zara, and founded the independent fashion magazine Rouge Fashionbook. Feeling overwhelmed by the industry’s commercial demands and routine, Luo plans to either study abroad or take an extended holiday after celebrating his brand’s 10th anniversary, reflecting a broader trend among Shanghai designers scaling back post-pandemic.

A video promoting Billie Eilish’s new album at the Louvre pyramid appears to be fake.

A viral video seemingly promoting Billie Eilish’s new album Hit Me Hard and Soft, which pictures a digitally altered scene of the Louvre pyramid filled with blue water, has been revealed as fake. The video, posted by @PopCrave and viewed 1.5 million times on X, was digitally created by French videographer Nathalie Odzierejko and not an actual projection at the Louvre. 

Scarlett Johansson sues OpenAI after its new ChatGPT bot strongly resembles her voice. 

OpenAI recently launched ChatGPT 4.0, which features a real-time conversation mode with five distinct voices, including Sky, which bears a resemblance to Scarlett Johansson’s voice. Johansson revealed that OpenAI’s Sam Altman approached her to voice the assistant, but she declined the offer. The voice, later identified as a mimic, has sparked controversy. OpenAI paused using Sky’s voice, claiming it was a coincidence, while Johansson is seeking transparency and legal resolution regarding the voice’s creation process. Johansson’s concerns highlight broader issues around AI, deepfakes, and the protection of personal likenesses, and she has previously litigated against another AI company for similar reasons.

A woman sues the Walker Art Center after being told she couldn’t breastfeed in a gallery.

Megan Mzenga has filed a lawsuit against the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis after a staff member wrongly informed her that she could not breastfeed her infant in a gallery, which she claims violated her civil rights. The incident occurred in early March, when a staff member directed her to another location to nurse, prompting feelings of shame and frustration. The museum, which states on its website that parents are free to nurse anywhere in the building, now faces legal action for what Mzenga and her lawyer describe as discriminatory practices against breastfeeding mothers.

Inflatable artworks at BlueUp Art The Hague. Photography by Ronald Smits

Today’s attractive distractions:

A constellation of celebrities are promoting dairy on your social media feeds.

Can you tell the difference between a galactic supernova and the coronavirus?

The Design Museum’s new journal aims to reshape sustainability discourse.

Marcel Wanders and Studio Job create inflatable installation in The Hague.

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