The study of art history has much to offer us, even in these times when the state of art is pluralistic – holding many different meanings at the same time, to different audiences.

This idea of the punctum, what punctuates an image, is what the artist Hank Willis Thomas says he had in mind when conceptualizing and then building the sculpture The Embrace, a tribute to Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King on the Boston Common unveiled this year.

According to the American Art Therapy Association, research show that art therapy helps people feel more in control of their own lives, and helps relieve anxiety and depression, including among cancer patients, tuberculosis patients in isolation, and military veterans with PTSD. In addition, art therapy assists in managing pain by moving mental focus away from the painful stimulus.

If you are a creative person, no matter the endeavor there is no avoiding it. After day upon day of summoning inspiration, suddenly, there’s nothing. The well is dry – we all know the feeling. Exhaustion is a natural part of any artistic process, unpleasant as it may be. But there are rewards around the corner if one persists.

The Andy Warhol Foundation has lost a Supreme Court case in a ruling that found the artist violated photographer Lynn Goldsmith’s copyright when he used a photograph of Prince as a reference for some of his artwork. More about my experiments with AI.

I’m a former journalist and editor and have written extensively for the last 20 years about art, technology and culture. This month, I’m organizing all of my posts on Substack and started a newsletter, Art Matters. I hope you can join me there and subscribe. The first issues are free will be published once or twice a week and will all be free for the time being. There may be a subscription model at some point and some of the posts will require a paid subscription. We artists require support from as many sectors as possible, so your support here means a lot.