Ansel Adams’ Trust Says AI-Colorized Version Of His Work Was Exhibited Without Permission

The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust released a statement this weekend condemning the unauthorized use of the photographer’s name and work to create an “AI-generated color version” of Adams’s “Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.” According to the trust, the piece was put up for sale at the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD) The Photography Show last month. The statement said the Danziger Gallery’s exhibition “exploited Anselm’s name, reputation, and his most iconic image, while failing to identify any human artist responsible for its creation.”

Interestingly, the Trust did not object to the involvement of AI, noting that Adams was “remarkably prescient about and excited about the potential of computers to transform photography.” The issue is that the exhibitor allegedly simply destroyed the artist’s work to make money.

The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust stated, “The Trust was not consulted or informed before the work appeared.” “Once alerted, we reached out to James Danziger in real time, informed him of the Trust’s rights, and asked for the work to be removed. Correspondence shared with the Trust reveals that, despite our formal notice, Mr. Danziger subsequently took advantage of Ansel’s name, ‘Moonrise’, and the AIPAD presentation by pursuing a proposed commercial AI colorization venture involving other artists’ assets.” And the non-consensual use of the work has been condemned, and the incident has been called a “gross failure of ethical and professional judgment”.