‘This craving to go viral is tiresome’: the artists sick of the pressure to promote on social media

From Stewart Lee in his wolf costume to Werner Herzog’s big steak sizzle-up, artists are now under huge duress to ‘chase the algorithm’ and reach audiences. Many of them are hitting burnout – and hitting backThere was a meme recently featuring Tony Soprano looking characteristically menacing, with a caption that reads: “Imagine telling him he needs to create short form content to engage the algorithm.” But that sentiment feels inescapable: 82% of all internet traffic is now made up of videos, and the number of short-form videos published on the likes of TikTok and Instagram grew by 71% in the year from 2024.You may have noticed there is a particularly high number of videos featuring people’s faces, which the algorithm rewards. All of a sudden, chefs, lawyers, podcasters, critics – all people with jobs once associated with an off-camera existence – are turning the lens on themselves

Miracle Mile: boy meets girl, romcom meets nuclear war

Miracle Mile is the result of an 80s romcom getting a severe bout of nuclear fear. It’s a uniquely chilling thriller, combining the disparate elements of screwball romance with a paranoid conspiracy to create a beat-the-clock urgency that defies categorisation and expectations.Jazz musician Harry (Anthony Edwards) meets and falls in love with Julie (Mare Winningham) while visiting Los Angeles, having spent an idyllic afternoon together. Julie rushes off to work and Harry returns to his hotel, with the pair arranging to meet that night.But thanks to a bizarre proto-Final Destination cause-and-effect, Harry blows out the building’s electricity while napping, causing him to be hours late for their rendezvous

‘It was life-changing’: the celebrated art historian who spent 46 years sitting for Frank Auerbach

Catherine Lampert is a historian, curator and model who spent much of her time sitting for her famous friends. She tells us what the likes of Auerbach, Lucian Freud and Euan Uglow meant to herLast November, a work titled Potiphar’s Wife by British painter Euan Uglow appeared in a private sale by Christie’s in London. “We were all so excited,” says art historian and curator Catherine Lampert. “I had tried many times to find out where that picture was.” It depicts a woman lying on the ground against a blue wall, legs crossed and arms stretched out behind her to, it seems, stop a man in a T-shirt from leaving

Jimmy Kimmel on US ceasefire negotiators: ‘We’d be better off with Alvin and the Chipmunks’

On Wednesday night, late-night hosts reacted to Donald Trump’s threat to wipe out Iran, the trio who are leading ceasefire negotiations in the region and JD Vance’s trip to Budapest in support of Viktor Orbán.Jimmy Kimmel focused on the ceasefire that resulted from Trump’s warning that “an entire civilization will die” if Iran did not meet US demands to open the strait of Hormuz.“Once again, he made a big threat and backed off like your dad threatening to pull the car over and turn it around,” Kimmel said.“What a time to be alive. A man who has the nuclear codes written on his stomach in ketchup has the power to wipe a whole country off the map

Jimmy Kimmel on Trump’s Iran threats: ‘The most dangerous episode of the Celebrity Apprentice yet’

Late-night hosts reacted to a late-stage ceasefire with Iran, after Donald Trump promised “a whole civilization will die tonight” in an extremely alarming post.Tuesday was just “another crazy day here in the United States of America!” said Jimmy Kimmel, after the president promised, then called off, destructive attacks in Iran by 8pm that evening. “Probably the most dangerous episode of the Celebrity Apprentice yet. Today was D-Day – in this case, the D stands for dementia, but it was D-Day.”“We’re coming to you from Los Angeles for the local time’s just after 5pm, which was Trump’s deadline for Iran to ‘Open the F-ing strait or you’ll be living in hell,’” the host explained

The Guide #237: Fab 5 Freddy, the street artist at the heart of New York’s creative zenith

In this week’s newsletter: A new memoir by Fred Brathwaite offers an insight into the city’s emerging underground scene in the 70s and 80s – and shows us the power of subcultures in difficult times Don’t get The Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereHello everyone, I’m Coco Khan, covering for Gwilym Mumford, and this week, as the sun started to peep out from behind the clouds, I counted five Jean-Michel Basquiat T-shirts on passersby during a park walk.Sure, I may live in a trendy London borough – but it’s still hardly surprising, given that the name and works of the New York artist whose roots were in graffiti have been licensed to fashion brands from Next, Primark and Uniqlo to Supreme and Saint Laurent. It’s hard to imagine that the artist – who died at 27 of a drug overdose, and whose signature slogan SAMO© (Same Old Crap – a criticism of consumerism, and the commodification of art, with a playful copyright mark) – would approve of the Basquiat name being on keyrings, tote bags and clothing. But hey, what do I know – I’m just another purist bore still upset that Ramones T-shirts are worn by millions who couldn’t name a song, when the Ramones themselves did not care.Still, the hope is that such merchandise connects new audiences to the artist’s work and graffiti as an art form