Over the course of a week in October, Artforum imploded.
On October 19, a little less than two weeks after Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took 240 people hostage, and as the I.D.F. fired thousands of missiles at Gaza, the art world’s most prestigious magazine published an open letter. Signed by 8,000 artists and others in creative industries—including Artforum’s editor, David Velasco; the photographer Nan Goldin; the philosopher Judith Butler; the musician Brian Eno; the writer Hari Kunzru; and the artist Barbara Kruger—it called for an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and the urgent passage of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and described the situation as an “escalating genocide.” It did not mention Hamas or the October 7 attack on Israel. (Four days later, an addition was made to the letter, stating that the signatories “share revulsion at the horrific massacres of 1400 people in Israel conducted by Hamas on October 7th.”)
