The year 2023 was a remarkable one for the art world, as it witnessed some of the most stunning and innovative creations in various fields and mediums. From Cozomo de’ Medici’s list of the 12 most iconic artworks of 2023 to a major partnership between GoDaddy and ENS, here are some of the highlights that made this year unforgettable.

Cozomo de’ Medici, the influential art collector and patron, released his annual list of the 12 most iconic artworks of the year, which featured a diverse and eclectic selection of artists and genres. Among them were:

The Last Supper by Ai Weiwei, a monumental installation that recreated Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting with 13 life-sized sculptures made of recycled materials and human hair.

The Infinite Garden by Yayoi Kusama, a immersive exhibition that filled the entire Guggenheim Museum in New York with thousands of colorful polka dots, mirrors, and lights.

The CryptoPunks by Larva Labs, a series of 10,000 unique pixel art characters that were minted as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain and sold for millions of dollars.

The Black Square by Kazimir Malevich, a replica of the iconic abstract painting that was launched into orbit by SpaceX and became the first artwork in space.

The Mona Lisa by Banksy, a graffiti version of the famous portrait that appeared overnight on the wall of the Louvre Museum in Paris and caused a sensation among visitors and authorities.

The Scream by Edvard Munch, a digital animation that used artificial intelligence to make the expression of the famous painting change according to the mood and emotions of the viewers.

The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, a interactive installation that used augmented reality to transform the Museum of Modern Art in New York into a living version of the famous painting.

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali, a 3D-printed sculpture that replicated the surreal imagery of the famous painting with melting clocks and distorted objects.

The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, a performance art piece that reenacted the classical scene of the goddess emerging from the sea with hundreds of nude volunteers on a beach in Italy.

The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer, a hologram that projected the image of the famous painting onto the face of anyone who stood in front of it.

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, a virtual reality experience that allowed users to enter the Sistine Chapel and witness the moment of divine contact between God and Adam.

The Guernica by Pablo Picasso, a sound installation that used speakers and microphones to recreate the sounds and voices of the victims of the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.

In addition to these remarkable artworks, 2023 also saw a major partnership between GoDaddy and ENS, two leading platforms for domain name registration and management. The partnership enabled users to easily register and manage their own. eth domains, which are decentralized, and censorship-resistant domains powered by Ethereum.

This opened up new possibilities for artists, creators, and entrepreneurs to showcase their work and identity on the decentralized web. These are just some of the examples of how 2023 a year of innovation, creativity, and disruption in the art world was. We can only expect more surprises and wonders in 2024 and beyond.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a complaint against tech giant Microsoft, accusing it of breaching promises made regarding the autonomy of Activision Blizzard post-acquisition.

This comes just one week after Microsoft made headlines with the announcement of nearly 2,000 layoffs within its gaming division, including employees from the recently acquired Activision Blizzard.

The FTC lodged its complaint in a federal appeals court on Wednesday, arguing that the recent downsizing directly contradicts assurances given by Microsoft during the acquisition process. Specifically, the FTC alleges that Microsoft’s pledge to maintain Activision Blizzard’s independence is undermined by the layoffs, which were described by Microsoft as part of an “execution plan” aimed at reducing “areas of overlap” between the two entities.

According to the complaint, Microsoft’s actions “contradict its representations” to the court, where it had asserted that the merged companies would continue to operate independently. This discrepancy forms the crux of the FTC’s argument for a temporary halt to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, pending further investigation into potential antitrust concerns.

“This newly-revealed information contradicts Microsoft’s representations in this proceeding, which seeks to temporarily pause Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision pending the FTC’s evaluation of the merger’s antitrust merits,” the complaint stated.

Microsoft had previously contended that any necessary divestitures could be easily implemented without disrupting the overall operation of the merged entity.

Microsoft claimed that the public equity favoring an injunction “is more acutely implicated in horizontal mergers, where competing entities integrate their operations and, in the process, often eliminate redundancies.”

However, the recent layoffs have thrown a wrench into this narrative, prompting the FTC to question Microsoft’s commitment to maintaining the pre-merger status quo.

Furthermore, the FTC expressed concerns about the implications of the layoffs on its ability to provide effective relief for affected employees should antitrust violations be established. The layoffs not only undermine the FTC’s enforcement efforts but also exacerbate the challenges faced by workers in an industry already plagued by mass firings.

“Moreover, the reported elimination of thousands of jobs undermines the FTC’s ability to order effective relief should the pending administrative proceeding result in a determination that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act,” the FTC said.

It added that “the reported layoffs thus underscore the FTC’s need for injunctive relief pending completion of the administrative proceeding.”

This latest development adds another layer of complexity to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which had already faced scrutiny from regulatory bodies on both sides of the Atlantic. While the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority had approved the deal in October, the FTC’s persistent antitrust concerns have kept the acquisition in limbo.

The FTC’s complaint underscores the broader challenges facing the video game industry, where thousands of workers have lost their jobs in recent months. With an estimated 6,000 layoffs already recorded in 2024, the gaming industry continues to grapple with instability and uncertainty, further exacerbated by corporate consolidation and regulatory scrutiny.

As Microsoft and the FTC prepare to spar in court over the fate of the Activision Blizzard acquisition, the future of thousands of workers hangs in the balance. Whether Microsoft will be compelled to divest parts of its newly acquired assets or undergo other remedial measures remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: the battle between regulators and tech giants is far from over, and its consequences extend far beyond the boardroom.