Quis Fabricariet Ipsos Fabricares?

Dresden art dealer Petra Kujau was found guilty of forgery this week, after passing off three hundred paintings she had come into possession of as the work of her "great-uncle", Konrad Kujau. The 51 year-old singer turned dealer would add a facsimile of Kujau senior's signature to the paintings, then sell them on at a greatly inflated price.

So far, so mundane. What makes this story particularly WU worthy is that Konrad Kujau was himself a forger, and his self-proclaimed niece was selling her forgeries as "genuine forgeries" created by her famous uncle Konrad. It all begins to make sense once you learn that Mr. Kujau did not limit himself to forging paintings, but was also known to forge the odd diary or two, specifically those of one Adolf Hitler. Although ultimately unsuccessful, his forgeries of the Hitler Diaries were good enough to fool not just many newspapers and magazines, but also at least two historians, and the unmasking of the hoax caused many a journalist and editor a red face. But the notoriety afforded Konrad Kujau as the man "behind" the Hitler diaries meant that he could command considerable sums for something a small as Hitler's signature on a card, and original "Kujau forgeries" soon became enough of a collector's item that he could make a comfortable living from them after his release from prison in 1987.

After his death in September 2000 his business was carried on by Petra Kujau, who evidently decided that one forgery was as good as another, and began importing cheap copies of famous works from Asian suppliers and passing them off as eminently more desirable "Kujau forgeries", which in one sense they were. But soon the sheer volume of Kujau forgeries on the market aroused the suspicions of at least one collector, who tipped off the police to the double forgery.

Which just leaves the question, just where can I get hold of a genuine Petra Kujau double forgery? Now that's something I'd like to own!

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Sun Sep 12, 2010 - Comments (6)
Category: Art, Business, Crime, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators

Have Sharpie, Will Draw

Need thousands of dollars worth of renovations in your home, but only have a handful of magic markers? Not a problem, if you're Charlie Kratzer. Mr. Kratzer, of Lexington, Kentucky, wanted something unique to cover the sea of endless cream-colored paint on his basement walls. He started the project mid-wall, by drawing a copy of the "Salon" by Picasso, and the idea took off. Through most of the spacious basement there is black line-drawing — around the pinball machine and the pool table and over the bathtub and toilet. You can view the entire basement artwork here, and see if you can spot Sherlock Holmes, Winston Churchill, The Walrus and the Carpenter from Alice, the Marx Brothers, and R2D2.

Posted By: Nethie - Fri Jul 02, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Art, Crafts, Design and Designers, Graffiti

Sunshine Makers Cartoon by Borden

I love this cartoon!! Not only does Borden endorse injesting glowing liquid sunshine (radium?), but it encourages fighting a war with the evil sunshine haters -- even making them swallow the glowing liquid so they, too, glow!!




Watch the war start about 4:30.
Don't miss the "We're Happy When We're Sad" song, and the "Hail His Majesty the Sun" song at the beginning.
This was made in 1935, just a few years before the Seven Dwarves, and yet it reminds me of the Smurfs for some reason. Why are there no women?

Posted By: gdanea - Thu Jun 17, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Art

New Chris Mars Film

Give yourself a big treat.

1) Go to the home page of artist Chris Mars. (Note that site plays pleasant but loud music automatically.)

2) Click on the choice of FILM.

3) Click on the icon that looks like the image you see here to the right.

4) Sit back and be amazed.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 03, 2010 - Comments (11)
Category: Art, Surrealism, Body, Body Modifications, Horror, Cartoons

Altergott + Hernandez = Greatness

While we wait for our banner-artist Rick Altergott to finish his concluding installment of RAISIN PIE, we will have to content ourselves with these great covers he did for two Gilbert Hernandez graphic novels. I just finished reading both of them, and they are of course superb.

The third one, due out at the end of this year, seems to lack the distinction of Altergott cover imagery, but will no doubt repay your attentions as well.

Posted By: Paul - Sun May 30, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Art, Comics, Sexuality, Violence, Weird Universe, Books

Follies of the Mad Men #103

Something different for this installment: an old postcard.

Why would any casino want to depict their customer as a drooling cretin?

The verse on the back says:

AT SYSTEMS, MATH, COMPUTERS ALL, I'VE BEEN CONSIDERED APT.

BUT THEN I LAID MY MONEY DOWN, AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW..."I CRAPPED!"

Posted By: Paul - Wed May 19, 2010 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Poetry, Gambling, Casinos, Lotteries and Other Games of Chance

This Is A Recorded Message

1973 was, of course, really the tail-end of the trippy Sixties.

Warning: millisecond subliminal flashes of nudity.

Posted By: Paul - Thu May 13, 2010 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Surrealism, Business, Advertising, Movies, Stop-motion Animation, 1970s

Weird Salt & Pepper Shakers

My brother Bob found these salt and pepper shakers in a junk store and could not resist buying them. Two women with Marge-Simpson hairdos in the form of carrot and corn prepare to engage in fisticuffs.

Can anyone explain the iconography here? Note that they do originate in Japan, source of much strangeness.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 25, 2010 - Comments (5)
Category: Agriculture, Art, Surrealism, Domestic, Interior Decorating, Collectors, Asia

Optical Illusion house

Don't you hate it when you are just walking along, and a perfectly good cartoon house turns out to be an illusion?



"House 1" is the title of the piece, from the National Gallery Sculpture Garden in Washington DC. It was created by U.S. artist Roy Lichtenstein.

Posted By: gdanea - Wed Apr 07, 2010 - Comments (3)
Category: Art

The A To Z Of Awesomeness!

British comic book artist Neill Cameron has been posting one letter a day of sheer awesomeness, based on suggestions from fans. Now the alphabet is complete everyone can view such wonders as "Aztecs in Atomic Armour Attacking Anomalous Amphibians" and "Doctor Who Defeating Doctor Doom in a Deadly Disco Dance-off" for themselves.

So if you've ever longed to see Lois Lane, Lana Lang and Lori Lemaris lasciviously licking lollipops at a London landmark, why not have a look-see at Neill's A to Z of Awesomeness. You'll love it!

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Thu Mar 25, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Art, Comics, Surrealism, Pop Culture, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Superheroes