Art
Jim’s Guide to San Francisco
In 1977, artist James Patrick Finnegan published an oddball guide to San Francisco, titled Jim's Guide to San Francisco. It consisted of pictures of him posing in front of San Francisco businesses that were named Jim: Jim's Barber Shop, Jim's Donut Shop, Jim's Transportation, Jim's Smoke Shop, etc.The book was printed in black-and-white, but he handcolored parts of it with a crayon. I assume he individually handcolored each copy sold.
I haven't been able to find any scanned copies of the book online, and only one copy of it for sale. The seller is asking $300, justifying that price by the book's rarity.
It's been almost 50 years since the book came out, so Finnegan should do an updated guide. I'm sure there's now a whole new batch of businesses in the city named Jim.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 28, 2024 -
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Category: Art, Books, Tourists and Tourism, 1970s
Paint your own modern abstracts
True magazine - Jan 1969
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jun 27, 2024 -
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Category: Art, Advertising, 1960s
Painting mistaken for dropcloth
The classic weird-news theme of art mistaken for trash.
Raleigh News and Observer - Sep 27, 1979
Triple Variants by Sam Gilliam (source: GSA Fina Arts Collection)
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 25, 2024 -
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Category: Art, 1970s
Toshio Matsumoto’s “Mona Lisa”
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 16, 2024 -
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Category: Art, Movies, Psychedelic, 1970s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
The Art of Orlan
Her Wikipedia page.Her website.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 03, 2024 -
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Category: Art, Avant Garde, Body, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Europe
Copilot Prompt: “Please make a symbolic visual representation of the website http://weirduniverse.net/”
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 28, 2024 -
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Category: Art, Weird Universe, Computers
Hurting the Word Radio #2
The 1964 painting "Hurting the Word Radio #2" by Ed Ruscha is valued at $53 million. It's reportedly one of the most expensive works of art owned by Jeff Bezos.
image source: google arts and culture
The value surprised me when I read about it, though it probably shouldn't have because sky-high valuations for works of modern art are by now, as Chuck Shepherd would have said, "no longer weird."
Even so, as the Center for Art Law notes, Ruscha created hundreds of words on canvas over the decades. How did this one get singled out to be worth so much? Ruscha himself never promoted it as special. (Nor does he directly benefit from its current valuation.)
The Center for Art Law suggests that the work's "impeccable and unimpeachable" provenance may have a lot to do with the high price tag. In an art market awash in fraud, undeniably authentic works command a high premium.
Posted By: Alex - Sat May 18, 2024 -
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Category: Art, Overpriced Merchandise
Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 56
The artist's Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Mon May 06, 2024 -
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Category: Art, Avant Garde, 1920s, Russia
Mr. Squiggle
All is explained at the Wikipedia page.Weird as the newer version is, the 1950s show was even weirder. Go to this link, for a non-embeddable sample.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 10, 2024 -
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Category: Art, Puppets and Automatons, Television, Space Travel, Australia, Twentieth Century
Resonating Life Which Continues to Stand
The artwork's homepage, which explains:The resonating ovoids continue to stand wherever they are. The ovoids continue to stand even if they are pushed over by waves, blown by the wind, or pushed by people. When an ovoid is pushed over, it rises back up on its own and shines brightly as it produces a tone. The light and tone continues to resonate out to other ovoids and trees nearby.
If a wave of light comes from afar, it signifies the presence of people, waves, or wind there. People gain a heightened sense of awareness of the existence of other people in the same space and the environment.
When it is quiet and the wind is not blowing and the people nearby are not interacting with the ovoids, their lights begin to flicker slowly.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 08, 2024 -
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Category: Art, Asia, Twenty-first Century
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |