If you're a collector of paintings of clowns, then you're probably already aware of Jim Howle. His website describes him as "the best-known clown artist in the world." He's actually the only clown artist that I know of, though I'm sure there must be others.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 14, 2013 -
Comments (8)
Category: Art, Clowns
Last week three black women stood in New York City's Union Square holding signs that read, "You Can Touch My Hair." It was part of an "exhibition" intended to explore people's "tactile fascination" with black women's hair.
But the exhibition quickly proved controversial, because apparently many black women don't think it's a good thing to be encouraging strangers to get their grubby hands all over their heads. A group of protesters formed, holding signs such as "you can't touch my hair but you can kiss my ass" and "touch my hair with your hand & I'll touch your face with my fist." [huffpost]
Fine arts student David Woodward was invited to display his art at a Queen's University campus event. But when he showed up on the morning of the event and started setting up his piece called "All I Am Is What I've Felt," the event organizers told him the work was "inappropriate" and "not nice to look at" and asked him to remove it, which he reluctantly did. The piece consisted of ten pairs of embroidered underwear hanging on the wall.
Woodward is upset that he was booted out of the event. He says he wasn't trying to shock anyone. He insists that, "I brought what I felt was my best work at the time." He's surely telling the truth because the hanging underwear was also his final thesis project at the university.
Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg collects random DNA samples she finds on the street (on pieces of gum, cigarettes, hair, etc.) She then analyzes the DNA to identify the phenotypic traits of its owner (eye color, hair color, skin color, etc.). From this info, she creates a sculpture of the person, using a 3D printer. So it's possible that you could walk into her gallery and see yourself there! More info at policymic.com, or check out Dewey-Hagborg's website.
Montana Public Radio reports about artist Tim Holmes, who's dying money blue and giving it away. He also stamps it with the phrase, "Based on the value of a clean world!" He hopes this will prompt a widespread discussion about environmentalism. Why? Because the money is blue. He elaborates at his website bluebills.us:
Regular green bills express no value. The money we use every day is backed by NOTHING! Its only value is what others think it has. But when two people exchange a Blue Bill, both agree on the value of a clean environment and a healthy community. Every exchange thus is a vote for a clean world!
So green = "no value" but blue = "clean environment and a healthy community". Got it?
Posted By: Alex - Sat May 11, 2013 -
Comments (11)
Category: Art, Money
Artists find inspiration in all kinds of unusual places. Brendan O'Connell got inspired by shopping at Wal-Mart and started painting scenes from inside Wal-Mart stores. He's achieved quite a bit of success, to the point that his paintings now fetch up to $40,000. Which means they're not going to be on sale at Wal-Mart anytime soon. However, the company has purchased one of his paintings. [msn.com]
Mexican artist Edie Aguirre created some images to show what Barbie might look like 1) without makeup, and 2) with the body shape of a real woman. Judging by the bags under her eyes, makeup-free Barbie also looks like she hasn't yet had her morning cup of coffee. [foxnews]
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.