As a candy, we think gummi bears are just OK. But as an artistic medium, well, they really shine. Chinese American artist YaYa Chou employs the chewy, gummy creations to fantastical effect. Chou’s “Gummi Bear Series” features sculptures coated in the tiny bears — like this meta faux bear rug made out of the saccharine treats. Delicious. [YaYa Chou] Keep reading »
Life must be slow in Bemidjii, Minnesota. Locals are up in arms over a piece of public art: Gaea, a human-sized beaver with a vagina painted on her belly. Gaea is just one of 10 beavers made by artist Deborah A. Davis, who says the pink folds and round nub are the hands of a praying woman and points out that the word “gaea” (or “gaia”) is ancient Greek for the goddess of Earth.
No matter. Residents became agog at the big beaver vag, because somebody has to remember to think of the children! So, in July, the city manager removed Gaea from public view. Keep reading »
I may be slightly lost when it comes to dating myself, but I know a perfect match when I see one. Which is why I would like to set up Victoria, the Russian artist who paints with her boobs, and Tim Patch, the Australian known as Pricasso who paints with his peen. Seriously, not only is their work amazingly similar, but they’d look kind of cute as a pair. They could make beautiful, nude art together. Just saying. Keep reading »
Breasts are good for lots of things, like feeding newborns and painting exquisite abstract artwork. A Russian artist named Victoria excels at the latter, dipping her jugglies on a palette of Dick Blick paint and smearing her paint-covered nipples on a canvas. Um, doesn’t breast-painting hurt? Maybe she believes she has to suffer for her art. I’m no Isabella Stewart Gardner, but Victoria’s breast-painting is actually quite good. You can watch the artiste and her large brushes breasts at work here and judge for yourself.
[MyFoxPhoenix.com]
[Drawing Breast LiveJournal] Keep reading »
British artist Jessica Harrison’s figurines kind of scare the crap out of me. Can you imagine your guest’s reaction if you just casually placed the Maria figurine, a woman pulling out her guts, in your curio cabinet. Arrrggggghhhhh! After the jump, a few more of Jessica’s frightening figurines. [Jessica Harrison] Keep reading »
Artist Ben Heine makes a pair of shoes out of Euro coins. We wonder how much these would cost … [Animal NY] Keep reading »
With Kurt Cobain as a dad and Courtney Love as a mom, it only makes sense that 17-year-old Frances Bean Cobain is an artiste. Under the pseudonym “Fiddle Tim,” Frances Bean will exhibit several of her drawings at Los Angeles’ La Luz De Jesus gallery and has sold all of her work for the reasonable price of between $250 to $400 each. “Celestial Splendor” is the charcoal work depicted here; “Treat Me Like Your Mother Or I’ll Eat The Sun” shows a big green alien head, and another drawing of a man standing next to a goat with the caption “I don’t owe you s**t.” Angsty, yes, but I think the girl’s got talent. Media outlets are saying Frances Bean’s art is “disturbing,” but the only thing I think is disturbing is the name of the exhibit: “Scumf**k.” Still, that’s tame in this family. [New York Daily News] Keep reading »
Damien Hirst is a British artist known for the freak-out factor in his art. He first got famous for encasing huge dead sharks in tanks of formaldehyde, and in recent years combined bling with bereavement in a diamond-encrusted skull worth about $100 million. Now to be an owner of a Hirst work, if you want one, you no longer need to have Bill Gates’ bank account; you can get discount Damien with this DIY kit put together by the artist. The package comes with a plastic skull, glue, tweezers, a paintbrush, instructions, and 8,601 crystals (the same number used in the original work). The whole shebang costs 50 pounds, or about $76, and nightmares in change. [I Artist London via Another Magazine] Keep reading »
When Emma Tamburlini was 11 years old, her father, the late Pop artist Larry Rivers, began videotaping her and her sister every six months, naked or topless, and talking about their budding breasts. He edited the footage into a 45-minute film about his daughters called “Growing.” Rivers planned to show “Growing” as part of an exhibition, but his wife, Clarice, who appears in the film with his other teenage daughter, Gwynne, stopped him. At 16 years old, Emma became anorexic. “It wrecked a lot of my life actually,” she says of her father’s filming.
Today, Emma Tamburlini is 43 years old and attempting to stop New York University from including “Growing” in an archive of her father’s artwork. NYU purchased all of Larry Rivers’ work from the Larry Rivers Foundation, which has refused in the past to destroy the tapes at Emma’s request. After buying the archive from the Larry Rivers Foundation for an undisclosed price, NYU has only pledged to keep “Growing” private throughout the daughters’ lifetimes but is still discussing how the matter should be handled. Emma Tamburlini and her mother believe the films should be returned to the family. Keep reading »
There’s something you don’t know about me—I love Rubik’s Cubes. I would spend hours trying to solve them as a kid and could never do it, but was way too stubborn to peel off the stickers. A few years ago, I decided I wanted to learn how to solve one for real. I contacted a champion Cuber (yes, this is an actual term—hey Ian!) who taught me the way. It took weeks, but I finally got it. And then the magazine I worked for challenged me to compete in Rubik’s Cubing Nationals. I went in 2006, and did great, solving the cube in 1:50 seconds and coming in 68th place. Yes, there were 70 competitors, but still. These days, anytime I get stressed, I pick up a cube and it reminds me that there’s order in the universe even if there doesn’t seem to be.
And so I am obsessed with French street artist Invader, who has created an entire series of works called “Rubikcubism,” made of my beloved cubes. In the series, he depicts everything from the Andy Warhol’s soup cans to Sid Vicious’ mug shot using Rubik’s Cubes as his medium. The level of precision needed here is truly amazing—the image above shows you the process. This guy has Rubik’s skills. Check out some of my favorite pieces after the jump. Keep reading »
