Greased

One of my favorite creatives, James Franco, has teamed up with one of my favorite bands, REM, to create his own version of Grease. And it's rad:

Happy Haring Day!

Ever have one of those days where several seemingly random things happen that make you think life is more than a series of coincidences? Today is one of those days for me.

Last week, I was lucky enough to catch my first Keith Haring exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. It was absolutely amazing. Beyond being up close and personal with the intricate connections of shapes Haring so overtly mastered, the show had never-before-seen clips of some of his home movies. My personal favorite was a video shot at a party where Klaus Noni sang "Lightning Striking" for 4 hours. What a beautiful man...

Klaus Nomi

There was also the entire "Painting Myself Into A Corner", Haring's very first piece of video art. In his videos, he not only paints, but he does so on the beat, taking the idea of performance to another realm and also giving fans a visualization of just how in the zone an artist can get. Haring himself often stated how music was like his third arm and that he often didn't know where he was moving next but he could depend on the songs to guide him in the right direction.

Clip from "Painting Myself Into A Corner" 

Long story short, I was stoked to be there and had a fabulous time seeing all the famous and not-so-famous art and artifacts. Today I log on for work and open Google to see this: 

Google had created its ever-awesome Doodle today in honor of Haring's 54th birthday. I didn't know it was his birthday at first and just had a little happy jolt from seeing the page. Clicking on into his biography just reaffirmed how much I respect his art and how much he really did to bring art to the regular person.

A wall in the exhibit was painted with the tagline "Art is for Everyone" and a Haring quote stating: 

The public needs art and it is the responsibility of a "self-proclaimed artist" to realize the public needs art, and not to make bourgeois art for a few and ignore the masses...If the public is afraid of art, should we [artists] be afraid of what we have done to make the public afraid of art?

I work for the website Airbnb--where people rent out their personal space to travelers and later in my day today, I got a client in Rome who had a regular question about a regular situation. Looking through the rental, I get to the page showing off the kitchen only to find this: 

Another Haring fan out there finding me across an ocean to discuss a benign work-related situation turned into me settling into an interesting mental space. How did I go from being just a fan one week ago to being someone who's seen rare and special pieces up close and personal, and having the whole shebang come full circle (and worldwide) on his birthday?

A Scream Dream

Almost exactly two years ago, I blogged about how Pablo Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust" became the most expensive painting ever sold for $106.5 million dollars. 

Today, that record is shattered as Edvard Munch's iconic "The Scream" has now been auctioned by Sotheby's for an astronomical $119.9 million. What a figure! 

This version of "The Scream" (there are 4) was created in 1895 in Norway. It differs from its three counterparts in that it's been privately owned by a Munch family friend for many decades, and that it has the following poem handwritten by Munch on the frame:

I was walking along a path with two friends – the sun was setting – suddenly the sky turned blood red – I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence – there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.

I wonder what record breaking art sale we'll see on this blog in May 2014? Anyone placing bets?

Heather's Birthday Art

http://dreamdogsart.typepad.com/

It's my favorite lady's birthday so I compiled some pics I think she'll dig.

unknown

unknown

http://darkgomo.deviantart.com/

Priscilla Moore

memento mori

Creepy Tableware by Ronit Baranga

http://weheartit.com

Postcard from 1902

No Soup For You!

San Francisco based artist and designer Rinee Shah has released one of the wittiest collections for home decor I've seen in a long time. This pop-culture/art/function combo is a modern twist to the core of what Warhol often expressed. Shah has made a series of kitchen posters based on episodes of Seinfeld entitled "Seinfood," featuring art based on food or meals featured in the classic comedy show. 

Winterized

Anna & Marek Strachan

There's lots to be said for February. It's cold but it's short and sweet. Above is what we're driving towards: green, climbing Spring. Below is where we've been. Grey and muted and monotoned winter--but beautiful nonetheless.

Daisy Chan

http://29.media.tumblr.com

http://shinysquirrel.typepad.com

tumblr

http://duelosoleil.wordpress.com/

http://www.fubiz.net/

Etsy: A View From A Pinnacle

http://lifeofpolarnper.blogspot.com/

 http://www.fubiz.net

http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/

http://www.revisitedmatters.com/

Digging Up Bones

Here's some artists I'm digging right now. 

• Achab Flickr

Frieke Janssens

Vineet Kaur

Tom Darracott 

Malcolm T. Liepke

Olivia Jeffries

Mimeographed

Ron Gonsalves

My friend Alicia hit me up today with a picture of her street performing on Colley Avenue yesterday. Some would call her a mime though, to me, if you're not in the white makeup with the striped shirt, there is room for interpretation. 

Alicia in Colley Avenue

Anyway, I'm stoked and inspired at her balls and whimsy and put together this little post of pictures of street performance and art inspired by it.

Aisling's photos on Flickr

Maria Pace-Wynters

Digital Art Gallery

Young busker circa 1897

Yard Dogs Road Show