Requiem for La Contessa: After she was set afire in December, three questions arose: who burned her, why, and what became of her figurehead? The first two have been answered, but the third remains a mystery despite the sculpture's brief appearance in a photo on tribe.net.
posted by fandango_matt on Feb 3, 2007 - 8 comments

My earliest memory was when I was three. I had a fever and my mother was wiping a cold wet rag on my body. There were fish swimming in my room, as though I was underwater, but I could breathe just fine. That's why I was surprised to find this. "The contemporary art in Japan (english) is naturally influenced by the world contemporary art. But the power of the Japanese traditions, the oppressive presence of a dense urban environment and the various traumatism undergone by Japan for 60 years (defeat of 1945, Hiroshima, earthquakes, economic crisis, etc.) involve a production very rich, original and little known."
posted by sluglicker on Jun 4, 2006 - 6 comments

Some Click Candy at the Whitney A nice update at the WHITNEY Artport site. "Benjamin Fry received his doctoral degree at the MIT Media Laboratory, where his research focused on methods of visualizing large amounts of data from dynamic information sources"
posted by Mr Bluesky on Sep 11, 2005 - 3 comments

Strand's roving gaze "My work grew out of a response, first, to trying to understand the new developments in painting; second, a desire to express certain feelings I had about New York where I lived; third...I wanted to see if I could photograph people without their being aware of the camera."
Three Roads Taken: The Photographs of Paul Strand. more inside.
posted by matteo on May 30, 2005 - 5 comments

Copy-art.net is an ongoing curatorial project that aims to create an online platform to exchange works between artists, curators and the public and give the audience free access to works of art. Artists have been invited to submit work to Copy-art in any medium that will then be available online, making it possible for visitors to use these works in any possible way and without restrictions. Submitted works can be downloaded, changed, distributed, exhibited and used by all visitors for free. All submitted works will be present online in an archive, and available to the public to access. Commercial use of the works is excluded.
posted by onkelchrispy on Mar 16, 2005 - 3 comments

Melbourne artist Polixeni Papapetrou takes photographs of her daughter that are inspired by Lewis Carroll. For the same reasons. [Links SFW but be careful clicking around]
posted by tellurian on Feb 10, 2005 - 14 comments

Extra Oomph . A bit like Ralph Stedman in style, Linda Zachs gives us her beautiful, her bizarre, her funny, and her inspirational. and sometimes her commercial.
posted by es_de_bah on Jan 16, 2005 - 8 comments

At first glance it would seem to be something one would find in some photoshop gallery. But then one finds out that she has been forced to justify her work, for they are pictures of freshly killed animals. Much to the dislike of some craigslistians. With the growing uproar, there is even a petition going around (though petitions like that are hardly rare.) Is this a work of someone seeking attention through offending people? Or someone unable to use photoshop? Whatever the case, I’m sure PETA will join in. . . . Wait, it has.
posted by TwelveTwo on Jan 10, 2005 - 90 comments

The graffiti art of Totem2 is astonishing in its depth, realism and style. I strongly recommend the 3D Science Section where he creates astonishing art akin to something like sculpture.
posted by E_B_A on Dec 28, 2004 - 9 comments

The Floating Logos Project .'Floating Logos' is a working title for this project. The images are inspired by signs perched high atop very tall poles in order for people to view them from a very long distance. The poles are digitally removed from the image in order to give the illusion that the signs are disconnected from the ground as they ominously float above us.
posted by Hands of Manos on Dec 17, 2004 - 61 comments

Like lane markings, but better. Montreal artist Roadsworth transforms street markings into boots, bullets, and zippers. Sad postscript? He's been busted.
posted by optimuscrime on Dec 16, 2004 - 21 comments

Vladimir Aniskin, by day a farm equipment researcher (pdf), makes gorgeous Faberge-like creations, haunting and whimsical metaphors of war and peace, and more in extreme miniature. Moscow reporters have entered him in a competition (Russian-language page) for the strangest hobby practiced in Russia. Via the ever-brilliant aldaily.com.
posted by By The Grace of God on Dec 8, 2004 - 7 comments

Skeletal structures of cartoon characters, past and present.
posted by borkingchikapa on Dec 7, 2004 - 12 comments

Ultra-Murder Death Squad is the insane artwork of Tim Biskup & Andrew Brandou. Combining cute animals & weird creatures with guns, bombs, native americans.
posted by Dreamghost on Dec 6, 2004 - 7 comments

The Zoom Quilt (uses flash)
posted by criticalbill on Nov 30, 2004 - 20 comments

ArtFilter: Scottrohedron raps and wraps.
posted by mic stand on Nov 29, 2004 - 5 comments

Making fun [banner ad may be NSFW] of Furries sure is fun, isn't it? Pointing out over and over again some of the worst examples of what the the fandom has to offer seems to be an activity almost as old as the Internet. In the rush to point and laugh , though, it's easy to miss entirely some of the more beautiful and amusing examples of what the culture's emphasis on art and imagination has wrought upon the world. And even if you aren't impressed by the talent on display, someone is -- Further Confusion, one of the largest Furry conventions in the world, has had for two years running an art show bringing in over $60,000 each year, with portions of the convention's proceeds going to organizations such as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund , the Coyote Point Museum , and the Oakland Zoo.
posted by wolftrouble on Nov 26, 2004 - 74 comments

MoMA Free Tomorrow for New York MeFi Readers! Well, everyone, actually. The Museum of Modern Art in New York reopens tomorrow and graciously offers a day of free entrance for all. Your chance to avoid the much-criticized $20 admission (views: con, pro-fessional, mayoral). Even good old free-admission Fridays bear the price tag of aggressive name-branding [paragraph 6] by an image-crazy donor (it's not charity anymore if it's advertising, folks, much less design-heady classiness-by-association). Some reports (scroll) from the press preview.
posted by Joe Hutch on Nov 19, 2004 - 20 comments

The Scrawls of War. London graffiti artist Arofish takes a tour of Baghdad and Palestine and leaves his mark behind. The tales he has for each picture are quite interesting as well.
posted by Ufez Jones on Nov 18, 2004 - 13 comments

Another master taken: Richard Avedon, dead at 81. Arguably the greatest portrait photographer in history, Avedon was famous not only for his fashion or celebrity shots, but also his interest in the common man, best emphasized by the book "In the American West". He was recently working on a piece, "On Democracy" when he suffered a brain hemorrhage. Many may be familiar with his simple black & white on white style from his shots for the New Yorker (he was their first staff photographer). His site is currently shrouded in respect.
posted by Civil_Disobedient on Oct 1, 2004 - 13 comments

Good Time Mix Machine. Artist Rosemarie Fiore has turned a classic Scrambler amusement park ride into the world's biggest Spirograph.
posted by gottabefunky on Sep 8, 2004 - 3 comments

AN AMAZING JAPANESE ANIMATION based on the psychologically complicated and beautifully playful work of comic book artist Jim Woodring. (Monday morning cartoons for you, complete with a nod to the Jetsons, courtesy the Japan Media Arts Festival. Other featured work here.)
posted by Peter H on Aug 16, 2004 - 19 comments

Dunbar/Chiappin : 'New Body of Art' Series Collaboration between Andrew Dunbar (photographer) and Anthony Chiappin (painter)(Probably NSFW)
posted by ColdChef on Jul 22, 2004 - 4 comments

Space Art through the ages.
posted by plep on Jun 24, 2004 - 2 comments

Poster Glory: Antique American Posters.
posted by hama7 on Jun 16, 2004 - 7 comments

Boxing squirrels, the Kitten Princess of Winter, and the Birmingham Roller Diva with mouse skeleton are some of the odder exhibits in the Case of Curiosities. Taxidermy and assemblage inspired by fairy tales.
posted by Slagman on May 15, 2004 - 5 comments

The Art Millenium "The Encyclopedia was founded in May 1999. It contains more than 15,000 pictures and overviews of about 1000 artists. Total size is 2.5 Gigabytes" I was there in their Collections looking at Graphics (Dore, Beardsley, Cranach, Durer, Giger), specifically all of Max Ernst's Une Semaine de Bonte. I have not begun to scratch the surface.
posted by vacapinta on Apr 20, 2004 - 4 comments

Deviant Art is an incredibly rich resource of the profound, the visually impressive, amusing, and surreal.
posted by sourbrew on Apr 14, 2004 - 29 comments

Will the promise of the other side of heaven tug at your heartstrings? About four-dozen of the watercolors of Daniel Merriam are on display at the Louis Aronow Gallery online.
posted by Shane on Apr 5, 2004 - 4 comments

"My hobby? It's funny you should ask... I make erotic carvings out of coconut shells..."
posted by jonson on Mar 29, 2004 - 8 comments

The Museum of Bad Art
posted by anastasiav on Mar 15, 2004 - 10 comments

Black ships and samurai In 1853 four ships under Commodore Perry anchored off the coast of Japan against the wishes of the Japanese. According to historian John Dower, "This initial encounter between the United States and Japan was eye-opening for all concerned, involving a dramatic confrontation between peoples of different racial, cultural, and historical backgrounds. We can literally see this encounter of "East" and "West" unfold through the splendid, yet little known, artwork produced by each side at the time." This beautiful exhibition includes many examples of this artwork, juxtaposing scenes of the encounter from Japanese and American artists' points of view. (Part of MIT's open courseware initiative.)
posted by carter on Mar 14, 2004 - 18 comments

Cowgirl Pinups
posted by eastlakestandard on Mar 7, 2004 - 9 comments

"Swept Off My Feet" is a current wonder by Sculptor Christina Bothwell, who works primarily in kiln cast glass, often with raku ceramic or mixed-media. Examples of her beautiful yet strange, compelling work can be found on her site, as well as on various galleries and the Web.
posted by Shane on Mar 1, 2004 - 5 comments

Guerrilla art appeared at Magnuson Park's Kite Hill in Seattle again. This time, a war message, it seems.
posted by yonderboy on Jan 10, 2004 - 4 comments

State arts programs have been one of the biggest casualties of the widespread budget crises of 2003. In total, state spending for FY2004 has decreased 23%, led by Missouri (entire budget - 100% - slashed), California (91%), and Florida (78%.) Meanwhile, Congress, to its credit, has awarded a modest increase to the NEA. Will private funding take over, as the Libertarians hope? Or is state funding an essential propellant of local economies?
posted by PrinceValium on Dec 30, 2003 - 47 comments

29 May 1453, Constantinople fell to Mehmet II, sultan of the Ottoman Turks. With it fell the last stronghold of Christendom in the East. Founded by Constantine the Great, the Byzantine empire had lasted 1129 years.

During which time it created the Cyrillic alphabet, was sacked by the 4th crusade, precipitated the great schism, and created some of the most beautiful religious art of the ancient world. Sailing to Byzantium?
posted by leotrotsky on Dec 12, 2003 - 22 comments

Kill All Artists! - The art of Tom Sachs.
posted by hama7 on Nov 26, 2003 - 9 comments

3D Sidewalk Paintings [via 37signals]
posted by kirkaracha on Nov 19, 2003 - 17 comments

"Amodal Suspension" is a large-scale interactive installation developed for the opening of the new Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM) in Japan. [more]
posted by hama7 on Nov 17, 2003 - 6 comments

Tour the Nasher Sculpture Garden. Can't make it to Dallas. Big D is now home to the one of the first institutions in the world dedicated exclusively to the exhibition of modern and contemporary sculpture with a collection of global significance as its foundation. The Nasher Sculpture Center is further distinguished by a groundbreaking facility and landscaped garden specifically designed for the indoor and outdoor display of sculpture - not to mention the "designer dirt". (flash)
posted by sierray on Oct 31, 2003 - 1 comment

South African township art , urban art, and recycled craft, some of it inspired by the anti-apartheid struggle or day-to-day survival in the post-apartheid era (and a common 'language' in multi-lingual townships).
posted by plep on Oct 13, 2003 - 2 comments

Let's go on a rocket trip to the Moon! A collection of space art in children's books, 1883 to 1974. These books, and their evocative art, instilled in a generation the romance and wonder of space flight. I grew up in the 1950's, and as a kid I could pour over this book and its illustrations for hours, dreaming.
via A Voyage to Arcturus
posted by Slithy_Tove on Sep 26, 2003 - 8 comments

The Internet is made out of people. Warren Ellis wants to see your face. Once you read the original post, hit the main site to see what the Internet has sent him so far. Does that tickle your fancy? He's done this before; once he asked us to show us the world with our cell phones, and once he asked us to send him video. (Start with those posts, and move forward, and dodge the messed up archives from August.) On the other hand, some people just want pictures of cats.
posted by Bryant on Sep 15, 2003 - 9 comments

WebJam! Vector Lounge continues its journey around the digital world. Ten prententious, er prestigious web designers create some graphical works. More goodies than you can shake a stick figure at! My favorite dancing skeleton(s) wireframe from Amsterdam. Via altdude.
posted by kodas on Aug 19, 2003 - 3 comments

Terminus1525.ca is a Canadian art community funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. Of course, you don't have to be Canadian to sign up. It's a neat place to show off your own art, be it political, urban, or just strange. If nothing else, their live Graffiti Wall is cool.
posted by dum2007 on Aug 11, 2003 - 1 comment

The miniatures of Angie Scarr are astonishingly lifelike, and heartbreakingly charming. Instructions are provided for the nimble-fingered. Of course there's small, and then there's small, and then there's small, and then there's small, and then there's really, really small.
posted by e.e. coli on Aug 1, 2003 - 6 comments

The 12hr-ISBN-JPEG Project began on December 30^th, 1994, a 'round-the-clock posting of sequenced hypermodern imagery by Brad Brace, which are simultaneously posted to FTP sites, mailing lists, and Usenet's alt.12hr newsgroup. The basic structure of the project has been over twenty-four years in the making. While the specific sequence of photographs has been presently orchestrated for more than 12 years' worth of 12-hour postings! (Mirrors: 1, 2, & 3) [via waxy]
posted by riffola on Jul 31, 2003 - 11 comments

The American Gallery of Psychiatric Art. 'Sanity For Sale: 1960-2000'. Magazine advertisements for psychiatric medications in the latter half of the twentieth century.
posted by eyebeam on Jul 23, 2003 - 15 comments

Public Art in Los Angeles , including murals. The Mural Conservancy of LA. Murals in Tucson. Loyalist and republican murals in Northern Ireland. The murals of Diego Rivera (at the Diego Rivera Web Museum). the Diego Rivera Mural Project.
posted by plep on Jul 23, 2003 - 8 comments