All stories about "Art"

Michele C. Quinn, a former director and curator at GC Arts in Las Vegas and current head of the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, has turned her house into a gallery. Quick uses the unassuming building as a by-appointment-only showcase for the likes of camera obscura artist Vera Lutter, but she also puts on occasional exhibitions. [LVS]

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Most of what one needs to know about Finland is easily summed up in just a few lines:
Wintersun: From August to May, the Finnish night lasts twenty-five hours.
Vodka: It's kept on ice in the freezer, and the traditional Finnish breakfast is a half liter of it accompanied by a piece of smoked fish.
Reindeer: They're quick to bite, have a greasy coat, and the whole country is rotten with them.
Linus Torvalds: This king of Linuxland keeps a harem of "virtual" wives and commands a geek army.
Saunas: The Finns sweat out their vodka-and-fish breakfasts at lunchtime saunas with the boss.
Sexy: Finnish law requires all citizens to be lanky sexpots, with shimmering hair and perfect teeth.
Suicide: Finland has Europe's highest suicide rate -- but after death Finns transmigrate into even newer, sexier bodies.

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The days of New Yorkers writing graffiti are fading. Many of the newest crop of writers are Midwestern transplants and art school graduates who have given up the spray can in favor of wheat pasting and sticker-bombing. The old Blade, Dondi, and Zephyr pieces have been buffed or faded in all but a few closely guarded locations. There's no doubt that Gotham's graff scene is changing. It's an inevitable process, as those who have been influenced by New York artists (vandals?) grow up and move to the city that started it all. Many argue that what these newcomers do isn't graffiti at all, at least not in the traditional hip-hop sense. But New York is still the most important city in the world for graffiti, serving as a center for international graffiti and streets artists like Banksy, Os Gemeos, and the London Police. What follows is a handy identification guide of New York's artists, graffiti or otherwise, who are putting their work out there, whether we like it or not.

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Tom Otterness, the artist responsible for the love-'em-or-hate-'em mini bronze gnomes littering the subway station at 14th Street and 8th Avenue, is bringing his creepy/cute (take your pick) sculptures to DUMBO. The piece pictured at left was just installed near the pedestrian exit to the Brooklyn Bridge. [Gothamist]

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Web design zine, Openers Gallery, has a preview of photographer Yabuta Osami's project "Tokyo Bunny Girls." For the series, Osami took black-and-white pictures of bar hostesses in Downtown Tokyo. The artist says his photos are "erotic/sexy but elegant." The racy shots show tired-looking waifish women writhing around in lingerie and their trademark bunny ears. Osami cites magazine photography as a major influence, and his bunny girl photos have a documentary quality. I see these images as portraits of a hard profession-- they're far more sad than they are sexy. Some of the photos show the bar bunnies out on the streets, while others seem to capture the hostesses in their places of employment. More Tokyo bar bunny shots after the jump. [via]

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A nude photograph of a France's first lady, Carla Bruni, sold for 30 times its expected price at a Christie's auction yesterday. The picture was bought for $91,000 "by an anonymous bidder on behalf of a collector, said Christie's." Sarkozy declined to comment. To see Bruni in all her naked glory, hit the jump. [BBC]

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The exhibition of a painting depicting a homoerotic version of Christ's Last Supper is causing a stir at Vienna's Roman Catholic Cathedral. It and other paintings (including this one of the Crucifixion) are part of a retrospective of artist Alfred Hrdlicka. The pieces on display have "attracted fierce criticism on religion blogs in Austria, Germany and even in the United States, with bloggers denouncing [them] with such terms as 'blasphemy' and 'desecration.'" (photo) [Reuters]

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France hopes to goose its floundering art market with interest-free loans for art buyers. The government has said that it will front "modest" buyers up to 10,000 euros ($15,600). [BBC]

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The New York Times has a preview of the Takashi Murakami retrospective that opens this weekend at the Brooklyn Museum. The exhibit, titled "©Murakami," runs until July 5th and features over 90 works, along with a "fully operational Louis Vuitton shop selling some of Mr. Murakami's designs for that luxury brand." Gift-shop patrons will be able to purchase a variety of pricey art tchotchkes, including handbags, "other leather goods," and limited-edition $10,000 canvas wall-hangings. In related news, a massive herd of nesting couples escaped from their newly purchased luxury condos and was seen running down Eastern Parkway waving credit cards. [via]

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This weekend the Berlin Biennial officially begins, sparking one of those rare occasions when the city's art community erupts in a fervent spasm of hyper-activity and shameless courting of visiting collectors. With so many events strategically opening to coincide with the Biennial's commencement, atheist artists across the city are actually praying to God for blue skies, reliable public transport, and bountiful prescription stimulants. As we've noted before, Berlin's cultural sector heavily depends on out-of-town collectors coming to the city to financially support the local scene, and the Berlin Biennial is one of three major art events that promises fiscal payback (the other two are Artforum and the annual gallery weekend). Openings, after-parties, bellini brunches, and exclusive private views will dominate the upcoming weekend, so here's a guide to help filter an otherwise overwhelming social agenda. It should be noted, by the way, that the easiest way to tell if you're in the right place is if Adel and Eva, the couple pictured here, are there too. (photo)

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McSweeney's founder Dave Eggers will be curating (in the traditional sense) an art show at the apexart gallery in Tribeca. The opening reception for the show, which runs through 10 May, is tonight from 6 to 8. The theme is not much more elaborate than "work that had some elements in common that would be fun to look at."

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Alice Walton, whose father founded Wal-Mart, has announced plans to open a $50 million art museum called Crystal Bridges in the retailer's hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. Walton's collection of American art, amassed over the course of 20 years, will be on view at the museum, which is named for the natural spring and bridges that are at the center of its compound. The museum is projected to open in 2010 and is being designed by Moshe Safdie, of Habitat '67 fame. [USA Today]

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This weekend NYC will be crawling with art connoisseurs and industry alums. With nearly a dozen different art fairs and ten times as many noteworthy public and private events taking place all over Brooklyn an Manhattan, there are plenty of places to get your fill of art in all its forms. Whether your taste is post-minimalist or pop, or if you'd really rather just party, we list the best places to do so after the jump. (photo)

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M. F. Husain, one of India's most renowned artists, just fetched a record price of $1.6 million for one of his paintings at a Christie's auction in NYC. Meanwhile, protesters gathered outside asking that the auction be canceled. Conservative Hindu groups oppose Husain's having painted Indian goddesses in the nude. The 89-year-old maverick, who has made two Bollywood films (neither of which were successful), nearly had paintings seized last year in Bombay as a result of the discontent. One of India's eminent artists, Husain is currently believed to be living in the Middle East. [BBC]

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