
A spotted judgment pops up on the streets of Paris. And someone goes in stoned (we think) to the Hirst show in LA.


“You do know, don’t you, that even well-meaning people are pawns for the powerful, and when it comes right down to it, humans are best thought of as oversized prawns waiting to be plucked from their beds of ice? Personally, I like to methodically squeeze the plumpest and pinkest ones between my thumb and forefinger, really smooth them out, before swallowing them whole.”
I dreamt that I met the famous and powerful Hollywood gossip columnist, Hedda Hopper. She was tired of lying around in Rose Hill Permanent Rest Stop and wondered if she could get her old job back.

Imagine strolling through clean, bright halls, surrounded by immaculate display cases filled with baubles and trinkets, the steam-polished precious metals and gems coruscating in the glare of spotlights. Hear your feet clacking on the white floors, stopping to look closer at the jewelry on display, but not close enough to stir the ire of the security guard peering over your shoulder. Imagine wanting everything you see, from diamond diadems to neon-tubed necklaces. No, you’re not in Tiffany’s or Cartier, you’re in the Museum of Arts and Design, gazing at their new show, Picasso to Koons: The Artist as Jeweler.

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — Ever since Pollock splattered his ego onto a canvas in the 1950s, a decided geographical shift across the Atlantic occurred — Europe lost its ruling power as center of the art world and New York stepped into it shoes as the new authoritative hub of contemporary art. Yet, the new exhibition at The Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design, Made in the UK: Contemporary Art from the Richard Brown Baker Collection reminds that there was some pretty fantastic art being made just on the other side of the Atlantic. The exhibition displays work by British artist from the past 60 years, including exemplary works of Britain’s contributions to decidedly international art movements like Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art and Op Art.