Did you know that Ayn Rand had a theory of art? No? Neither did I! But I discovered it recently, thanks to a tip from painter Abigail Markov. It’s encapsulated in the hefty 539-page treatise What Art Is: The Esthetic Theory of Ayn Rand, written and compiled by Louis Torres and Michelle Marder Kamhi. And while I didn’t buy the book — no, I couldn’t quite bring myself to do that — I did have a chance to read excerpted bits from the book as well as chapter summaries online. I’d like to share with you, dear reader, some of the key takeaways.
WTF
Posted inNews
Brooklyn Designer Held Without Bail for Hanging Plastic Bags from Trees
File this under WTF: Japanese Takeshi Miyakawa, who lives in Brooklyn, was arrested for hanging a plastic bag filled with LED lights from a tree in Greenpoint, and he’s now being held without bail for 30 days. Miyakawa’s installation of glowing “I Love NY” bags was meant as a tribute to the city, in celebration of Design Week, but when he left one in Williamsburg on Friday, the bomb squad was called in and all hell broke loose. Police arrested him later on charges of planting false bombs.
Posted inOpinion
WTF: Defense Contractor Tells Artists, “Our Products Are Art, Too”
In what can only be called a bizarre turn of events, a defense contract that is trying to turn a South Boston theater into a combat-helmet assembly plant has compared what it is doing to what its artist neighbors do for a living.
Posted inOpinion
The Shoes That Almost Started a Riot
These Obsidian/Anthracite-Black fugly things are responsible for a potential mall riot in Orlandso, Florida? Yes, that’s right. The release of Nike Air Foamposite One NRG “Galaxy” inspired a 1,000 people to show for the sale of the glow-in-the-dark sole sneakers.
Posted inOpinion
Absolutely No Comment: Berlin Press Release Edition
This morning, I received the following image of a press release from a Berlin gallery show and I was speechless.
Posted inOpinion
Dolphins Rape People?
About a month or two ago, I noticed one particularly hilarious sticker all over Williamsburg that declared DOLPHINS RAPE PEOPLE. Today, our publisher sent me a link and my jaw dropped
Posted inOpinion
Some Artistic Perspective on the Debt Ceiling Stupidity
This makes my blood boil. Coincidentally, the NEA (for those who may not know) is the National Endowment for the Arts. Article linked to in the tweet here. [via @KnightLAT]
Posted inNews
Monkey Business With Copyright
Last Sunday, we linked to the story about a monkey who took a photo and resulting legal issue of copyright around the image. Well, Techdirt who first asked the question, “Who Owns the Copyright?” just received a takedown notice requesting that they remove the monkey photos.
Posted inOpinion
Spot Kalup Linzy’s New Musical Vagina
Ignore the nice moody song and James Franco’s disembodied smiling head, and just concentrate on the cheesiness of Kalup Linzy’s new music video filled with vagina imagery … Judy Chicago would be proud, or weirded out. Take your pick.
Posted inNews
Serrano’s “Piss Christ” Smashed With Hammer (Again)
The Guardian reports that an extremist Christian group has attacked a print of artist Andres Serrano’s infamous photograph “Piss Christ” (1987), smashing an acrylic plastic barrier around the piece and slashing the print itself with a “screwdriver or ice pick” (WTF). This follows previous attacks on the same photograph in 1997 and 2007.
Posted inNews
Clowns of America Speechless at Koons Balloon Suit
The art world presents an overwhelming threat to clowns everywhere as Jeff Koons sues San Francisco store Park Life and Toronto creators imm Living for producing and selling balloon dog bookends that look only slightly similar to the famous artist’s balloon dog sculptures in that they both look like puffy dogs. A cease and desist letter from Koons commanded that the bookends no longer be sold and the objects are now removed from Park Life’s shelves. If Koons should succeed in his suit to have utter dominion over all the balloon dogs he surveys, we all know who would be hurt the most: clowns, America’s greatest balloon dog producers.
Posted inNews
Kiefer Protest Met With Conflict, But Not For Protesters
At Gagosian gallery on December 23rd, black-shirted figures stood in front of Anselm Kiefer’s enigmatic, monumental sculptures. Wearing shirts inscribed with “Next year in Jerusalem,” the protesters were attempting to continue Keifer’s political dialogue. Gallery employees didn’t agree and tried to force them out. Unfortunately, an innocent bystander got caught in the middle and was injured in the process, The New Yorker reports.
