Rocky Horror Picture Show director, Jim Sharman, will launch his new visual art musical film ANDY X, a cinematic seance with legendary artist Andy Warhol, exclusively online, twenty five years after Warhol’s death on the 22nd of February.

Sunday Pictures in partnership with DLSHS – online producers of cross-platform viral hit The Tunnel – and innovative distributors ScreenLaunch, will release ANDY X globally for USD$6.99 as a DRM-free* (digital rights management free) download or streamed for a 72 hour rental period from its website: http://www.andyxthemovie.com .

The film will also launch with a groundbreaking introductory offer for all Facebook fans of ANDY X. This offer allows fans of the movie to use their Facebook friends as currency when paying to watch the film. One Facebook friend equals one cent. Fans can login to Facebook to calculate the number of friends they have and their balance will be deducted from the ticket fee.

ANDY X delivers a unique narrative through song, verse and montage over 40 minutes, with Sharman exploring Warhol’s life from his death-bed in a New York Hospital on 22 February, 1987. To coincide with the 25th anniversary of Andy Warhol’s death the film will be launched at the time he passed away at 6.21am on the 22nd of February, 2012 on andyxthemovie.com

On choosing to launch the film in this way, Jim said, “Cyberspace seems the perfect place to explore the Warhol enigma. I imagine Warhol would have loved the net.”

Still from Andy X.

This online film experience marks the return of iconic Australian director Jim Sharman to the screen, albeit an online screen. Jim is famed for pushing conventional boundaries with his theatre, opera and cult cinema creations, including the musical extravaganza The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The website creates an immersive experience through the use of sophisticated 3D graphics viewable with Adobe Flash 11 technology.

Esteemed film critic Richard Kuipers has described the film as “a poetic and pulsating eulogy… Sharman takes us on a ride to stimulate and excite everyone from Warhol buffs to those who might have only heard the name and know it has something to do with soup cans.” The film was developed and directed by Jim Sharman from a script by Stephen Sewell and an original music score by Basil Hogios, with lyrics by Sewell and Hogios. ANDY X stars rising young stars Akos Armont and Sheridan Harbridge; with Nick Simpson-Deeks, Gillian Jones and David Denis.

The Guardian’s Jonathan Jones is not happy: Andy Warhol was much more than an icon of modern cool - 25 years after his death, a new online film reduces Warhol to trashy cypher – but his art was subtle and profound

Ahram Online: Andy Warhol lives on in Egyptian contemporary art - On the 25th anniversary of his death, Ahram Online talks to Egyptian artists about the influence of Andy Warhol – the pop art icon – on the history of art in Egypt

- Marketwatch: Diverse Collection of Photos Taken by Andy Warhol Now Available on Art.com

The headstone of Andy Warhol, in front of the head stone of his parents, Andrew and Julia Warhola, rear, is surrounded by mementos in St. John The Baptist Byzantine Cemetery in Bethel Park, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

John Cale & Lou Reed – “Style It Takes”

John Cale and Lou Reed perform “Style It Takes” from their LP “Songs for Drella”.

David Bowie- Andy Warhol (Live at Lorelei 6-22-96)

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As a key member of the Young British Artists (YBAs) alongside contemporaries Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk is no stranger to controversy. Beginning his career by famously failing his MA at the Royal College of Art, here he talks to us about Alighiero Boetti’s influence on his work, which is revealed in his series of new art dominated by tapestry pieces for a major exhibition in London, which will coincide with the Boetti exhibition at Tate Modern. Crane.tv got an exclusive studio visit and talked to Turk about identity, ownership and why his artwork could have been “made by anyone.” – www.gavinturk.com

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A bronze sculpture worth £20,000 has been stolen from public display.

Dreaming by Gerald Laing was taken from Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow on Sunday afternoon.

Staff at the museum last saw the bronze head at 3.45pm. The alarm was raised 45 minutes later when a worker noticed the 12.8kg piece was missing from the first-floor display.

Strathclyde Police are reviewing CCTV footage from a number of areas within the museum.

The art gallery reopened in 2006 after refurbishment and management said this is the first time a piece has been stolen since then.

A spokesman for Glasgow Life, which manages the city museums, said: “This was a deliberate act. Someone has stolen from the people of Glasgow. As with all of our collections, this work belongs to them. We are working with the police and other agencies and would appeal for the safe return of this work of art.

“Since reopening after refurbishment in 2006, we have welcomed more than nine million visitors to Kelvingrove and had no incidents of work being taken from public view.

“Thanks to the quick action of staff, we have been able to identify a short timeframe where we believe the bronze was stolen and are in the process of examining CCTV footage from across the museum to identify those responsible.”

Laing sculpted the piece in 1979 and it was bought by Glasgow Museums and the National Fund for Acquisitions in 1981. It was valued for insurance 10 years ago at £5,000 and is now estimated to be worth around £20,000, Glasgow Life said.

The sculptor died last year aged 75.

Wikipedia: Gerald Ogilvie Laing (11 February 1936 – 23 November 2011) was a British pop artist and sculptor. He lived in the Scottish Highlands. At the beginning of the 1960′s, while still at St. Martin’s, Laing was introduced to artists in New York City. After art school he moved there, and with his connections, his art career began to take off.

Laing’s career took him from the avant-garde world of 1960s pop art, through minimalist sculpture, followed by representational sculpture and then back full circle to his pop art roots.

In 1993 the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh staged a retrospective exhibition of his work.

Laing did a series of anti-war paintings, based primarily on photographs from the atrocities at Abu Ghraib. These paintings were the beginning of his return to pop art. They were followed in 2004 by a series of Amy Whitehouse paintings, as well as a painting of Victoria Beckham and Kate Moss.

- Official Website

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‘Social media’ conjures up thoughts of instant internet communication, global chatter over the web, computers, mobiles, tweets, posts etc. But there is a communication form that predates these modern tools – political street art. Street art can be dated back to ancient Egypt and throughout history it has been employed by those with a political point to make.

Al Jazzera reports: “The Writing on the Wall” with artists JR & RSH

Get a free download of RSH’s book BOMB: A Manifesto of Art Terrorism here.

Images from the incredible book ‘Arabic Graffiti‘ , an extensive and valuable reference that showcases the use of Arabic script in a contemporary, urban context. It brings together artists, graffiti writers, designers, and typographers from the Middle East and around the world who merge Arabic calligraphy with the art of graffiti writing, street art and urban culture. In addition to a rich assortment of photos featuring Arabic graffiti and street art styles, the book includes essays by distinguished authors and scene experts that explore the traditional elements, modern approaches, and the socio-political and cultural backgrounds which have shaped Arabic graffiti movements in the Middle East.

With contributions and essays by: Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès, Rana Jarbou, Tala F. Saleh, Houda Kassatly and William Parry.

Includes the artwork and thoughts of: Hassan Massoudy, Malik Anas Al-Rajab, eL Seed, Hest1, Julien Breton, L’ATLAS, Aerosol Arabic, Native & ZenTwO, Zepha aka Vincent Abadie Hafez, Siska, Typism, Akut and many more.

Get the book here.

Arabic Graffiti
By Pascal Zoghbi & Stone
format: 28,5 x 21cm, 200 full color pages
photographs: 325 photos & illustrations

English edition

ISBN Hardcover: 978-3-937946-26-9
Price Hardcover: 24,95 €

http://www.fromheretofame.com

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We have a selection of works directed by Ai Weiwei and screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012 for you. The films highlight hidden aspects of Chinese society in an intimate and surprising way. There is a remarkable difference between Ai’s sometimes highly conceptual art videos and his social documentaries. For the latter, he acts – before and behind the camera – as a committed research journalist, persistent to bring injustice in the open.

Disturbing the Peace

Directed by Ai Weiwei (China, 2009). Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012.

It may be an odd comparison, but artist Ai Weiwei sometimes operates a bit like Michael Moore, confronting his adversaries on camera. But he carries it even further. Filmed in Chengdu during the trial against a human rights advocate.

Ordos 100

Directed by Ai Weiwei (China, 2012). Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012.

Ordos 100 is a construction project curated by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei. One hundred architects from 27 countries were chosen to participate and each design a 1000-square-meter villa to be built in a new community in Inner Mongolia. The 100 villas would be designed to fit a master plan designed by Ai Weiwei.
On January 25, 2008, the 100 architects gathered in Ordos for a first visit to the site. The film Ordos 100 documents a total of three site visits, during which time the master plan and design of each villa was completed. As of this date, the Ordos 100 project remains unrealized (Ai Weiwei Studio).

So Sorry

Directed by Ai Weiwei (China, 2012). Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012.

Corrupt builders and officials were to blame for the high number of dead schoolchildren after the Sichuan earthquake. This secret would have been buried beneath the rubble if not for courageous investigators like Ai Weiwei. The film also shows how Ai almost paid with his life. Screened together with Ordos 100.

More videos from the Rotterdam Festival over here on Youtube.

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Here’s great short film made entirely by students from the Valencia-based school of animation PrimerFrame. Pre-production began in March 2010, completing a year later and has since received numerous awards, nominations and national projections and internationally. Enjoy!

FriendSheep

Making Of de FriendSheep

Homepage for the film (in Spanish)

Credits:
Enrique F. Brull – Rigging
Manuel Perez – Efectos Especiales
Antonio Lasala – Supervisor de Iluminacion y 3DFX
Juan De Dios Molina – Rigging
Julián Antonio Lucas – Animación / Diseño y Modelado de Personajes
Olga Agudo – Iluminación / PostProducción
Antonio Alvarez – Iluminación / Composición
Adolfo Aliaga – Animación
Jose Manuel Moralo – Animación
Samuel Rebull – Animación
Carolina Martorell – Modelado / Texturizado de Personajes
Laura Righetti – Animación / Producción
Lorenzo Manuel – Edición / Iluminación
Joan Gomar – Animación
Katixa Pons – Animación
Andrea Varriale – Animación / Iluminación
Jordi Alonso – Animación / Modelado
-
Jaime Maestro – Director
Ana Amat – Supervisora de Iluminación
Eduardo Olidén – Supervisor de Animación
Rubén Soler – Coordinador de guión
Carlos Escutia – Productor Ejecutivo

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Seattle Art Museum presents the only United States stop for “Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise,” a landmark show highlighting the complex relationship between Paul Gauguin’s work and the art and culture of Polynesia. The exhibition, on view at SAM Downtown February 9 through April 29, 2012, includes about 50 of Gauguin’s brilliantly hued paintings, sculptures and works on paper, which are displayed alongside 60 major examples of Polynesian sculpture that fueled his search for the exotic. Organized by the Art Centre Basel, the show is comprised of works on loan from some of the world’s most prestigious museums and private collections.

Almost as legendary as Paul Gauguin’s colorful depictions of Tahitian utopia is the colorful story of how he got there and what he did once in the tropical locale — the bourgeois stockbrocker picked up and left his wife and five children to embark on a hunt to discover the primitive. After testing out and abandoning lands not quite savage enough, Gauguin landed in Tahiti, where he indulged in the native lifestyle of taking adolescent girls as wives.

The Huffington Post writes: “Decisions like impregnating a thirteen year old and giving her syphilis surely cast Gauguin in an unflattering light. And yet the artist’s unethical and perhaps delusional escape to paradise led to one of the most revolutionary shifts in the visual vocabulary of all time. Gauguin’s Primitivism used flat fields of acidic and unnatural color to convey stories that bridged history, myth, legend and dream. The utopias he painted expressed mystery, desire and the dark regions of psychology. This idea of making the invisible visible helped pave the way for contemporary abstraction. And no matter how you view it, the guy is an influential artist, even if he’s someone you wouldn’t want to take home to meet the folks.

What role, if any, should Gauguin’s questionable ethics play in the reception of his art work? A recent review of Gauguin’s exhibition at the Seattle Museum of Art by Jen Graves was hailed by some and reviled by others for enacting a personal critique of Gauguin as opposed to a purely aesthetic one.

Graves’ article “You May Be Infected Already” on the exhibition “Gauguin & Polynesia” contains grating blows at Gauguin’s persona, calling him, not-so discreetly, “vividly, eye-catchingly gross.” Graves points out that Gauguin precipitated not only primitivism but also colonialism with a nice dash of misogyny. She applauded the SAM’s exhibition for placing Gauguin’s work in the context of Polynesian work in general, thus placing his delusions in close proximity with the islands’ realities. Viewers get to see the European interpretation and the Tahitian interpretation, perhaps translatable to the orientalist interpretation and the native translation. Graves applauds the curators “who expose Gauguin’s fantasies rather than indulge them.” The exhibition does not simply worship Gauguin, it also unmasks him.”

Read on at The Huffington Post

More at seattleartmuseum.org/gauguin

Gauguin Leaves France for Tahiti

Gauguin (1848–1903) is one of the most influential and celebrated artists of the late nineteenth century. From early on in his career he yearned for the exotic in both his life and his work. While his Polynesian experience was a defining factor in both his art and his posthumous reputation, many exhibitions devoted to his work have treated the artist’s direct relationship with Polynesian art as one small part of his larger enterprise. Through a balanced analysis of Polynesian art alongside Gauguin’s works, this exhibition shifts the emphasis and brings Polynesian arts and culture into the center of Gauguin studies.

A Return to France and Second Voyage to Tahiti

Paul Gauguin: Setting the Polynesian Stage

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February is African American History Month, also known as Black History Month. A good reason for President Barack Obama and former first lady Laura Bush to celebrate the groundbreaking for a new national museum showcasing black life, art and history on the National Mall.

The Smithsonian Institution announced that Obama will speak at the Feb. 22 groundbreaking for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Actress Phylicia Rashad will host the event.

The ceremony, featuring remarks by President Barack Obama, will be webcast at http://nmaahc.si.edu/Events/Groundbreaking. The pre-ceremony music will begin at 9:00am ET, and the ceremony will begin at 10:00am ET.

Early construction work has already begun at the museum site near the Washington Monument. Officials have said the museum is on track to open in 2015. Congress has pledged to provide half the cost of the $500 million museum project.

Designers for the project have been planning a layered bronze structure with a stone base.

Bush serves on the museum’s advisory council with Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones and others.

The NMAAHC collection includes artifacts such as Michael Jackson’s stage-worn fedora hat, caught by an audience member attending the star’s “Victory Tour” on July 31, 1984 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Harriet Tubman’s personal effects, including family photographs, a hymnal and a framed portrait—one of the few photographic images of Tubman known to exist. Images and more details on the NMAAHC collections are available at http://nmaahc.si.edu/.

The groundbreaking on the National Mall is a milestone that fulfills the dreams and aspirations of many generations. Attending the ceremony will be civil rights leaders, dignitaries, Congressional representatives, and prominent African Americans from business, academia, arts and entertainment. The journey to build the NMAAHC dates back more than 90 years. The groundbreaking ceremony on February 22 is confirmation that it has become reality.

More at http://nmaahc.si.edu/

OBAMARAMA SPECIAL:

President Obama sings Sweet Home Chicago!

Blues night at the White House, February 21, 2012. See the full concert on PBS on February 27.

Obama in Metropolis

President Obama Sings Al Green Let’s Stay Together

President Obama spends most of his time looking at awesome things. Like Captain America’s shield for example.

- More Pictures of Barack Obama Looking at Awesome Things.

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Ok, the image above shows the Oakley THUMP glasses, which the new Google AR glasses are said to resemble. There is no official image of Google’s secret “heads up display glasses”, but The New York Times Bits Blog has now confirmed that the product is real:

” The people familiar with the Google glasses said they would be Android-based, and will include a small screen that will sit a few inches from someone’s eye. They will also have a 3G or 4G data connection and a number of sensors including motion and GPS…

The glasses will have a low-resolution built-in camera that will be able to monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, surrounding buildings and friends who might be nearby, according to the Google employees . . .”

According to the NY Times’ report, the glasses will cost between $250 and $600. Is this form of “visual search” what people really want or is it just another gimmick for rick kids who have everything? Hard to say, but Trendguardian presented a similar product in 2010 already (see video below) and we never heard of it again. We will see whether Google has more luck.

More at BITS.

Future of Eyewear: Augmented reality in your Eyes

Ever wanted to see like terminator? Japanese mobile giant NTT DoCoMo unveiled an augmented reality mapping system that attaches directly to your lenses. Called AR Walker, it uses a gyroscopic sensor to determine which direction your head is facing and relays pertinent information to you through a tiny display screen in front of your right eye. Look up and get a weather report, look left and right to get info about restaurants and shops, look ahead to get directions to where you want to go. The augmented reality device is powered via a smart phone with GPS that hangs around your neck.

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The 24th edition of The Art Show, the nation’s foremost and longest running fine art fair will present museum-quality exhibitions of solo artist and group installations. Organized by the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) to benefit Henry Street Settlement, The Art Show takes place March 7 through March 11, 2012 in New York City. The fair presents the nation’s leading art dealers and galleries showcasing a range of artwork from cutting-edge, 21st century works, to masterpieces from the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Art Show strikes a dynamic balance among its exhibitors from all over the country to present works by historic, modern, and contemporary artists. As in recent years, the 2012 Art Show will include a number of stand out solo and two person exhibitions, such as:

• Cindy Sherman’s “Murder Mystery” collage series from 1976 at Metro Pictures
• A selection of drawings by seminal French artist, Francis Picabia from Michael Werner
• Matthew Monahan at Anton Kern Gallery
• Blum & Poe’s presentation of Henry Taylor: New Work
• Sculptures and installations by Sara Sze at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
• A two-person exhibition of David Wojnarowicz and Hunter Reynolds from P•P•O•W
• Dorothea Rockburne at Greenberg Van Doren Gallery
• Rudy Burkhardt: Photographs and Films of New York from Tibor de Nagy Gallery
• Paintings and drawings of American artist Jim Nutt from David Nolan Gallery
• A series of photographs by Ori Gersht at CRG Gallery
• Marian Goodman Gallery will present work by Francesca Woodman
• A two-person exhibition of Adam Fuss and Lynda Benglis entitled, Benglis/Fuss: Knots and Entrails from Cheim & Read

Other exhibition highlights include: “Postwar Abstraction and Figuration” at Acquavella Galleries, Inc.; Richard L. Feigen & Co.’s presentation of “Surrealism to Expressionism”; Major works by Austrian and German Expressionists including Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele and others at Galerie St. Etienne; and a thematic exhibition from Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art entitled “Surrealism in Latin America.”

“ADAA dealers represent the very best authorities on fine art in the country, and The Art Show is an opportunity for collectors to meet with these experts and take in fantastic exhibitions in a range of genres,” noted ADAA President Lucy Mitchell-Innes. Linda Blumberg, ADAA’s Executive Director remarked on the experience of collectors at the show, “Art collectors appreciate The Art Show because the intimate atmosphere and consistently high level of works present an ideal opportunity to interact with our expert dealers and purchase works in a refined environment.”

Opening with a Gala Preview on March 6th, the 2012 Art Show leads a contingent of art fairs around New York City, including The Armory Show, which take place during the same week. Adam Sheffer, Chairman of The Art Show Committee, reflects, “As the city’s and the nation’s longest running art fair, The Art Show inspires New Yorkers and visitors alike to view and purchase exquisite works of art from the most exciting historical and contemporary artists.”

Global art insurance specialist, AXA Art Insurance will serve as Lead Sponsoring Partner of The Art Show 2012. AXA Art has been providing its private, corporate and commercial clients with tailor-made art insurance products and services for over 60 years.

ADAA also hosts special programming during The Art Show. ADAA’s upcoming, two part Collectors’ Forum, Catalogues Raisonnés: An Exploration of the Model, will take place Friday, March 9 at 6:00 pm and Saturday, March 10 at 10:30 am at The Park Avenue Armory. The panels will investigate how Catalogues Raisonnés are established and employed by curators, gallerists, lawyers, and artists’ foundations.

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