When a range of limited-edition towels from the Art Production Fund first debuted at Art Basel Miami back in 2006, everyone was clamoring to get their hands on one of the eye-catching designs. Since then, terry cloth artworks by the likes of Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Marilyn Minter, and Alex Katz have all sold out, but lucky for you, new editions have been added to the collection each year, and some of them are still up for grabs. Click through to pick out your favorite (we’re partial to Elizabeth Peyton’s charcoal rendering of Sid Vicious), and remember when you’re eying the rather spendy price tag — proceeds go to support public art projects.

Read More »

Of all the different genres that James Franco has tackled, we’ve always found his art career the hardest to swallow — and considering his love of similes, that’s really saying something. Maybe we were wise to be skeptical; according to a report in The Independent, the actor’s highly-anticipated debut at this year’s Venice Biennale has been “indefinitely delayed” so that he may “realize his vision” for Rebel, a site-specific installation of videos paying homage to James Dean. Franco is said to have collaborated with a number of well-known artists including Ed Ruscha, Paul McCarthy, and Aaron Young, on the project, and just last month he released an interesting short film that he shot with Harmony Korine featuring a mob of bike riding women with machetes. Considering that the Biennale runs until the end of November, he still has plenty of time to schedule a new launch date — unless there’s something else going on here. Click through to check out the preview clip, and let us know in the comments what you think of the work.

Read More »

It’s difficult to pin down what a zine is, exactly. A vague, unsatisfying definition would be that it is a self-published endeavor with a relatively small circulation, little to no profit, and a handmade element involved (e.g., it’s hand- or typewritten). But what about the small zines that became big, like Punk Planet (RIP), MRR, Bitch, and Dig? The cheap cover ink might’ve still come off on your hands, but they were available at big box bookstores in modest cities and suburbs. In the mid-90s, zines were even seen as a possible threat to the magazine industry. Read “I accidentally made a popular zine” in Vice to get a sense of seemingly how easy it was to get your work noticed at the time.

Nowadays, you might have to do some digging to find good zines in your neighborhood. Both Barnard and NYU have zine libraries, and ABC No Rio is always an option, as are the number of stores offering new zines like Desert Island in Williamsburg. Here, you can find copies of current local favorites, like Jocko Weyland’s Elk and Aaron Lake Smith’s Big Hands. Or better yet, you could just make your own. Here’s a look at how we survived our formative years, along with some recommendations from a few of our friends.

Read More »

Russian avant-garde painter Kazimir Malevich made the world safe for black squares. Though he began his training following in the styles of the cubists and futurists in the early 20^th century, he soon shed all attachment to representational reality and caused controversy by presenting the world with Black Square, a painting of a black square on a white canvas, which he suspended over the corner of a room at the 0.10 (zero ten) exhibit in 1915. White on White — a painting of a white square within another white square — further elevating Suprematism from polychrome to monochrome compositions — was another breakthrough for non-narrative art. For once art was freed from political, humanist and social issues, and offered as pure painting.

Read More »

Artist Ed Ruscha, musician Nels Cline, and poet David Breskin combine creative disciplines in Dirty Baby, an art book that’s also a multimedia work of art.

Reminiscent of a record album (complete with A and B sides) and packaged with four CDs, Dirty Baby isn’t meant to be read as much as it’s meant to be experienced: the pictures, music, and words are best when they’re absorbed as one. Ruscha’s haunting images provide a visual counterpoint to Breskin’s ghazals — lyric poems with a repeated rhyme, set to music composed and arranged by Wilco guitarist Cline.

Read More »

When President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron met at the White House yesterday, they spoke about growth, stability, fiscal responsibility, the conflicts in Central Asia, and the special relationship between the two nations. The most interesting news, in our opinion at least, was the gifts they exchanged. Foremost amongst the gift swap was a painting by British street artist Ben Eine and a print by American pop artist Ed Ruscha.

Read More »

South California rockers Cold War Kids are set to tour this winter in support of their recently released Behave Yourself EP, an up-tempo, psychedelic, raw, and sexy follow-up to their second album, Loyalty to Loyalty. Everyone knows their hooks are masterpieces, but not everyone knows that CWK bassist Matt Maust is an accomplished visual artist as well. Flavorpill’s Shana Nys Dambrot caught up with him on the eve of the Behave Yourself tour to talk, art, music, touring — and how these diverse areas of his life inform one another.

Read More »

Robert Redford, Ed Ruscha, and Salman Rushdie were among the honorees at last week’s 2009 National Arts Awards, presented by Americans for the Arts — the same organization that benefits from the sales of Shepard Fairey and Jennifer Gross’ new publication, Art for Obama.

The award’s ceremony, which was held at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York, was attended by an all-star group of artists, art patrons, politicians, museum directors, gallerists, and celebrities. Among the glamorous crowd were Chuck Close, Jeff Koons, Shirin Neshat, Eli Broad, Vera Wang, Caroline Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Weinberg, Thelma Golden, Lisa Phillips, Larry Gagosian, Tony Shafrazi, Dennis Hopper, and Kerry Washington. Buoyed by an Obama White House, award presenters and recipients relished the social, economic, and diplomatic roles the arts can now play.

Read More »

Photographer Dean Chamberlain’s image-making process employs dramatic color and movement to create surreal landscapes, portraits, and videos.

Chamberlain uses hours-long exposures and kinetic, richly colored light to capture lush, dreamlike images without computer manipulation. His best known work is an iconic portrait of his longtime friend Timothy Leary, but his portrait of David Bowie and video for Duran Duran’s “Missing” are evidence of his equal presence in the music world.

Read More »

As Lance Armstrong cycled toward the finish in the Tour de France, his foundation, in conjunction with Nike, mounted a benefit art exhibition, STAGES, to engage the creative community in the fight against cancer. Taking place at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, one of Paris’ premiere art venues, STAGES — whose title references both the daily parts of the race and the phases of cancer — offers a lively group of artworks by 20 established and emerging artists.

Read More »