Friday, December 28, 2007

Takashi Murakami - My Lonesome Cowboy (1998)


Folks refer to this fellow as the Japanese Warhol, but did Warhol ever depict a badass anime guy with spikey hair whipping the semen coming from his member into skillful lasso with a triumphant expression on his face? I think not. 1998.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Antony Gormley - American Field (1991)


Sculptor Antony Gormley fills huge spaces with tens of thousands of tiny terracotta people on the floor. At first you feel ovewhelmed and touched by the sublime and humble representation of a whole nation's population. As soon as that fades you get the irresistible urge TO SMASH! 1991.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Gilbert and George - Piss Mooning (1996)


These guys are known for filming themselves as "living statues" and for their photo montages. Everyone figured they were just a couple well dressed gents until they found the joys of nudity. 1996

Friday, December 14, 2007

Kiki Smith - Untitled (2002)


Kiki Smith is a star. And don't you forget it. 2002.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Ron Mueck - Man in Boat (2002)


A bonus lolMueck to make up for yesterday's absense. Enjoy. 2002.

Ron Mueck - Mask (1997)


When I saw this piece in person I'm pretty sure it took my soul without asking.

Jerk.

1997.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Tracey Emin - My Bed (1999)


This "YBA" Tracey Emin put her bed in a gallery. Not to sleep in. Just, you know, to look at. Thats it. 1999.

Chris Burden - Trans-fixed (1974)


Chris Burden was supposed to deliver a lecture at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago today but it was canceled. Boo. Many have speculated the cancellation to be a new performance entitled "Not Showing Up (2007)", but in fact it was because of inclement Chicago weather.

Caption credit and thanks go to Jenna D.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Wayne Thiebold - Around the Cake (1962)


Wayne Thiebold liked to paint sensible little cakes, gumball machines and lipsticks and things. They were all very nice and very sensible and everybody always liked them. They thought he was a very nice painter guy. 1962.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Orlan - Le Baiser De L'artiste (The Kiss of the Artist) (1976)


"Body Artist" Orlan (one name) made a slot machine that looked like her (nude) body and placed herself behind it. Folks could but 5 francs into the slot at the top and it would drop into a little pile of coins where her crotch would be. As a reward she gave the viewer a nice smooch. Later she would give up public smooching and instead turn to public presentation of her own surgeries. 1976.

Renee Cox - Yo Mama's Last Supper (1996)


There are so many famous re-creations of the Last Supper out there that it's probably time to start making re-creations of famous re-creations of the Last Supper

Thanks to James H. for the submission.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Jeff Koons - Michael Jackson and Bubbles (1988)


This Koons fellow thinks he's pretty clever. Sometimes he is, sometimes he's just taking pictures of himself having sex with his ex-wife.

More fun with lolBarney



Lets face it. Matthew Barney almost captions himself. Enjoy.

Top is a still from Drawing Restraint 9, thanks go to Kate McC. for the submission. Bottom credit goes to Jenna D.

Jeff Koons - Hulk and Friends


Thanks again to Jenna D. for another quality submission.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Jeff Wall - Milk (1984), Stereo (1982)



Jeff Wall is known for large scale, back lit photographs. Most people think they're pretty cool, until they see them too many times. Milk: 1984. Stereo: 1982.

Credit once again goes to Jenna D. for the Stereo contribution.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

More lolBarney - Drawing Restraint 9 (2006)

This may come as a huge shock...but Matthew Barney totally hooks it up with Bjork all the time. 2006.

Special thanks to Adrian V. for the submission.

Matthew Barney - The Cremaster Cycle (1995-1999)




So this guy Matthew Barney made a series of films based around this muscle that can raise and lower the scrotum and regulate the temperature of the testis. Kids love it. 1995-1999.

Bonus fun: vote on your favorite lolBarney in the comments thread OR submit your own lolBarneys.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Christo and Jeanne-Claude - Wrapped Trees (1997-98)


It turns out this Christo guy really enjoys wrapping large objects. Simple as that. 1997-98.

Another thank you goes to contributer Jenna D. for the submission.

Maurizio Cattelan - La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour) (1999)


Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan creates an enormous full room installation just to show the pope being crushed to death by a meteorite. Italians were kind of pissed. Many others sort of chuckled. 1999.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Chris Ofili - The Holy Virgin Mary (1996)


Painter Chris Ofili creates an image of the Mother of Christ complete with cut out pictures of little butts, little female genitals and most famously: petrified elephant dung. Rudy Giuliani tried to take it down once. 1996.

Friday, November 23, 2007

John Baldessari - Stonehenge (With Two Persons) Orange (2005)


Conceptual artist John Baldessari makes another work showing how he likes to appropriate images and block out people's faces with big dots. Part of a series, available in different colors. 2005.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Pipilotti Rist - I'm Not the Girl Who Misses Much (1986)


Video artist Pipilotti Rist sings her own version of John Lennon's Happiness is a Warm Gun, bare breasted and in blurry fast motion. 1986.

Enjoy this pre-thanksgiving bonus lolvant garde, thanks to a submission from contributor Jenna D.

Paul McCarthy - The Garden (1991-1992)


Heavily influenced by "Viennese actionism", Paul McCarthy erects an enormous forest installation and intimately plants two animatronic men making love to the foliage within. Fun fact: the false trees in the installation were used on the set of popular television program Bonanza. 1991-1992.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Andy Warhol - Green Car Crash, Orange Car Crash (from the Death and Disaster series, 1963)



Ubiquitous pop artist Andy Warhol silk screens the repeated images of horrifying vehicular accidents on canvas, likening the temporary fame of tragedy to that of the celebrities he painted in the same manner. 1963.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Marcel Duchamp - Fountain (1917)


Marcel Duchamp single handedly starts the idea of "found object" art by taking an old urinal, putting it in a gallery and calling it a fountain. 1917.

Thanks to contributor Joe G. for the submission.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Andres Serrano - Piss Christ (1989)



Photographer Andres Serrano takes a snapshot of a crucifix (complete with body of Jesus Christ) submerged in his own urine, causing much hubbub and rabble. 1989.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Daniel Edwards - Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston (2006)



Known for sculpting pop and political icons in compromising positions, Daniel Edwards delights the world by molding a nude Britney Spears giving birth atop a bear skin rug on all fours. 2006.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Marina Abramovic - Art Must be Beautiful Artist Must be Beautiful (1975)


The self proclaimed "grandmother of performance art" Marina Abramovic takes a metal brush and a metal comb and destroys her hair for awhile in front of a camera. 1975.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Damien Hirst - The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991)


"Young British Artist" Damien Hirst stumbles across a old dead shark that he had lying around, then decides to lay it in a big vatrine and pickle it in formaldehyde. 1991.

Jake and Dinos Chapman - Insult to Injury (2003)


The Chapman brothers, Jake and Dinos, purchase a perfectly good series of Francisco Goya etchings, from his Disasters of War series, and proceed to cover them with clowny faces.

Chris Burden - Shoot (1971)


Performance artist Chris Burden gets an assistant to help shoot him in the left arm with a rifle. F Space, Santa Ana, California, 1971.