BIG ART!

A giant cigarette butt was dropped in the middle of Trafalgar Square, London as a protest against the city's burning littering problem. Ever since smoking in indoor public places was banned, Londoners have been smoking outdoors and throwing the stubs on the streets. The Keep Britain Tidy campaign installed the giant structure to remind people that cigarette butts littler 78% of all streets in Great Britain.

Maybe this is what should have been selected for Ann Arbor City Hall!

Bubble Gum Alley

Take a close look. It will become evident why this space has been nicknamed bubble gum alley. Yep. There are hundreds of pieces of bubble gum stuck to this wall. 
So the question is, does this count as graffiti? The new ordinance passed making it the owners responsibility to remove graffiti in several days (I can't remember the exact number). 

But back to my question. Is this graffiti? It is located in an alley that had paintings done on the walls that were someones artwork that had been approved. It survived in pretty good shape until someone came and "white washed" some of the walls and then all kinds of stuff I would call graffiti appeared. Then it started to spill over into this area. Personally I love this and think of it as art on a collaborative level, even if ones only contribution is a wad of gum. 

But again, is this graffiti? I'm at a loss as how one defines that? I guess I should read the ordinance to see how they define it. I'll look into that and check back in. Hopefully with more images of "graffiti".

Ledger painting lost or worse fate?

It seems during transportation to another museum during remodeling of it's home, this painting by French Cubist Ferdnand Ledger has gone missing. 

While Wellsey College's Davis Museum was remodeling they loaned the painting to the Oklahoma City Art Museum. Somehow when it was returned it was misplaced and may have been thrown out. (!)

The museum has filed an insurance claim which has been paid but not disclosed. In fact they don't want to talk about it at all. Seems it is a bit embarrassing to realize that you may have thrown out a painting by an artist that fetches on average $2.8 MILLION dollars. 

Wow. How does that happen? Never underestimate the incompetence of the general public. I wouldn't talk about it either if this had happened under watch.

Graffiti vacation ends in arrests

These photos are examples of graffiti done by Jim Clay Harper (Ether) and Danielle Bremner (Dani). They toured Europe this summer tagging public property along the way. They left their mark in London, Spain, Paris, Frankfurt, Hamburg and other places they visited including New York City.

They caused thousands of dollars of damage and where arrested when they arrived back in the states. Due to the high value of the amount of damage, they are being charged with felonies and could spend up to seven years in jail. 

The charges for the alleged paint spree are being pressed in New York City. The NY authorities are working with European authorities to determine if more charges will be pressed overseas as well. Yikes!

Looks like this couple should have stuck to canvas' that they had permission to paint on. Destroying public property or property owned by others should never be permitted. As much as I enjoy well done graffiti, is is ruined for me when it is done without consent. Shame! 

Stolen Art: Is It Yours?

When William M.V. Kingsland, a threadbare eccentric and an amateur genealogist of the Upper East Side in New York, died in 2006, officials found an apartment full of stolen artwork, including works by Picasso, Copley, Fairfield and Giacometti. The F.B.I. continues to search for owners of more than 100 works of art. 

Here is a sampling of the work that was found. There are four first cousins and an uncle claiming to be relatives that would be happy to divvy up the proceeds from the pieces that he did own.

Bizzaro blow up

Dan Piraro, creator of the cartoon strip Bizarro, has gotten himself into a little heat from this cartoon. Many a reader has misinterpreted this and have been offended. 

There was a letter to the editor in my local paper complaining about this. I decided to see what I could find about the issue and discovered a blog by the artist. He states, "contrary to what people assumed, this cartoon is not intended to make light of slavery or racism. My intention was to point out that modern "feel good" marketing techniques are no more honest than this kind of technique would have been during legal slavery in America. My earnest apology goes to anyone who misinterpreted it."

Mr. Piraro is a vegan and outspoken advocate for animal rights. He uses his art to make his position known and to help people understand the plight animals face in order to feed us. I am a big fan of his art. I find it humorous and right on the mark. Go, Dan, go! Those that are offended should take a closer look at their life and re-evaluate what is really offensive about this piece.

Slightly creepy art

These little tiny babies are made of polymer clay. The artist name is Camille Allen and her art has been the subject of a hoax. 

There is an email circulating claiming these are made of marzipan. The writer asks who could eat them? It was a good hoax because I fell for it. Then I looked a little further....

However, I have to say I do still find them a little creepy even if they aren't made of frosting.