…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
Lui Bolin, a 36-year-old artist from Shandong, China, paints himself and disappears into his own paintings. His work underscores how people are affected by their surroundings. This series, ‘Hiding in the city,’ is a form of protest inspired by China’s persecution of artists. Read and see more at Telegraph.co.uk.
Giant dominoes form tribute to Berlin Wall’s fall
by David Rising
1010WINS
November 7, 2009
Berlin (AP) — Massive colorful dominoes painted by German students were placed Saturday along the former path of the Berlin Wall to mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the barrier that divided the city for nearly three decades.
Many of the upright 7.5-foot-high (2.3-meter-high) plastic foam dominoes carried messages, including “We are one people.” The approximately 1,000 dominoes stretching for 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) will be toppled Monday as part of wider celebrations of the wall’s fall.
One labeled “bleeding heart” showed a sword cutting through the city of Berlin, starting a crimson flow of blood speckled with crosses.
“Everyone has walls in their heads to a certain extent,” said Berlin resident Stefan Schueler as he perused the domino display. “It’s always a good thing if one can break them down, and I think this is a good symbol.” Continue reading “Fall of Berlin Wall to Be Commemorated by Falling Dominoes”
A protestor from the ‘Put People First’ action group puts his head in the sand as he poses for the photographers on a beach to protest during the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in St Andrews, Scotland November 7, 2009.
Read about it via Reuters: Activists bury heads in sand in G20 beach protest.
NZ lawmaker sculpted in cow manure
TampaBay.com
November 6, 2009
Wellington, New Zealand (AP) — A sculpture of a New Zealand government minister crafted from cow manure sold for New Zealand dollars 3,080 ($2,220) on an auction Web site. The bust of New Zealand Environment Minister Nick Smith, sculpted as a protest by artist Sam Mahon, attracted 112 bids before being picked up by an anonymous buyer on Friday.
Mahon said he created the sculpture, and chose the medium, to protest what he considers Smith’s too-soft stance on pollution created by dairy farms. He said the bust did not smell and would last forever.
“The sculpture has a hollow head, which is very fitting. It is highly polished and sits on the stand slightly to the right of center,” Mahon said. Continue reading “Crap Art”
Submitted by Michaela Dietz of Ovation TV for Ron English:
Ovation is airing Popaganda: The Art and Crimes of Ron English, a film about the culture-jamming and billboard-liberation antics of Ron English. The modern day Robin Hood of Madison Avenue, Ron paints, perverts, infiltrates, reinvents and satirizes modern culture on canvas, in songs, and directly on hundreds of pirated billboards. Shot entirely guerilla-style, the film chronicles the evolution of an artist who offers an alternative universe where nothing is sacred, everything is subverted and there’s always room for a little good-natured fun.
Where: Ovation TV
When: October 24, 2009 at 8pm, 11pm
and October 25, 2009 at 12:00pm
