artists

Banksy on Aesthetics

Hamilton Nolan · 08/20/15 08:55AM

“I’m lucky because what I make either succeeds or fails. Some people undoubtedly would tell you that’s why it’s crap art, but that’s the way it is. I feel sorry for Abstract Expressionists—how do they know when to go home?”

Norwegian Artist Eats Own Hip, Says It Tastes Like "Wild Sheep"

Kelly Conaboy · 05/25/14 09:20AM

After convincing doctors to let him keep the bone removed during his hip replacement operation, a Norwegian conceptual artist boiled it on "a whim" and then ate the flesh with potato gratin and a glass of wine. He claims the meat tasted like "wild sheep." Oh!

Adam Weinstein · 02/25/14 09:49AM

"Two dozen never-before-exhibited" paintings by George W. Bush will anchor "The Art of Leadership," an exhibition opening April at Bush's presidential library in Texas. Reserve your tickets now. Outsider art is so hot these days.

'The White Ambassador:' Whiteface on the Streets of Harlem

Hamilton Nolan · 11/28/11 01:34PM

Nate Hill is the New York artist behind the Free Bouncy Rides, Death Bear, the dead body dead body, and other, sunnier projects. Hill is biracial, and his latest work has a racial theme: for the next several months, Hill, in whiteface, will travel to Harlem as "The White Ambassador," prowling the streets to talk about important issues such as how white people are or are not stank. In the video above, watch as absurd performance art turns into an earnest and heartfelt conversation with a man on the street.

Vincent van Gogh Was Maybe Murdered?

Richard Lawson · 10/14/11 03:11PM

A new biography of Vincent van Gogh, which is getting a featured segment on 60 Minutes this weekend, posits that the post-Impressionist master didn't commit suicide by shooting himself in the abdomen, as previously believed.

Burning Man's Just for Rich People Now

Lauri Apple · 07/31/11 10:44AM

If we didn't attend the week-long Burning Man festival in Nevada every year, we probably wouldn't be the deeply spiritual, open-minded individual that we are today. We'd just be another emotional eunuch living in America, ignorant in the ways of radical self-expression. Sadly, we and our collection of fruit-flavored body paints and hovercrafts won't be able to go hang out on the Black Rock City playa this year, because last week festival tickets completely sold out for the first time in its 25-year history.

Artist Cy Twombly Is Dead at 83

Brian Moylan · 07/05/11 02:50PM

Well-known American artist Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly, Jr., best known for his large-scale abstract paintings that often looked like scribbles, has died. He was 83.

A Delightful Skewering of Art School Hipster Pretension

Brian Moylan · 06/27/11 05:42PM

Artist (and comedian) Charlotte Young made this hilarious video that mocks not only herself but all the art school dropouts of the world. Her "artist's statement" uses the vocabulary and buzzwords of the traditional artist's statement, but she has cleverly put subtitles across the bottom of the screen to let us know what she's really talking about.

Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei Released

Max Read · 06/22/11 07:42PM

Two and a half months after his imprisonment on charges of tax evasion, internationally-renowned artist Ai Weiwei was released by Chinese authorities because (according to state news agency Xinhua) "of his good attitude in confessing his crimes as well as a chronic disease he suffers from" (likely diabetes or hypertension).

Graffiti Causing Tortured Debates As Usual

Hamilton Nolan · 05/26/11 09:17AM

Sucks to be a graffiti artist these days. (Not really, it's AWESOME.) On the one hand, you have the art world fawning over you more than ever, and you're in all types of museum shows and you have contracts to design sneakers and corporate America is absolutely dying to harvest a little bit of your coolness. On the other hand, you're in jail.

NYer Story on Obsessive Stalker Sparks Obsessive, Stalker-y Protest

Hamilton Nolan · 05/26/11 08:30AM

Last August, Tad Friend wrote an excellent article in the New Yorker about the spectacularly bizarre life of downtown New York scenester John Lurie, focusing on his weird on-again, off-again friendship with an artist named John Perry, portrayed as a moody and dangerous figure who ended up stalking Lurie and making threats against his life.

This Awful Poetry Video Is Not a Spoof

Brian Moylan · 03/23/11 03:52PM

Poet Craig Moreau has made one of the most hilarious YouTube videos I've seen in awhile. It seems like a parody of a self-important gay party boy poet who has written a book of poems called Chelsea Boy. But it's not a joke at all.

Class Up Your Place with a Limited-Edition Print From Gawker Artists

Studio@Gawker · 03/15/11 11:00AM

You know how Gawker Artists does such a lovely job of fancying up your browser window with new art? Now you can own some of those images IRL. The brand-new Gawker Artists Shop is proud to be working with the taste-makers at Society6 in order to bring you specially curated, limited-edition prints from a few stand-out artists. Each piece is one of a special 100-edition run, and comes with a signed certificate of authenticity from the artist. For just $90, your living room can go from hobo to highbrow!