Bjarke Ingels Lays Foundation Brick at LEGO House

August 22, 2014, 5:08 pm

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by Rory Stott
Read the original story on ArchDaily




BIG‘s LEGO House is now under construction, following a one of a kind foundation laying ceremony featuring – what else – supersized lego bricks. Bjarke Ingels himself was in attendance to lay one of the foundation bricks. Constructed in LEGO‘s hometown of Billund, Denmark, the LEGO House will be a 12,000 square metre “hands-on minds-on experience centre.”

More on the LEGO House, and the foundation laying ceremony, after the break


Courtesy of LEGO group


BIG’s design for the LEGO House was directly influenced by the LEGO itself, with the bricks being used to model the building, resulting in a design which is clearly inspired by the formal possibilities of the toy which it celebrates. The gallery at the very top of the design is modelled after a gigantic LEGO brick, labelled the ‘Keystone’ by BIG. Inside, the LEGO House will feature multiple ‘experience areas’, a café, a unique LEGO store, and a 2,000 square metre public square, as well as several open roof terraces. LEGO Group hopes that the LEGO House will host approximately 250,000 people annually.


Courtesy of LEGO group


“For me the LEGO brick embodies the notion of systematic creativity – that the rigour and rationality of the LEGO brick allows children of all ages infinite possibilities to create their own worlds and to inhabit them through play,” Said Bjarke Ingels. “We have been inspired by the modularity of the LEGO brick to create the LEGO House. It will appear like a cloud of interlocking LEGO bricks that form spaces for exploration and exhibition for its visitors within. On the outside the pile of bricks form the roof of a new covered square as well as a mountain of interconnected terraces and playgrounds.”


Courtesy of LEGO group


“I am very passionate about play and how children learn through playing with LEGO bricks. This is essentially the LEGO idea and what the LEGO House is all about. I look forward to see the long time dream of having one place where anyone can experience the LEGO idea come true,” said Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, grandson of the founder and current LEGO Group owner.


Courtesy of LEGO group


Construction is expected to complete in 2016.

The LEGO® House / BIG from ArchDaily on Vimeo.

Cite:
Stott, Rory."Bjarke Ingels Lays Foundation Brick at LEGO House" 19 Aug 2014. ArchDaily. Accessed 22 Aug 2014.

Bjarke Ingels Lays Foundation Brick at LEGO House originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 25 Jun 2014.

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Fiber Art Exhibition Explores Body Image In Los Angeles

August 22, 2014, 5:08 pm

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Los Angeles' relationship to the human body is a complicated one.

For one, the sunny Southern California destination tempts its citizens to bare more flesh on the average day than most other locales. The city is also all too often aligned with the latest crazes in fitness, diet and new age wellness. Hollywood often finds itself in cahoots with the latest idolized bodies, and any subsequent surgical attempts to imitate said bodies. And a little north in the San Fernando valley, you'll find one of the original hubs of the porn industry.

Yes, if there were any destination bursting forth with opportunity for a body-centric art exhibition, the city of angels would be the place.


Ashley V. Blalock, Complements, 2010, extruded silicone and thread, dimensions variable


Enter "Body Conscious," a group exhibition at Craft in America, featuring nine fiber artists working in the Southern California area. The show explores the aura of fiber art in SoCal, especially as it relates to the human body in all its soft, ever-evolving wonder. "Body Conscious" beautifully aligns subject and medium, making a compelling argument that no artistic instrument can quite convey the fluctuating nature and physical allure of the physical form quite like similarly agile and tactile fibers can.

"Our bodies go where we go, and with them we carry our biology, our sexuality, and our self‐awareness," Craft in America explained in a statement. "These are the things that make us tick, and the artists in Body Conscious uniquely present this motley portrait while employing a medium that is most conducive to articulating these themes."

The show doesn't just explore the physical body as such, but all traces of science, sex, and self that become written on the flesh. Miyoshi Barosh's "Crowd of Legs" features hot pink limbs made from found sweaters and cotton filling, resembling a tangled mass of muppet appendages, a heap of candy-colored carnage somewhere between sweet and sinister.


Miyoshi Barosh, Crowd of Legs, 2014, found sweaters and machine knitting, polyester and cotton filling, 94" x 29" x 97” (approx.)

Ben Cuevas uses knit, yarn and fur to create a human skeleton distinct from the brittle bones we see in textbooks. And then there are Ashley V. Blalock's wonderfully squishy "Complements," resembling at once breast implants and little universes. For the soft sculptures Blalock extruded silicone into champagne coupes, whose shape was once, wrongly, thought to be based on the shape of a breast.

The following artists explore the complexities of the body and all its many corollaries -- from standards of beauty to the transformative effects of wearing a disguise. Both cozy and complex, "Body Conscious" weaves a compelling connection between a material, a geographical location, and a human phenomenon.

Take a glimpse at the exhibition below, though this is one you really should check out in the flesh.





"Body Conscious: Southern California Fiber" runs from August 23 until October 25, 2014 at Craft in America.

Here's 'Twin Peaks' Re-Imagined As A Retro Arcade Game

August 22, 2014, 5:08 pm

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If you're a real "Twin Peaks" fanatic, just the initial chimes of its always ominous intro song will cause goosebumps to sprout up all over your arms and legs.

Now Filthy Frackers has re-imagined Angelo Badalamenti's epic theme song in NES style, transforming the hazy Washington landscape into pixelated lo-res goodness. It's nostalgia on nostalgia, people. What's not to like?

Thank you, Filthy Frackers, for providing this tempting glimpse at what an '80s arcade game based on "Twin Peaks" would look like, even though the show wasn't created until 1990. If only someone would make a game we could actually play, now that would be a dream/nightmare come true.

For more 8-bit remixes, check out Forrest Gump, Finding Nemo and Elf, all of which are decidedly not as creepy as Lynch's suburban murder mystery.

h/t The Creator's Project

Comic Takes Your Awful First Date To Its Logically Terrifying Extreme

August 22, 2014, 5:08 pm

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If you've ever had the extreme pleasure of going on a blind date in a big city, you'll likely identify with the protagonist of Laura Callaghan's darkly hilarious comic strip.

But hopefully not too much.



Contemplating deleting your Tinder profile yet?

"The comic came about after discussions with friends about online dating and the selective anonymity it affords people," Callaghan explained to The Huffington Post. "Some people put it all out there whilst others gain the trust of potential dates through nothing more than a profile picture. It took a dark turn, the result of watching the entire first season of 'Hannibal' in three days."

While we certainly don't condone chopping up your dud of a date and eating him for dinner, we sympathize with anyone who winds up on a date with a raw vegan social media guru.

h/t It'sNiceThat

We Can't Believe This Red Rock Canyon Tree Exists On Planet Earth

August 22, 2014, 5:09 pm

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Sometimes mother nature is too good to us. Sometimes technology, specifically, the blessed invention of a camera, is good to us. When the powers of both are combined, the result occasionally takes our breath away.

Exhibit A: This stunning photo of a red rock canyon tree.



Though it bears a striking resemblance to an alien creature, the natural oddity above is in fact a photo snapped by photographer Tao Olezeski on his first visit to Red Rock Canyon. The photo, taken earlier this month, gives the uncanny impression that the tree is actually melting into the ground below it, a sentiment those who've spent much time in Red Rock are surely familiar with.

We discovered Olezeski's stunning work through Huff Post's Flickr group, an online space to explore new images and add your own. If you'd like to potentially see your photos featured in future Huff Post articles, roundups and blogs, feel free to drop images into the Flickr pool. By submitting, you're agreeing to our TOS which you read here.

6 Small Stylish Spaces That Show Us How To Live Large In A Tiny Home

August 23, 2014, 5:00 am

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All too often, small spaces are associated with unattractively cramped quarters and uncomfortable dorm-sized furniture. But hiding behind all those misconceptions are rooms that remind us that being short on square footage doesn't mean you have to skimp on style.

Behold, the work below from the talented designers that submitted their projects to our friends at Porch.com. Get inspired to re-imagine the meaning of small-space living, and check out 6 ways to instantly add square footage to any space...





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Are you an architect, designer or blogger and would like to get your work seen on HuffPost Home? Reach out to us at homesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com with the subject line "Project submission." (All PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.)

This LEGO House Is A Childhood Fantasy Come To Life

August 23, 2014, 9:02 am

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If you thought the two-story red, blue and yellow masterpiece you constructed purely from LEGOs as a kid was impressive, then you're going to love this.



BIG, a Danish architecture firm, is creating a "LEGO house" to become a creative learning "experience center" complete with displays and installations to engage the expected 250,000 annual guests. The first bricks --or should we say blocks?-- were laid just this past week. The firm expects to complete work by 2016.

"LEGO proportions are really the golden ratio of architecture," Bjark Ingels, the firm's founder, told Dezeen. "I think for testing ideas quickly it can be quite powerful."

And while your childhood creation may have been a bit smaller than the Denmark-based structure, it does employ elements, such as stacked rectangular volumes and modular brick motifs, that are a real LEGO lovers dream come true.

Check out the video above to see the planned creation, and cue the nostalgia.

Ebola Quarantine, Beijing Ice Bucket Challenge And Greasy Pole Climbing: Week In Photos, Aug. 17 - 24

August 23, 2014, 9:12 am

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Nothing quite compares to the power of a photograph to communicate the goings on in the world. Ranging from the serious to the silly, these photos offer peeks into what happened around the globe this week.

1. On Aug. 21, 2014, Pakistan Awami Tehreek supporters protest against the government in Islamabad, Pakistan.

(Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

2. A resident looks out from behind the gates of the West Point slum in Monrovia, Liberia on the second day of the government's Ebola quarantine of the neighborhood, Aug. 21, 2014.

(John Moore/Getty Images)

3. A worker repaints the top of a Stalin-era skyscraper in Moscow, Russia on Aug. 20, 2014, after the giant star was painted in yellow and blue, the Ukrainian national colors, by unknown people.

(KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images)

4. A group of people participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in Beijing, China on Aug. 21, 2014.

(ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

5. A man rows a bamboo raft during a flood on Aug. 20, 2014 in the Zhejiang province of China.

(ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

6. Participants struggle to reach the prizes at the top of greased poles during a climbing competition, held as a part of independence day celebrations in Jakarta, Indonesia on Aug. 17, 2014.

(AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

7. An Iraqi Shiite fighter fires his weapon during clashes with militants from the Islamic State group in Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, Iraq on Aug. 18, 2014.

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

8. Protesters march in the street as lightning flashes in the distance in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 20, 2014.

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

9. Zoo owner Manny Tangco kisses a Japanese Koi carp inside an aquarium as children look on in Manila, Philippines on Aug. 22, 2014.

(TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images)

10. Indian youth make a human pyramid to reach and break the €œDahi Handi, an earthen pot filled with yogurt, as they celebrate the Hindu Janamashtami Festival in Mumbai, India on Aug. 18, 2014.

(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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9 Decor Ideas For Your Nightstand From Real-Life Homes

August 24, 2014, 5:00 am

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While everyone's wondering what to do about their lackluster headboard or how to arrange the bed to maximize the room's space, there's a part of the bedroom that's being totally neglected -- the nightstand.

An amazing place for storage, odds and ends and a good read, the night table has been overlooked for far too long. And now, it's time to give them the attention they deserve.



1. Use a tray to keep the space clutter-free.


2. Put your nighttime reads and your personality on display.


3. Think outside the box and use a crate, some stacked suitcases or even a swing instead.


4. Fresh flowers are always a sure bet.


5. Choose soft, calming lighting -- or, just fire up some candles instead.


6. Add a chair and, voila, you've got a desk.


7. Go minimal and let your headboard continue to shine.


8. ...or, go ahead and let your nightstand be the bold focal point your bedroom's begging for.


9. And always (always) leave room for a cup of tea.




Think your #beautifulbedside has what we're looking for? Show us on Instagram using the hashtag and by tagging @HuffPostHome!

After Dark: Erickatoure Aviance, Artist And Nightlife Personality

August 24, 2014, 6:15 am

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This is the fifteenth installment in HuffPost Gay Voices Associate Editor James Nichols' ongoing series "After Dark: NYC Nightlife Today And Days Past" that examines the state of New York nightlife in the modern day, as well as the development and production of nightlife over the past several decades. Each featured individual in this series currently serves as a prominent person in the New York nightlife community or has made important contributions in the past that have sustained long-lasting impacts.

HuffPost Gay Voices believes that it is important and valuable to elevate the work, both today and in the past, of those engaged in the New York nightlife community, especially in an age where queer history seems to be increasingly forgotten. Nightlife not only creates spaces for queers and other marginalized groups to be artistically and authentically celebrated, but the work of those involved in nightlife creates and shapes the future of our culture as a whole. Visit Gay Voices regularly to learn not only about individuals currently making an impact in nightlife, but those whose legacy has previously contributed to the ways we understand queerness, art, identity and human experience today.

What did your journey to becoming a fixture as an artist within the New York nightlife scene entail?
Erickatoure Aviance: I moved to NYC in 1999 to attend Tisch School of the Arts at NYU as a Dance major. I had been itching to see what the club scene was really all about since the first time I saw "Club Kids" on daytime television. I started going out immediately after arriving in New York, with my first trip to clubland being the legendary Tunnel. I waited for two hours in a line that stretched from the West Side Highway all the way to 11th avenue. When I reached the door I was given a near cavity search by the largest man I had ever seen. I payed my 20 dollars and the doors opened -- it was magical to say the least. There were throngs of muscular, sweaty, writhing, shirtless men, candy ravers, glamorous drag goddesses, scary clown club kids, gogo dancers in cages -- and a entire room covered in hot pink "fun fur". There I was, a little girly-boy from a small town in New Hampshire, right in the middle of it all. It was clear to me that THIS was how I wanted to feel and THIS was where I wanted to be. For nightlife and I, it was love at first dance.

I started going out with a vengeance. It didn't take long to notice that drag queens never waited in line and never paid. So I started dressing up and nightlife scene started paying attention. Tunnel, Twilo, Roxy, China Club, Cheetah, Sound Factory and Limelight were regular stops in my first years on the scene. My first paid drag gig was in 2001. Working at the big clubs was a dream come true and paid very well. However, the dream didn't last long. Over the next few years the big clubs were all but wiped out by Mayor Giuliani's war on nightlife. So we all had to make the transition to smaller venues and smaller paychecks.

It was during this transition that I met Jonny McGovern at one of his parties at The Hole and we became fast friends. I became a part of his crew, so to speak, and ended up working parties and performing with him for years after. It was Jonny who pushed me to explore my drag character further and make my own music.

I released my EP "Work Ericka" in early 2009 and the video for the single "My Pumps" came soon after.

In the interim I have been hosting, singing, performing and creating all over NYC and, as of late, mostly hosting parties for Susanne Bartsch and Brandon Voss. Later this year I'll be releasing three new singles produced by Adam Joseph and next year an album produced by Clifton Brown. It's been a long, winding road but I wouldn't have it any other way. I couldn't exist anywhere else and I couldn't be anyone else. I have tried. Nightlife is filled with Peter Pans and I am most certainly one. The only place for me is Neverland.



You produce a diverse spectrum of work. How would you describe your aesthetic and your work as an artist?
I would have to say that I am, first and foremost, a performer. The artistic gifts I've been given and skills I’ve acquired over the years -- singing, dancing, songwriting, sewing, costume construction -- are usually called upon in service of my primary passion for performing.

In my younger years, my aesthetic was more that of a Prince protege/'80s sex siren -- sexy with a high fashion edge. Leather dresses and lacy lingerie. As a child I was obsessed with Vanity and Apollonia. Over the years I've made the transition to full on "Art Drag." My embracing of the avant-garde has been due, in large part, to my friendship and creative collaborations with the inimitable one-half NelSon. My aesthetic is continually evolving and wide-ranging. From space-alien club monster to high fashion chanteuse. From grunge-rave sex kitten to amish-goth voodoo priestess. My aesthetic comes from all over the map. As a result that's sometimes where my art ends up. I'm cool with that.

How would you say nightlife influences or informs your art -- or vice versa -- as well as your identities as an artist and nightlife personality?
I am a disciple of the beat. The dance floor is where I go to worship. It's primal. Tribal. Transcendent. So much energy pouring out of such a diverse array of souls. Inspirations for all of my creative endeavors have been plucked from the rich ether of nightlife.

Nightlife introduced me to the wonder of Kevin Aviance. His performances in my early years in NYC were extremely influential. I found him captivating, dynamic and inspiring. He was completely his own creation unlike anything I'd ever seen before. His command over an audience was enrapturing -- his spiritual essence could envelope an entire room. The gravitas he had as a performer is always in the back of my mind when I create anything and every time I perform.

EVERYTHING I know about being a queen I learned on the dance floor at the club. Nightlife taught me how to walk, how to talk, how to work a room, how to lip-sync, how to carry myself, how to put together a look... I doubt very much Erickatoure would even exist without nightlife.



What is the House of Aviance and what role do you play in it?
The House of Aviance a community of like-minded creatives with a similar aesthetic: DJs, drag queens, performance artists, visual artists, singers, songwriters and musicians, the majority of whom are or have been a part of nightlife in some way. I've always called it a "working" house -- you'll find us throughout every aspect of the nightlife industry.

Aviance was a clear choice for me. A lot of the queens that had the most fashion-forward looks, the most devastating runway and the most stunning performance were involved with Aviance. The fact that the house didn't really walk in balls was also a plus for me. I always found them a bit scary and I've never been much for competition.

Aviance, for me, is a name that is synonymous with high style and innovation. I wear it proudly. As Mother Juan Aviance loves to say: "You make yourself who you are, the name doesn't make the individual." So, my role is the same as every other Aviance: to represent the house by making the most of the talents I have been given.

You're involved in a number of collaborative groups and projects, notably with one-half NelSon. How do these groups intersect with nightlife?
one-half NelSon and I have been involved in a mutually inspirational creative relationship since we met rolling around on the floor at the legendary Mr. Black night club. He brings out the artist in me, I bring out the performer in him and we bring out the party girl in each other. He is one of the most creative people I have ever met. Our creative collaboration began with the video for "My Pumps," for which Nelson constructed all the looks. We both started working for Susanne Bartsch on a weekly basis for the Catwalk party at Marquee two years ago. We created coordinating looks each week. This is really when I made the full transition into "art drag." one-half NelSon really pushed me to leave behind the traditional and embrace a more artful approach to my drag. We have a wonderful synergy that I think really shows in the things we create together -- costumes, decor, performance concepts. He is my creative guru.

enSUBTITLES is a performance art group started by myself, one-half NelSon and Clifton Brown. Our first show was for one of the Spank parties in the east village. We were living florescent hieroglyphs lip-syncing to "Mesopotamia" by The B52s. So its roots are firmly planted in nightlife. Our performances together are always a reimagining traditional drag shows with bizarre concepts and unconventional costuming. We are currently conceptualizing an entire evening-length work for this group.



Leo GuGu spoke in his feature about nightlife spaces as art galleries/community centers/wreck rooms. How have you seen this play out in your own nightlife experiences? Why are these kinds of spaces important?
The club is where I cobbled together the band of eccentrics I now call family. I met the vast majority of people I now hold dear in clubland.

We live in an age where people are becoming increasingly detached from social interaction. No matter how loud or messy, nightlife spaces are some of the few places left where conversations happen. People can put a face to different viewpoints and lifestyles. With the ever-increasing number of queer subsets standing up to be counted, it is essential that we all know what's going on within our own community. The queer community coming together for any reason is important and, unfortunately, very rare. Nightlife spaces are a sort of neutral ground for communication to take place -- even if that communication is through a haze of drugs and alcohol, muffled by thumping base.

Nightlife acts as a major force of cultural production. Now, Susanne Bartsch is pushing an initiative to take art "from the clubs to the galleries" -- which you were recently involved with -- in order to showcase and celebrate this work in a different context. How do you see this influencing the future of nightlife?
I think its a very exciting prospect. I put a lot of time, thought and effort into what I bring to the club as a performer and nightlife personality. To have my hard work appreciated without beer goggles by people whose main purpose for being there isn’t to get laid is thrilling. I'm always looking for ways to expand my creativity. My art is primarily wearable or performance-based but I'm willing to try and push into visual art.

It's an amazing opportunity for artists who reside primarily within the boundaries of nightlife to reach a wider audience. I don't think nightlife will lose any of its art makers... I see it more as spreading ourselves around for the world to enjoy.



Domonique Echeverria said in her feature: "I think the truly innovative people that I'm seeing are playing around with gender and sexuality. I think that's what our generation has to offer -- the idea of acceptance and blurred lines of gender. It's causing discussion, debate, new laws to be made and it's causing more art. THAT is the movement that's happening" -- how do you see this playing out in nightlife? Do you feel like nightlife will player a larger cultural role in changing perceptions surrounding gender and sexuality?
Pushing limits and breaking taboos involving sexuality and gender has always seemed safer under cover of night. The nightlife realm has and will continue to be a safe space for those on that fringe to push boundaries even further. It has always been a place where beautiful creatures of indeterminate sex and gender have flourished. That being said, even throughout my own ascent within the nightlife ranks there have been boundaries that I have been encouraged not to cross. Lines that I have been told to steer clear of. Those boundaries are all but non-existent for queens today. For instance, a queen with a beard or body hair was not seen and simply not done when I was a young thing. At least not in NYC. Now, bearded queens are fairly commonplace and body hair abounds. It's a big, brave, beautiful "fuck you" to convention and that's alright by me .

When these types of looks from make their way from the club onto the street is when attitudes start to change. You can no longer ignore what's ordering a latte in front of you at 6 a.m.

What is the most important thing you see coming out of nightlife today? What do you see as the future of nightlife?
I love to party. I'm a party girl. Give me a beat and I'm happy. Nightlife is an escape. That is its primary function. That is why it exists. That is it's most important function now and in the future. Nightlife provides a place where anyone can go and forget all of their troubles and the ills of the world. Nightlife will ALWAYS provide that place.

Missed the previous installments in this series? Check out the slideshow below.

'The All-Knowing Buddha': An Exhibition That Takes Us To The Heart Of Tibetan Meditation

August 24, 2014, 7:29 am

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Tibetan Buddhist deity Sarvavid Vairocana, also referred to as the All-knowing Buddha, embodies a visualization practice that is said to lead meditators to enlightenment. Typically taught as an oral tradition by experienced teachers, the visualization practice comes alive this October in an exhibition of sacred Buddhist art at the Rubin Museum in New York City.

"The All-Knowing Buddha: A Secret Guide" is a collection of 54 paintings and accompanying sculptures that illustrate a step-by-step guide to the ritual process of visualization. The exhibition brings together Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese works collected by a European missionary in Inner Mongolia during the turn of the 20th century.

The exhibition will be on view October 3, 2014–April 13, 2015 at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City.



Read an introduction to the show written by the exhibition curators, Karl Debreczeny and Elena Pakhoutova:

The story of the exhibition begins with a remarkable set of fifty-four paintings given to a Belgian missionary, Father Rafael Verbois, stationed in Inner Mongolia around 1900. In 1910, he went to the mission post of Wangzimiao, north of the Great Wall of China. He befriended a monk in a monastery there which no longer exists. The paintings were pinned to the walls of the monk’s cell, and when the monk departed to Lhasa for further study he gave them to Father Verbois.



In 1977 Verbois gave the set to the ethnographic Museum in Antwerp, and it immediately became a source of fascination to a wide range of scholars. The All Knowing Buddha: A Secret Guide is thus the result of years of collaborative research and effort on the part of many scholars and experts from across the globe.



Little was known about this exceptional set of fifty-four paintings when they were first received by the museum in Antwerp, including the order of the paintings, their subject matter, when they were painted or by whom. It was gradually revealed that these paintings illustrate a meditational practice focused on visualizing the All-Knowing Buddha Sarvavid Vairochana.



Transformative meditations such as visualization are central to Tibetan Buddhist esoteric practices, but are hardly ever depicted in such a literal, pictorial fashion. This richly detailed step-by-step visual guide illustrates Tibetan Buddhist meditation and ritual which are normally restricted to oral instruction by a teacher to his initiated disciple. The clear visual and didactic nature of these cleverly composed illustrations provides a glimpse into the creative meditative process that otherwise occurs only in one’s imagination.



This beautiful set also reflects specific cultural conventions of their creators. Their Tibetan Buddhist content is expressed in a vivid Chinese aesthetic, a unique product of cultural translation by their Mongolian patrons. They exemplify the rich cross-cultural exchange that characterized this region of the Qing Empire (1644-1911).



The Rubin Museum of Art presents significant new scholarship by curators Karl Debreczeny and Elena Pakhoutova who, through their research, reordered the album’s sequence, reconstructed its artistic sources and historical context. Each painting’s complex ritual narrative and the rich cultural context which produced them are revealed in the larger framework of religious and artistic exchange.

11 Flops That Had Better Openings In 2014 Than 'Sin City 2'

August 24, 2014, 11:20 am

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More like a dame to flop for. "Sin City: A Dame To Kill For" was dead on arrival at the box office this weekend, grossing an estimated $6.4 million over the three-day frame. To put that number in perspective, consider this sobering statistic: The first "Sin City" earned nearly double that total during its opening day in 2005 ($11.8 million), en route to $29.1 million overall. "A Dame To Kill For" will be lucky to earn that much during its total domestic run.

"We weren't prepared for this level of rejection by the public," Erik Lomis, The Weinstein Company's head of theatrical distribution, told Variety. "We thought the film would resonate more. It's like the ice bucket challenge without the good cause."

"Sin City: A Dame To Kill For" counted Jessica Alba, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Josh Brolin, Eva Green, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke among its star-studded cast, making it one of 2014's most high-profile failures. Even "Transcendence," the notorious Johnny Depp bust that opened in April, had a more lucrative debut frame ($10.8 million). In fact, some long-forgotten 2014 releases were also more widely seen than "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For." Ahead, 11 misfires that can shine a tad brighter today thanks to "Sin City 2."

"Winter's Tale"



Opening Weekend: $7.2 million (Feb. 14)

"Tyler Perry's Single Moms Club"



Opening Weekend: $8 million (March 14)

"Devil's Due"



Opening Weekend: $8.3 million (Jan. 17)

"Earth to Echo"



Opening Weekend: $8.3 million (July 2)

"I, Frankenstein"



Opening Weekend: $8.6 million (Jan. 24)

"That Awkward Moment"



Opening Weekend: $8.7 million (Jan. 31)

"A Haunted House 2"



Opening Weekend: $8.8 million (April 18)

"The Legend of Hercules"



Opening Weekend: $8.8 million (Jan. 10)

"Brick Mansions"



Opening Weekend: $9.5 million (April 24)

"Draft Day"



Opening Weekend: $9.7 million (April 11)

"Deliver Us From Evil"



Opening Weekend: $9.7 million (July 2)

12 Famous Drawings Reveal How Artists Interpret The Naked Human Body

August 25, 2014, 5:44 am

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For as long as human beings have set pen to paper -- or, drawing utensil to wall -- the body has served as a special kind of muse. More specifically, the naked body.


Stewart Helm, The line and the lust, 2011, Ink on paper, 50 x 70cm, Courtesy the artist, Photo Peter White

From the Renaissance to Romanticism, the details of naked limbs and torsos served as spaces for artists to explore aspects of sexuality and desire, reality and imagination. And as artists began drawing, painting and sculpting in more sophisticated ways, the universal obsession with nude curves seemed only to intensify.


Maria Lassnig, Woman in the Bed, 2002, Pencil and watercolour on paper, 50.2 x 64.1cm, Private collection, New York.

Come the age of modern and contemporary art, the renderings of nude figures veered in every which direction. Egon Schiele twisted lines into beautifully grotesque creatures, while Andy Warhol cut, pasted and printed bodies from popular culture. Marlene Dumas stretched and contorted shadowy figures, while Rosemarie Trockel disembodied her naked subjects. Be it some version of the feminine form or the male physique, artists masterfully blurred the lined between art and pornography.

"The representation of the nude in art is a victory of fiction over fact," art historian Frances Borzello declares in the book The Naked Nude. "Its great success has been to distance the unclothed body from any uncomfortably explicit taint of sexuality, eroticism or imperfection."


George Condo, Nude Study (i), 2007, Blue pencil on paper, 30.3 x 22.8cm, Courtesy Simon Lee Gallery, London. Private collection UK.

An upcoming exhibition at New York's Drawing Room is set to display a short history of the art world's obsession with our birthday suits. The show launches off from the grandfather of contemporary nudes, Schiele, tracing his drawings of the "single figure." From there, the aptly titled "Nakeds" moves to the sketches of Louise Bourgeios, Paul McCarthy, Tracey Emin, and Chris Ofilli. The collected works reveal isolated images of nude forms from the post-war period to present; beings that both dominate the blank spaces of a page and elevate the possibilities of two-dimensions.

The exhibition officially opens on September 25, but we have a preview of the show below. Feast your eyes on 12 famous drawings of the nude that break open the historical treasure trove of naked art.





"The Nakeds" will be on view at the Drawing Center from September 25 to November 29, 2014.

Spanish Artist Puño Is Fulfilling All Of Your Nickelodeon-Meets-Pop-Art Dreams

August 25, 2014, 5:48 am

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Is there a universal sense of humor, one cosmic joke that would force even the grumpiest earthlings to erupt into laughter?

We're not sure, but a Spanish artist by the name of Puño has come painfully close. Below, you'll see our personal favorite of his smile-inducing depictions, an image that shamelessly plays off human being's penchant for toilet humor.



Rendering bulbous nudes, cigarette smoking fruits and floating bald heads in radiant hues, Puño's work falls somewhere between a Picasso print and a Nickelodeon cartoon.

"Pop art from any time or place is one of the most important references for my work," the artist explained in an email to The Huffington Post. "I observe pop culture in its form as much as in its content because I want my work to get to everybody, regardless of their age, culture or any other condition, even in time. That is why I use vivid bright colors and simple forms, and it is also why I am constantly searching the key to an universal and everlasting sense of humor."

Puño began creating artwork before the onslaught of digital technology, and spent the following years attempting to use new tools to achieve his original handmade aesthetic. He's now returned to his old ways, channeling newly developed digital skills into handmade cut up illustrations. Switching between the manmade and digital is no big deal for Puño, an artist committed to breaking down boundaries in all aspects of his work.

"I firmly believe in the total destruction of any conceptual barriers in graphic creation. At this moment, terms like 'comic', 'illustration', 'design' or 'art' just create hermetic niches that restrain creative potential and delay new formats, so I prefer to see me as a 'visual communicator', working with graphic images as a vehicle for ideas."

As long as those ideas revolve around butts and bananas, we completely approve. Take a deeper look at Puño's colorful imaginings below and let us know your thoughts.

Junk Food Masks Reveal The Nightmarish Depths Of Sugar Addiction

August 25, 2014, 6:01 am

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In case, for some odd reason, you have ever had the urge to smear frosting and other delicious junk foods all over your face, we kindly ask you to refrain. The results are just too terrifying. It's "Lord of the Flies" with baked goods. Total delicious anarchy.



Today we're stuck ogling the bewitching junk food masks of British artist James Ostrer. The high calorie creations, landing somewhere between an ancient ritual mask and a midnight snack, are simultaneously delicious and dangerous. The uncanny folk art, despite its alluring intensity, looks far too bright to actually go inside your body, yielding an unexpected portrait of sugar's dark side.

"I started with wanting to create new tribes based on what we now eat and how far removed it is from nature," Ostrer explained to The Huffington Post. "The distance between what comes out of the ground and what we then open from a packet."

"Like most of my work It very quickly became a self-help experiment where I am as much the therapist as I am the client. The specific intent was to expose myself to such extreme levels of sugar and junk food that I would no longer want to eat it again.
I hoped to change my response to the mass of synthetic and saturated color in shops, that hums and draws me in like a fly to a zapper. I wanted to convert those feelings into something new and beautiful."

Indeed, the vibrant oranges of Cheetos and deep reds of licorice sticks do make stunning artistic materials. But this unexpected neon radiance makes us far more hesitant to actually consume them. Ostrer's artworks take a non-pedantic approach to the dangers of sugar, using their attractive aesthetics to hint at their repulsive realities. According to New York Magazine, the supplies cost Ostrer $8,000.

"In a wider context I see it as an anthropological reflection of our slavery to sugar addiction and the techniques used to get us there," the artist said. "Great advertising and packaging pulls you in with all these promises of beauty, happiness and joy then your left feeling empty and disturbed by wanting something different than yourself. I aimed to achieve this oscillation between beauty and ugliness in the works."



Ostrer's artworks are on view until September 11, 2014 at Gazelli Art House in London. via BeautifulDecay

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10 Super Weird Things You Didn't Know About The Emmys

August 25, 2014, 6:01 am

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And the award for Outstanding Achievement in Weirdness goes to ... The Emmys!

The first Emmys were awarded on Jan. 25, 1949, at the Hollywood Athletic Club. The "Emmy" was not named after a person -- unlike the Oscars -- but rather a special camera tube, known at the time as an "Immy." When it was decided that the statue would be a female figure, with wings representing the muse of art and the atom representing science, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences modified "Immy" into a more feminine name.

But, those are just fun facts and not all that strange. Much more interesting are the weird moments and anomalies of the long-running television awards ceremony.



1. Betty White has been nominated for an Emmy in six different decades and won in four.



Overall, Betty White has five wins and 21 nominations. The wins:

• Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress, 1975.


• Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress, 1975.


• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, 1986.


• Outstanding Guest Actress for a Comedy Series, 1996.


• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, 2010.

2. A ventriloquist won the first Emmy.



Shir­ley Dinsdale was 20 years old when she became the first person to be awarded an Emmy, for her variety show "starring" a puppet named Judy Splin­ters. The Emmy was given to both Dinsdale and Splinters.

After the win, the two went on to star in a Western-themed children's show named after the puppet.

Image: Emmys



3. Winners aren't just given the statuette, they actually have to buy it if they want to take it home.



Each statuette costs about $400 to make and consist mostly of cheap metals, dipped in liquid gold. This cost is then passed on to the Emmy winners, as they're required to purchase the statuette if they'd actually like to keep the award.

It's also very expensive to even win an Emmy in the first place. Talking with The Daily Beast, Tom O’Neil, editor of the entertainment awards site GoldDerby.com, explained:

It is big business and it’s odd to think that Hollywood would spend more than $30 million a year to win a fake gold statuette that costs $400 to manufacture ... But it’s a place in the history books, the approval of your peers. It’s a pat on the back they crave.

4. The yellow first down line shown on broadcasts of NFL games was awarded an Emmy.



The yellow line was introduced by a technology company called Sportvision and ESPN on Sept. 27, 1998 during a game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals. The line, named 1ST & TEN, ended up winning two Emmys for technical achievement.

Image: Flicker user IntelFreePress



5. And so were multiple video game controllers.



Both Sony's original Dual Shock Analog Controller and Nintendo's NES/Famicon controller won in 2007 at the 58th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards. If you're wondering what the Technology & Engineering Emmys are for, its site explains they honor achievements in two fields:

Science, Engineering & Technology for Broadcast Television, which includes broadcast, cable and satellite distribution, and secondly, Science, Engineering and Technology for Broadband and Personal Television, encompassing interactive television, gaming technology, the Internet, cell phones, private networks, and personal media players.

Image: WikiCommons



6. Who has won the most Emmys ever? The Academy Awards.



As of July 2010, the Academy Awards had won 46 times and been nominated for 195 Emmy awards. The third telecast of the Oscars ceremony in 1955 was the first to receive an Emmy nomination. Bob Hope hosted that year.

The Academy Awards have already won a statuette in 2014 for Outstanding Art Direction For Variety, Nonfiction, Reality or Reality-Competition Programming, beating out "Cosmos," "Portlandia," "Saturday Night Live," "The Voice," and the Sochi Olympics.



7. The Emmys once let the Governor of California host the awards show.



Earl Warren hosted the 1951 Emmy Awards while he was Governor of California. Just two years later, Warren would become the 14th Chief Justice of the United States, where he presided over landmark cases such as "Brown v. Board of Education."

This was the 3rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards and the last time the awards mainly served to recognize Los Angeles-based television shows. Groucho Marx won that year for Most Outstanding Personality. Upon receiving the award, Marx joked, "I've been a good father to all my children and a good husband to all my wives."

During the ceremony, Warren also made a seemingly forgotten, albeit prescient, prediction: "It will be recorded that television has had a greater impact on the lives of the people than the atomic bomb."


Image: WikiCommons



8. Dr. Frasier Crane is the only character to be nominated for three different shows.



Kelsey Grammer has performed as Dr. Fraiser Crane on "Cheers," "Wings" and "Frasier," all of which received Emmy nominations. His work on Frasier gained nine nominations and four wins. Besides the previously mentioned Academy Awards, "Frasier" was recognized with more Emmys than any other television show, winning 37 times.



9. "Scrubs" won an Emmy for Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Series when they shot an episode making fun of multi-camera sitcoms.



"Scrubs" won this award in 2005, one year after being only nominated for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Series.

The episode, titled "My Life in Four Cameras," made fun of sitcoms and eventually concluded that life isn't quite like the stories often depicted in multi-camera comedies. Zach Braff as J.D. sums up in the episode:

Unfortunately, things around here don't always end as neat and tidy as they do on sitcoms. Relationships aren't always magically fixed in 30 minutes, you have to work on them. Problems don't always have easy solutions. And around here, nice people don't always get better. And at times like that, it's always comforting that there's something that can pick your spirits up.

10. An Emmy statuette has been engraved with the infamous words "Dick in a Box."



"Dick in a Box" won in 2007 for "Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics." Talking with Marc Maron on the "WTF Podcast," Andy Samberg revealed that the words "Dick in a Box" are actually engraved on the award.

Samberg also admitted he's come to terms with only be remembered for the song when he dies saying: "I've said before, and am fine with ... that's the thing that'll be in my obituary."



All images Getty unless otherwise noted.

Photographer Captures Scientists' Frightened Responses To Climate Change Discussions

August 25, 2014, 6:08 am

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We've read the daunting headlines. We've seen the bleak predictions. We know in our minds that climate change is putting our Earth's future in danger. And yet there's something uniquely frightening about this artist's attempt to transform global warming data into visceral, human responses.



In his black-and-white photography series "Scared Scientists," Nick Bowers captures a raw element not often associated with scientific knowledge. For the series, Bowers interviewed a selection of scientists in varying fields, capturing the frightened looks on their faces while they contemplated their findings. The photos are minimalist but intense, each wrinkle and crease pointing to a human unease we can all connect with.

Bowers told The Huffington Post he hopes to convey "the humanity and vulnerability of the scientists" through his work. "That they are as individuals concerned by climate change, separate from the scientific realm."

The artist also had his daughter in mind while creating the series, hoping to use his artwork to create hope for a brighter future. "I constantly hear the word 'wealth' and the importance of passing this on. I'm inspired to pass on a better, more sustainable future," he explained.

On his website, Bowers combines a striking portrait with the specific field, educational background, and future predictions of each scientist. Although their powerful words provide an interesting context for their expressions, we think the faces alone say more than enough.

8 Life Lessons You Can Learn From Bruce Springsteen, Even If You Were Already 'Born To Run'

August 25, 2014, 6:11 am

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In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream, at night we read through the quotes of glory said by Bruce Springsteen.

"Born To Run" was released on Aug. 25, 1975, and the record was eventually sold to millions of "tramps like us" across the globe. Legendarily, during a subsequent tour, Springsteen even lived out his claim of being "born to run," hopping the fence of Graceland and running to Elvis' front door. Unfortunately, Elvis wasn't home and security got to Springsteen before he could even knock, but as he explained later in a concert:

I used to wonder what I would have said if I had knocked on the door and if Elvis had come to the door. Because it really wasn't Elvis I was goin' to see, but it was like he came along and whispered some dream in everybody's ear and somehow we all dreamed it. And maybe that's why we're here tonight, I don't know.

I remember later when a friend of mine called to tell me that he'd died. It was so hard to understand how somebody whose music came in and took away so many people's loneliness and gave so many people a reason and a sense of all the possibilities of living could have in the end died so tragically. And I guess when you're alone, you ain't nothin' but alone. So anyway, I'd like to do this song for you tonight, wishing you all the longest life with best of absolutely everything.

We aren't meant to run alone. There are too many thunder roads out there to run across by yourself and, at the very least, you can use Springsteen's music to get you home.

For those who want to live more like "The Boss" -- for the girls who comb their hair in rearview mirrors and the boys who try to look so hard -- this one's for you. Here are eight quotes gathered from Springsteen's songs, interviews and speeches, that'll guide you back to glory days.


1. Figure out how to actually pursue your goals.



"Badlands," 1978: "Talk about a dream, try to make it real. You wake up in the night with a fear so real. Spend your life waiting for a moment that just don’t come. Well don’t waste your time waiting."


2. Nothing will be handed to you, go out and conquer.



"Lucky Town," 1992: "When it comes to luck you make your own. Tonight I got to dirt on my hands but I'm building me a new home."



3. Always keep your previous experiences in mind.



The Guardian, 2009: "The past is never the past. It is always present. And you better reckon with it in your life and in your daily experience, or it will get you. It will get you really bad. It will come and it will devour you, it will remove you from the present. It will steal your future and this happens every day."



4. Even if a feeling of happiness is fleeting, it's worth it.



Time, 1975: "The music is forever for me... It's a stage thing, that rush moment that you live for. It never lasts, but that's what you live for."



5. Be a little paranoid about the competition.



“The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town,” 2010: “If you’re good, you’re always looking over your shoulder... That’s the life – that’s the gunslinger’s life. Yes, you are very fast, my friend. But there’s some kid in his garage, and about 10 minutes from now..."



6. Sometimes you have to embrace contradictions.



SXSW, 2012: Open your ears, open your hearts. Don't take yourselves too seriously and take yourself as seriously as death itself... Don't worry. Worry your ass off. Have iron clad confidence. But doubt! It keeps you awake and alert. Believe you are the baddest ass in town and you suck. It keeps you honest. Be able to keep two completely contradictory ideas alive and well in your heart and head at all times. If it does not drive you crazy it will make you strong. Stay hard, stay hungry and stay alive."



7. Don't hold yourself back and just make it happen.



SXSW, 2012: "There is no right way, no pure way of doing it. There is just doing it... We live in a post-authentic world. Today authenticity is a house of mirrors. It's all just what you are bringing when the lights go down, its your teachers, your influences, your personal history. At the end of the day it's the power and the purpose of your music that still matters."



8. Know who you are.



"Born to Run," 1975:

1-2-3-4!

The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive
Everybody's out on the run tonight
But there's no place left to hide
Together Wendy we can live with the sadness
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul
H-Oh, Someday girl I don't know when
We're gonna get to that place
Where we really wanna go
And we'll walk in the sun
But till then tramps like us
Baby we were born to run

Oh honey, tramps like us
Baby we were born to run

Come on with me, tramps like us
Baby we were born to run

Here's to "The Boss," a man who was also born to dance.




All still images Getty.

Eminem Releases 'Guts Over Fear' Ft. Sia, Teases 'Shady XV'

August 25, 2014, 6:22 am

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Eminem released a new single, "Guts Over Fear," featuring Sia, on Sunday. It's the lead song from Denzel Washington's new film "The Equalizer," which opens in theaters on Sept. 26.

Eminem and Sia have worked together before for "Beautiful Pain," and "Guts Over Fear" features similar harmonizing we often hear from Em's collaborations with pop stars (think Rihanna). The single is now available on iTunes, and also appears to be the first release from Eminem's album "Shady XV."

He dropped major hints about the new project before the VMAs, suggesting it will arrive on Black Friday, Nov. 28. It's unclear if the album will be full of new songs or a re-release of his greatest hits. The release coincides with the anniversary of "The Slim Shady LP," which turns 15 this year.

The news was confirmed during the awards ceremony. "It's official," Eminem tweeted after the VMAs, linking to a teaser for the album:

Yes it's official… #SHADYXV Black Friday.
https://t.co/B0WCDoEeVO

— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) August 25, 2014

Listen to "Guts Over Fear":

This Is What Taylor Swift's Isolated Vocals At The VMAs Sound Like

August 25, 2014, 6:43 am

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Sometimes MTV's Video Music Awards gets the best of 'em. This year, Taylor Swift was one of them.

Swift performed her new single, "Shake It Off," live at The Forum in Inglewood, California, on Sunday. The 24-year-old danced around the stage alongside a slew of tuxedoed men, glittering in a fringed costume and singing about her "haters."

All seemed well and good, until DeadSpin's The Concourse apparently stripped the audio of Swift's performance down to the isolated vocals.

RT @DSconcourse: Here is Taylor Swift's VMA's performance, with her live vocals isolated. Brace yourself. http://t.co/lV4MOwm27j

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) August 25, 2014

As the Daily Dot notes: "Of course, this is a live performance with choreography, so perhaps she can be forgiven for sounding a little out of breath, but if we don't have something to hate the day after the VMAs, did they even happen?"

A rep for Swift was not immediately available for comment.

We're sure the superstar, who is set to release her first full pop album in October, can shake this one off.

Head over to DeadSpin to listen to the entire isolated vocal track from Swift's VMAs performance.