This Badass Couple's Vegas Elopement Is The Epitome Of Cool

March 12, 2015, 11:34 am

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Ainsley Hutchence and Sebastien Fougere had both been married before. So when they fell in love in 2008, they both agreed they would never tie the knot again.

Five years later, the Queensland, Australia-based couple changed their minds, but still weren't keen on having a big wedding. They started throwing around the idea of running off to Vegas to elope.

"Initially, we just couldn't be bothered, especially if it meant spending a shit-ton of money that we could use for a holiday instead," Hutchence told The Huffington Post. "Then for some reason, Elvis came up and the more we looked into it, the better it sounded. [We thought] getting married by Elvis would be kind of funny. We mostly just do things inspired by the idea of it being fun. And this just sounded like a fun thing to do."


Credit: Janneke Storm

Credit: Janneke Storm

Credit: Janneke Storm

In November 2013, the couple headed to Vegas with photographer and friend Janneke Storm in tow for some good old-fashioned debauchery. Although Hutchence and Fougere got married more than a year ago, the photos recently resurfaced when they appeared on BuzzFeed on Tuesday.


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm


When asked about her favorite part of the day, the bride said it had to be the craziness that ensued in the moments that led up to the ceremony. They were having so much fun taking photos and letting off smoke bombs that they forgot to allot enough time to make it to the wedding chapel in peak traffic.

"Sebastien and I both leapt out of the car and ran for it," she said. "It wasn't even a discussion. We just both knew we had to do it. All the traffic started cheering for us as we ran hand-in-hand, my massive sequined train dragging along the tar collecting anything in its way. We even had road workers stop traffic for us at one point so that we could cross a road."


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm

The eclectic pair first met at a local cafe in 2008. Hutchence would do work there sometimes, Fougere was the "incredibly handsome" barista.

"From the minute I laid eyes on him, it was on!" she told HuffPost Weddings. "Luckily Sebastien felt the same way. My visits to the cafe became more like a mild stalking situation after that day. Before going in, I would do a drive-by to make sure he was working. We just kind of flirted for a few weeks and then started dating and within three months moved in with each other."

The couple lives on the Sunshine Coast of Australia with their three kids from previous relationships -- two from his previous marriage and one from hers. They run the website Sticks and Stones Agency, which made headlines earlier this year when their Instagram account was disabled (and later reactivated) after they posted a photo of two women in bathing suits with their pubic hair showing.

In November 2014, the couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary with a trip to Bali. Naturally, they brought along the same photographer and did another awesome photo shoot. Hutchence's wedding gown, by designer Alex Mearing, was repurposed by an Australian artist for the shoot.


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm


Credit: Janneke Storm

For more enviably cool photos of the couple, check out the slideshow below. (Note: Some photos may be considered NSFW):



H/T BuzzFeed

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This Twister-Shaped Tower May One Day Sit In The Heart Of Tornado Alley

March 12, 2015, 1:27 pm

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To answer a magazine's design challenge, one Oklahoman architecture firm found inspiration in the state's infamous tornadoes.

Now, their design may become a reality.

It all started with a "Reimagining Downtown" feature in local magazine Tulsa People, explains Andrew Kinslow, a partner at local architecture firm Kinslow, Keith & Todd.

The publication asked three Oklahoman firms to design revitalization projects for Tulsa's downtown and assigned each a run-down building. KKT got a decrepit two-story parking garage.

Four weeks later, the architects submitted plans for a tower shaped like a tornado, complete with a weather museum, roof deck and a revolving restaurant on top. Oklahomans got excited.



"Now the building has sort of taken on a life of its own," Kinslow told the Huffington Post. He's been contacted by a restaurateur, weather reporters who want to film live shots from the roof, and an individual interested in renting office space.

The firm is balancing all the rotating parts before moving forward and applying for construction permits, Kinslow says. The final design could be anywhere between 20 and 30 floors high and cost about $150 million.

It's early still, but Kinslow says he's somewhat confident the project will succeed.

“There’s a number of people who would like to see it built," he said. "There’s a lot of oil money in Tulsa, and if people decide they want it done... it’ll get done."

Kerry Joels is one of those people who wants to be involved. A museum consultant who's worked at NASA and the Smithsonian, he happened to have scripted plans for an Oklahoma weather museum and research center.

“When I saw Andy’s building I thought, 'Oh my gosh, this is too good.' We got together and started noodling," he told HuffPost.

The proposed museum will include interactive exhibits about how tornadoes form and educate visitors on emergency preparedness. There will be a section on the destructive power of tornadoes and a small cylinder that simulates a mild tornado.

Many Oklahomans won't need to be reminded: The state sits in the heart of "Tornado Alley" and experienced 82 tornadoes in 2014. In 2013, an EF-5 tornado flattened the town of Moore and killed 24 people.

But both Kinslow and Joels say the tower will commemorate the strength and resilience of Oklahomans.

“The shape of the building draws attention to what’s happening in the building," including safety education and possibly a memorial garden, Kinslow says. “[Tornadoes are] not something that we all live in fear of. It's just part of being here. Like living in Boston with the snow."

“Oklahomans are survivors," explained Joels. "They’re tough, and they look at these things as a matter of life."

He predicts the building could become a city icon, much like the Space Needle in Seattle. “I just think it will be an iconic symbol of the city and Oklahoma, which is Tornado Alley," he said.

H/T Dezeen

Freed ISIS Hostages Publish Children's Book

March 12, 2015, 1:28 pm

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Two French journalists held for 10 months by the Islamic State militant group have published a children's book that they wrote in secret during captivity.

Nicolas Henin and Pierre Torres' tale of a father hedgehog separated from his family, Papa Hérisson rentrera-t-il à la maison? (Will Daddy Hedgehog Ever Come Home?), was released Wednesday by French publisher Flammarion.

The book came out of extraordinary circumstances. Henin and Torres were abducted in the Syrian city of Raqqa in June 2013 and held with other Western captives in grueling conditions before their release last April. The French government has denied reports that it paid a ransom for its citizens.


Journalists Didier Francois (L), Edouard Elias (2ndL), French President Francois Hollande (C), Nicolas Henin (3rdR) and Pierre Torres (R) at the Villacoublay military airbase in Paris, France on April 20, 2014. (Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

While in captivity, fellow captive David Haines, a British aid worker later killed by the militant group, devised a game to pass the time. Each hostage had to pick the animal he most resembled, Henin recounted to the BBC. Henin chose a hedgehog, because of the animal's self-protection methods. Henin told the BBC that like the animal, he would curl into a ball in a vain attempt to protect himself from his captors.

Torres told Henin about the remarkable ability of lost hedgehogs to find their way home, and the secret book project was born. Unbeknownst to their captors, they penned the story in tiny letters on a discarded cheese carton, Henin told Le Figaro newspaper. Torres later drew the illustrations.

Maman Hérisson et les enfants attendent avec anxiété le retour de @Papa_Herisson.
Rentrera-t-il à la maison? pic.twitter.com/zJ8uplTO3Y

— Papa Hérisson (@Papa_Herisson) March 1, 2015

"Mommy Hedgehog and the children anxiously await the return of Daddy Hedgehog. Will he come home?"

The book tells the story of a hedgehog who is accidentally whisked away by a human family in their picnic basket while he's foraging for food. A little boy holds the hedgehog captive in a box before the animal escapes and journeys home.

“The idea was to create poetry from the obscene,” Henin told British newspaper The Telegraph. He wrote the story for his 5-year-old daughter, and used it to help explain his 10-month absence.

Oh! Papa Hérisson est enfermé...
Qui l'a capturé? Va-t-on lui faire du mal?
Pourra-t-il jamais revoir les siens? pic.twitter.com/l1rao7YxAA

— Papa Hérisson (@Papa_Herisson) February 16, 2015

"Oh! Daddy Hedgehog is imprisoned... Who captured him? Will they hurt him? Will he never see his loved ones again?"

Haines' youngest daughter is close in age to Henin's. “We had dreamed together about our life after the ordeal and the meeting of our two daughters,” Henin told The Telegraph.

But Haines was beheaded by Islamic State militants in September. Henin said that even though the British hostage didn't write the book, "his spirit is in this work. His spark is there."

After another captive, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, was slain by the militants in January, Torres drew another illustration in his memory. "Kenji Goto had two little girls," a Twitter post with the drawing reads. "Daddy Hedgehog is thinking of the father who will not return to his home."

Kenji #Goto avait deux petites filles.
@Papa_Herisson a une pensée émue pour ce papa qui ne rentrera pas à la maison. pic.twitter.com/cqL5XowrWB

— Papa Hérisson (@Papa_Herisson) February 1, 2015

FABRICATIONS: Meet Queer Fashion Designer And Artist Claire Fleury

March 12, 2015, 1:42 pm

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This is the tenth installment in a miniseries titled "FABRICATIONS" that elevates the work of up-and-coming queer individuals working in the fashion world. Check back at HuffPost Gay Voices regularly to learn more about some of the designers of tomorrow and the way their work in fashion intersects with their queer identity.

Claire Fleury is a queer fashion designer and artist living in and working out of New York City. Her designs are heavily informed by her background in theatre and performance, as well as her time growing up in Amsterdam throughout the '80s and '90s. Fleury previously operated Strange Loop Gallery with photographer Alesia Exum, leading her to forge relationships with NYC's up-and-coming queer artist and performance community -- many of whom wear her designs today. Read the interview below to learn more.



The Huffington Post: What has your journey as a queer artist and fashion designer entailed?
Claire Fleury: Before starting to make clothes, I was a full-time dancer, actress and theater director/writer back in Amsterdam where I am from. Coming to New York City in December 2011, I decided I wanted to do something different and opened an art gallery with my partner and love Alesia Exum: Strange Loop Gallery. We existed on the Lower East Side for two-and-a-half years, showing predominantly queer artists in themed group shows.

It all started when Alesia Exum and I went to an opening across the street and saw all these colorfully dressed people. We said to ourselves, "Who are these people? We want them at our gallery!" We organized an exhibition where we asked [New York performer] Shane Shane to give us the phone numbers of 12 nightlife personalities he knew, buying them disposable cameras and documenting themselves and their friends dressing up -- that became the exhibition. It was called "Electric Eclectic Beauties of the Glorious Nightlife." We had photos by Krys Fox, Hari Nef, Trey LaTrash and Leo Gugu, among others. We were crying with joy when, on opening night, the stunning Jordan Fox and Severely Mame walked in, and all those other beautifully dressed up people. That was also the first time we met [designer] Domonique Echeverria -- and it was instant magic.



We showed work by Ryan Burke, Shane Shane, Brett Lindell, Alice O’Malley, Katrina del Mar, Domonique Echeverria, Gerry Visco, Diego Montoya, Tyler Ashley, Martyn Thompson, Gage of the Boone, Berlin-based Goodyn Greene, Miriam Castillo, Purevile, Timothy Atticus and others. We also hosted performances by BodyH1gh, Brett Bailey, Kris Grey, Cupid Ojala, Sarah Jimenez, and Jessica Posner, and Chris Riffle.

I am super grateful for those gallery years. Alesia calls it "A two-and-a-half year durational performance," and that is what it felt like. We met so many wonderful people, many of whom where my first clients for the clothing and costumes I started making. The reason we closed the gallery was because we both wanted to focus on making our own art. Alesia is a professional photographer, and I had started experimenting with making clothes.

I have no formal education in fashion or costume design: I learned how to sew from sitting on my mom’s worktable when I was between the ages of 4-12. She made style costumes for theatre and provided a generous appreciation of all art forms from an early age. Everyone around me growing up was an artist, so it seemed logical I became one too. After the performing arts I ventured into costume and fashion design. Somehow I did not start making clothes from scratch until after my mom passed, about two and a half years ago. Maybe I was afraid of her perfectionist eye? Who knows! Now it is my way of having her with me all the time. When I am not sure how to make something, I say: "Mom, show me!" And she points me to Google…



You describe your designs as "performative collaborations." What do you mean by this?
With a history in theater for nearly two decades, I almost feel like I stepped off stage and made room for these garments to take over. They are my script, my choreography, ready and needing to be embodied and performed by someone else.

When working with Alesia Exum on photo shoots, the performers are interpreting my clothes in a way that I can’t plan ahead. They bring in their personality -- more than maybe a model from an agency would -- because that is not what is usually required of them. Our performers often do their own make up and sometimes I let them pick the combinations too.

I also see my work as a part of a performance because the clothes themselves have "zero hanger appeal," as my friend Dust Tea Shoulders would say. They come alive and transform with whomever wears them. Like a song needs to be sung, a text needs to be spoken: my clothes need to be performed! This does not mean they are only for on stage. I like to refer to my style as "Glam de Jour" or "Day Glam," so they are definitely suitable for wearing to the grocery store.
The philosophy? Look as glamorous as you can in daily life without falling over and breaking your ankles!

I still get very excited when people come to one of my pop up events or to my studio to try things on: The same garment can transform when worn by different people. I make my clothing gender and age irrelevant -- anybody can wear them. There is definitely a dialogue going on, an interpretation. I know that can be said for all clothing, but I want to emphasize that aspect.



What does it mean to you to be a queer designer? How does your queer identity intersect with your work?
As someone who does not feel limited to one gender role, I make my clothes and costumes gender-fluid as well. Any one garment is never specifically made to be worn by anyone male or female.

Influenced by the glam rock period, where men wore platform shoes and the man-dress was a thing, I look for similar roads when it comes to male-identified clothing, like workman’s clothes or suits. I take these and change perhaps the fabric, exaggerate some section, add a colored stitching, or intervene in some other sort of way. All of the results, from every road I travel, are an invitation to fill in your own interpretation of whatever gender it is you want to be that day.

Even though the arts might seem like the most accepting field for queer people, let alone in Amsterdam, I was still not always comfortable being "out." I basically hovered between two worlds: my queer nightlife and my straight dance/art world. I felt being gay was a private thing and did not attempt to make performances about being gay. I did, however, put queer themes, or same-sex relationships in my pieces, without emphasizing them or portraying them as anything out of the ordinary. I guess it was my way of saying, "It’s ok to be gay, now leave me alone." That is kind of how I've lived too: I am gay, so what. I know we have to march and teach and preach in order for us to become more and more accepted but, hey, sometimes I just want to not have to be an activist, not have to be labeled as "queer artist" or "woman artist" but just "artist." "Tall artist," if you must.

This always felt and feels different when I am in the United States. I first lived here for a minute in the '90s and that was the first time I found there are people who are both artists and queer. I discovered the importance of "being out" -- if only to show the rest of the world that, yes, we are here and, yes, we are queer! Coming from a family in which there is no other gay person in sight -- no matter how far back or sideways you look -- I always felt like a lonely goat on top of a mountain, scraping my voice while saying, "Hey, here I am. Different but equal, right? Right?"



How did growing up in Amsterdam in the 1980s and 1990s -- as well as your experiences traveling abroad -- influence your work today?
Growing up as a young punk in Amsterdam, I was not allowed on public transport just because I was wearing neon-colored mini skirts and fishnet stockings with holes in them, beat up pumps and a used toothbrush in my oversized men’s jacket. Later I moved on to wearing combat boots, boy briefs and studded jackets, which were not at all things that were worn in mainstream fashion at that time. Still no bus for me.

Hitchhiking to Berlin and Paris, or staying in squats in London in the '90s, I was exposed to so many great periods in fashion: punk, new wave, new romantic, Gaultier, Westwood, glam rock and all the colorful people that made their unique mix of renaissance, early 1900s attire, some with colonial references or a touch of military in their garments. I am still inspired by some of the fashion I saw back then.

Often when people see my clothes on a rack they think at first glance that it is vintage: because of the multitude of colors and patterns and the fact that there is only one, maybe two of any one garment. We are now used to all clothes looking more or less the same and being displayed and available in mass-produced quantities. Stores like H&M and Forever 21 -- those were not there when I grew up and when I looked at some footage of people in the streets of Amsterdam in the '80s the other day, the first thing that struck me is that nobody dressed alike; everybody had their own personal style.

I feel inspired by a lot of time periods and really see no restrictions in what can or cannot be combined, from all the things I see and have seen. My fashion is a kaleidoscopic mix of looking at art, at life, at fashion, at people in the streets. It feels free and exciting, a whole world full of inspiration.



You use a lot of prominent people involved in New York City nightlife to model your clothing. Why have you chosen to utilize and give visibility to this community?
Alesia initiated this idea because she wanted to photograph these people, a lot of whom are our friends now too -- and she wanted to shoot my fashion. It is, in a way, an extension of our work as curators at Strange Loop Gallery: we work with emerging artists, hoping to contribute to everyone’s art and exposure. We hope that those photo shoots bring out something unexpected and desirable for them too.

I always like to work with friends, or at least people that are in the same community. I feel more open that way.
I am so terribly grateful for the beauty and talents of Severely Mame, Macy Rodman, Leo Gugu, Grayson Squire and Image Object who modeled in our photo shoots, and Tyler Ashley who choreographed a guerrilla fashion performance for fashion week last September, and all the people who performed in that. Rify Royalty, who has been performing in custom designs by me, Shane Shane, who commissioned me to make him a sheer silver netting bodysuit -- which he has worn on stage, at home, in bed and even on a camping trip. Mey Be and Wendy Whitelaw, who did make up for several shoots, and Walt Cessna for promoting the hell out of me and shooting so many of my clothes on so many pretty boys.

In general, the support of this community has been amazing. I was even nominated for best fashion designer at the Brooklyn Nightlife Awards -- I had no idea! But this is all about what these people have done for me. I am hoping that I have done something for them too -- some of them still have not picked out that garment I promised them! I hope that our photo series will be more than a fashion shoot for my clothes; to me they are art works because they are shot by a brilliant photographer, Alesia Exum, and because they are all one of a kind amazing talented performers.



At HuffPost we've seen an emergence of clothing lines that cater to queer and trans bodies whose needs aren't met by traditional designers. Do you think we'll see more of this in the future? What does this say about the future of fashion?
I hope so. I think designers like TillyandWilliam and BCALLA are amazing in the way their designs are truly new inventions -- for a new world of gender-crossing and gender-fluid individuals. I would think fashion is a field where this would reflect –- not just as a trend, but also as a general direction. I think many people have become tired of the roles we have been supposed to play, as any gender. There is a lot going on [in fashion] in terms of transgender models who are being very successful, female models showing men's lines, older models being introduced into campaigns. Hopefully this is something that continues to develop to include anyone who wants to dress up to feel like they can and they are accepted, whatever body type, gender or age they have.

What does the future hold for Claire Fleury?
I am getting a lot of requests in for performance attire, and that really excites me! I will be making costumes for Yackez’s performance in July for Dixon Place, which I think entails dressing a background dance troupe of seniors, trained by Larissa Velez-Jackson.

In June there will be an exhibition of Alesia’s photos and my designs at the Bureau of General Services Queer Division, containing many of the photos we shot last year.

I hope to be doing lots of custom designs, for performers and non-performers, and I love hosting performance parties like the ones we did at Strange Loop Gallery and recently at Vitrina NYC called "Pop Friday." It turned out a wonderful event with Shane Shane performing, as well as Yackez and Tyler Ashley with Rakia Seaborn and Image Object, and Dust Tea Shoulders interviewing his guests that he brought for a live "Fashion TV" session.

Definitely more of that.

Want to see more from Claire Fleury? Head here to check out the designer's website. Missed the previous installments in this miniseries? Check out the slideshow below.

Italy's Epic Treehouse Apartments Fulfill Everyone's Childhood Dreams

March 12, 2015, 2:52 pm

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Treehouses used to be total kid territory, but now adults are taking them over in the coolest housing trend around.

The best example we've seen of these "adult" treehouse apartments is in Turin, Italy, where one apartment building stands out like a green thumb. Designed by architect Luciano Pia, the apartment building is called 25 Verde (which translates to "25 Green"). Standing five stories high with 63 rooms, the building lives up to its moniker and looks like a giant, beautiful forest.

According to the property's website, Pia integrated about 150 trees into 25 Verde's eco-friendly design (40 in the courtyard alone), which means less pollution and less noise for residents. The trees absorb harmful toxins put into the air by street cars and even create a "microclimate" during the seasons -- making the apartments cooler during the summer and warmer during the winter. Even the walls "breathe" at 25 Verde, as ventilated walls allow sunlight to stream in during the day time. Tree foliage provides protection from the sun when it gets too harsh. Take a look at some of photos of the beautiful property below.



H/T Bored Panda

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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.)

Air Force Mom Breastfeeding In Uniform Is A Stunning Look At Military Motherhood

March 12, 2015, 2:53 pm

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Jonea Cunico, SSGT (E-5), is an Aircraft Electrical and Environmental Specialist in the Air Force Reserves and mom to a 14-month-old boy named Joshua Jr. When photographer Jade Beall captured gorgeous pictures of Cunico breastfeeding in uniform, she showcased a powerful image of a mother and woman serving her country.



Cunico reflects on her experience with breastfeeding and pumping, at home and in the military, in an interview with Breastfeeding in Combat Boots -- veteran and certified lactation specialist Robyn Roche-Paull's online resource for military mothers working to nurse while serving their country. Dealing with "a bad latch followed by a round of thrush," Cunico says breastfeeding was difficult at the beginning. "I toughed it out and pushed through," she said, adding, "I’m so glad that I did."

Though she worried about nursing and pumping in her predominantly male unit, the military mom says she was "pleasantly surprised" with how well her peers responded to and supported her decision to breastfeed. "Whenever I need to take a pumping break I just excuse myself from whatever is going on and do what I need to. No questions asked, no awkward moments."

From day one, her superiors were also very receptive to her needs, Cunico explains. "I was very clear with my supervisor that I was breastfeeding my son and that I would need to take precautions when handling chemicals, and that my work on the aircraft would be limited," she recalled, adding, "He was very understanding and didn’t have a problem." When she requested a private, clean room for pumping, he quickly found a suitable office she could use.

Nursing in uniform has caused a stir in the past -- most notably in 2012 when National Air Guard members Terran Echegoyen McCabe And Christina Luna received criticism for their viral breastfeeding photo. But Cunico told Jade Beall, "I have been contacted by the Air Force officials and they see nothing wrong with this photo!"

Writing to Beall, the military mom also said, "I know there will be people who don't agree with me nursing in uniform. There are no regulations forbidding me to do so. I am a mother. Both inside and outside of my uniform. Breastfeeding is part of motherhood for me."

You can read more about Jonea Cunico on Breastfeeding in Combat Boots.



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Audra McDonald To Return To Broadway In 2016 For 'Shuffle Along' Musical

March 12, 2015, 3:09 pm

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NEW YORK (AP) — Six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald is returning to Broadway next year in a show that reaches back over 90 years.

Producer Scott Rudin said Thursday that McDonald will star next March in a show that looks at the making of the 1921 hit "Shuffle Along," one of the first Broadway musicals to be written and directed by African-Americans. The show — to be called "Shuffle Along, Or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed" — will have a story by George C. Wolfe and be choreographed by Savion Glover. The duo last worked together on "1996 hit Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk."

Previews are to begin March 14, 2016, at the Music Box Theatre.

"Shuffle Along," with music and lyrics by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, has a score that includes the songs "(I'm Just) Wild About Harry," ''Love Will Find a Way," ''Bandana Days" and "Shuffle Along." The cast featured Paul Robeson and Florence Mills, and Josephine Baker joined the tour.

The dance-heavy show centers on a three-way mayoralty race in a small Southern town. It played some 500 performances and attracted the likes of George Gershwin, Fanny Brice, Al Jolson and Langston Hughes.

McDonald won a Tony the last time she was on Broadway in 2014, playing Billie Holiday in "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill." She also won Tonys for "Carousel," ''Master Class," ''Ragtime," ''A Raisin in the Sun" and "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess."

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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

How Frida Kahlo's Miscarriage Put Her On The Path To Becoming An Iconic Artist

March 13, 2015, 5:17 am

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Before Frida Kahlo reached her 25th birthday, the Mexican artist had contracted polio, survived a horrific bus accident and endured a traumatic miscarriage. However, the loss of her baby -- compounded by the alienation she was experiencing while living in Detroit -- shaped her artistic vision and propelled her career forward, as shown in a new exhibition put on by the museum that brought her to the city 80 years ago.

“Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit" opens Sunday at the Detroit Institute of Arts. It looks at the time the couple spent in Detroit in 1932 as Rivera -- by then an acclaimed artist -- painted the “Detroit Industry” murals commissioned for the museum.

The cycle of frescoes celebrating the city’s booming industries wrap around the central court and are a foundation of its collection. Large scale “cartoons” Rivera drew as studies for the murals are shown in the exhibition for the first time in nearly 30 years.

But as Rivera worked on his famous murals, Kahlo was making some of her early definitive work, now shown for the first time in the city where it was made.

"Frida began work on a series of masterpieces which had no precedent in the history of art -- paintings which exalted the feminine qualities of endurance of truth, reality, cruelty, and suffering,” Rivera said in his as-told-to autobiography My Art, My Life. “Never before had a woman put such agonized poetry on canvas as Frida did at this time in Detroit."

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit, c. 1933, DIA Archives.

In the first few months of the couple’s stay in Detroit, Rivera was preparing to paint the murals while Kahlo was disenchanted with Detroit, isolated and pregnant. Citing Kahlo’s letters to her doctor, the DIA exhibition says she feared injuries from her bus accident would make giving birth impossible, and considered terminating her pregnancy in May. In July, she lost a large amount of blood and was rushed to a hospital, where she miscarried. She spent two weeks there recovering, and turned 25 in a hospital bed.

“I cried a lot, but it's over, there is nothing else that can be done except to bear it,” Frida wrote to her personal doctor.

Kahlo channeled her grief into art, drawing while in the hospital, then painting the evocative self portrait “Henry Ford Hospital.”

"Henry Ford Hospital," Frida Kahlo, 1932, oil on Sheet Metal, 12 ½ x 15 ½ in. Collection Museo Dolores Olmedo, Xochimilco, México. © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Kahlo reveals all of herself, bloody and crying on a hospital bed, with red strings tying her to symbolic images. She is marooned in an empty space, the industrial Detroit skyline far behind her. According to the exhibition information, Kahlo said the field represented Mexico, surrounding herself with the comfort of her homeland.

Her miscarriages and unfulfilled desire to have a child became a major theme of her work, the exhibition's curator, Mark Rosenthal, told The Huffington Post.

Kahlo's 1926 drawing of the bus accident that left her severely injured shows an earlier approach to grappling with personal pain through her art. "The Accident," Frida Kahlo, 1926, pencil on paper, Colección Juan Rafael Coronel Rivera, photographer: Francisco Kochen. © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.


The miscarriage also influenced Rivera to change a panel of his murals. Instead of an agricultural scene (shown in one of the prep drawings in the exhibition), the panel shows a baby inside the bulb of a plant.

"Detroit Industry," east wall (detail), Diego Rivera, 1932-33, fresco. Detroit Institute of Arts (baby in bulb). © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Apart from her health issues, Kahlo missed Mexico and found little to like about Detroit. Rivera was busy with the murals, so she spent more time painting; he encouraged her to keep pursuing art.

While her husband was taken with the city and its industry, Kahlo saw “a shabby little village.”

“The industrial part of Detroit is really the most interesting; the rest is ugly and stupid,” she wrote in a letter.

Kahlo's first painting in Detroit. "Window Display on a Street in Detroit," Frida Kahlo, 1932, oil on metal, Mr. and Mrs. Francisco and Fiorella Diaz. © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.


Like Rivera, Kahlo incorporated allusions to Mexico into work she made in the U.S. However, while Rivera’s "Detroit Industry" murals depict the different cultures intertwined in a larger story, Kahlo’s work showed “no sign of the synthesis” of the two, Rosenthal said.

That can be seen in “Self-Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States,” painted in Detroit. Kahlo stands between two starkly differentiated depictions of the two countries.

"Self-Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States," Frida Kahlo, 1932, oil on metal, Private Collection. © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.


Before she and Rivera left in the spring of 1933, Detroit seemed to offer Kahlo torment after torment -- she also returned to Mexico for a month to see her sick mother before she died. But for all the misery, her experiences in the city, where she started referring to herself as a professional painter, were a catalyzing force in her art career, pushing her to focus on the unflinchingly personal self-portraits for which she is known.

Frida Kahlo on balcony above "Detroit Industry" murals, DIA Archives.


“[Kahlo’s] breakthrough is Detroit,” art historian Victor Zamudio Taylor says in the documentary “The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo.” “In Detroit, Frida Kahlo, for the first time, consciously decides that she will paint about herself, and that she will paint the most private and painful aspects of herself.”

“Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit” is on display March 15 through July 12 at the Detroit Institute of Arts. See the museum's website for related programs about the artists and more info.

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Justin Sayre Presents 'The Mangina Monologues' For 'The Meeting'

March 13, 2015, 5:27 am

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In his latest video for HuffPost Gay Voices, writer-performer Justin Sayre offers a humorous take on Eve Ensler's classic play, "The Vagina Monologues."

Together with Brian Moylan and Chris Tyler, Sayre recites "The Mangina Monologues," which features a number of hilarious double entendres. (WARNING: some language is NSFW)

Sayre's "International Order of Sodomites" (I.O.S.) gathers once a month for "The Meeting," honoring an artist or a cultural work that is iconic to the gay community.

The next installment of "The Meeting" is dedicated to Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" and hits New York's Joe's Pub on March 15. Special guests include Tituss Burgess, Nadia Quinn and Eddie Korbich, among others.

Sayre will make his Los Angeles concert debut on March 22 at Uncabaret. Meanwhile, on April 25, "The Meeting" will hit San Francisco's Oasis.

In other news, "Sparkle & Circulate with Justin Sayre," the official I.O.S. podcast, has just released its fifth episode, featuring an interview with Australian singer, actor and model Kim David Smith.

Meanwhile, you can also view some previous performances from "The Meeting" on the official YouTube page. For more Sayre, head to Facebook and Twitter.

Prince And 3rdEyeGirl Release Surprise Single, 'What If'

March 13, 2015, 6:07 am

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Prince's surprise tour, "Hit & Run," kicks off in Louisville, Kentucky, but just ahead of the start, he released a new single with 3rdEyeGirl, "What If." (They also collaborated on last year's albums, "PlectrumElectrum" and "Art Official Age.") The track premiered on Louisville radio station WFPK.

"What If" is actually a cover of Christian singer-songwriter Nichole Nordeman's song, and features vocals from 3rdEyeGirl's drummer, Hannah Welton, who's originally from Louisville.

Upload Audio - Download Music - Prince & 3EYEGIRL what-if

Collector Says Banksy Mural Cursed His House

March 13, 2015, 6:19 am

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This article originally appeared on artnet News.
by Sarah Cascone


Banksy, Spy Booth, Cheltenham. Photo: lamentables/Flickr.

The homeowner who became the inadvertent owner of Banksy's Spy Booth when the anonymous British street artist chose his Cheltenham house as a canvas says the artwork, valued at seven figures, has been nothing but trouble.

Featuring three trench coat–clad spies listening in on the phone booth in front of the mural, the piece, which appeared this past April, is a reference to the country's nearby intelligence headquarters, the GCHQ (see Suspected Banksy Pokes Fun at Government Surveillance).

Speaking with local radio station Swindon 105.5, homeowner David Possee lamented the painting's appearance, claiming “it all unraveled when this mural appeared on the side of the property."

His attempts to protect the artwork were hindered by bureaucratic red tape courtesy of the Cheltenham Borough Council. “They didn't come up with any sort of ideas," said Posse. “I suggested Perspex but they said it's against listing consent. They just said, ‘You can't put that on there,' and I was threatened with a fine. They offered no alternative."

The home is in a state of disrepair, and Possee claims to have been fined over the state of the cement wall bearing the painting. When he tried to fix it, however, “we had the scaffolding up and then we had a huge panic in Cheltenham thinking I was going to cut it out, which was not the case" (see Banksy's Spy Booth Headed to Auction Block).

"I've said right from the beginning I think it deserves to stay in Cheltenham," Possee insists. "If Cheltenham wants it, Cheltenham can have it. But I need to get on with my own life. So buy the building off me."

Of course, Posseee does have at least one offer: local businessman Hekmat Kaveh had agreed to buy the home for $1 million mere hours before it was vandalized on August 1 (see Vandals Completely Deface Banksy's Spy Booth). The deal was reportedly delayed by the Borough Council's investigation into work being done on the home.

Following the vandalism, the Gloucestershire Echo reported that Kaveh had enlisted Banksy restorer Robin Barton to remove the silver graffiti and was still looking to purchase the property. Last month, Kaveh's application for retrospective planning permission for the Banksy mural was approved, over Possee's objections (see Banksy's Spy Booth Mural Cherished and Perserved in Cheltenham).

"The Banksy was created without permission," Posse complained at the council meeting, claiming the work was "not just unauthorized, it involved the commission of a criminal offense."

"It has caused me significant financial problems, the building is currently empty, uninhabitable and the damp proofing needs to be carried out on the flank wall," he added. "The serious state of disrepair is a current danger to passing members of the public."

The council tells a different story, with Martin Chandler, team leader of development management for the council telling the Independent that Possee had been warned for three months prior to the painting's appearance to fix the wall. “There has been ample opportunity for Mr Possee to discuss a positive way forward for the mural but unfortunately this has not happened."


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This Is Our Cover Letter To Be Damien Hirst's Art Assistant

March 13, 2015, 6:25 am

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It came to our attention earlier this week that British YBA hero Damien Hirst was looking for some sort of studio assistant. The job listing over at The Gaurdian called for a photorealists artist with experience in oil paint, color matching skills and attention to detail. Although the listing has unfortunately closed, we'd ask that the mega-star consider one last applicant. The following is a cover letter we came across in our daily search for Hirst-related news. We eagerly await his response.

Dear Mr. Hirst:

I was excited to see that you are hiring for the position of photorealist painter, and I hope to be invited for an interview. I believe, due to my experience in the arts as well as my passion for subject matter in line with your work, and that of Science UK Ltd., that I am the ideal candidate for the position.

I have been interested in art since a young age, your art particularly, since it addresses themes so near and dear to my heart. Firstly, pregnancy. As you so eloquently realized in your 66-foot, 55,00-pound "Verity" sculpture, the so-called gift of human life is all kinds of freaky. Like, seriously foul. Why does no one talk about this more?

Whenever I hear that a new person in my extended social circle has been blessed with the miracle of life inside her, I want nothing more than to see that unborn fetus as if it were a blown-up, metallic monster, like one of those Body Worlds exhibitions but, way bigger and way more expensive. Thanks to "Verity," whenever a resident of the small seaside town of Ilfracombe, Devon wants to take a sunny stroll, they'll be coldcocked by the wonder of birth. The birth of a silver giant! Don't listen to what any of those hundred Ilfracombians said when they begged and pleaded against the so-called grotesque artwork overshadowing their hometown. They don't understand the meaning of art.

This brings me to my second qualification that I know will set me apart from my fellow applicants. My unabashed and all-consuming hatred of butterflies. I am not naive, and thus am well aware that I'm far from the only person who loathes the undesirables. So fluttery. However, with all their cheery connotations in contemporary society, it's nearly impossible to express one's disgust of the beasts in public. As anyone who's ever seen the look on a strangers face when you smush a butterfly between your fingertips and watch as its little antenna shakes a final quiver knows, this kind of behavior is denigrated in mainstream society.

Mr. Hirst, if hired I assure you that I will show no mercy in my pursuit of slaughtering butterflies on a massive scale. I know your 2012 installation "In and Out of Love" resulted in the death of 9,000 of the vermin, but under my watch, the count could reach up to 15,000. At least.

Finally, your listing requested experience with oil paint, as well as good color matching skills and attention to detail. While I am not necessarily proficient in any of these realms, with all due respect Mr. Hirst, I've seen your spot paintings. I think I can handle it.*

Back in the 1990s you said words that have remained emblazoned in my memory: "I can’t wait to get into a position to make really bad art and get away with it." You're still, unfortunately, receiving a vast number of not-so-flattering reviews , for reasons I cannot begin to comprehend. I could think of no greater honor than making your dream come true, to truly create bad art and make even more money for it. With me by your side, you can hopefully one day rise from the richest living artist in the world to the richest living artist in the universe.

For the Love of God, Mr. Hirst, give me the privilege of being your assistant.

All best,


*I won't even embarrass you by mentioning these.

This is, of course, a satirical letter.

Dylan Gelula Explains How 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' Celebrates Women Like No Other Show

March 13, 2015, 7:31 am

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Dylan Gelula is still kind of shocked that you're watching her on Netflix. The 20-year-old from the Philadelphia suburbs plays Xanthippe, the wealthy teenage stepdaughter of Jacqueline Voorhees (Jane Krakowski), on "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," Tina Fey and Robert Carlock's half-hour comedy about a woman (Ellie Kemper) who escapes from a cult. Xan is often the butt of the joke, the cynical side to Kimmy's sunny coin. But with acidic delivery, Gelula shines in the show's excellent supporting cast, which includes Tituss Burgess and Carol Kane.

At first it seems Xan's intent on finding out Kimmy's secrets, but as the season unfolds, we learn she's the kind of teen who pretends to pop pills to fit in with her friends, even though she really wants to go bird watching in Central Park. It's a distinct change from Gelula's arcs on shows like ABC Family's "Chasing Life" and TV Land's "Jennifer Falls." We talked to Gelula about playing a girl with a name no one can pronounce, working with your idols and finding roles that are more than just "the love interest."

How do you feel now that "Kimmy" has been out in the world?
It’s crazy. I forgot anyone was ever going to see it. It’s really weird that other people know the jokes that I thought were really funny. It's like I thought they were going to stay inside jokes.

What was your casting process like?
I was in Los Angeles and they were only casting in New York, and I put in a tape because I wanted it, obviously. A month later I heard they were interested in me.

Did you have to read with Ellie or Jane?
It was actually crazier than that. They were like, "We don’t know if it’s yours yet, but we’re starting the show and the table read is tomorrow. Could you come read Xan at the table read and we’ll see how it goes?"

Was there another person there who was up for the role?
I felt kind of better because I was the one doing the table read, but there were still other girls reading for Xan there.

Do you know the story of why Tina and Robert wanted to name her Xanthippe?
I have no idea. I did my own pronunciation research before going there, but I think until the fifth episode people were like, "How do you say it?” I said it one way, Jane said it another way.



How did you feel working with Tina and Jane going into this?
I mean, it’s Tina Fey. I’ve seen every episode of “30 Rock.” I think everyone who’s my age who likes comedy has.

Did you watch the show again to prep for the role?
I actually went back and binge-watched most of “30 Rock” again because it’s such a specific cadence, it’s such a specific style of comedy.

People have been having so much fun finding “30 Rock” easter eggs in “Kimmy.”
It’s such a machine gun too. If you don’t get one joke, there’s another one right behind it.

I’m starting to watch it for the second time and you just pick up on so much stuff you didn’t realize before.
Oh yeah, I want to do that. I watched the entire thing without moving. I watched it with my boyfriend and we just watched the entire thing and I’m really just a fan. The best part was watching the ones I’m not in, that I didn’t get to read the scripts for. I could genuinely watch without knowing what was going to happen.

What do you hope to do in the next few months, career-wise?
That’s something I’m really trying to figure out. It’s a weird thing to navigate. How do I balance that I want to work with also wanting to do good things? “Kimmy” was such an artistically-fulfilling experience for me. How many things is that true for? How much of working is actually going to be “Kimmy” level? I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to do more things that are amazing.

Do you have another project in the works?
No. I get to do more work on another show that’s really fun to work on called “Chasing Life” on ABC Family. I’m coming back to the second season of that.



Do you know if you’re going to be on the second season of “Kimmy?”
I don’t know. I hope to God.

Is there a dream role in mind?
My feminism does matter to me in that I don’t really want to be the “daughter” or the girl that inexplicably thinks the guy is really cute. I don’t want to be “the love interest” or “the daughter.”

That’s what was so cool about Xan on “Kimmy.” There were so many layers to her! She’s not really the bad girl, she's doing things to fit in, but really likes to bird watch.
I think also it’s a great study in women of all ages. If you write jokes for them, they’re going to land them. They were jokes written for women, which you don’t ever get to see.

Did you ever have a conversation with Tina where you talked about that?
I can imagine she’s so sick of talking about, like, “Let’s talk about women in comedy!” I’m not yet, and I’m still thinking about it. What I’m thinking about, she thought about 25 years ago.

'It Follows' Started As A Nightmare, And Now It Will Haunt You, Too

March 13, 2015, 7:49 am

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Imagine sleeping with your significant other for the first time, only to learn he's passed on the most terrifying STD imaginable: stalker zombies who can only be expelled by handing off the curse via intercourse. The new horror movie "It Follows" will show you what happens, and the results are terrifying.

The indie film premiered to raves at the Cannes Film Festival last May. It was picked up for distribution the following month and screened at a bevy of other festivals in the lead-up to this weekend's limited theatrical release. Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, who made the 2010 coming-of-age drama "The Myth of the American Sleepover," "It Follows" was worth the wait -- it's a rare must-see for all horror fans.

The idea sprung from a recurring nightmare Mitchell had when he was about 9 and 10 years old. It didn't involve sex, of course, but it contained the film's other trappings, namely a monster that took on other identities -- sometimes people he knew, sometimes not -- and lethargically followed Mitchell wherever he went. He could always evade it, but the fact that no one else could see the shapeshifting creature fostered perpetual dread. When Mitchell thought he might like to make a horror film, he recalled the nightmares. All he needed was a source for such hauntings.

Some have read "It Follows" as an allegory for STDs. Mitchell and the movie's lead, 21-year-old Maika Monroe ("The Guest"), acknowledge that as a possible interpretation but don't submit to it as the film's ultimate metaphor.

"I wanted it to be something that could be shared between people and something that could come back to you," Mitchell told The Huffington Post. "If we use sex to do that, it’s a way of connecting people -- not just physically, but also emotionally -- which sort of tied into some of the other themes in the movie. I had several themes in the back of my head when writing this. Any interpretation is valid. Especially for a horror film, I think that’s part of the fun of it."

Also part of the fun is the cast of 20-somethings who took to sleepy neighborhoods in and near Detroit to film the movie across five weeks. Jay (Monroe) is joined by a small group of friends (including one played by "United States of Tara" alum Keir Gilchrist) determined to help extinguish the haunting that only she can see. Together, they devise escapes and attempts to vanquish the monsters.

"You realize once you're on set that it’s actually very difficult to make a horror movie, which is something you don’t really think of prior to doing it," Maika said. "One day we’re shooting some of the beginning scenes where everything is fine and great at the house, and then we’re into where I’m running for my life."

The finished product makes it look simple. The suburban setting and Disasterpeace's pulsating synth score recall the work of John Carpenter, particularly "Halloween," which is among many films Mitchell cites as lifelong influences. (Others include "Creature from the Black Lagoon," "Night of the Living Dead," "The Thing," "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "The Shining" and those of David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Brian de Palma and Alfred Hitchcock.) Employing 360-degree pans and sinister perspective shots that direct viewers toward the characters' peril, "It Follows" inverts the 1970s' and 80s' virgin-dies-last horror trope with chilling results.

"Sex is also the thing that temporarily frees you," Mitchell said. "I think sex is simply representative of life itself. It’s literally simply the act of living -- it is in contrast with our mortality, on some level. That’s one of the ways I like to look at it. So, again, I think it’s fair to look at it in terms of the STD comparison. I’m not putting that down, but I also think it’s maybe more complicated than that."

Whatever symbolism you find, "It Follows" is an anomaly within today's horror landscape. The lo-fi production values underscore its terror, and the idea that there's more than torture, gore or unexplained mysticism at hand aligns the thriller with 2014 darling "The Babadook" and Sundance breakout "The Witch" -- both of which relied on atmosphere rather than cheap scares to create suspense. Carrying their torch, "It Follows" is the right way to do horror.

"It Follows," released via RADiUS-TWC, opens in limited release on March 13.

Syria's Historical Artifacts Aren't Just Being Destroyed By ISIS, They're Being Looted

March 13, 2015, 8:27 am

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Every week, we bring you one overlooked aspect of the stories that made news in recent days. You noticed the media forgot all about another story's basic facts? Tweet @TheWorldPost or let us know on our Facebook page.

The first reports that Islamic State militants were destroying cultural heritage sites came soon after the group seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria last year. Such accounts have since become commonplace.

The famed ancient Assyrian capital of Khorsabad, which had survived for 2,700 years, was reportedly ransacked and razed this month. Also in March, militants reportedly bulldozed the ancient city of Nimrud, and leveled the 2000-year-old city of Hatra. A shrine believed to be the tomb of biblical figure Jonah was blown up in July as onlookers wept.

In the extremist-held city of Mosul, thousands of books have been burned. Videos posted online show militants smashing artifacts in the Mosul Museum. The list of lost treasures goes on.

The Islamic State group, motivated by a violent interpretation of Sunni Islam, believes religious shrines heretical and has said it considers their destruction its duty. There is abundant evidence, however, that monuments and artifacts in territory under Islamic State control are not just being destroyed, but also are being looted on an unprecedented scale. Some believe these looted antiquities are part of a multi-million dollar smuggling industry that helps fund Islamic State extremists.

WIDESPREAD LOOTING

The American Association for the Advancement of Science's comparisons of satellite imagery of archaeological sites in Syria show many cultural sites have been looted and damaged during the four-year civil war. In the ancient walled city of Dura Europa in eastern Syria, for instance, images show that thousands of "looting holes" emerged between 2011 and 2014.

2011 photo showing undisturbed earth
Image credit: Image ©DigitalGlobe | U.S. Department of State, NextView License | Analysis AAAS

2014 photo showing thousands of looting holes

Image credit: Image ©DigitalGlobe | U.S. Department of State, NextView License | Analysis AAAS

The looting is not specific to territory controlled by the Islamic State, however, and it preceded the group's presence in some areas. "ISIS came to a pre-existing situation," Syrian archaeologist Amr al-Azm told NPR. But once in power in these areas, ISIS streamlined the process of looting and trafficking, al-Azm said. The militants profit from the practice, al-Azm alleged, by taxing sales of antiquities.

"What we think Islamic State is doing is looting sites for antiquities that they can easily market to middlemen because those antiquities will be hard to trace back to Syria," Michael Danti, a professor of archaeology at Boston University, told NPR.

SELLING STOLEN ARTIFACTS

While ongoing hostilities make it hard to verify who is doing the looting and the ISIS role in it, the rising number of antiquities reaching foreign markets indicate that things have shifted since the start of the war.

“The number of antiquities that have come to us over the last few years has increased dramatically. We attribute that largely to the unrest and the war zone that’s been created in Syria and much of the Middle East,” Christopher Marinello, director of Art Recovery International, told The WorldPost.

Marinello's organization provides a searchable database for private art dealers, as well as law enforcement, to monitor stolen and looted art. "Some people get paid very little for the objects that come out of the ground and then the middleman adds their markup and it goes through an extensive chain,” Marinello explained. “We’ve seen evidence of objects going through Turkey and Lebanon, making their way to Western markets through Switzerland, Germany, U.S. and U.K."


Ivory slab depicting a procession of Assyrian soldiers and wagons. Artefact from Nimrud, Iraq. Assyrian civilisation, 9th Century BC. Bagdad, National Iraq Museum (Archaeological Museum) (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Determining Islamic State ties to the looted artifacts is extremely difficult. It may indeed be that ISIS is profiting from the sale of looted antiquities. That would certainly be consistent with the group's well-noted history profiting off smuggled arms and oil.

Complicating the issue further is that when illicit antiquities are found, establishing provenance -- the history of ownership -- is no easy feat. According to art recovery experts, it can be very hard to determine whether an ancient object left its place of origin 100 years or 100 days ago.

"Antiquities are a notoriously difficult issue," James Ratcliffe, director of recoveries at the Art Loss Register, told The WorldPost. "People are digging things up that haven't been seen for thousands of years. That means that, unlike with stolen art, no one knows what it is."

Marinello and Ratcliffe both said antiquity collectors are now being extremely careful about anything with potentially troublesome sources. But as bad dealers look for profit, the trade of looted antiquities continues.

More from The WorldPost's Forgotten Fact Series:

- Brazil Released Its Own Torture Report And The U.S. Is Implicated
- How Boko Haram Has Left Northeast Nigeria In Ruins
- Nigeria Is Holding Elections But Millions May Not Be Able To Vote
- The Fight Against Beijing You Probably Never Heard About

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Marvin Gaye's Family May Challenge Pharrell's 'Happy' Next

March 13, 2015, 8:57 am

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A court is awarding Marvin Gaye's family $7.3 million in the "Blurred Lines" lawsuit, and now another chart-topper might come under fire: Pharrell Williams' "Happy." YouTube videos have pointed out similarities between the track and Gaye's 1965 single, "Ain't That Peculiar," for months, but now the family says there may be grounds for legal action.

"I'm not going to lie. I do think they sound alike," Gaye's daughter, Nona Gaye, told "Entertainment Tonight" correspondent Nischelle Turner in an interview. His ex-wife Janis also said, "I heard the mash-ups -- but I didn't really need to hear them. I know 'Ain't That Peculiar' and I've heard 'Happy.'" No charges have been filed.



Since the verdict was announced, music and legal critics have said the decision set "a horrible precedent" in the music industry when it comes to writing songs inspired by earlier artists. LA Weekly's Andy Hermann came out with a story headlined, "'Blurred Lines' Has Ruined the Entire Music Industry," while Slate claimed it "may end up cutting off a vital wellspring of creativity in music."

For reference, listen to a mashup of "Happy" and "Ain't That Peculiar":

From 'Hell' And Back, Madonna Lives To Tell

March 13, 2015, 9:00 am

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With mere hours until the release of her new album, Madonna sits behind a closed door in a suite at Interscope Records’ office near Times Square. A stylist darts into the room for a few touch-ups. “She wants to look good for you,” Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's longtime publicist, tells me. I pass a pair of security guards, then wait to be beckoned into the makeshift chamber. Not much has changed since 1984, when Madonna promised to “rule the world” and subsequently invented modern pop stardom. She is still the one to decide when, where and, most importantly, how we see her.

Over the past few months, however, a hacker challenged Madonna’s right to govern her own image. “Living hell” is how she describes the multiple Internet leaks that plagued her 13th studio album, “Rebel Heart." For someone who approves every thread of her dancers’ costumes before a performance, this was Madonna losing control, the very thing that made her the star she is. So it makes sense that the singer, who did almost no press for her previous album because its release was sandwiched between a Super Bowl halftime show and a world tour, has been ubiquitous in her promotion of “Rebel Heart,” which was released March 10. The high priestess of reinvention maintains her relevance with the headline-making narratives that grow from each hit album, single, video, film and performance -- distinct storylines that expand Madonna's brand. Like the sexual dare of “Erotica,” the spiritual-enlightenment yarn of “Ray of Light” and the political racket of “American Life,” the new album now carries with it another chestnut to add to Madonna’s biography. It’s just not one she invited.

To create “Rebel Heart,” the 56-year-old collaborated with the likes of Diplo, Avicii, Kanye West, Nas, Nicki Minaj, Chance the Rapper, Mike Tyson, Toby Gad, DJ Dahi, Ariel Rechtshaid and Ryan Tedder over 18 months. Two days after Thanksgiving, a pair of demos leaked online. Then, a week after other journalists and I previewed 13 tracks one evening in early December, the full album leaked as well. What can the most exacting and famous pop icon on the planet do when hackers threaten her power? What she’s always done: reclaim control.

It’s not dissimilar from what I glean during our 30 minutes of face time, which Madonna begins by offering me a Red Vine. She may not know what questions she’ll be asked, but Madonna asserts herself simply by making it clear which ones she likes and which ones she does not. She’s cognizant that even professionals flinch in her presence. Coy smiles give way to skeptical frowns as the conversation unfolds, underscoring the art of Madonna’s protracted self-awareness.

Stars in Madonna's orbit (L to R): Michael Jackson (1991), David Letterman (1994), Rosie O'Donnell (1998), Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera (2003), then-husband Guy Ritchie with son Rocco and daughter Lordes (2007)

In an age when pop stars feel like ephemera -- Britney Spears turns into Katy Perry, John Mayer gives way to Ed Sheeran, Janet Jackson yields to Rihanna -- Madonna is the only one to promote a persona that demands every move become another indelible page in the story she’s writing about herself. That’s tougher nowadays, when trends don't last as long. So, as usual, Madonna concocts her own tale: She releases mastered versions of six leaked songs with no announcement, becomes the first major artist to premiere a video on Snapchat and runs a contest that allows fans to chat with her on Grindr. Just don’t think the leaks somehow benefited Madonna -- she scowls when I imply there's solace in their prompting her to stretch “Rebel Heart” from 13 tracks to 19, meaning she eliminated less from what at one point might have become a double album.

“It was really hard on everybody,” she says of the leaks. “Everybody became very paranoid. It was like, ‘Oh, it could be anybody. It’s got to be somebody close.’ I was worried it was an engineering assistant or somebody that had access to everything.” (It was a 39-year-old man from Israel. He has been arrested and indicted.)

Celebrity image control has evolved wildly since Sire Records president Seymour Stein signed Madonna after listening to her debut single, “Everybody,” from his hospital bed in 1982. That Madonna has molded herself for the Instagram era despite having cut her teeth before social media was conceivable is a chief source of the "she's irrelevant" potshots her critics sling. Before she leapt onto the social-media bandwagon, which has served devotees-turned-counterparts like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift well, Madonna’s control was born in the music-video era, when performers molded their personas primarily through MTV rotations. In Kanye West’s eyes, for example, she is “the greatest visual musical artist that we've ever had.” Instagram, then, is another visual platform where Madonna can craft her career narratives.

I tell Madonna that West has paid her such a compliment and ask whether she agrees. She looks at the floor, chuckles knowingly and looks back at me. “That is a trick question,” she smirks. “Um. I think Kanye is a ...” -- and here she morphs into an exaggerated English accent -- “... brilliant man. Brilliant, brilliant. He says some very pithy things sometimes.” (In an interview with the New York Daily News, Madonna tried her hand at pithiness, too: "Kanye is the black Madonna," she said.)

Others say things Madonna doesn’t find quite so amusing. Case in point: Giorgio Armani. The designer fashioned the cape that led to her nasty tumble at last month’s Brit Awards. A week after Madonna took to Instagram to thank Armani for the costume, he told the Associated Press she is “very difficult to work with.”

“That was kind of disappointing because I don’t think I was difficult to work with,” she tells me. “I never blamed my cape for not being able to untie it. In fact, the day after it happened, I posted a drawing, a beautiful drawing, of the cape and thanked them for my costume. I didn’t blame what happened on anyone, so I don’t really know why they did that. I think that was a knee-jerk reaction on their part thinking they were going to get criticism, so they just had to make me the bad guy. Not very elegant, I don’t think.”

This pendulum -- a tick-tock between fierce loyalists and unforgiving detractors -- swings with every major moment in Madonna’s career. Out of the reactions, the narratives are born. With the post-breakup anthem “Living for Love,” the lead single from “Rebel Heart,” Madonna fell down (literally and figuratively) and carried on, just as the lyrics promise. A “tumultuous” few months led to many sleepless nights as Madonna tied bows on the album, now according to her hacker’s schedule. As a result, “Living for Love” emerges with the type of potent backstory the singer hasn’t seen since 2005’s “Hung Up,” the heralded dance canticle whose John Travolta-influenced video marked a return to form after the departure of “American Life."

Throughout these recent obstacles, Madonna used Instagram to reach the fans who rallied behind her. That instant-access culture has taken interesting turns for the singer, though. In January 2014, she posted a photo of son Rocco, then 13, with a caption that included the hashtag "#disnigga." The backlash was swift and ended in a rare apology from the very woman who has a new song called “Unapologetic Bitch.” After refusing to douse infernos involving alleged religious blasphemy (“Like a Prayer”), nude streetwalking (the Sex book) and smooches planted on Britney Spears’ and Christina Aguilera’s lips at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, why cave now?

Madonna explains that she only apologizes “when I see that there’s a huge fire that’s about to blaze through the center of the universe and I have to put the fire out -- especially if it comes to my children.”

As with everything in the second half of her career, Madonna has straddled motherly enlightenment and relentless envelope-pushing, ensuring that we see her as an evolved artist who remains true to her initial priorities, even in the face of ageism and sexism. In the case of the N-word gaffe, Madonna says it was Rocco who told her how to caption the photo. “It was the one time that I listened to my son," she says. "It was his idea. I was like, ‘What caption do you want me to put on it?’ And I did. I wasn’t thinking.”

This controversial Madonna is a theme on “Rebel Heart,” with songs that probe some of the more audacious moments of her 33-year career. On the title track, she sings about “all the things I did just to be seen,” echoing criticism predating the time she rolled around on the VMA stage in 1984, when hardly anyone had even heard “Like a Virgin.” It also reminds us that almost all of those contentious moments, whether she regrets them or not, contain layers that most pop stars are lucky to achieve once or twice in their career. Still, it pays to be meditative, and that’s the chief tune Madonna has sung since the mid-’90s, when she made “Evita,” began studying Kabbalah and had her first child, Lourdes.
"Sometimes I just did shit, you know? Just to, like, throw a firebomb in the room."

“There’s a part of my character that’s on automatic, that just likes to be a provocateur. And to a certain extent, maybe some of the things that I did didn’t really have any thought process behind them necessarily, but they got attention,” Madonna says. “I wasn’t really thinking of anything specific. I mean, I could even think of shows that I did on the Lower East Side, when I was first starting in punk-rock bands. I can’t say that every creative decision I made was altruistic or came from the deepest part of my soul or with the best intentions or was really well thought-out or anything like that. Sometimes I just did shit, you know? Just to, like, throw a firebomb in the room.”

Times have changed: We don’t see those firebombs from today’s biggest pop star, Beyoncé, whose carefully curated image does not allow for the same spontaneity. Instead of subscribing to a traditional, interview-based press strategy, the “Flawless” singer perpetuates her offstage persona primarily through Instagram and Tumblr. Madonna says she’s unaware of Beyoncé’s PR tactics, in part because Bey is not among the 57 people she currently follows on Instagram. A more obvious pop comparison may be Miley Cyrus, whose Robin Thicke-accompanied twerking at the 2013 VMAs faced minstrel-show accusations and electrified the cultural conversation for weeks. Cyrus seemed like she could become the decade’s biggest star by courting controversy in a very Madonna-esque manner. Two years later, we're not paying much attention to Cyrus -- something you can never say for Madonna, whose doggedness stokes incomparable intrigue and avoids pop-culture limbo.

We don’t like our pop stars to thrive for too long, anyway. Instant castigation awaits those who try too hard, seem insensitive or appear to appropriate other cultures for their own gain. Out of that came another Madonna apology, in January, after she reposted fan-made Instagram photos of Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Bob Marley with the same thin black cords that envelop her head on the cover of “Rebel Heart.” Detractors accused the images of conjuring the chains of slavery. She acknowledges the political-correctness policing that has materialized over the past few years but was unaware that Cyrus, too, attracted such backlash after the VMAs. Way back in 1998, when Madonna opened her own VMA appearance with the Hindu ode “Shanti/Ashtangi,” she surrounded herself with East Asian dancers and donned the religion’s traditional facial markings. A quiet protest from the World Vaishnava Association ensued, but the Internet was nascent and the controversy -- tame compared to the Blonde Ambition Tour's simulated masturbation or a coffee-table book containing near-pornography -- barely registered. Today she wouldn’t be so lucky, as we saw with the troublesome Instagram posts.

“Oh, they can kiss my ass,” she says of critics who might accuse her of borrowing other cultures’ fixtures. It's a topic she seems interested to discuss. “I’m not appropriating anything. I’m inspired and I’m referencing other cultures. That is my right as an artist. They said Elvis Presley stole African-American culture. That’s our job as artists, to turn the world upside down and make everyone feel bewildered and have to rethink everything.”
"That’s our job as artists, to turn the world upside down and make everyone feel bewildered and have to rethink everything."

But the fact is that Madonna can get away with more than anyone else, not only because of longevity, but because her entire image has been manicured to remind us that her outlandishness always contains a story. Well before the hackers interceded, she made a calculated decision to expand her ubiquity to the Instagram audience. (And she does maintain her own account. When I mention that some celebrities hand off their phones for others to post on their behalf, she knowingly says, “Yes, they do.") Now, in between that mass networking and the exhausting press tour she's conducted since the start of the year, Madonna will "fine-tune," over just one week, four different performances for next week's “Ellen DeGeneres Show" residency. Then she'll continue to craft the various themes she’ll incorporate on the “Rebel Heart” tour, which launches in August. In a few years, no doubt, she'll do it all over again, and a new narrative will rise.

At this point in the interview, Liz Rosenberg tells me I have two minutes remaining. Over a lightning round of quick hits, I ask Madonna to pick her favorite Instagram filter (X-Pro) and five most iconic songs ("Like a Prayer," "Like a Virgin," "Ray of Light," "Express Yourself" and "Vogue"). She thinks Katy Perry's Super Bowl halftime show looked "exhausting" ("That drunk shark!" she says) and would "rather not" list which musical acts she's listening to at the moment. Her bathroom is the only place she finds time alone. I tell her it’s David Letterman's final year on the air (she wasn't aware), and Rosenberg interrupts to say Madonna will be making an appearance because “she loves him.” With one question left, I inquire about the best party she's ever attended -- excluding her famed Oscar soirée. Her answer: "None."

Thirty-three years ago, she extended to the world an invitation. Times have changed, but we haven't left the dance floor.

"Only I throw good parties," Madonna says.

Public Art For A Desert City With No Inhabitants

March 13, 2015, 9:53 am

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Does a city with no residents need public art? Absolutely, according to University of New Mexico (UNM) adjunct professor Sherri Brueggemann, who first heard about the Center for Innovation, Testing, and Evaluation (CITE) plan last year. The project, which is equal parts science fiction and Sim City with a dash of Disney World, involves the construction from scratch of a full-scale, generic US city in the New Mexico desert that will be used by academics, developers, entrepreneurs, government agencies, and others to test new products and technologies, from smart grid power systems to unmanned trucks. The $1-billion, 26-square-mile urban laboratory, which is being developed by Pegasus Global Holdings and referred to as the “City Lab” in project descriptions, will have a mall, airport, city hall, churches, power plant, highway, suburbs, townhouses, and downtown office buildings, but no inhabitants. The only people in its streets will be CITE’s estimated 350 staff and the researchers making use of its facilities. Curious to know what kind of public art such a city should have, Brueggemann — who also manages Albuquerque’s public art program — presented the problem to students in her art management class.

Some Think This Baby Photo Is A Desecration Of The American Flag

March 13, 2015, 11:30 am

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When photographer and Navy veteran Vanessa Hicks took a photo of a newborn baby cradled in an American flag, she had no idea the controversy that would ensue.

Hicks, a Virginia resident, took a photo of Rodney Clevenger cradling his newborn son in an American flag while wearing his Navy uniform.

“I do believe that this picture right here shows what it means to be an American,” she told WTKR. “That flag, the uniform, that baby–exactly what every service member is out there fighting."



What some saw as a beautiful moment between parent and child, others saw as a desecration of the flag. According to USA Today, a Facebook page called "You Call Yourself A Photographer?," which has since been deleted, criticized Hicks, saying, among other things, that the flag is not a prop.

Critics cited the U.S. Flag Code, which states that the flag should not be worn as apparel or used a receptacle for holding or carrying anything.

Hicks described the hurtful response on her own Facebook page this week:

I am very well aware of our U.S Flag code. I also know exactly what desecration of a flag is. It's when you pull into ports and you see protestors with our flag and have spray painted horrible things on it. It's when you watch the news and you see other countries burning our flags, and you are a young Quartermaster scared because you know you are just a few nautical miles from that exact country. I almost let these cyber bullies get me yesterday. I could have easily deleted the picture off of my business page and ended it with that. I almost did. Then I thought, WHY?

Despite the critical comments, Hicks received an outpouring of support from veterans and non-veterans alike. Wounded Army veteran J.R. Martinez took to Facebook in support of Hicks Friday.

Post by J.R. Martinez.

As for Hicks, she told The Huffington Post in an email Friday that she has been overwhelmed by the positive messages sent her way.

"If a client came to me and asked to do another session with a flag, ask to do this shot," she said, "I would absolutely do it again!"

'Orange Is The New Black' Song Features First Look At New Cast Member, Ruby Rose

March 13, 2015, 11:40 am

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"Orange Is The New Black" fans still have a few months to go until Season 3 hits Netflix, but the streaming service released a quasi-music video in support of the new episodes on Friday. It shows a first look at new cast member, Ruby Rose, in her full Litchfield garb. You can see her at the 10-second mark:



The song is their version of "Don't Talk To Me" by Tre Coast ft. Lycia Faith and is inspired by Leanne's (Emma Myles) "Stop, Don't Talk To Me" seen in "OITNB" Season 2, according to Netflix's description.

Rose was first confirmed to appear in Season 3 back in January. BuzzFeed reported that she would play Stella Carlin, "an inmate at Litchfield Federal Correctional Institution whose sarcastic sense of humor and captivating looks quickly draw the attention of some of Litchfield’s inmates." An ELLE feature also revealed that the 28-year-old would become a "lust object" of both Piper (Taylor Schilling) and Alex (Laura Prepon).

The video also features bits from our favorite Litchfield inmates, including Suzanne, Taystee, Pennsatucky, Poussey, Sophia and Red.