How One Artist Created A Hybrid Species Using Only Nylon Tights (NSFW)

March 23, 2015, 7:53 am

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Note: This post contains nudity and thus may be inappropriate for work.

Sometimes all the special effects under the sun can't yield an image as gutturally unnerving as a nude pair of nylon tights.

If you need further convincing, just check out the work of photographer Helen Sobiralski, who uses sheer pantyhose to transform naked models into hybrid creatures, appearing to be trapped in some sort of cocoon or primordial goo. It's simultaneously bone chilling and oddly beautiful.



The photography series is titled "Teint," which stems from the French word for complexion, tint and dye. Nude models, male and female, donning only tights of the same hue, wiggle and writhe like souls in Hades, desperate to connect yet trapped in their individual webs.

"The idea emerged out of the task to use only the simplest mediums to stage a series," the Berlin-based photographer explained to The Huffington Post. "I intended to dissolve the individuality of the models, to reduce them to their corporeality and, as a result, to enhance it that way."

To achieve this eerily staggering effect, Sobiralski enlisted the kinds of pantyhose you might find at a pharmacy or department store. As the artist explained, "once [the models] slipped in and got attached to each other, they began to move and things took on a dance-like life of their own. Through the interplay of the different skin colors, from light and shadows emerged these miraculous hybrid creatures."

Sobiralski's flesh-colored nightmares will keep you up at night and still leave you hungry for more. Take a look below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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A Rare Look At How Diego Rivera Turned Sketches Into His Iconic Detroit Mural

March 23, 2015, 9:59 am

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A walk through the Detroit Institute of Arts’ first major exhibition since the city emerged from bankruptcy in December doesn't just offer a closer look at the museum's most famous piece; it gives visitors a chance to see the early stages of the artist's masterpiece.

The exhibition, “Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit,” looks at the trajectories of the married Mexican artists before and after they arrived in the city in 1932; however, the exhibition directs most attention to the making of Rivera’s large-scale mural “Detroit Industry," a piece made up of 27 individual panels. The fresco cycle, commissioned by the museum and paid for by auto baron heir Edsel Ford, fills an airy central court at the museum.

“It’s like a secular Sistine [Chapel] ceiling,” Mark Rosenthal told The Huffington Post, comparing Rivera to Michelangelo and praising a near-unmatched ability to “compose fantastic narrative” in his paintings.

The mural, a celebration and subtle critique of modern industry, is sprawling in size and content, but every detailed inch contains symbolism of the city’s present, past and future. The exhibition takes a closer look at some of those details in their early form: Rivera’s large preparatory drawings, which served as drafts for the final murals, are on display for the first time since the 1980s. Placed alongside the panels they inspired, the exuberant charcoal sketches he called “cartoons” reveal how Rivera translated his broad strokes into the final scenes.

Left: “The Making of a Motor,” Diego Rivera, 1932, charcoal on paper, Leeds Museum and Galleries (Leeds Art Gallery). © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Right: “Detroit Industry,” north wall, Diego Rivera, 1932-33, fresco. Detroit Institute of Arts. © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.


Rivera painted the mural over the course of seven months, panel by panel, standing on scaffolding to paint figures that towered over him. He finished the work in 1933. Much of the imagery in "Detroit Industry" was inspired by the Ford Rouge auto plant, where he spent weeks sketching.





In Rivera's as-told-to autobiography, My Art, My Life, he speaks of his delight in the machinery and its power to liberate man from drudgery and poverty.

“As I rode back to Detroit, a vision of Henry Ford's industrial empire kept passing before my eyes.” he said. “In my ears, I heard the wonderful symphony which came from his factories where metals were shaped into tools for men's service. It was a new music, waiting for the composer with genius enough to give it communicable form. … I felt that in the society of the future as already, to some extent, that of the present, man-and-machine would be as important as air, water, and the light of the sun.”

Left: “The Assembly of an Automobile,” Diego Rivera, 1932, charcoal on paper, Leeds Museum and Galleries (Leeds Art Gallery). © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Right: “Detroit Industry,” south wall, Diego Rivera, 1932-33, fresco. Detroit Institute of Arts. © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.




Rivera’s enthusiasm for an industry driven by capitalism can seem at odds with his politics. A dedicated Marxist, he arrived in Detroit as workers in the Ford plant were reeling. Several weeks earlier, layoffs had led to a march that ended in violence and five deaths. That politically-charged event, as well as a desperate workforce shrunk by the Great Depression, are scrubbed from the almost utopian view of the auto assembly line in “Detroit Industry.”

Still, Rivera depicts industrial progress in a more nuanced and critical light. He repeatedly represents both the constructive and destructive potential of modernization and technology. For example, two alternate panels show chemistry used to vaccinate a child and then used to build a bomb.

Left: Preparatory Drawing for “Vaccination” (“Detroit Industry” north wall), Diego Rivera, 1932, charcoal with red pigment over light charcoal. Detroit Institute of Arts. © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Right: “Detroit Industry,” north wall (detail), Diego Rivera, 1932-33, fresco. Detroit Institute of Arts (vaccination). © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Left: Preparatory Drawing for “Manufacture of Poisonous Gas Bombs” (“Detroit Industry” north wall), Diego Rivera, 1932, charcoal. Detroit Institute of Arts. © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Right: “Detroit Industry,” north wall (detail), Diego Rivera, 1932-33, fresco. Detroit Institute of Arts (poison gas bombs manufacture). © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.



The mural was originally intended to cover just a small section of the DIA court, but as Rivera mapped out the story, his vision grew to encompass wider themes and more wall space -- a total of more than 43,000 square feet. The museum agreed to the larger work, though Rivera gave Ford a discount of sorts.

“He moved from telling the story of building a car and the men who did it, to putting together components that talk about a number of dualities: the old and the new, the good and the bad, the organic and the inorganic, ... man against nature,” DIA Director Graham Beale said at a University of Michigan talk in 2012.

Left: Preparatory Drawing for “Commercial Chemical Operations” (“Detroit Industry” south wall), Diego Rivera, 1932, charcoal on paper. Detroit Institute of Arts. © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Right: “Detroit Industry,” south wall (detail), Diego Rivera, 1932-33, fresco. Detroit Institute of Arts (commercial chemical operations). © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.




Rivera would not be so subtle in his next commission, a mural for John Rockefeller Jr. The work was destroyed in 1934 after he painted in an image of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin.

However, “Detroit Industry” was still controversial when it was completed, with some opposing the nude figures and others seeing challenges to religion and capitalism. At the time, a Detroit News editorial suggested that "the best thing to do would be to whitewash the entire work completely."

Left: Preparatory Drawing for “Pharmaceutics” (“Detroit Industry” south wall), Diego Rivera, 1932, charcoal. Detroit Institute of Arts. © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Right: “Detroit Industry,” south wall (detail), Diego Rivera, 1932-33, fresco. Detroit Institute of Arts (pharmaceutics). © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.




Fortunately, “Detroit Industry” didn’t suffer the same fate as the destroyed “Man at the Crossroads." Instead, it weathered the controversy and the ensuing ups and downs in the museum’s history, remaining a touchstone for Detroit’s cultural identity and a celebration of its foundations -- flaws and all.

Below, see more views of the "Detroit Industry" murals today and the pieces in the “Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit” exhibition, on display through July 12 at the Detroit Institute of Arts. See the museum's website for related programs about the artists and more info.

Florence + The Machine Release Another New Song, 'St. Jude'

March 23, 2015, 10:04 am

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Florence + The Machine shared the music video for "St. Jude," the second track released from the band's new album, "How Big How Blue How Beautiful." In the video, directed by Vincent Haycock and choreographed by Ryan Heffington, Florence Welch wanders around soaking wet, very much embodying the patron saint of lost causes she sings about. "It’s obviously about relationships, but it’s also about Florence traveling through our version of the Divine Comedy," Haycock said in a statement.

It seems to be a continuation of "What Kind of Man," which she debuted last month, and its music video, which showed Welch in a tumultuous romance. "St. Jude" is a slow burner, with no obvious climax. It constrains Welch's power and is an excellent preview of what's to come from the album, due out June 2.

Kerry Washington Makes Impassioned Plea For Equality In Emotional GLAAD Awards Speech (VIDEO)

March 23, 2015, 11:03 am

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"Scandal" star Kerry Washington is winning raves for her powerful, impassioned speech at the 2015 GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles in which she called for equal rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community along with women and racial minorities.

"There are people in this world who have full rights and citizenship -- in our communities, our countries -- around the world. And then there are those of us who to varying degrees do not," Washington told the crowd. "We don't have equal access to education and healthcare, and some other basic liberties like marriage, a fair voting process, fair hiring practices."

She went on to note:

Now you would think that those kept from our full rights of citizenship would band together and fight the good fight. But history tells us that no, often we don't. Women, poor people, people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants, gay men, bisexuals, trans people, intersex people. We have been pitted against each other and made to feel there are limited seats at the table for those of us who fall into the category of 'other.'

Watch the full speech here:


"I don't decide to play the characters I play as a political choice, yet the characters I play often do become political statements," she said, before calling for "more diverse LGBT representation" and "more employment of LGBT people in front of, and behind, the camera."

"Having your story told -- as a woman, as a person of color, as a lesbian or as a trans person, or as any member of any disenfranchised community -- is sadly often still a radical idea," she then added. "There is so much power in storytelling, and there is enormous power in inclusive storytelling, in inclusive representations."

The 38-year-old actress was honored with the Vanguard Award at the March 21 ceremony, which took place at the Beverly Hilton.

H/T Cosmopolitan

5 Things Comedians Can Learn From Bill Burr, Al Madrigal And The Power Of All Things Comedy

March 23, 2015, 11:15 am

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The idea behind All Things Comedy is the opposite of selling out. It's to give comedians the promotional support they need without sacrificing ownership. What a novel idea.

Founders and comedians Bill Burr and Al Madrigal started the by-artist, for-artist comedy network with 10 podcasts in 2012, and now have around 80 professional comedians and 60 podcasts working together. With nearly 5 million listeners per month, according to Madrigal, the strategy of having "lone wolves banding together" helps comics get exposure and promote each other instead of paying a lot of money for someone else to do it and sacrificing creative control.

During a panel at Austin's South By Southwest festival on March 16 called Owning Your Work: The Future of All Things Comedy, Burr and Madrigal discussed the ins and outs of their operation and how they are working to help comics carve out their own paths in show business and avoid traditional gatekeepers. Doug Benson also sat in on the panel moderated by Chris Kerns of Trendology. As a comedian who has been podcasting longer than most -- "Doug Loves Movies" has been going on since 2006 -- he certainly knows a thing or two about being an independent comedy contractor.


Photo by Mindy Tucker

Here's what we learned from the three veteran comedians and podcasters about building a self-owned comedy career.

1. Own your work, even if it means turning money down in the beginning.

Photo by Mindy Tucker

Bill Burr: "Artists are always coming up with scenes, whether music or comedy, and what ends up happening is a business person comes in, corrals it, turns it into a business model and says, 'Hey, this is great, what you guys created. We're gonna own it and we'll let you know how much money we've made.'"

Al Madrigal: "All Things Comedy started in the Comedy Store parking lot about four or five years ago. We were both ranting to each other about how people are going to try and come in and take [podcasting] away too."

Bill Burr: "I said, you know someone's going to come in and corral all these podcasts, just like radio shows and turn them into a network. There's no reason why we can't do this. So we just decided we were going to get the best podcasts we could get, and unlike the old school business models where you join our network and we own either your podcast or you gotta give away 50 percent of it, there wasn't any of that. You get to keep all of your content and through the strength of all the artists, through the exposure we can give each other we all rise up, and at the end of it whatever money is to be made for once the artist gets it."

"We actually approached these people to build our first website and they saw the potential and wanted to buy in. So we said, 'All right, we need start up money. What's your offer?' And they said 'We're going to own 90 percent of it, you're going to own 10.' We were like, 'Dude you were just building our website! No!'"

"They kept whittling down to the best they came up with was like 65/35, and then we just walked. They couldn't believe it. They were so used to fucking people that hard they didn't even think they were doing anything wrong."

Madrigal: "They ended up offering us 50/50 and they were going to pay the two of us $100,000 a year and we said no, thank you, and did it on our own. We started with 10 podcasts in 2013 and now we have 60 and are well on our way to becoming this multi-channel network for professional comedians and everyone gets to own it. It's a collaborative effort and we really want to make sure that we don't fuck over anyone."


2. Don't be 'Bitter About Burnham,' A.K.A. Keep up with the times.

Photo by Mindy Tucker


Doug Benson: "The great thing about how it is now, is that you don't have to move anywhere, you can make content wherever you are and put it out there. Whether or not it will be accepted on a massive scale is another thing, but at least you have the opportunity... Especially YouTube stars."

Burr: "The first time I saw that happen was with Bo Burnham. People were saying there's this guy who just wrote these funny songs and sold out his first stand-up gig at this club, The Comedy Connection in Boston, which is like a 400-seater, on a weekend. With my generation, how you did that, was you did stand-up for 10, 12, 15 years, slugging it out, hoping to get a deal and get on TV or have some kind of killer half-hour special to get out there."

Madrigal: "I did it through the old system, tried to do it the old fashioned way, and here you have some kid just out of nowhere that's 21 that's never set foot in the comedy clubs just crushing it. It hurts a little bit, but then you don't concentrate on it. You jump right in there with him [...] There are plenty more Bo Burnhams out there."

Burr: "Of course, there were the negative people who said [Burnham] didn't earn it... I said I wish I did it the way he did it! He skipped all the, 'Hey, come out here, work for free and get completely screwed over with money' and all that. He went right to selling tickets... I thought it was a great thing."

Benson: "Welcome to the 'Bitter about Burnham' panel!"

Burr: "I feel that it's moved in a great direction and I don't think it's hurt comedy or anything like that. It's like music, it just changed. Now you're completely in your own driver's seat. You're in charge of your own destiny. I mean, there are a zillion more people because of it but I firmly believe that if you're funny, like back in the day, you're going to rise up."


3. Together, you can harness the power of social media.

Photo by Mindy Tucker

Madrigal: "We take all of our social followers and channel that into each other's efforts.

Burr: "I've been amazed at how easy it is if you get everyone to tweet at the same time, you can actually move stuff... We pool all of the [All Things Comedy] listenership together so when other comics have albums come out, we tweet about it at the same time."

Madrigal: "A good recent example is Ari Shaffir, who has the Skeptic Tank podcast [on All Things Comedy] and a new show on Comedy Central that a lot our comics are on. He had an hour special that had just come out... And we all got behind that. If you look at our Twitter feeds, we all jumped on that and promoted Ari on a traditional network."

"We're independent contractors banding together because we believe in this... I'm not going to make money off the backs of other comics. So if we get an investor who trusts us, and hopefully that will happen soon, everyone's going to share equally."

4. Advertising doesn't have to be a comedy-killer.

Photo by Mindy Tucker


Burr: "I think [advertisers] are starting to realize that they really have to relax way more than they did in the past. Shit that used to get you fired is not only something that will actually help the product, it will actually increase sales. Like when I did the Shari's Berries thing, I was laughing at the ad because it was so homophobic and homoerotic at the same time, I just started laughing. I thought it was a joke. At first they were upset and wanted me to take it down, but I didn't, and then they saw the sales go up and then they just rolled with it and re-tweeted it which was the smart move.

Benson: "I just get through the ads as quickly as possible, barely add anything and just hope everyone knows how to fast-forward through them... I don't say that, but I'm saying it now. Commercials exist so that there are things you might hear if you don't bother to fast-forward through them."

Madrigal: "I just want to take this moment to remind you that Doug is not part of All Things Comedy."

Burr: "But I think advertisers are realizing... You can actually sell it by making fun of [it]... Back in the day, if I worked for a radio station I would have had to sit there and be browbeaten, have to apologize and probably lose my job, and if I didn't I'd have to kiss everybody's feet."

Benson: "Plus, you gotta keep in mind is that our [podcast] content is going to be using a lot of language, inappropriate language and ideas that you can't get away with anywhere else, so the ads are kind of married to that. The roughest one for me was this product called Snus, a chewing tobacco that you shove in your mouth or whatever. But in the copy that they had me read, the last line was, 'This product causes cancer.' Um, now back to the comedy!"

5. Anyone can do it.

Photo by Mindy Tucker

An audience member at the panel asked for advice for people starting out in comedy and podcasting.

Madrigal: "It's just like with stand-up, I just tell them to start. You just have to start."

Burr: "And don't give up ownership of anything. There's no reason to ever do that. It might hurt you in the short run but in the long run, you own everything. It's all about content and you're creating it, why shouldn't you own it?"

Barcelona Museum Features Sculpture Of Former King Getting Sodomized

March 23, 2015, 11:21 am

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The Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona opened a controversial exhibit this weekend including a sculpture depicting the former King Juan Carlos I getting sodomized.



The sculpture "Not Dressed For Conquest," by artist Ines Doujak, went on display on Saturday in Barcelona's Museum of Contemporary Art.

The museum canceled the exhibit hours before its originally planned inauguration last week, touching off a debate over freedom of speech. The museum’s director announced Friday, however, he had changed his mind, and the exhibit opened the following day.

The sculpture, created by Austrian artist Ines Doujak, depicts a German shepard dog sodomizing Bolivian union leader Domitila Barrios de Chúngara, who is in turn sodomizing former Spanish King Juan Carlos I, who is vomiting flowers onto a pile of Nazi helmets, according to the BBC.

The director of the MACBA, as the museum is known from its initials in Spanish, Bartomeu Marí decided last week to suspend the exhibition over the protests of the museum's curators. Marí called the sculpture "inappropriate," according to Spanish newspaper El Periódico.

In a public letter, Bartomeu Marí said he made the initial decision to “protect the MACBA as an institution,” but relented because of the “practical unanimity” of voices calling for the opening of the exhibit.

"I never thought what I was doing was censorship," Marí wrote in the letter. "I understood it as a disagreement with the presence of a specific work and the effects of its possible interpretations."

Marí apologized in the letter and asked the museum's board of directors to evaluate whether he should continue in his position.

The sculpture is part of a larger series titled “The Beast and the Sovereign,” in which some 31 international artists created works that question different forms of political control.

King Juan Carlos I abdicated the throne last year. He was succeeded by his son, who was crowned King Felipe VI.

What Matthew Morrison Is Doing Now That 'Glee' Is Over

March 23, 2015, 11:32 am

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"Glee" ended its six season run on Friday with a flash forward into the future. But Matthew Morrison's already been deep in his new role as J.M. Barrie in the Broadway musical "Finding Neverland." In an interview with "Good Morning America," Morrison talked about what it's been like to go back to musical theater. Check it out below. (Spoiler: he break dances.)

Instagram's New App Lets You Make Collages

March 23, 2015, 11:35 am

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Instagram has finally created a tool to help you make photo collages and edit your photos in new ways. It's called Layout, and it's a separate, free app for iOS.

Instagram announced Layout on Monday. It's available on iOS right now and will be available for Android in a few months.

Here are a few of the fun things you can do with Layout: create collages with two to nine images, adjust the sizes of each of those images within your collage, move those images, replace them, mirror them and flip them.



To make sorting through the photos on your phone a little easier, you can choose the "Faces" option, which just shows you the photos you've taken that have people's faces in them, according to Layout's algorithm.

Layout also has a photo booth feature that takes four photos in a row and lets you arrange them in a number of different ways. Once you're finished creating your collage, you can open it in Instagram, share it on Facebook, save it, share it via email or text and more.

The photos have no borders, and you can't add any. This was purposeful, Instagram told Time, since it lets you be more creative with your collages.

Layout is the second standalone app from Instagram, the first being the company's video app Hyperlapse.

It's about time for Instagram to release an app like Layout. There are so many other apps that help you edit photos before posting them on Instagram. Those apps, like Cropic and Pic Stitch, let you resize photos and create collages that fit into Instagram's square boxes. Now, Instagram can keep more people within its apps through the entire editing process.

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2015 Brooklyn Nightlife Awards Hits Lot 45 In Bushwick

March 23, 2015, 11:59 am

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It's been quite a year for the nightlife community of New York City, and this weekend marked an occasion for a specific segment of it which came together in an act of community and communion.

The Brooklyn Nightlife awards took place on Saturday, March 21, and individuals from all across the spectrum of nightlife in Brooklyn, New York recognized and celebrated one another's accomplishments and triumphs. Curated by drag icon Merrie Cherry, this was the third year the BNAs were held and they honored community members with more awards than any year prior.

"A lot will change in the next five to 10 years in Brooklyn," Merrie Cherry previously told The Huffington Post. "People will move away for whatever reason, some people will stop doing nightlife and some people will inevitably die. But I feel like the BNAs are a legacy of what has happened over the last several years. The most [historical context] we get of the nightlife community from the '90s are cute photos and hazy memories from people who got really fucked up -- and oftentimes it just feels over-glorified and self-serving. The awards show puts a stamp on our individual names and, even if we don't get on TV like so many kids from the '90s are now, this is something that will help leave an imprint for what we've accomplished as a community."

Check out some photos from the 2015 Brooklyn Nightlife Awards below courtesy of Santiago Felipe, as well as the full list of this year's winners (including HuffPost Gay Voices Associate Editor JamesMichael Nichols for Best Writer).



Hall of Fame: GAG & Murray Hill
Best DJ: Juliana Huxtable
Best Fashionz: Cameron Cooper
Drag King/Queen of the Year: Untitled Queen
Best Writer/Blogger: JamesMichael Nichols
Event Producer of the Year: The Culture Whore
Best Visual Artist: Ethan Weinstock
Best Bartender: Pietro Scorsone
Best Circus Performer: Madame Viven V
Best Performance Show: Hot Fruit
Best Vocal Artist/Group: Will Sheridan
Best Burlesque/Boylesque Performer: Rify Royalty
Best Event Photographer: Santiago Felipe
Best Event to Leave Brooklyn For: Hot Rabbit
Scene Kid: Biblegirl666
Best Mixed Party: MixFest
Best Bar/Club: Metropolitan Bar
Best Event Publisher: The Culture Whore
Best Late Night Food Spot: Bagel Smith
Best Fashion Designer: BCALLA
Best Social Media Presence: Hamm Samwich

Craving more Brooklyn Nightlife? Head here to check out our series "Queer New World: Brooklyn Drag Culture."

8 Fun Facts About Wedding Traditions Around The World

March 23, 2015, 12:30 pm

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From covering the bride and groom in ash, flour and feathers in Scotland to log sawing in Germany after the ceremony, tying the knot never gets boring.

Buzzfeed put together a video of fascinating wedding traditions from around the globe, and they're a far cry from "something borrowed, something blue."

Someone pass the henna and cue the wedding bells, please.

Keep in touch! Check out HuffPost Weddings on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

14 Incredible Photos Of Europe's Supertide

March 23, 2015, 12:38 pm

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The supertide that hits areas of northern France and southern England once every eighteen years swept through again over the weekend.

As the waters ebbed and flowed at extreme levels, thousands of tourists gathered at France's Mont Saint-Michel world heritage site on Saturday for the occasion. High watermark saw the historic 11th-century abbey separated from the mainland as the bay around the island commune rose to engulf its connecting bridge.

The tidal surge is linked to the rare alignment of celestial bodies that also resulted in a solar eclipse on Friday, NBC News explained. The unusual gravitational pull caused waters to rise just shy of the 46 feet that was predicted.

Since time and tide wait for no man, the abbey's isolation lasted just a few minutes but held long enough to capture these amazing photos.

These Moving Photos Capture The Beauty Of Special Needs Cats

March 23, 2015, 1:49 pm

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Some of these cats are blind or have neurological problems. Others have legs that don't function well due to congenital abnormalities. Some are just a little scraped up for the time being, as a result of living on the streets.

All have a much better chance of finding homes, thanks to gorgeous adoption pictures taken by San Francisco-based pet photographer Josh Norem, also known as the "Furrtographer."

"I am just trying to capture their beauty and their essence," Norem says. "I hope when someone looks at a photo I've taken they see a beautiful animal instead of just focusing on a particular injury or disability."

This is Sally of Saving Grace Rescue, who lost her eyes due to an infection. (Josh Norem)

Norem has had blind cats of his own for about a decade, including his current feline companion, Rufus. He began offering his services pro bono a few years ago after coming across some local rescue groups and shelters that work with special needs cats.

"I just emailed them and asked them if they wanted great photos of the cats in order to help with adoptions," he says.

Gumby is one of two kittens "born with the most interesting deformities of their legs. Neither of them paid them any attention and just walked on them like they were normal," says Norem. (Josh Norem)

It's worked.

"The photos alone have doubled our adoption rates," says Amber Rose of Saving Grace Rescue. "The photos capture the kittens at their best, and often highlight their special needs while showing that they are still playful and happy despite being a little different."

Kristen Hall, a spokesperson for San Francisco's municipal shelter, agrees.

"We are so grateful and so are many of our adopters that found the loves of their lives because of his work," she says. "People now come from near and far to meet and adopt based on the photos."

Blossom got caught in a car's fan belt. "She lost her tail, one ear, her vision and her hearing," says Norem. After this photo was taken, "she was adopted to a wonderful home near Santa Cruz and is now named Roxy Fanbelt." (Josh Norem)

Other species also make it into the mix, from time to time. Norem says this dog named Champ was suspected of being a "bait dog" for a dog-fighting ring near San Jose.

"He was found tied to a fence with severe wounds all over his body, and lost his eyes because of it. I offered to take his photo to help him find a home, and he was adopted!"

(Josh Norem)

Norem also recently photographed "Operation Chihuahua." The project involved flying some 12 homeless Chihuahuas from the Bay area, which has a Chihuahua surplus, to New York City, where the little doggies were snatched up in a heartbeat.

But mostly, it's cats. Lots of cats. Norem estimates he's photographed "at least hundreds, and maybe thousands" of cats by now. For each one, he tries to capture the animal's beauty and personality in order to attract potential adopters.

"It's the difference between a cat languishing at a shelter or rescue for months, or being taken home the day the photo is published," he says.

This is Carmen, "who had to have both her ears and ear canals removed due to tumors," says Norem. (Josh Norem)

What Norem's come to believe -- and he's hoping others see it, too, in his photos and beyond -- is that his subjects "are all just cats, as opposed to blind cats or cats with missing legs."

In other words, whatever body parts are missing or uniquely shaped, these resilient little creatures are gorgeous, one and all. Each one is deserving of love, and so ready to give it in return.

"Cats are experts at not letting life get them down, so I've met a lot of cats with significant injuries, yet they will still chase a string if you drag it by them. It's quite remarkable," Norem says.

"My blind cat Rufus turned to me on day five in his new home with me, and rubbed his forehead on mine, as if to say, 'Thanks for taking a chance on me, I won't let you down!'"

Post by Rufus the Blind Cat.

Find more of Josh Norem's work on his website and Facebook page.

Get in touch at arin.greenwood@huffingtonpost.com if you have an animal story to share!

Australian Art Museum Offers First-Ever Nude Tours

March 23, 2015, 1:51 pm

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Everything That Happened At SXSW Comedy 2015 In 60 Photos By Mindy Tucker

March 24, 2015, 5:55 am

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Well, almost everything.

Austin's annual South By Southwest Festival is known for premiering and showcasing stars of music, film and interactive, but there's a fourth realm of nerdom at the conference that is growing bigger every year: SXSW Comedy.

After attending this year's festival, HuffPost Comedy is back with another stellar photo roundup courtesy of New York photograhper Mindy Tucker. This one features backstage portraits of comics and action shots of live podcasts, panels from the Upright Citizens Brigade, All Things Comedy and NBC's "Undateable," and plenty of shows like UCB's "ASSSSCAT" stand-up from Above Average and The Laugh Button and The Comedy Store's inimitable "Roast Battle," which pits comedians head-to-head in a raucous joke-off.

Scroll down for 60 of our favorites below and check out all the photos from the festival on Tucker's website.

This Is What A $50 Million Artwork Looks Like Today

March 24, 2015, 6:25 am

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If you've been pondering what $50 million could snag you in the contemporary art world today, Sotheby's has an answer, and it looks like this:



Above is the work of Pop Art darling Roy Lichtenstein, who in 1962 created the comic book homage that is "The Ring (Engagement)." As of last week, the painting -- which reveals a phantom hand placing a ring on another expertly manicured finger -- is expected to fetch somewhere "in the region of $50 million."

In a press release for Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Sale, set for May 12 in New York, the auction house states that the work "encapsulates all of the major themes" in Lichtenstein's "most acclaimed and sustained body of work." The painter of all things Ben-Day is known for his appropriation of comic book tropes, from hesitant women in love to, well, even more hesitant women in love. Rendered on large canvases, the works remain some of the most recognizable pieces of American art, as commercial as they are classic.

For those who know the images better than the man himself, Manhattan-bred Lichtenstein rose to fame in the 1960s, coming off a series of stints as a university instructor in Ohio and New York. In 1961, Lichtenstein met with an art dealer at Leo Castelli Gallery, a notable New York institution that would go on to stage the artist's first major one-man show there the following year. The event was a sold-out affair, which quickly situated Lichtenstein alongside Pop Art greats like Andy Warhol and Tom Wesselmann, icons who routinely used popular media like advertisement and kitsch as inspiration for fine art.

Later in his career, Lichtenstein transitioned from comic-inspired paintings to works based on the rational geometry of Art Deco and even into three dimensions with his series of sculptures. But his onomatopoeia-laden early works are what we remember. As Holland Cotter wrote in 2012: "Roy Lichtenstein developed a deft, tight, virtually foolproof art style, one that was based on agility rather than brawn and, though narrow in range, was capable of surprising variations and extensions. The look of this art isn’t big, but it’s smart; cool and dry, but accessible. Connoisseurs and know-nothings alike can enjoy it, and for some of the same reasons."

"The Ring" will be on view at Sotheby's Los Angeles this week in preparation for the sale. The piece, plucked from collection of Chicago businessman Stefan T. Edlis, has previously been seen at London's Tate and Tate Modern; the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland; the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; the Art Institute of Chicago, and Paris' Centre Pompidou. For approximately $50 million, it could grace your mantle too.

"The Ring" will be on view at Sotheby’s Los Angeles from March 25-26, 2015.

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One Book Is Celebrating The Best Art From Breweries Around The World

March 24, 2015, 6:28 am

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Craft beer production is up. And, according to Time, consumption is too. Whereas total U.S. beer sales, including unwavering brands like Budweiser and Miller, inched up by only 0.5% in 2014, the world of microbreweries soared upwards 18% by volume and 22% in dollars. Imbibers are embracing small industry, and with it, a growing segment of design -- the beer logo.


Scott Greci, Guru Design for Central Coast Brewing Company

A new book from authors Daniel Bellon and Steven Speeg is highlighting the glorious packaging, typography and illustration that has come to accompany some of Small Beer's best offerings. From the minimalist dots of To Øl to the "Clockwork Orange"-esque imagery of Three Floyds Brewing, the effortlessly titled Cool Beer Labels offers a glimpse into the best art and design from breweries around the world.

The book spans a laundry list of breweries, from the familiar American names -- Brooklyn's Sixpoint, Portland's Hopworks, and Denver's Great Divide -- to perhaps less recognizable international brewers like A. Le Coq in Estonia and Quaffing Gravy in England. Sure, the publication features a few large companies too, the Czech Kozel brand among them, but for the most part, Bellon and Speeg place their focus on craft. Their aim: to demonstrate "how commercialized packaging design can be elevated to a whole new level."

As designers, Bellon and Speef are graduates of University of Cincinnati's College of Design and the Paier College of Art and Design, respectively. As beer drinkers, they are home brew enthusiasts who seem to have found the perfect intersection of alcohol and art. Greg Koch, co-founder and CEO of Stone Brewing Co., provides the foreword for the tome, introducing a dive into the design process of both master brewers and master designers. We have a preview of the work below. For more on Cool Beer Labels, check out the website here.

Tibetan Art In The 21st Century Explores Religion, Pop Culture And Technology

March 24, 2015, 6:55 am

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For over 1,000 years, art has been a crucial facet of Tibetan culture, namely, spiritual art. Intimately associated with Buddhism, art revolved around the religious and philosophical ideals of the faith.

Most often, these artworks manifested in the forms of religious scroll paintings known as thangka, depicting mythological yet pseudo-realistic figures at the core of the belief system. Unlike much of Western religious artwork centuries ago, which used illustration as a means of depicting narratives, Buddhist art rendered visible what is formless and intangible via abstraction -- a provocative concept not only for religion but for art history as well.



In the 21st century, Tibetan art extends far beyond the religious. An exhibition entitled "Transcending Tibet" aims to convey the polychromatic spirit of contemporary Tibetan art, through the lens of 26 contemporary Tibetan artists, as well as four Western and Asian artists using Tibetan themes in their work. The exhibition is presented by the Trace Foundation, dedicated to promoting emerging artists in the region.

Well aware that the Western perspective of Tibetan culture is cast in exoticism -- hence the prevalence of Tibetan tourist artworks -- this exhibition aims to present views of the Tibetan experience from the perspective of Tibetans themselves, thus capturing the complexity of their national identities and experiences. Having been conquered or colonized by the Mongols, the British and most recently, the Chinese, Tibet has had its fair share of textured cultural influences. As the Trace Foundation explained in a statement: "The exhibition represents an important turning point in the history of how contemporary Tibetan art has been presented so far -- exploring both the complex history of Tibet and the ways contemporary Tibet is not only a phenomenon of exile but also alive and well on the Tibetan Plateau."


Gade, Lets Sing That Song

The resulting artworks are a stunning mashup of traditional and modern, spiritual and irreverent, deeply Tibetan yet infused with the influence of infinite locations and contexts. There's pop artist Gade, reminiscent of the mischievous appropriation of Ron English, fusing Buddhist imagery with American icons like Mickey Mouse and Spiderman to visualize the effects of globalization on Tibetan life.

In another corner, artist Jhamsang revamps a traditional depiction of Buddha, updating the deity to robotic proportions. The automaton alternative to the holy figure comments on the rapidly changing pace of technology, as well as our subsequent worship of it, both in Tibet and around the world. And then there's Benchung, whose cinematic paintings include a background layer of collaged textual snippets of words including Google, Vimeo and Ai Weiwei juxtaposed with and melting into Tibetan and Chinese characters.

"Transcending TIbet: Mapping Contemporary Tibetan Art in the Global Context," presented by the Trace Foundation, in partnership with Arthub, runs until April 12, 2015 at Rogue Space Chelsea in New York City. See a preview of the works below.

A Coloring Book For Adults, Because Everyone Deserves To Unleash Their Inner Creative

March 24, 2015, 7:01 am

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There are few art forms as meditative, nostalgic and all-around blissful as the coloring book.

There's just something magical about the ability to transform black-and-white pages into full blown works of art, without ever once undergoing a creative meltdown in the process. The process is intuitive, carefree -- the artistic equivalent of a low-stakes game of freeze tag.



Yes, we're waxing poetic about our third grade creative outlet of choice, the unassuming booklet of canvases that turns even the most reticent of artists into budding creative spirits. And although most practitioners of this enchanting art form haven't yet hit puberty, there are ways for adults to participate in the glorious art of the coloring book. Enter Johanna Basford, the intrepid soul behind two adult coloring books, Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest, spreading the gospel of the coloring book to aspiring artists of a certain age.

Basford, a commercial illustrator based in the UK, modeled her first book The Secret Garden after the Brodick Castle Gardens on the Isle of Arran, on the West Coast of Scotland. "My grandfather was the head gardener there so we spent every summer and Christmas there," she wrote to The Huffington Post. "The formal rose gardens of the castle, the Bavarian summer house and lily studded ponds were wonderful places to play as a child; a great place to cultivate a wild imagination!"



Dubbing herself an "inky illustrator," Basford uses monochromatic lines to create wild naturescapes waiting to be filled with vitality. "The artwork is all super intricate with lots of hidden little details such as rogue butterflies and curious squirrels to find in the pages. There’s a list of things to find at the front of the book making it an inky treasure hunt of sorts!"

Judging by Basford's success, we'd say adults are hungry for a creative outlet like this. The artist has sold over one million copies of Secret Garden worldwide, which has been translated into over 14 different languages. There's something undeniably accessible about the semi-blank pages of a coloring book that provides the training wheels so many budding artists crave. "I think everyone has a creative spark, they just need the opportunity to let it flourish. A blank sheet of paper can be daunting, but a coloring book has the outlines already there, making it easier to pick up a pencil and begin making your mark. I think of the coloring books as collaborations, I create the artwork and the owner of the book brings the color."



Basford isn't the first person to catch on to the de-stressing benefits of coloring. Since the early 20th century, psychologists including Carl Jüng have preached the tranquil advantages of the technique.

"Being 'in flow' or immersed in a task like coloring seems to help soothe many people, from investment bankers to busy mums," Basford added. "Some time spent with the simple task of adding color to the page and creating something beautiful really seems to appeal to people. There’s also the nostalgia factor. Chances are last time you spent an hour or so coloring in you didn’t have a mortgage and you weren’t worried about a nagging boss or the financial crisis! Coloring in seems to help people think about a time when life was simpler and more carefree."

Consider trading in your yoga mat for a set of markers and peruse the gorgeous gardens of Basford's imagination below.

4-Year-Old Heaven King And Her Mom Perform Fierce Dance Routine To Beyoncé's '7/11' On 'Ellen'

March 24, 2015, 7:49 am

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In 2013, 2-year-old Heaven King and her mom Tianne made it to the "Ellen" show after a video of the duo dancing to Beyoncé's "End Of Time" went viral. Two years later, they were invited to perform on the show again and proved their Beyoncé game is stronger than ever.

The now 4-year-old Heaven nails a routine to "7/11," which she says her mom taught her. It's clear this kid was born to be on stage, especially with her mom by her side, but there was one important thing missing from her "Ellen" performance. "I have a brother in my family and I miss him out here today," Heaven tells Ellen, adding, "but he's not a human, he's a puppy."

Story continues below photo.

Looked who photo bombed my picture ! I love my doggy! ☺️

A photo posted by Heaven King (@heavenkingdances) on Mar 11, 2015 at 2:45pm PDT

Heaven and Tianne teach dance workshops in their hometown OF New York City. Mom shares videos from class, teasers for Heaven's YouTube series "The Heaven Show," and generally adorable pictures of her daughter on Instagram, often using the hashtag #itsamommydaughterthing. Check out more Heaven and Tianne below:

There's an all new Heaven Show up on our YouTube channel! Click the link in my bio guys! Leave a comment and subscribe to our channel! Happy holidays ! @heavenkingdances

A video posted by Tianne King (@tianneking) on Dec 22, 2014 at 6:12pm PST

Keep in mind she's 4! Let go !@heavenkingdances | parents pls find what it is that your kids enjoy and encourage them to be great at it!

A video posted by Tianne King (@tianneking) on Mar 14, 2015 at 8:30pm PDT

Who's coming to dance with us tomorrow ?! NYC WE HAVE A FEW SLOTS LEFT! Email: DanceWithHeaven@gmail.com to secure your spot! All ages! Tune in to ellen TODAY @4pm Est. #Itsamommydaughterthing

A photo posted by Tianne King (@tianneking) on Mar 20, 2015 at 8:13am PDT

'I Heart Girl' Photos Show The Feminine Bodies Mainstream Media Doesn't

March 24, 2015, 8:05 am

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A new series by New York photographer Jessica Yatrofsky is a gorgeous exploration of women's femininity.

The "I Heart Girl," monograph, a follow-up to Yatrofsky's successful 2011 book "I Heart Boy," will be released this summer. The book of portraits shows the huge breadth of people that identify as feminine, urging the viewer to rethink female beauty.

(Some images below may be considered NSFW.)



"I've always been drawn to depicting the body," Yatrofsky told The Huffington Post. "I think it's very important to make images that represent a facet that reflects the current cultural landscape, which is why both ['I Heart Boy' and 'I Heart Girl'] highlight gender identification."

Yatrofsky told i-D that while some of her subjects are unclothed, all of them project a vulnerability that is important to understanding how they present their gender and sexual identities.

"It's an impossible task to de-sexualize women," she told i-D. "I think sexual identity is important for the self and I care about celebrating and honoring what resonates with how each subject chooses to express herself."

See more striking images from the series below.