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Beyoncé Becomes Most Grammy-Nominated Woman Of All Time

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Beyoncé is officially the queen of the Grammys. As the nominations for the 57th annual Grammys rolled in on Friday, Beyoncé became the most Grammy-nominated woman of all time, surpassing Dolly Parton.

Before this year's nods were announced, Beyoncé and Parton had 46 nominations apiece, but with the nomination of "Beyoncé" for Best Urban Contemporary Album, Bey jumped ahead with 47 Grammy nominations.

Beyoncé pulled ahead of Dolly Parton by a wider margin as the remainder of the Grammy nominations were announced. The Recording Academy also nominated her self-titled album for Album of the Year and Best Surround Sound Album. She was also cited for Best Music Film ("Beyonce & Jay Z: On The Run Tour"), Best R&B Performance ("Drunk In Love) and Best R&B Song ("Drunk In Love"). This puts her at a grand total of 52 Grammy nominations so far.

Beyoncé has won 17 Grammys over the years, for her work in Destiny's Child and as a solo artist. Notably, in 2004, she was nominated for six awards and took home five; in 2010, she won in six out of the 10 categories she was nominated. Bow down ... again.

These Are Our Favorite Random Grammy Nominees

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You crazy for this one, Grammys! Every year, we're treated to a list of Grammy nominees that sometimes make sense -- Beyoncé! Sam Smith! -- but often totally misses the mark (acts who have been recording for years are cited among the year's Best New Artists). This year, we took a close look at those "honored" to find the most random nominees. It's not that some of these folks don't deserve recognition -- hell yeah, Makonnen! --but we're actually surprised the Recording Academy acknowledged them too. Come Grammy night, we'd love to be shouting "You get a Grammy! And you get a Grammy!" to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Wiz Khalifa, James Franco and the folks behind the "Guardians of the Galaxy" soundtrack, because sure, why the hell not?

"Tuesday" by I Love Makonnen Ft. Drake (Best Rap/ Sung Collaboration)



"Everything Is Awesome!!" by Tegan and Sara ft. The Lonely Island (Best Song Written For Visual Media)



"We Dem Boyz" by Wiz Khalifa (Best Rap Song)



"Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix. Vol. 1" (Best Compilation Soundtrack)

guardians

"0-100" by Drake (Best Rap Song and Performance)



Best Spoken Word Category (yes, the entire category featuring "A Fighting Chance" by Elizabeth Warren, "Diary of a Mad Diva" by Joan Rivers, "Actors Anonymous" by James Franco, "A Call To Action" by Jimmy Carter, "We Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor and "Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America" by John Waters")

joan rivers

"Gone Girl" (Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media)

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"Out of Many, One Music" by Shaggy (Best Reggae Album)

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"Turn Down For What" (Best Music Video)



"The Last In Line" by Tenacious D (Best Metal Performance)



"Daft Punk" by Pentatonix (Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappela)



"Lightning Bolt" by Pearl Jam (Best Recording Package)

pearl jam

The Top 10 Stories That You, Our Readers, Loved The Most In 2014

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Oh, what a year it has been. As we brace ourselves for the wonders of 2015, we look back at 2014 to see which stories you, our trusty readers, responded to the most: which did you share with your friends and family, Like on Facebook and feel a strong need to comment on.

The below represent the 10 arts stories that resonated with you the most. Fair warning: some of these photos contain nudity and may be considered NSFW.

10. Every Year Since 1974, This Artist Has Photographed Herself In Nothing But Her 'Birthday Suit'

Photographer Lucy Hilmer has spent the last 40 years bringing new, poetic meaning to the phrase "Birthday Suit." Since 1974, the San Francisco-based artist has snapped a self-portrait of herself wearing nothing but a pair of shoes, socks and her signature white "Lolly Pop" drawers.

Read the whole story.

top 10 arts stories
Photo: Lucy Hilmer

9. Bad News -- All Your Favorite '90s Cartoons Just Became Drug Addicts

Well, this is a traumatizing one. If you hold your nostalgic '90s cartoon characters dear, we suggest you avert your eyes before things get ugly. Yup, we're sorry to report, but all your favorite animated characters, the ones whose playful misadventures carried you through elementary school and beyond, have developed serious drug problems. At least in the vivid images below.

Read the whole story.

top 10 arts stories
Illustration: Paul Ribera

8. Stunning Photos Of Identical Twins As Grown-Ups Show How Fate Takes Its Course

When identical twins are born, they're most often indistinguishable. Save for the possibility of a birthmark or personality tick, the two tiny humans sharing the same DNA are practically carbon copies of the other. Yet over time, as traits blossom and decisions are made, unforeseen events occur and fate takes its course, even biologically homogenous siblings can begin to look significantly different.

Read the whole story.

top 10 arts stories
Photo: Gao Rongguo

7. 'The Great Wall Of Vagina' Is, Well, A Great Wall Of Vaginas (NSFW)

UK-based sculptor Jamie McCartney has spent the better half of a decade creating hundreds of renderings of female genitalia. In a project titled "The Great Wall of Vagina," the artist demonstrates not only his ability to craft effective word play, but also his knack for capturing the physical diversity of labia in a 30-foot polyptych.

Read the whole story.

top 10 arts stories
Sculpture: Jamie McCartney

6. Fifteen Remarkable Colorized Photos Will Let You Relive History

One thing we really need to thank the internet for: colorized historical photographs. Of course, the phenomenon comes to us courtesy of Photoshop and the talented editors who transformed black-and-white images into digital works of art. We're just happy we get to feast our eyes upon them.

Read the whole story.

top 10 arts stories
Colorized by Jordan J Lloyd

5. Photos Of Nude Dancers Show A Very Different Side Of The Human Body (NSFW)

There is no denying the natural beauty of a dancer's body. Like finely tuned mechanisms programmed to seamlessly bend, twist and twirl, the contortionists' bodies taken on positions that may not be innately appealing. Neatly stacked flaps of skin overlap, toes curl as the muscles of a leg bulge and limbs protrude forward in ways we didn't think possible, yet these feats of flexibility amount to something inexplicably gorgeous.

Read the whole story.

top 10 arts stories
Photo: Ludovic Florent

4. People Called These Photos Of An Artist's Daughter 'Pornographic.' And This Was His Response.

Wyatt Neumann is a photographer and a father. In 2014 he took his two-year-old daughter Stella on a cross-country road trip, photographing their journey along the way. Neumann captured sunsets and cornfields and, of course, Stella, often donning one of most two-year-old girls' two favorite ensembles: a princess dress and nothing at all.

Read the whole story.

top 10 arts stories
Photo: Wyatt Neumann

3. Ten Shocking Photos That Will Change How You See Consumption And Waste

As individual and anonymous consumers, it's seemingly impossible to even estimate the physical ramifications of our daily consumption and waste. While our personal imprints may not seem in themselves worthy of alarm, the combined effect of human's habits and rituals is hard to look away from.

Real the whole story.

top 10 arts stories
Photo: Chris Jordan

2. 'The Company' Dance Crew Performs Phenomenal Synchronized Routine, Might Be Robots

This incredible routine was filmed from the front row of the Vibe XIX 2014 dance competition. The dance crew, known as The Company, impressed the audience and Internet viewers around the world with their incredibly synchronized moves.

Read the whole story.


Credit: YouTube

1. 'What I Be' Project Reveals People's Darkest Insecurities In Stunning Photos

Photographer Steve Rosenfield recently asked subjects far and wide to complete the following statement: "I am not my ___ " He prompted individuals to fill in the blank with their deepest and darkest insecurities, moving people to bring issues regarding body image, substance abuse, mental illness, race and sexuality to the forefront.

Read the whole story.

top 10 arts stories
Photo: Steve Rosenfield

Ed. Note: This list depicts HuffPost Arts & Culture's top 10 most viral, evergreen features of 2014.

10 Unavoidable Trends At Art Basel Miami Beach 2014 (NSFW)

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This weekend the art world overload known as Art Basel Miami Beach is in full swing. So far, this year's edition of the international art fair has been quite the crowd pleaser. Gallerist Sean Kelly dubbed it the "strongest" beginning to an ABMB he's participated in, while Lehmann Maupin co-founder Rachel Lehmann expressed that "the fair feels more grown up from year to year." The gang at ArtFCity even reported: "The general consensus seems to be less crap than usual."

That being said, it's still a lot to handle.

We've combed through the aesthetic labyrinth with the hopes of improving your art viewing experience, and preventing you from hyperventilating in the face of all. that. art. To add a little order to the chaos, we've selected 10 trends we thought dominated this year, for better or for worse. Let us know which trends you noticed in the comments.



1. Secret Portals and Crystal Visions: From glass cells to garbage can rabbit holes, ABMB was full of artistic entrances to other worlds.

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Ivan Navarro at Paul Kasmin Gallery


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Ajay Kurian at 47 Canal


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David Altmejd at Andrea Rosen Gallery


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David Altmejd at Andrea Rosen Gallery




2. Breaking the Fourth Wall: The canvas is no longer a window to another dimension, but a vertically hung garden that's started to sprout.

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Francesca Pasquali at Tornabuoni art Paris


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Francesca Pasquali at Tornabuoni art Paris


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Xu Zhen at Bernier/Eliades




3. Cartoon Network: Imagine the craziest, nastiest, most bewitching morning of Saturday morning cartoons possible.

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Peter Saul at Mary Boone Gallery


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Jamian Juliano Villani at Tanya Leighton


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Jamian Juliano Villani at Tanya Leighton




4. Funny Face: Goopy, drippy, slightly terrified yet oddly adorable. The doodle-inspired emojis were everywhere.

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Jon Pylypchuk at Fredric Snitzer


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Bjarne Melgaard at Gavin Brown's Enterprise


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Brian Bress at Cherry and Martin




5. String Theory: Whether bound to a canvas, hanging in the wind or wrapped around a metal ring, stringy things were definitely in the air.

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Jacob Hashimoto at Mary Boone Gallery


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Emil Lukas at Sperone Westwater


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Emil Lukas at Sperone Westwater


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Reena Saini Kallat at Chemould




6. We See You: With many of the works on view, it was difficult not to make eye contact.

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Tony Oursler at Bernier/Eliades


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Tony Oursler at Bernier/Eliades


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Milena Muzquiz at Travesía Cuatro


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Milena Muzquiz at Travesía Cuatro




7. Wood You Rather: This year's natural medium of choice turned up as a pressure washer, a flip flop and an abstract sculpture, to start.

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Roxy Paine at Kavi Gupta


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Lia Chaia at Vermelho


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Sam Ekwurtzel at Simone Subal Gallery


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Michael Buthe at Alexander and Bonin




8. Soft Palette: If you were as exhausted by the endless art onslaught as we were, the following cozy looking artworks began to look pretty tempting.

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Pascale Marthine Tayou at Galleria Continua


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Pascale Marthine Tayou at Galleria Continua


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Chris Johanson and Johanna Jackson at Mitchell-Innes & Nash


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Pino Pascali at Magazzino




9. Face Masked: Disguises abound in this year's artworks, be they paintings or photographs.

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Tomoo Gokita at Mary Boone Gallery


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Tomoo Gokita at Mary Boone Gallery


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Thomas Julier at RaebervonStenglin




10. Retro Erotica: From Lostutter in the 1970s to Iannone and Early in 2014, good old-fashioned sexuality had a comeback at this year's fair.

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Robert Lostutter at Corbett vs. Dempsey


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Robert Lostutter at Corbett vs. Dempsey


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Dorothy Iannone at Peres Projects


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Jack Early at Fergus McCaffrey


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Jack Early at Fergus McCaffrey



Which trends stood out to you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

These Ceramics Encrusted With Crustaceans Are Our New Favorite Nautical Dishware

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Imagine if you took your favorite ceramic piece, be it a teapot, a pitcher or a tureen, and dropped it into the depths of the ocean. Envision, if you would, an alternate reality where, instead of rotting and melting away, said discarded dishware become an unlikely host for barnacles and crustaceans to settle and colonize. The crisp white glaze of the pottery is slowly swallowed up by the wild particulars of aquatic life.

This fantastical scenario comes to life in the works of ceramic artist Mary O'Malley, who works out of a barn on the south shore of Long Island. O'Malley's "Bottom Feeder" series couples the propriety of a teacup with the bottomless mystery of the sea, yielding wonderfully detailed artworks that bring the sea to you. For O'Malley, the works were inspired by her childhood memories of the ocean and her recent move to the seaside.

tea

Upon beginning the series, it was the relationship between control and surrender which captivated O'Malley's attention. "The technical difficulties I began to encounter when enveloping the service ware with ferocious and unforgiving aquatic life got me thinking about a common need we all have to control our own representation of beauty," the artist explains in her artist statement. "There is so much fastidious control involved in creating each one of the 'Bottom Feeder' pieces, but with ceramics there is always a margin for error, and some degree of control must be sacrificed. The composition of barnacles and crustaceans populating each piece, the way the iron oxide discovers every nook of the creatures I've created, the way the tentacles warp in the firings, etc., is always a surprise.

"This play between total control and inevitability has sustained my interest and attention because it mimics life in so many ways: we try our hardest to compose the aesthetics surrounding us-from the buildings and environments we live in to the way we dress and present ourselves. Our daily fight against nature is a fruitless pursuit, yet one we never seem willing to
abandon. I find this play between forces endlessly challenging. The dance that results from trying to find a balance between what we can control and what we cannot is where I believe true beauty lies."

See O'Malley's sites of unbridled beauty below.


h/t ThisIsColossal

These Are The World's Most Expensive Skyscrapers

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This article originally appeared on ArchDaily.
by Rory Stott

It may or may not be the tallest building in North America, but one thing’s for sure: when it comes to costs, no other skyscraper comes close to New York‘s One World Trade Center. This is the conclusion of Emporis, whose list of the world’s top ten most expensive buildings puts 1WTC way out in front at $3.9 billion. Originally estimated at just half that cost, this sets a trend in the top ten list, with many of the featured buildings suffering staggering overruns. The second-place Shard, for example, overshot it’s original £350 million ($550 million) budget nearly four times over (although this is to be expected in London).

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skys

But perhaps the most surprising result is not related to high costs, but low ones. Compared to other much smaller buildings, the joint-fifth place Burj Khalifa seems a bargain at “just” $1.5 billion for what is by far the world’s tallest building, putting it on a par with the Sheraton Huzhou Hot Springs Resort – which at just one-eighth of the Burj Khalifa’s height demonstrates that formal complexity doesn’t come cheap.

At number eight on the list, Herzog & de Meuron‘s Hamburg Elbphilharmonie has the ignominious distinction of being the only building on the list which is still under construction. With current costs standing at just over $1 billion, however, it is still some way behind Toyo Ito‘s $1.4 billion CapitaGreen, so will likely remain in eighth until completion - that is if newer, ever more expensive projects don’t displace it first.





Grammys Album Of The Year Nominees Include Sam Smith, Beyoncé

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Following a day of nominations, The Recording Academy unveiled the Album of the Year nominees for the 57th annual Grammy Awards during a CBS special, "A Very Grammy Christmas," on Friday night.

"Morning Phase" by Beck
"Beyoncé" by Beyoncé
"x" by Ed Sheeran
"In the Lonely Hour" by Sam Smith
"Girl" by Pharrell Williams

With nods for Album of the Year, Beyoncé, Sam Smith and Pharrell Williams upped their pace-setting nomination total to six each. Beyoncé also earned nominations for Best R&B Performance, Best R&B Song, Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best Surround Sound Album and Best Music Film. Smith scored more high profile plaudits: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. Pharrell helped produce both "Beyoncé" and "x," giving him three Album of the Year nods. He was also nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Music Video.

Last year, Daft Punk walked away with the coveted award for "Random Access Memories" against Taylor Swift's "Red," Kendrick Lamar's "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City," Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "The Heist" and Sara Bareilles' "The Blessed Unrest."

The Grammys Christmas special featured performances from Pharrell, Maroon 5, Ariana Grande, Big Sean, Mary J. Blige, Tim McGraw and Sam Smith.

The Most Over-The-Top Christmas Trees Of 2014

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In the early 20th century, Americans typically decorated their Christmas trees with objects they found around the home -- dyed strings of popcorn, berries, and nuts.

But these are not your grandmother's Christmas trees.

From trees made completely out of Legos to Rio de Janeiro's fabulous 279-foot floating Christmas trees, artists have taken the old tradition to new heights.

Check out these amazing trees from around the world that have captured our imaginations this year.


Andre 3000 Reveals He Never Wanted To Do Outkast Reunion Tour

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There's a reason Andre Benjamin, best known under his stage name Andre 3000, wore 47 custom jumpsuits during this summer's Outkast reunion tour.

In a recent interview with The Fader, Benjamin revealed that the jumpsuits, which are currently being shown in an exhibit at Art Basel in Miami, were his way of expressing his feelings about the hip-hop duo's 20th anniversary tour. "Honestly—I didn't wanna do the tour," Benjamin said.

The rapper may have reunited with Outkast partner Big Boi for the first time onstage in 10 years, but he wasn't excited about the music. "I'm like, how am I gonna present these songs? I don't have nothing new to say," Benjamin told the magazine. To add something fresh to his performances, Benjamin said that he came up with the idea to create jumpsuits with unique slogans on them. "It became a theme where I was more excited about this than the actual show," he said.

But overall, the rapper still feels that he let his fans down and is doing the Art Basel exhibit to make up for it in a way. "I felt like a sell-out, honestly," Benjamin said. "So I was like, if I'm in on the joke, I'll feel cool about it."

A film by Greg Brunkalla titled "Trumpets" is also playing alongside Benjamin's exhibit. It will project the quotes from the suits along with images to provide further commentary.

For the full interview, head to The Fader.

Meet Bruma, A Photogenic Dog That REALLY Knows How To Work The Camera

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This dog takes the role of "man's best friend" to the next level.

Since 2012, Spanish photographer Dani de los Muros has been photographing his 5-year-old dog, Bruma, and posting the shots on Instagram. Not only does Bruma, a Weimaraner, strike hilarious and adorable poses, but de los Muros says he and Bruma get along very well, especially when the camera starts clicking.

"Everything is a game for her. I have never had a dog before so I don't know so much about training, I think it's just a good agreement together," de los Muros told The Huffington Post. "She always comes with me and we travel together, and that's why she is very patient and loving. I've been very lucky.”

He added that it's hard to choose a favorite photo, but that he finds the photos of his nephew and Bruma particularly touching.




"He's [a] very beautiful boy [and] Bruma is very patient with me when we are taking photos," de los Muros said.

Check out a few more pictures of Bruma below, and visit Instagram to see even more adorable images.


Llegó el frío... ❄️ Toca abrigarse bien! A sonreír que es viernes!! Buen fin de semana!

A photo posted by Dani de los Muros (@danidlm) on




Vampiro!! Hoy a Bruma le ha mordido un murciélago muy grande y la noto un poco rara, que será? Feliz noche!!

A photo posted by Dani de los Muros (@danidlm) on







H/T Design Taxi

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Graffiti Artists Cover Miami Neighborhood Wall-To-Wall Makeover

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By Zachary Fagenson
MIAMI, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The acrid smell of spray paint fills the air in Miami's once-blighted Wynwood neighborhood where graffiti artists from all over the world have descended, covering walls - sometimes invited, sometimes not - with eye-popping murals from traditional graffiti lettering to themed designs.
"This is the place to be relevant, where your work can be in the public eye," said a 35-year-old, New York City-based artist called Mast.
He and others flooded the streets donning gas masks, part of an estimated 70,000 art enthusiasts who have converged on the city during its annual contemporary "Art Week," centered around an event called the Art Basel Miami Beach fair.
Wynwood, located just north of downtown Miami, is filled with hip-looking crowds posing for pictures in front of murals that adorn more than a dozen square blocks, creating a unique outdoor museum.
"This place is amazing, it's where you can come to see all of the artists you see online, in magazines," said Haroldo Paranhos, 27, visiting from Brazil. "You never have so many big walls like this all together."
The week draws globe-trotting street artists like Shepard Fairey, famed for his 2008 blue-and-red portrait of Barack Obama captioned "Hope." Better-known artists like Fairey paint for free but are sponsored with free paint, a wall and a team of assistants to undertake big projects.
One local developer commissioned nearly three dozen artists to cover Wynwood Walls, a free, outdoor complex showcasing the world's top street art.
Independent artists like Mast pay their way, haggle for a wall and barter for supplies. Some are lucky enough to be given free weatherproof spray paint cans by companies like Germany-based Montana, which sponsors artists around the world, though their murals may not last.
"Walls are getting done over, left and right, with total disregard," said David Anasagasti, a Miami-based street artist known as Ahol Sniffs Glue who complained Wynwood had become gentrified and over-saturated.
"It's getting kind of tacky," he said.
A handful of gallery owners have also begun shying away, citing rising rents, few art buyers and condominium development.
"It's not going to be Chelsea, it's not going to be SoHo," said Fredric Snitzer, who left the area three months ago. "It will be a nice enough neighborhood but it is not going to attract good quality galleries."
Still, the graffiti art is welcomed in a city trying to enhance its fun-in-the-sun image and become a more cultured metropolis.
"It's not the same Wild West it once was," Fairey said. "But I have always been a populist. I love the idea of democratizing art. Wynwood is a template, and there are lots more walls out there."
While Wynwood's street art-friendly attitude has made Miami a popular venue for graffiti artists, it can still be a risky business.
Activists held a vigil on Friday for Israel Hernandez-Llach, an 18-year-old graffiti artist who died after being subjected to a Taser by police who found him spray-painting an abandoned building on Miami Beach in 2013.
A Miami Beach bar's staff arrived on Tuesday to find that a "guerrilla" artist had hidden inside a bathroom overnight to emerge after closing and paint a pattern of black cryptic symbols on its walls.
"Art Basel brings out the crazies!!!" Purdy Lounge manager Aron Epstein wrote on Twitter. The work, believed to be by an artist called Zeem Rock, was so "cool" that Epstein said he was considering leaving it up.
"Well played sir, well played indeed," he added. (Additional reporting by David Adams; Editing by David Adams and Will Dunham)

After Dark: NYC Nightlife Today And Days Past

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This is the final installment in HuffPost Gay Voices Associate Editor James Nichols' 30-part series "After Dark: NYC Nightlife Today And Days Past" that examines the state of New York nightlife in the modern day, as well as the development and production of nightlife over the past several decades. Each featured individual in this series currently serves as a prominent person in the New York nightlife community or has made important contributions in the past that have sustained long-lasting impacts.

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


Over the past six months, HuffPost Gay Voices Associate Editor James Nichols sought to provide a platform for the spectrum of performers, designers, promoters and artists engaged -- either currently or historically -- with what we collectively refer to as "nightlife" in New York City.

In a time where queer culture is increasingly both folded into the mainstream and appropriated by society at large, queer nightlife in the urban mecca of New York City serves a crucially important function. Not only do nightlife spaces act as central meeting points for creatives to showcase their work and meet like-minded individuals, but they also serves as as a preservation of queerness in this age of gay marriage and homonormativity.



Nightlife also acts as a major source of cultural production, both within the context of the queer community and the fabric of our society as a whole.

For all of these reasons, "After Dark" was born as a platform for artists to discuss and self-reflect on the current state of nightlife and the foundational role it plays -- or played -- in the formation of their work and identity.

At a time where the exponential growth of technology provides a constant excess and influx of information, many people engaged with the queer community oftentimes seem to have little awareness surrounding the history of our collective struggle for rights and citizenry. For this reason, "After Dark" aimed not only to elevate the work of those currently engaged in the NYC nightlife community, but also historic and legendary figures whose work has gone on to shape queer culture on a large scale.

In an effort to step back from the singular installments of "After Dark" and formulate a larger perspective surrounding this narrative -- as well as the future of nightlife in New York City -- we reached out to each individual featured in this series to hear their thoughts on one final question:

"As New York City continues to change, especially with some arguing that the city increasingly functions to primarily serve the wealthy and elite, what do you see as the role and future of nightlife for queer artists and performers in this new vision of NYC?"




Much like the city that it exists in, nightlife in New York City encapsulates a constantly evolving narrative. While the reality of existing in an urban mecca that seems to increasingly function to serve the needs of the elite certainly presents its own set of challenges, queer artists have historically continued to thrive and create in the face of institutionalized oppression.

In fact, few things hold as much political and social weight as living openly and authentically in the face of a world that has historically tried to "correct" or kill you.

As technology and the economic realities of New York City in the 21st century continue to augment nightlife, the value of the work coming out of these queer spaces will no doubt be the one constant within this narrative.

Our culture at large will continue to be shaped and informed in the future by the individuals navigating the NYC nightlife community -- a queer world that operates entirely within the hours After Dark.


J.K. Rowling Will Share 12 New Harry Potter Stories Leading Up To Christmas

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You don't have to celebrate Christmas to know that this winter is the most magical time of the year, thanks to J.K. Rowling.

In a newsletter to the members of Harry Potter fan-site Pottermore, J.K. Rowling announced that she will releasing 12 new stories expanding on the wizarding world on the site on the 12 days leading up to Christmas. Starting on Dec. 12, each new installment will be posted at 8:00 am ET, and will include "moments from Half-Blood Prince, shiny gold Galleons and even a new potion or two."

According to The Telegraph, one of the stories is set to focus on Potter's former school rival, Draco Malfoy. Rowling made it clear that she was not entirely ready to put her series to rest, providing fans with the first new material since the release of the seventh novel. On Halloween, she posted a story detailing some of Dolores Umbridge's background. In July, Rowling published a tabloid-style column in the voice of Rita Skeeter, focusing on a nearly 34-year-old Harry Potter, his family and his best friends Ron and Hermione as they attended the Quidditch World Cup.

Now, if only we could read these stories at a snow-covered Hogwarts ...


Warner Bros.

Rick Grimes Is The 'You Are Perfect' Guy From 'Love Actually'

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'Tis the season of holiday romantic comedies. Which means it's time to break out that old "Love Actually" DVD you bought when DVDs were still a thing (or just stream it from Netflix). And though there's seemingly nothing better than watching Mark silently profess his love for Juliet on a series of cards because "at Christmas you tell the truth" ...

love actually

... once again realizing that Andrew Lincoln, who plays Mark, currently stars as Rick Grimes on "The Walking Dead" might trump all other feelings.



Happy holidays!


Todd Barry And Big Jay Oakerson Discuss The Art Of Crowd Work On 'Too Long; Didn't Listen' Ep. 8

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On the eighth episode of Too Long; Didn't Listen, comedians Todd Barry and Big Jay Oakerson discuss their full-length crowd work sets in what plays out as a master class in comedian-audience interaction. In addition to dissecting their vastly different approaches to keeping people laughing without pre-written material, they share stories from the road, insight on how they choose audience members to talk to, and even come up with a potential name for Jay's next special: "Why Do You Hate Me?"



Todd's seven city tour of crowd work shows resulted in his documentary/special, "The Crowd Work Tour," available on Louis C.K.'s website. Jay's new album from Comedy Central Records, "The Crowd Work Sessions: What's Your F@!?#ng Deal?!" features an hour of unwritten material recorded at The Stand in New York City, and is available on iTunes. Also be sure to check out their podcasts, The Todd Barry Podcast and Legion Of Skanks (I'll let you guess whose is whose).

Don't miss an episode! Subscribe to HuffPost Comedy's "Too Long; Didn't Listen" on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher

Circa Survive's 'Descensus': Heroin, A Near-Death Experience & A Record That Shouldn't Have Been

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circa survive

"Does anybody else think that you can tell the size of someone's penis by the pitch of how their tinkle sounds?"

I stumbled upon this question while listening back to my interview with Circa Survive. In the first minutes after I had started recording, I left the room to grab some waters for the band. There was a brief lull in the conversation before vocalist Anthony Green posed this query, prodding a frenzy of hilarious pseudo-scientific deductions from all seated in the room.

A week later, in a follow-up interview with Green, I decided to broach the subject of the unintentionally intercepted message. "I’ve really been trying to find the quantum sonics to back that up," Green explained, delighted that it had piqued my interest. “Sometimes I’m in the bathroom and I hear these guys that have this fountain of piss, with bass tonal streams just pounding on the porcelain. I can’t help but think, ‘This guy's got a big cock.’”

Humor, or the attempt of it, is a tool often used in the wrong space and time. For Green and his bandmates -- Colin Frangicetto (guitar), Brendan Ekstrom (guitar), Nick Beard (bass) and Steve Clifford (drums) -- interviews and live performances are riddled with jokes and absurdities to break up and balance the seriousness of their music.



"People are really trying to figure out the symbolism behind this baby beating the shit out of Anthony."
The first taste we got of "Descensus" came in the opener, "Schema." Undeniably the most aggressive song on the new record, as well as the most aggressive Circa Survive has ever written, the track opens with frantic snare and cymbal cracks and dissonant guitar shrieks unconcerned with resolve. As the verse settles in, Beard and Clifford take the reins with a deep, driving groove. Green's vocals, meanwhile, are as gruff and pissed as they've ever been. But what might be most remarkable about the first impression "Schema" left was its accompanying video. A bloody boxing match between Green and a towering man-baby left viewers nonplussed, feverishly conspiring in the YouTube comments about what sort of profound meaning this strange apparition could possibly represent.

“When we did the new video, we couldn’t have gone in a more absurdist direction," Frangicetto told The Huffington Post. "I remember when I first showed it to my dad he was basically pissing himself just reading the comments. He was like, 'People are really trying to figure out the symbolism behind this baby beating the shit out of Anthony.’ Like, really going in-depth, and it makes you understand where conspiracy theories are born. If you don’t give them an answer, they will make up their own, and it’s beautiful.”

"Descensus" is the album that, for so many reasons, shouldn't exist. Finishing up their touring cycle on "Violent Waves," Green told the band he would need around six months to work on his solo music, including a U.K. tour. It was right at this time that Frangicetto and his wife divorced. Moving from the band's hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in order to recuperate and center himself again, Frangicetto immediately recognized the band's splintering bedrock. "I didn’t find out until a month later that Nick was facing the same thing as me," Frangicetto said. "That's how far the communication had been removed."

In Green's absence, Circa Survive would meet up every so often at their creek house to write. Each time, it felt excruciatingly forced, with depression and excessive alcohol consumption preventing any real forward progress. The band's musical stalemate was suddenly set aside right around Valentine's Day of this year, but it didn't get any easier: Frangicetto, who was out in San Jose, California, visiting his new girlfriend, received a text from Ekstrom saying that he had heard that Green had started using again.

“Later that day I got a call from Anthony that just said, ‘I’m sorry that I haven’t talked to you in a while. I’ve been really addicted to heroin for the last few years and have hid it from everyone. I’m super ashamed and Brendan confronted me about it today and I kind of just told him everything. I’m going to go get help,’" Frangicetto said. "And it was like, holy shit, I did not expect that. Over the years, Anthony has always struggled with chemical stuff, but never anything as specific. It’s always just kind of been a problem with indulgence in general. And he always seemed like he had it all together."

"I started using drugs when I was 13 or 14," Green said. "I started drinking, sneaking beers out of the garage, just kind of had a fascination with all that stuff. From that moment, for my whole life I was getting high one way or the other.”



"I’m addicted to heroin, and I want to kill myself, and I don’t think I’m good to be around anybody ..."
Green went to rehab for the first time when he was 19 or 20, after having been caught by his parents with a variety of substances. He remained sober for about nine months afterward, but his intention was never to stop, just to take a break and learn how to properly function while using drugs. On every album he recorded with Circa Survive, Green was either drinking, smoking weed, taking pills or tripping on psychedelics. During the recording of "Violent Waves," he started taking prescription painkillers. His old neighbors were dealers. One day, when they didn't have any Percocet available, they offered him heroin, telling Green he could get twice as much for the same price.

Green told himself that he wouldn't get sucked in, but it wasn't long before Green developed a fierce heroin addiction. He labored to keep it hidden from those closest to him. His wife could see that something was awry, finding clues here and there, but Green was unwilling to admit that he was using. As Green's life was rapidly approaching an inescapable bottom, Ekstrom confronted his friend.

“Brendan came over to the house and was like, 'What the fuck’s wrong with you? All these people are telling me you’re selling your records and you don’t talk to me anymore,’" Green said. "I told him, ‘I’m addicted to heroin, and I want to kill myself, and I don’t think I’m good to be around anybody in my family and they’d be better off if I was just dead.’ I was just ready to die. That’s how fucking strong this shit is. I was convincing myself that I needed to do it for my marriage, that it was the only thing that would give me relief. I was ready to just completely give up.

“People are always like, ‘You’re such a great dad and husband!’ and it’s like, you don’t fucking know me at all!" Green added. "I’m like the worst person. Yes, I will say that I am a good dad. I take care of my kids and I love them, but I also did very foolish things. I was intoxicated around them, you know? I wasn’t falling over or doing anything stupid. I don’t think I was ever putting them in serious danger, but in a way, you’re not being present and that’s a shitty thing. Admitting that is terribly embarrassing, but I feel like there’s a lot of people in my position. There’s a lot of people who have gone through or are going through what I went through and I think it’s important for those people to realize that it’s okay to let people in and let people know, 'I’m struggling with this, I need help.’ That doesn’t make you a bad parent or a bad husband or person. It makes you stronger."

Two days later -- and two days before Green's U.K. tour was to begin -- Green entered rehab for the second time. Through his detox and post-acute withdrawal, a nurse who had studied Buddhism helped him to see his suffering as a right of passage, focusing himself on becoming someone his family and friends could once again depend on. Set on writing an album about his experience, some members questioned if staying together was really in Green's best interest.

"For a lot of people, going through that program is pretty life altering, and sometimes you have to severely change your life," Frangicetto said. "Not just your life, but your surroundings and what do in order to stay clean. I didn’t know what that was going to entail, but I didn’t want to hinge my ‘career’ on Anthony’s well-being. If we decided not to be band, that’s what we needed to do because no one wants to find our good friend dead in the tour bus.”

The band voted for cautious optimism on the agreement that Green would never lie again and that Circa Survive would move forward as a completely drug- and alcohol-free entity. But with five weeks in the studio with producer Will Yip already booked and on their doorstep, the band had little to no material prepared. They decided to go in and see what would happen, whether it meant a full album or them walking out and calling it a day.

Five weeks later, the band had a brand new record. They had fired their manager, booking agent, lawyer and business manager and got all new people, and were just a few pen strokes away from a record deal for a record already made.

“It never felt stale," Frangicetto said of the recording sessions for "Descensus." "By the end, I knew we just had something really good. I didn’t know that I would feel the way that I do now, where I’m super proud of it in a way that I do feel like it’s our best record. The only thing I can even remotely compare it to feeling-wise is that first album, where I’m like, 'Wow, we’re a band and there’s an album out!’ I haven’t felt that feeling in a long time because maybe I took for granted that we were a band and that we have another record because that’s what we do. But this time there was a near-death experience feeling to it, and there was a time where we thought we didn’t have anything left to put into it, even before it was endangering some of us, and we almost lost this super amazing thing."



"You don’t always get resolution and you don’t always get closure. Sometimes it just ends."
A first glance at the cover of "Descensus" reveals a pyramid gutted by a giant serpent, stranded in a turbulent sea as flames belch from its fractured peak. A second glance uncovers several balloons floating above the pyramid come into vision, their strings climbing to taught.

“I always find it really interesting when people talk about the cover which they choose to focus on: is it sinking or is it floating up with the balloons?" Frangicetto said. "It’s kind of like glass half full, glass half empty. To me, it was important to have something pulling it up as well as pulling it down because that’s really the essence of what we felt. The rise and fall, it’s a constant dynamic with us personally and creatively.”

"Descensus" is undeniably Circa Survive's heaviest record, both in content and in sound, ranging from their most aggressive to their most gut-wrenchingly vulnerable. The album hits its climax on "Nesting Dolls," the band's beautiful, calamitous record to date. With lyrics that read, "You shouldn't stay / We'll never change / And I can't recognize you at all," the track builds and builds for six and a half minutes before it fades away without any big conclusion.

“You don’t always get resolution and you don’t always get closure," Ekstrom said. "Sometimes it just ends.”

The band is as proud as they ever have been of the song, but they struggle to gather the courage to listen to it in full. It is the very contract under which this album was written, and it is the reality of the lives its members encountered in both love and life. But despite being marred by distance and ennui, Circa Survive found strength again in the notion that it’s not what happens to you in your life that defines you, it’s how you react to adversity.

Green has been sober for 10 months now, he is in the best shape of his life, he and his wife just had their third child and he no longer has any desire for drugs. "Descensus" is receiving praise from fans and reviewers alike and the band is nearing the conclusion to their most successful tour to date. For the first time in a long time, every member of the band is having fun preforming live together every single night. For the time being, it seems that Circa Survive is on a rise, and they couldn't be happier about it.

“We work shit out," Green said. "A lot of times I think it would be so much easier to walk away, but it takes a certain amount of effort, and there’s a certain burden to it."

"When you’re in a relationship, whether its marriage or just dating or whatever, I think just sometimes hearing that they would rather let you go than keep you if it meant your happiness or something better for you is what makes you want to stay with them even more," Frangicetto said. "We’d all rather walk away than force it into something is making someone unhappy or make something that is ill-conceived. It’s taking pride in what you do and checking in. Every time around, we’re like, 'Is it time?' Because unlike a marriage, bands do end. And when this band ends, we don’t want it to be a sad thing.”

Warwick Rowers Discuss Stripping Down To Combat Homophobia

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What better way to help fight homophobia than with a group of dashing, naked athletes?

It began in 2009, when the University of Warwick's rowing team couldn't afford the equipment they needed. So the teammates figured getting naked and creating a photo calendar was the best way to raise funds.

When the athletes realized much of that support was coming from the gay community, they shifted their focus in 2012 and now donate 10 percent of the calendar's revenue to Sport Allies, a campaign they created to combat homophobia.

"Our way of giving something back -- because [the gay community was] supporting us and enabling us to row -- was to, as young straight athletes, stand in alliance with them and stand up for their rights," rower Laurence Hulse told HuffPost Live's Josh Zepps on Monday.

Our hats, or shall we say shirts, go off to you, Warwick Rowers.

Watch the video above to see the rowers discuss their calendar in full shirtless glory.

Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live's new morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before!

'We.Women' Photo Project Shows Women Confronting Their Insecurities Stripped Bare

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"What is a beautiful woman?"

Lithuanian photographer Neringa Rekasiute's powerful new photo project poses this very question. Through her work, she is trying to put the power to decide what makes a "beautiful woman" back in our hands -- one woman at a time.

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In a photo series titled "We.Women," Rekasiute captures 12 women confronting parts of their appearance they have been taught to see as "problematic."

The project began with a sketch.

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Translated: "So Fat! Look at Those Fat Legs! Disgusting!"

The above sketch was drawn by Beata Tiskevic, a prominent actress and TV host in Lithuania, Rekasiute explained to HuffPost Women in an email.

"Beata showed me this drawing of a woman looking into the mirror and there were words written on her body: the words which throughout her life she heard addressed about her 'imperfect' body. Beata and I had been discussing extensively how much Lithuania needs an empowering project for women," Rekasiute said. This was it. "I told her, 'We have to do it.'"

Rekasiute and Tiskevic collaborated with communications specialist Modesta Kairyte to make the project come to life.

The team used Tiskevic's large Facebook following as a platform to invite real women to participate by sharing their stories and being photographed in their underwear.

A daunting invitation, indeed. But the response was overwhelming.

"There were so many, we were crying while reading those messages," Rekasiute said. "A lot of social problems overlapped, actually."

The photo shoot allowed the 12 selected women to confront their insecurities and the types of destructive behaviors negative self-perception can promote. "Women were writing about bulimia, anorexia, fat-shaming, skinny-shaming, violence from men," Rekasiute said. "This project showed us lots of deep scars in our society."

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A fixation on narrow standards of beauty is familiar to American audiences, but "the standardized beauty cult is especially strong in Lithuanian society and media," Rekasiute said. "Beata and I wanted to ... bring the natural and real bodies of ordinary women back into public light."

Rekasiute believes self-acceptance on an individual level can have a powerful collective impact. "Imagine how much energy is released once [women] accept their bodies," she said. "They can achieve so much during that time, it is unbelievable!"

The project is an important reminder that positive body image plays a key role in female empowerment. “We are not only our body -- the body is only form rather than content,” Tiskevic writes.

The more we convince ourselves of this truth, the more powerful we can become.

See more of the inspiring images below, and visit Neringa Rekasiute's website for the full collection.

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H/T Bored Panda

Follow HuffPostWomen's board Map Of A Woman on Pinterest.

Tom Of Finland Foundation Announces Winner Of 10th Annual Emerging Artist Competition

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The Tom of Finland foundation just announced the winner of their 10th Emerging Artist Competition.

According to a statement sent to The Huffington Post, the Emerging Artist Competition, originally founded in 1993, is based on the "principals and ethical codes of its cofounder Touko Laaksonen, a.k.a. Tom of Finland," who became an icon in the gay world for his beautiful and erotic artwork. The Emerging Artist Competition provides up and coming queer artists a platform to showcase their work and then have it judged by some of the most prominent and highly-respected individuals in the field.

"Artists create what they see. It is without trepidation of what of their works are seen," S. R. Sharp, Curator at Tom of Finland Foundation, said in a statement. "Sexuality is a nourishing element in a whole being. The artist Tom of Finland embodies an era of freedom. This competition gives a remarkable opportunity for the new artist to show their complete self and be recognized by others."

Check out the winner of the Emerging Artist Competition below.



'F--k All You Rich People' Says Man Who Pulled Out Fake Penis During Art Event: Cops

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Art is weird, you guys.

A New York subway performer was arrested in Miami, Florida, on Sunday while protesting Art Basel, a yearly international art show that features 300 galleries from around the world.

In a police report obtained by the Miami Herald, 27-year-old Kalan Sherrard was taking part in a demonstration against the wealthy. When officers attempted to move the agitators from the Miami Beach Convention Center, Sherrard allegedly resisted before pulling out a fake penis.

Police said Maria Valenzuela, 20, was also arrested when she attempted to jump on one of the officers dealing with Sherrard, who was also wrestling with police, according to the report.

"Fuck Art Basel, fuck all you rich people," police said Sherrard yelled.

In video taken by a bystander, Sherrard and Valenzuela can be seen resisting officers' attempts to restrain them.



"Get off of me you fucking pigs," Sherrard can be heard yelling in the video.

Sherrard is a self-described "nihilist subway performer," who has been featured in New York magazine.

Watch the video below for an example of his art, or whatever.



On social media, Sherrard said it was his second time being arrested in less than a week.

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Sherrard and Valenzula were both charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence.



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