Illustration at the Erotica Auction

An anonymous French illustration from 1900 available for sale at the enormous Erotica auction held by EVE (Estimations & Ventes aux Enchères) today Sunday, December 18 and tomorrow Monday December 19.  A bulk of the collection comes from a Swiss collector who has spent 35 years gathering his holdings. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 11 - 9 rue Drouot, 75009 Paris

Rodarte: Fra Angelico Collection

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RODARTE: Fra Angelico Collection, on view starting tomorrow at the LACMA's Italian Renaissance gallery, features a group of extraordinary gowns by Kate and Laura Mulleavy. The collection is inspired by Italian art, specifically the Renaissance frescoes in the monastery of San Marco by Fra Angelico in Florence, Italy, as well as the Baroque sculpture, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) in Rome. Rodarte’s signature dressmaking techniques and sculptural details can be seen in each of the gowns. Silk fabrics (including chiffon, georgette, lamé, organza, satin, taffeta, and tulle) are draped and manipulated to give form, texture, and tonal variety to the color palette inspired by the frescoes. The gowns are customized utilizing a variety of materials such as feathers, swarovski elements, sequins, and custom-made silk flowers. Hand-forged gold metallic accessories such as a headpiece, breastplate, and belts dramatically complete the look of several key gowns. The Fra Angelico collection will enter LACMA’s Costume and Textiles Department, which houses over twenty-five thousand objects, representing more than one hundred cultures and two thousand years of human creativity in the textile arts.

In Focus: Los Angeles, 1945–1980

Gary Winogrand

The Getty presents 30 photographs from the Museum’s permanent collection made in Los Angeles between 1945 and 1980. Both iconic and relatively unknown works are featured by artists whose careers are defined by their association with the city, who may have lived in Los Angeles for a few brief but influential years, or whose visit inspired them to create memorable images. Works by Robert Cumming, Joe Deal, Judy Fiskin, Anthony Friedkin, Robert Heinecken, Anthony Hernandez, Man Ray, Edmund Teske, William Wegman, Garry Winogrand, Max Yavno and others are loosely grouped around the themes of experimentation, street photography, architectural depictions, and the film and entertainment industries. In Focus: Los Angeles, 1945–1980 will be on view from December 20 to May 6, 2012. 

[FIRST LOOK] POST x BLK DNM Perfume 11

A video by POST, an Ipad only arts and culture publication, for BLK DNM Perfume 11 which premiered at The Webster Miami for Art Basel; with sound design by Twin Shadow. "BLK DNM Perfume 11 molecules mixed with water - and in one scene, paint....The inspiration was a re-imagining of a birth of a nebula in an alternate universe, and then how planets, rocks, land, water and clouds - an atmosphere - may form in an alternative gravitational field.....It was important for us to use the actual perfume within the liquid mix so as to imbue the video with a special energy and integrity as an artwork."

People's Pornography

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Since its establishment in 1949, the People's Republic of China has upheld a nationwide ban on pornography, imposing harsh punishments on those caught purchasing, producing, or distributing materials deemed a violation of public morality. A provocative contribution to Chinese media studies by a well-known international media researcher, People’s Pornography offers a wide-ranging overview of the political controversies surrounding the ban, as well as a fascinating glimpse into the many distinct media subcultures that have gained widespread popularity on the Chinese Internet as a result. Rounding out this exploration of the many new tendencies in digital citizenship, pornography, and activist media cultures in the greater China region are thought-provoking interviews with individuals involved. A timely contribution to the existing literature on sexuality, Chinese media, and Internet culture, People’s Pornography provides a unique angle on the robust voices involved in the debate over about pornography’s globalization.

Fuyuki Yamakawa at Big in Japan

Avant-garde khoomei singer and performance/installation artist Fuyuki Yamakawa at the Ksubi X Kirin presented Big In Japan events last month i. Yamakawa's performances use light bulbs, yogic breath, antiquated medical equipment, and modified musical instruments and involvesoutputting bodily functions (like his heartbeat, amplified with an electronic stethoscope) in synch with external sound and light so the space becomes an extension of his body.