Cheaters never prosper
Wednesday - March 28, 2007
According to Art New Blog there is a controversy going on right now with Young British Artist, Damien Hirst. He is being accused of stealing an idea from another artist. Hirst just recently had a show in which he used butterfly wings to form a stained glass window. It's a really cool concept and idea. Except, apparently its been done a long time ago by another artist named Lori Precious. It does seem kinda suspicious but hey, everything has been done under the sun. It's hard to know if your idea is original or not. There have been millions of artists come and gone, and if similar minds think the same then the majority of the best ideas have already been thought of...like Picasso said:"Good artists copy. Great artists steal." Not that I'm advocating that behavior or anything...

Double Decker
Tuesday - February 20, 2007
I got into the Double Decker Arts Festival! Horray! If anyone finds themself around the square in Oxford on April 28th, thats where I'll be. I'll be peddling a wide array of assorted art goods...So bring your deep pockets! My mom got in too. Pay her a visit as well.

Poisonous Pigments
Saturday - February 10, 2007
Discovery News reported a finding recently about some ninth-century Iraqi artists. Turns out they were basically painting with arsenic! If you think cadmium red is bad, you should try painting with rat poison! Scientists found traces of arsenic in ancient Iraqi stucco fragments. These artists were using the arsenic in their pigments, unknowingly also poisoning themselves in the process. The stucco fragments that the scientists found decorated mosques and palaces. They think obviously alot of artists died because of the exposure. These artists really did suffer for their art.

duh Vinci
Saturday - February 3, 2006
A quest has begun for a missing masterpiece by none other than Leonardo da Vinci. The masterpiece is a fresco called "The Battle of Anghiari." (The picture to the left is a master copy drawing by Peter Paul Rubens of "The Battle of Anghiari.") Apparently, critics called it "the greatest work of Renaissance art" ever, of all time, to infinity! But, it was misplaced a few centuries ago. But how does one lose a fresco? It's not like it can walk off...simply because frescos are on walls. However, maybe the wall was torn down or another wall was built over it, or maybe the painting just crumbled like the case with "The Last Supper." Da Vinci used an experimental medium of oil/tempera schmorgazborg for The Last Supper. And not long after "The Last Supper" was painted, it started to crack and crumble. So, I wonder if the same was the case for this missing fresco? Who knows. But this guy named Maurizio Seracini has been on a quest for the missing fresco for 32 years. Thats a long time. He thinks he knows where it is...behind a wall right where it was painted, in Florence's Renaissance town hall! duh! That sounds pretty reasonable/logical. There's speculation that its in a hidden cavity behind a wall. If it's there, it's probably unrecognizable or been destroyed. There's no telling - because afterall someone did foolishly cut a door into "The Last Supper"...Dan Brown eat your heart out.

Say Hello To My Little Friend!
Saturday - January 27, 2007
Isaw on Artnewsblog.com where there's going to be a Dali movie. And Al Pacino is playing Salvador Dali! I bet it's going to be a riot. Dali's life was pretty outrageous. But most of his antics were just for show to draw more attention to his art. Andrew Niccol is supposed to direct it. Niccol is a great storyteller. I loved "Gattaca." I'll be eager to see this movie.