Free Republic

Here's the catch: People can join the 'photo-op' by donning a vest and gun. The artist admits in the video link that many of the visitors shoot Sarah Palin. But that's okay. She's just a she, not the first black man to run for President. That makes it all okay.

Spectators giggle as prosecutor points out dangers of operating fake BuickThe prosecutor's case began to unravel when he turned his attack to the tea light-candle headlights. Up until that point, Daniel Lerner had argued that the car in question was unsafe because of its dangerous braking system. Granted, classifying the hollowed-out Buick a car is a bit of a stretch. It's actually a piece of art made to look like a car by Montreal artist Michel de Broin. More than anything, it's a four-seater bicycle, propelled entirely by pedalling. At top speed, the Buick can hit 15 km/h. It has...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2007 – Johnny Ondrasik turns 8 years old this Christmas Eve, but he isn’t asking for any presents on his birthday -- at least not for himself. John Ondrasik, a singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name Five for Fighting, has spearheaded a special CD for the nation’s servicemembers. The CD features 13 of today’s top artists and songs. He was in Washington, D.C., this week singing on Capitol Hill and promoting the CD. Photo by Fred W. Baker III  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Daddy, can I have my friends donate money … for...

TORONTO -- Condemnation, and applause, for Thorarinn Jonsson's fake bomb art project continued to mount Friday, as the student was released from jail on $33,000 bail. The Ontario College of Art and Design student turned himself in to police Thursday night and was charged with common nuisance and mischief that interferes with property after a device, which was made to look like a pipe bomb, was left in a bag at the Royal Ontario Museum on Wednesday. The museum had to be evacuated and a major fundraiser for AIDS research canceled, as police investigated the suspicious package, that turned out...

Performance artists are known for pushing the bounderies, but one Australian has astonished his contemporaries by having a third ear implanted onto his arm. The Cypriot-born eccentric Stelios Arcadious spent 10 years searching for a surgeon willing to perform the controversial operation.

In Memorium: Mike Wieringo, 1963-2007 Posted: 2007-08-16 Updated: 2007-08-21 10:23:49 Ringo! From the bouncy signature to the remarkable art that it brands, the world lost one of the greats this week, and what is truly a loss for all of us is that we lost him way too early. On Sunday, August 12, Mike Wieringo passed away in his home in North Carolina, the victim of heart failure at the ridiculously young age of 44. As one would expect, so much has been said about Mike over these last few days. Yes, he was an amazing guy, a fantastic artist...

Tributes have been pouring in for Ingmar Bergman, one of the most influential film directors of the 20th century, who died on Monday at his home on the Swedish island of Fårö. He was 89. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt hailed Bergman as "one of the great dramatists in this world," and French President Nicolas Sarkozy paid tribute to "one of the geniuses of our time." "The dream ended, the music went quiet that night on the island of Fårö, where Ingmar Bergman died," Sarkozy said. "France, a land of the cultural exception that was dear to Ingmar Bergman, honours...

US artist Spencer Tunick will fill Mexico City's Zocalo square - the centre of the ancient Aztec empire and the heart of modern Mexico - with thousands of naked Mexicans next week for his latest mass nude photo shoot. Tunick, who was refused permission to stage his nude photo shoot at Mexico's famed Teotihuacan pyramids outside the capital, has been granted permission to use the Zocalo for his shoot next Sunday (local time), local media reported. The Mexico City Government was not available for comment. One of the world's biggest and most imposing squares, the Zocalo is framed by the...

Michael Fay is an official US marine war artist, one of only three in the service. His mission - "Go do art" - has taken him to Iraq and Afghanistan.

New Yorkers got to kick President George W. Bush's butt on Thursday, sort of. Performance artist Mark McGowan kicked off his bid to crawl for 72 hours across Manhattan dressed as the president, offering the opportunity to kick his backside. The controversial artist from London began his odyssey from New York's Lincoln Centre wearing a rubber George Bush mask, a business suit, knee pads, work gloves and a sign stuck to his cushioned posterior reading simply: "Kick My Ass".

A high school art teacher has hired the ACLU to challenge his firing after a video of him moonlighting as a "butt-printing artist" was widely circulated among his high school students. The executive director of the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said a public employee such as former teacher Stephen Murmer has a right to free expression outside the workplace as long as it does not interfere with his job. "Once he became fired, then it became a potential legal issue," said Kent Willis. "First Amendment issues always have a high priority ranking for us." Murmer can...

Las Vegas artist Melissa Henry dreams of a new community that lives in harmony with Mother Nature, a place where the world's greatest thinkers can ponder the world's greatest problems, a model for the city of future. Henry unveiled her dream, and a plea for the money necessary to realize it, Thursday at a fundraising event for Nova Town and Sage Era Resort and Community, a 24-acre community envisioned for the middle of the desert near Jean, about 30 miles south of Las Vegas. About 50 people attended the dinner at the Stirling Club at Turnberry Place to see the...

"“The new pope is even more conservative than the old one. He has compared homosexuality to mental illness,” she said. Last weekend she travelled to Italy and hooked up with some friends, who agreed to pose for a photograph. “I have a lot of friends in Italy and decided that it felt right to do the photo shoot in Rome. For this exhibition I have been very inspired by baroque paintings. They are scary to see. Also it is interesting to play with the lighting and add in extra details,” said Ohlson Wallin. She found a nice calm square for...

Dear Mr. Moderator: Please don't remove this post from Breaking News. This post should stand as a repository of every one of Chris Matthews's acts of crass, intellectually dishonest, boorish, and/or distemperate behavior of this election cycle. I start this post with my impressions of Chris Matthews, his recent instances of belligerance, and all his fawning obsequiousness to his own self-image. I find it amazing that he is associated with the same network that once employed David Brinkley. After watching Matthews this campaign cycle, he has thrown away any pretense of fairness or anything approaching such. It is one thing...

A biography of late Alice In Chains frontman Layne Staley might be turned into a movie, reports Blabbermouth.net. A press release from Arts Publications indicated that Argentinean journalist Adriana Rubio has been contacted by Philadelphia-based filmmaker Eric Moyer about making a film version of her book, Layne Staley: Get Born Again. Moyer said in a statement, "I am determined to make this film about Layne Staley, not only to celebrate his life and talent, but to warn others through his compelling story that heroin will kill you...no matter who you are." Staley died in April of 2002 after struggling with...

Sept. 8, 2006 — When New York City artist Scott Lobaido looks at a roof, what he sees is a canvas, a canvas he fills with his unabashed affection for the American flag and the veterans who have served under it. "I'm a crazy New York City artist living in America, and I pretty much have more freedom than most people do in the entire world," Lobaido says. "It's a big, fat greeting card saying, Thank you!" And as thanks, he paints the flags for free. "It's not pro-war, anti-war. It's about these men and women who step up to...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The FBI is investigating "Painter of Light" Thomas Kinkade and company executives over allegations that they fraudulently induced investors to open galleries, then ruined them financially. Relying on information from former Kinkade dealers contacted by federal agents, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the FBI is focusing on issues raised in civil litigation by at least six former Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery owners. At least 10 former dealers in Michigan, Virginia and other states have alleged in arbitration claims that Kinkade - a California native beloved by some but reviled by the art establishment -...

A Brighton homeowner is in trouble with the city because an alleged break-in artist fell to his death early yesterday from a set of rickety exterior stairs attached to the man’s two-story house.

Five suspected nail bombs put west London on major alert, before a woman walked into a police station claiming they were her "works of art". Police helicopters and bomb squad officers were scrambled to Shepherd's Bush and Hammersmith on Wednesday morning, to examine the packages. Some of the packages were cardboard boxes containing soft toys and training shoes with nails sticking out of them. A 36-year-old local woman was held on suspicion of causing a public nuisance. She has since been released on bail. The emergency services were called to the area shortly after 0800 GMT. BBC home affairs correspondent...

IT was a day for broken Harts in Broken Hill yesterday. Family members wept as they farewelled Pro Hart, the miner who swapped his jackhammer for a paintbrush and became one of Australia's best-loved artists, as well as a symbol of the dusty red plains of western New South Wales where he lived, worked and died. Hart's widow, Raylee, and his five children, all artists like himself, heard stirring tributes at a state funeral for the 77-year-old who succumbed last week to motor neurone disease. More than 1000 mourners watched as sons John, Kym and David, helped bear his casket...

A VINTAGE-car procession through the streets of Broken Hill today will help mark the state funeral for artist Pro Hart. Hart, one of Broken Hill's "Brushman of the Bush", died last week of motor neurone disease, aged 77. He loved cars almost as much as art. He turned cars into mobile works of art, including one of his own three Rolls Royces that he painted in a rainbow of colours depicting iconic Australian scenes. The car takes pride of place in the garage at his home-cum-art gallery in the far western NSW city, along with two other more sedate-looking Rolls...

OUTBACK artist Pro Hart has died at his Broken Hill home after battling motor neurone disease. The 77-year-old was diagnosed with the debilitating disease that causes muscle wastage late last year but his condition began to fail last week. His family decided to cease his medication on Friday and the legendary artist died at 2.45am (AEDT) today, Pro's family said in a statement. Pro Hart became a household name for his unconventional and diverse art works - which at one time featured in a popular carpet-cleaning advertisement. He was "a truly remarkable Australian and one that will be sadly missed",...

When wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and hurricanes, terror plots and bird flu epidemics dominate the headlines, the paintings that hang on the walls or the music that plays on the radio or the musical that runs at the local theater can seem trivial. What does a dancer have to offer in the fight against terror? How can a fashion designer save families from rising water? Isn’t art, in fact, a leisure best reserved for periods of peace and prosperity? In perilous times, does the artist even matter?

Pablita Velarde, a leading American Indian woman artist from Santa Clara Pueblo, has died at the age of 87. A granddaughter says she died at her Albuquerque home Wednesday from pneumonia , KOB-TV reported. Velarde is best known for her paintings depicting Pueblo life, including Old Father Story Teller. A young Velarde was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration’s arts project to create scenes of traditional Pueblo culture for the museum at Bandelier National Monument, according to the National Parks Service. From 1937 to 1943, she produced over 70 paintings to help visitors understand the ancestral Pueblo sites at Bandelier...

SYDNEY: Changing colours of palette entails endless showers for an Australian artist - because she prefers to paint with her breasts. But Di Peel, a mother of two, is producing what the market wants. Unlike recent winners of prestigious Turner Prize for modern art, Peel's works can do what paintings traditionally are supposed to do and brighten up a bare wall. Her first canvas sold for $10, her second for $26 and currently she's busy with an order for 10 at a princely $89 each. Peel, from Tasmania, freely admits that her chosen method doesn't allow much detail. "They are...

Remember when Kanye West said Bush hates black people? I'm sure he's gonna get nominated for some Grammys. The only way people can hear US talking not WEST is if we boycott his music. How could we notice the Dixie Chicks statement and NOT Kanye West? Let's treat him the way we did the Dixie Chicks!

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 22, 2005) -- Before he found fame as the artist who painted the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo was simply known as Michel. Michelangelo left a mark in the world of creativity that will never be imitated. Corporal Willie M. Rockward, armorer, II Marine Headquarters Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), strives to do the same with his lifelong passion in art. Rockward, 24, beamed with creativity and imagination, became interested in comic books for their artistic styles and drawings as he grew older. “I followed the artists,” said the Houston native. “Some people bought the whole comic...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2005 – A well-known artist visiting the nation's capital for the dedication of the "Extra Mile" monument celebrating volunteers went an extra mile himself last week. Thomas Kinkade -- known as the "Painter of Light" for his depictions of light-filled buildings -- and his wife, Nanette, visited with nine servicemembers recovering from injuries at the National Naval Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md. The United Service Organizations helped arrange the visit and accompanied the Kinkades. "It was the highlight of our trip. We visited with nine (servicemembers), and the stories we heard were amazing," the artist said. While...

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Virginia, Oct. 21, 2005 - Brenda Harris Tustian, a strong supporter of the Corps and Marine affiliated-organizations, donated two framed limited-edition prints of her patriotic Santa Clause paintings to the Base commander Col. James Lowe Oct. 3 in the foyer of Lejuene Hall. The paintings were Tustian’s “God Bless America” Santa and “Let Freedom Ring” Santa. “’Let Freedom Ring’ is a beautiful painting that celebrates the spirit of America, our freedoms and the blessing of our great country,” said Mike Kindrick at the unveiling of the paintings. “’God Bless America’ inspires pride and honor in all...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Aug. 31, 2005) – These days fighting involves fists and guns, but not for Michael Peterson. The country artist spoke to students at Page High School, Franklin, Tenn., Aug. 24 to tell them they didn’t have to join the service to answer America’s call to duty – they just had to serve fellow Americans. At the school, he sang “I’m a Soldier” off his new album to be released in the spring. The song was written by Sgt. 1st Class John Lamirande and Staff Sgt. Howie Smith, both audio engineers with the U.S. Army Field Band,...

Attention all FReepers ~ I just discovered that we have a very special new FReeper on board! She hails from Jennerstown,PA. and signed on with us this past Sunday. Get your ping lists ready and please help give this very special lady a really special Freeper welcome.

Sacramento -- A painting of the United States sinking into a toilet, formerly on display in the cafeteria of the state Department of Justice, has been moved by Attorney General Bill Lockyer to his 17th floor office, where public access is limited. The artist who created the piece, Stephen Pearcy, said Lockyer's decision to move the painting violated his First Amendment right to political speech. The painting's inclusion in a larger exhibit displayed in the state building sparked protests from some conservatives and served as fodder for talk radio shows. "His office is not public. The decision to move it...

BEIJING --A Chinese artist who grafted the head of a human fetus onto the body of a bird has defended his work as art after a Swiss museum withdrew the piece from an exhibit. "It's precisely because I respect all life that I did this," artist Xiao Yu said Tuesday. ... Swiss museum visitor Adrien de Riedmatten, 29, filed a complaint on Monday with the district attorney of Bern, Switzerland, calling for an investigation into the piece, which was on display at the Bern Art Museum. "I want to know where this baby comes from and if it was killed...

“What’s in a name?” Shakespere asked. Make that “Shakespeare.” Miami artist Maria Alquilar, much maligned for 11 misspellings that popped up in the educational mural she designed for the Livermore public library last year, spent today under the hot sun correcting her mistakes. In addition to fixing the bard’s name, she changed “Eistein” to “Einstein,” “Gaugan” to “Gauguin” and more. But Alquilar, who at first claimed artistic license and said she wasn’t going to return to fix the faux pas because people were being too mean about it, was giving no media interviews as she worked under a broad-brimmed straw...

MY STRAIGHT LINE LEARNING CURVE Learning can be a slow process for me. It never ceases to amaze me how amazed I can still get when some factoid finally manages to bore a hole in my skull and jump in. I mean, not to sound too self-congratulatory or anything, but when you're nearing the end of your sixth decade, you start thinking there aren't too many surprises left. So imagine my surprise when one of those surprises that had been lagging for 58 plus years decided to finally show up. The occasion was the Monday morning writers' group I regularly...

/begin my translationArtist is a Professional or a Day Laborer?Court battle between the late 'Koo Bonju' and Samsung Fire Insurance still ragingEscalating controversy over occupation, career history, retirement ageIs an artist a creative professional or a day laborer?The controversy over the legal status of artists is heating up now that the entire art community has formed the committee to address this issue and are staging protests. It was triggered when Samsung Fire Insurance Co., the insurance carrier of  a sculptor Koo Bonju, killed in an freak traffic accident in 2003, appealed the court verdict on the damage compensation suit by...

Artist Stages 9/11 'Falls' From Museum Roof Thu Jun 16, 1:05 PM ET A performance artist wearing a business suit and safety harnesses jumped repeatedly from a museum roof to create photographs that recall scenes from the World Trade Center attack, but his spectacle was scorned by some onlookers and victims' relatives. Collaborating photographers snapped away as Kerry Skarbakka fell more than 30 times from the five-story Museum of Contemporary Art on Tuesday. The photographs will be retouched to erase the pulleys and wires that kept Skarbakka from hitting the pavement. Skarbakka, 34, said he started thinking about falling after...

"I learned alot from Lakoff. You will too." George Soros. "one of the most influential thinkiers of the progressive movement." Howard Dean Video clip on site.

Ever want to look into the mind of a Clinton-era ‘Generation-X’ slacker who ‘made a mistake’ by accepting a prestigious Air Force Academy slot and then just could not stand to serve out his 6 year military commitment? Well, the following would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad (from the standpoint of our nation). Hopefully 9-11 has somewhat cured this kind of attitude amongst the younguns. The following is the actual text of a handwritten letter left at his desk by a 24-year-old Second Lieutenant, a US Air Force Academy graduate, on the day he deserted from the Air...

An example of Pollock's work (not one of the missing) 32 artworks were discovered a little more than two years ago in a wrapped package in Long Island. The son of two artists who were friends and contemporaries of Jackson Pollock has announced that 32 previously unrecorded works by Pollock were found among his late parents' belongings. Alex Matter -- son of photographer, filmmaker and graphic designer Herbert Matter and abstract painter Mercedes Matter -- said through a spokeswoman that the 32 artworks were discovered a little more than two years ago in a wrapped package in Herbert Matter's...

GLENDALE, Calif. - Artist and writer Joe Grant, who created such Disney characters as the queen-witch character in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and co-wrote "Dumbo," has died. He was 96. Grant suffered a heart attack on Friday at his Glendale home while working at his drawing board at his studio, according to a statement released by the Walt Disney Co. Born in New York, Grant was the son of a newspaper news editor and moved to Los Angeles with his family as a boy. He was hired to draw cartoons and caricatures of famous figures for the Los...

A Chilean artist has caused controversy by advertising in newspapers for donations of HIV positive blood. Benjamin Novoa Longuera wants to paint a picture of an Aids sufferer using only HIV infected blood. He told Las Ultimas Noticias that he needs half a litre of blood to complete the painting. He said: "Everyone who wants to donate blood should write to bnovoalongueira@yahoo.es. "My friends say I'm crazy and that I am generating an amazing controversy but I want to confront my ghosts."

The New National Gallery in Berlin, Germany, mounts a new work by performance-artist Vanessa Beecroft. The show is as transparent as the modernist masterpiece building itself: the living models are all nude. It isn't everyday that you see 100 naked women standing in the lobby of Berlin's New National Gallery. But on Thursday and Friday, a mass of women between the ages of 18 and 65 stood in the Mies van der Rohe-designed glass and steel architectural monument, wearing nothing but almond oil and see-through tights. The women are part of artist Vanessa Beecroft's new show "VB 55." For three...

DETROIT - A local artist who was sentenced to 30 days in jail for painting a mural on the exterior wall of his studio will be staying at home as the case moves forward in the appeal process, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said today. in a 1994 decision, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down an ordinance in Gladstone, Mo., that limited signs to 30 days before the election and prohibited illumination of those signs. Edward Stross, a 43-year-old Roseville, Michigan resident, was sentenced by District Judge Marco Santia to serve 30 days in jail,...

The staff, or crosier, is topped with a bowed crucifix and a gaunt yet unwavering Christ figure— the work of Santa Fe sculptor Gib Singleton. Singleton, who suffers from emphysema, declined to be interviewed by the Journal due to health problems and because he does not want to commercialize the pope's death, according to friends and Fenton Moore, director of Santa Fe's Gallerie Zuger, where Singleton's work is shown. An 18-inch bronze version of the pope's crucifix is on display at Shidoni Foundry, about five miles north of Santa Fe. Singleton used to work at Shidoni, and some of his...

Discovery of 3000-year-old Artist in Espidej Tehran, Mar. 7 (CHN) – The skeleton of a 3000-year-old artist buried alongside the tools used for his metalwork has been found in Espidej of Sistan-Baluchistan. Excavations in the 3000-year-old site of Espidej led the archaeologists to the discovery of a tomb belonging to an artist, buried with his tools which include an awl, a bronze scoop, a grindstone, and a water container used for freezing copper and bronze. The tools are evidence that metal arts were blooming in the area, and even sent from Espidej to other regions inside and outside Iran. The...

Roseville Artist Collapses, Misses Court Date A Roseville artist at the center of a controversial mural did not appear in court Tuesday because he was hospitalized from stress. Edward "Gonzo" Stross was sentenced to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine for violating a Roseville ordinance by painting a mural containing the word "love" and a woman's breast on the side of a building. His brother said Stross collapsed at his studio Tuesday morning and was rushed to a hospital, where he is recovering. Stross' attorney appeared in court on his behalf Tuesday, where a judge was to decide...

News4Jax.com Central Fla. Man Again Sent To Prison For Stockpiling Junk POSTED: 10:29 am EST January 31, 2005UPDATED: 12:19 pm EST February 1, 2005ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- The man known as Seminole County's "most annoying neighbor" is heading back behind bars, according to Local 6 News. Video 'Annoying Neighbor' Gets PrisonDavis Arrested AgainMan Released To Clean Yard Alan Davis, 49, gained national attention for spreading junk across his front yard, including a giant statue of a human buttock. Davis accumulated more than 10 year's worth of what officials call junk. He had airplane parts, broken-down cars and fiberglass in...

An artist renowned worldwide who is also a Harvard-educated lawyer is about to become a toxic problem for the Hayward Gallery in London. Iqbal Geoffrey, the Anglo-Pakistani painter whose works are admired by, among others, the director of the Tate, Sir Nicholas Serota, has launched a £65 million claim against the Hayward. Geoffrey says the gallery lost or damaged 300 of his works. He claims that its alleged failure to protect his work, or offer a suitable apology, is typical of the way the British art establishment treats foreign artists and is seeking to sue under the Human Rights Act...

One of the seminal American comic artists. He also did training guides for the U.S. Army during WW2.