Our Lady of Perpetual Craziness

Britney Spears as hyper stylized, garden fairy nymph/Virgin Mary? Best piece of pop culture art. Ever.

Unfortunately, I don't know who the original artist is, so if you're out there reading this, mad props to you. One love.




(Courtesy of Perez Hilton. Don't judge!)

R.I.P. Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake

Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake

In July of this year, Artist Jeremy Blake, 35, took off his clothes and walked into the ocean seven days after his partner of 12 years, Screenwriter/Writer/Blogger Theresa Duncan, 40, washed down a handful of Tylenol PMs with a glass of bourbon.

The January 2008 issue of Vanity Fair has a great article, "The Golden Suicides," on this young, artistic, glamorous, and deeply troubled pair, which I read last week.

I don't follow the art community, but something about their story intrigues me. Could it be their glamorous existence? Their strong, artistic promise snuffed out so early? The squandering of Jah-given gifts? The fact that Theresa set up two blog posts to show up posthumously? That they thought Scientologists were trying to bring them down?

There are so many layers, I can't help but be drawn to their story. Part of it is some kind of macabre curiousity, sure. But also, whenever a young life (in this case, two), so filled with promise leaves this earth so unexpectedly, we are all affected by it in some way. I can't even fathom the logic that caused them to make the decision to end their lives, but I can only hope that these two souls found the answers to the questions they were seeking.

And that those they left behind begin to heal.

Just in time for prom

As if you needed another reason to love Brooklyn:

Paris Hilton's naked "corpse" could provide an invaluable service to students preparing for prom this season.

An interactive Public Service Announcement featuring the graphic display of a tiara-wearing, autopsied Paris Hilton with removable innards is designed to warn teenagers of the hazards of underage drinking. The display also features Tinkerbell, Hilton's forlorn pet Chihuahua with matching tiara, and debuts in the trendy Williamsburg, Brooklyn neighborhood where prom-goers frequently dine, courtesy of Capla Kesting Fine Art.

"Campaign to Rescue Women of Youth" featuring "The Paris Hilton Autopsy" offers a cadaveric nude Paris Hilton, laid out with twisted body and opened abdominal cavity on a coroner's table, while her cell phone remains in her grip. The 'unglamorous' display which includes support material from anti-drunk driving organizations counters "the disturbingly glamorized trend of Hollywood's 'girls gone wild'," according to gallery director, David Kesting.

Paris Hilton, arrested for a DUI last year, previously released a marginally effective PSA concerning drunk driving. This latest PSA includes a website by Capla Kesting, which offers high school educators an icebreaker for discussing drunk driving's consequences. Students are encouraged to take the virtual field trip at http://www.ParisHiltonAutopsy.com to view the making of the "Paris Hilton Autopsy" and compete for prizes by writing Paris Hilton's obituary.

What's more is that this sculpture/PSA is interactive in that Paris' innards are removable, allowing aspiring prom queens to see the effects of drunken driving "from a coroner's perspective."

Art. Public Service Announcement. Social commentary on The Evil That is Paris. Writing contest. What more do you want?

Brilliant.

Courtesy of the same gallery that brought you the Crowning Britney.

(Photo credit: Capla Kesting Fine Art)

Bend and snap THIS.

First, the world of theatre blasphemed against me and created High Fidelity: The Musical.

And now this:

After a pair of hit movies, beloved blonde Elle Woods is getting ready to step into the spotlight at Broadway's Palace Theatre. A new musical version of Legally Blonde begins performances in April 2007, and everyone's talking about how this overachieving fashionista will work her magic on the stage. After all, when you've been president of Delta Nu sorority and a Hawaiian Tropic girl, conquering Harvard Law—and the Great White Way—should be a cinch.

What's next? The musical version of Little Man?

A Cosby Sweater It Ain't

Instead, it looks like a $30 Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirt:

They've gone and turned High Fidelity into a musical.

Top Five Reasons why this is a bad idea:

5. Like Otto Man says, "Why not write a musical about the Common Cat?"

4. The book, from what I remember, was angsty and cynical. The movie did a great job of conveying this. The New York Times review of the stage version says otherwise.

3. Nobody can top Jack Black's performance in the movie version.

2. I don't care how good an actor you are, you cannot convey the snark and air of superiority that Rob and his buddies embody while projecting and gesturing and working it on stage. See #1.

1. High Fidelity and Jazz Hands do not mix.



(Photo credit: Sara Krulwich/The New York Times)

Damn, this girl's kickin' knowledge.

I loved this.

The girl who made it is a junior in high school.