Art/Music

Kanye announces presidential run at MTV Video Movie Awards

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Truly one of the most notable, progressive, and of course, controversial artists of our time, Kanye West was honored with a Video Vanguard award at the MTV VMA’s last night, the highest honor that the organization bestows upon any artist.

The award was notable for a number of reasons. First, a montage of Kanye’s many, many visuals was played, drawing attention to just how stylish and provocative the rapper’s music videos have been. Then, none other than Taylor Swift herself presented Kanye with his award, of course referencing the infamous ‘Imma let you finish…’ tirade from the VMA’s a number of years ago, when he famously interrupted her acceptance speech at the very same event. Then, Kanye himself took the mic for an 8-minute-long, somewhat-rambling, yet passionate, and ultimately pretty awesome acceptance speech. In it, he started off with an apology to Taylor Swift, providing really the first public commentary on that event from the man since it happened.

Then, things got really crazy. Kanye transitioned to a more thoughtful, more abstract speech; focusing on everything from the power of ideas, to how we need to teach children to love themselves, instead of compete with, or fear each other. He really touched on some nice points. But then, in the ultimate Kanye-being-Kanye moment, he did nothing less than declare a 2020 presidential run, immediately, and literally dropping the mic directly afterward. Kanye/Swift 2020? Time will tell. Either way it was a hell of a speech.

(Via Elite Daily)

That feeling when you trip and punch a hole in a $1.5 million USD painting

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While it is a fear that very well may have never occurred to large portions of the population, for the more clumsy amongst us, a trip to the museum can induce intense fears. Knocking over a sculpture, ripping a painting, sneezing on the Mona Lisa; these are all long shots, but still, potentially expensive mistakes.

And, this exact, if obscure, fear of ruining expensive works of art was caught on tape this week. On a recent field in trip to a museumin Taiwan, an unidentified student took a digger straight into a painting by Pablo Porpora, which is valued at a cool million and a half dollars. Using his right hand, and the very center of the canvas to brace his fall, this young student found himself in quite the scenario, and, as the video below will show, he handles it pretty calmly.

Amazing. Fortunately for the student, he and his family will not be responsible for the damage, as it was clearly an accident. However, in a post on their Facebook page, the museum said that the ‘damage may not be able to be reversed.’

The Weeknd buries himself in high concept new video

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It’s rare for an artist as controversial as The Weeknd to gain as much mainstream recognition as the Canadian crooner has already accumulated. But, when you sound like Michael Jackson, have an attention-getting haircut, and are seriously, seriously talented; sometimes unlikely things happen.

And the stylish new video for the Kanye West-produced ‘Tell Your Friends’ song from the artist’s new album ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’, and helmed by filmmaker Grant Singer, seems to be very aware of the popular turn the artist’s career has taken. In the video, the singer appears to bury himself, or at least a side of himself, perhaps hinting that the popular tones he’s hit recently- the ones that have propelled him to serious popularity, might soon be abandoned in favor of a return to his darker, grittier roots. While it’s certainly open for interpretation, the song, and video are both very cool, and can be viewed below.

Banksy debuts incredible new ‘Dismaland’ art installation

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One of the most mysterious, politically-active, and prolific artists of our time, Banksy, has struck again.

The artist, who made a name for himself with some of the most progressive street art pieces the world has ever known, has now moved confidently into the world of sculpture and 3D art, retaining all of his signature snark, and intelligent political and social commentary.

The new art exhibit is entitled ‘Dismaland’, and the work is, as with all things with Banksy, thought-provoking, clever, darkly humorous, and overall, massively creative. While the artist himself does not give interviews, he has described the new art installation as ‘a festival of arts, amusement, and entry-level anarchism.’ He has also stated that he did not set out to ‘intentionally snub’ his more traditional medium of street art, but that other artistic endeavors just ‘seemed to interest him more at this time.’

Constructed in a space formerly occupied by a now-abandoned public swimming pool in Banksy’s native U.K. (in a town called Weston-super-Mare, to be specific), and the sinister, Disneyland-esque theme park opens to the public tomorrow.

1stDibs is a website with an awesome name; even cooler purpose

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Via: Source

Filling in a digital space unfulfilled by eBay, Amazon, or any other online marketplace, website 1stDibs was created all the way back in 2001 to serve a different purpose; replicate the finest art gallery or auction house experience all online. Connecting art dealers with clients seeking their wares all across the globe seemed like an obscure mission a decade ago, but now, 1stDibs is uniquely, and excellently positioned to almost exclusively serve a huge market. How exactly did they do it?

Via: Sparkcapital.com

Indeed, as was previously mentioned, the company started all the way back in 2001; and from the get-go, the site sought to replicate the legendary Parisian Marche aux Puces; open air markets filled with art of all kinds. And now, close to 15 years later, the company has evolved into the leading online market place for fine art, furniture, jewelry, and other treasures; all listed by some of the best-known, and most reputable dealers in the world.

The company, now guided by CEO David Rosenblatt, removed dozens of pain points that kept both art dealers and collectors from having access to collections around the world, whether they are on the buying, or selling side. It is an area with a lot of demand, and not a lot of direct competition for 1stDibs, making them an incredibly interesting company to keep an eye on.

Stay Rich or Die Trying? What exactly if 50 Cent up to?

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Via: Source

Probably-past-his-prime rapper 50 Cent created quite the internet-stir yesterday when it became public that he would be filing for bankruptcy protection.

Now, we all know the cliched stories by now of athletes, actors, rappers, or other celebrities blowing through amounts of money that should last for generations, in a span of years. However, it appears that 50 Cent’s specific bankruptcy situation may be a bit more complicated than the classic tale of celebrity money squandering. So what exactly is going on?

Via: Celebrity Net Worth

50 filed for the bankruptcy protection on Monday in court in Hartford, CT, the same day he was supposed to be in court in New York to determine if he owed damages to a woman named Lastonia Leviston, an ex-girlfriend of Rick Ross. The case was brought in 2010 and stipulates that 50 Cent had violated her privacy by posting a sex tape of hers online. She was seeking $5 million.

The bankruptcy petition was only 5 pages long, and lists 50’s assets and liabilities as valued between $10 and $50 million, non-itemized. The bankruptcy agreement allows the rapper to continue work as an entertainer, and to continue to pursue his other business pursuits, while he ‘pursues an orderly reorganization of his financial affairs. He also hangs onto his massive Connecticut estate.

So, at the end of the day, it looks very much like 50 Cent took these steps to avoid that $5 million dollar pay out, potentially, that is. Savvy move? Ridiculous? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section.

MUST SEE Wes Anderson event going down soon

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While usually we would keep something this juicy, and already widely-attended to ourselves (just kidding, we would never do that to our readers–ALL the news that’s worth a reblog is our sacred mission here), we simply have to share this amazing event with our readers, mainly the NYC based ones.

This August, a Wes Anderson art show will be going down; and here’s the Facebook page with all the info.

Oh, HELL yeah to ALL that.

Anyway, if you’re not in NYC, hate Wes Anderson, hate us, or feel like you wasted a click on that, fear not dear reader; we have a classic Anderson clip to (hopefully) clear all the negativity (and to show you why his movies are some of the more unique and creative of the past 15 years). We love you. And, we hope to see some of there this August!