One of the best things about holidays and living in New York is finally having the time to check out the amazing resources the city has to offer. Last week on my days off I made it uptown to the MOMA and finally got around to seeing Pipilotti Rist’s installation ‘Pour Your Body Out’. I had huge hopes for it after seeing clips of it and pictures online weeks before. When I got there it was really crowded (I guess we all had the same intentions) and all the cozy spots in the center circle were taken! My first impression was totally let down, but then I found a corner spot and just sat there for a long time watching her projections float across the walls and the lights go from red to blue and all variations in between. The images were of roses, and succulent fruits being picked by hands reaching down at you. (see video here)
I quickly relaxed and began to really enjoy this installation. People were urged to remove their shoes and ‘make new friends’ upon entering the exhibit. Adding to the atmosphere were deep moaning sounds that intentionally imitated under-water noises, it was too blissful.

On top of all this, Pipilotti Rist not only changed my experience and mood, but she also turned the austere, white, masculine interior of the MOMA into a dark red, warm womb. Absolutely necessary on a frightfully cold day, and pretty incredible when you think about the majority of museum shows. Exhibition runs until February 2nd, it is not to be missed.

The phrase ‘Blonde Bombshell‘ conjures images of Hollywood legends Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield or Jean Harlow, but all-too-often history tends to overlook one of the great blonde starlets of our time: Liz Renay

The original Queen of Re-Invention, Renay starred in over eighteen films, including John Water’s controversial film ‘Desperate Living‘. Walking out on an abusive marriage, she became an exotic stripper and later served a brief stint in prison due to her personal relationships to notorious mobsters Anthony Coppola and Mickey Cohen. Upon her release, she returned triumphant as an award-winning artist and best-selling author before passing away last year at age 80.

The Burlesque Hall of Fame and the Deitch Projects are paying homage to the late great Ms. Renay with a retrospective exhibit ‘How to Attract Men‘ beginning January 9th at the 76 Grand Street Gallery in NYC that will showcase her original paintings as well as memorable collages, costumes, and artifacts from Ms. Renay’s private collection. 

Now, I’ve heard of crocheted vibrator cozies and knitted ipod cases, but this is ridonculous. Spotted in Mexico city by Knithacker. Pretty psychedelic.

So, now that the economy kinda blows and everyone in the art world is fumbling to hold on to whatever they had going before the crash, the discourse is starting to be shaped by the real independents.
One of the raddest galleries of this new set is Cleopatra’s in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Run by four sassy ladies who resemble a mix between an all girl folk/rock group and the cast from Designing Women, the gallery showcases amazingly talented artists and holds raucous events nearly every month.
Not only are they the ones in the know in the art world, they also have the smarts to back it up. The four ladies, Bridget Finn, Kate McNamara, Erin Somerville and Bridget Donahue hail from upstanding Chelsea gallery/Museum backgrounds. They have thoughtfully adapted their formal learnings and figured out how to operate differently in their own space.
Don’t miss this coming Monday, Cleopatra’s is having their holiday celebration ‘Cleoptra Romanza On Ice’ at Glasslands in Brooklyn. And don’t miss some very special DJ’s, including the mysterious Free Danger .

This might be the BUSTiest comic I’ve brought you yet, darlings. And yet it’s been recommended to me by oodles of boys, which just goes to show that good writing, despite lots of idiots thinking otherwise, is good writing no matter the gender of its lead characters or creators.

I wanted to go dancing earlier today, after shoving off the weight of term papers on weightier subjects, and then I read this comic, and now I REALLY want to go dancing.

I didn’t read the first Phonogram but I read (and BUST-ed) Suburban Glamour and got a super-comics-crush on Jamie McKelvie’s sugar-candy-sweet art. But The Singles Club is even more of a love letter to pop music, dancing, and being a young, sassy girl in a club with just enough confidence in yourself and your moves that, well, it’s just a little bit magic…

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You know, it’s funny–despite my insane perfectionism when it comes to wrapping gifts, I’ve never gotten on board with gift tags. Six different kinds of ribbon and real pine branches, sure. But actual tags? Man, by the time I’ve wrestled with all the silly accoutrements, there’s little room for anything but a taped-on wrapping paper scrap, the To and From hastily scribbled in ballpoint pen.

It’s a bit of a disconnect.

So this year, in an effort to streamline my way-overboard packaging schemes, I’ve decided to let gift tags do the talking. Read on for a few Etsy faves sure to give your presents the perfect graphic punch–no real pine required. (Because really, that was just a disaster.)

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Busties! I’ve been neglecting you and I’m terribly, terribly sorry. I’ve been knee-deep in end-of-semester research papers, including on one everyone’s favorite former VP candidate, and haven’t had time to check in here much.

But I wanted to share this comic strip with you. Monica Gallagher is one of my fave indie comics artists, and she does a regular strip on roller derby girl Bonnie N. Collide’s nine to five normal life. You can read more of them here! 

The NY Times today had an interesting article about how the early Earth may have looked. By studying crystals in Australian rocks, (pictured on the left), scientists have formed what they think is a more accurate picture of what Earth actually looked like, as depicted in the image on the right. Isn’t it incredible? I had no idea that the Earth looked exactly like my trapper keeper I had in 3rd grade! All that’s missing is a couple of dolphins or Orca whales jumping out of the water.