C-MONSTER.net

Inopportune: Stage One, 2004, by Cai Guo-Qiang. See an installation video on the Guggenheim’s site. Or, better yet, the illegitimate video I shot, which is blessedly free of curator talk. The show is up through May 28th. (Photo by C-M.)

• On the anniversary of “Mission Accomplished,” Modern Art Notes has an interesting series of posts—in one, two, three and four parts—about how art has depicted the memory of war.
• Decorate your Google search page with Jeff Koons’s tulips, and much, much more.
• In a related art-merch story: Olafur Eliasson + Louis Vuitton + BMW.
• A follow-up on that cease-and-desist letter Louis Vuitton sent to Nadia Plesner, who drew a likeness of a Murakami bag into a satirical print… Anaba reports that LV, ironically enough, also does a Richard Prince bag, the artist who had the following to say about ripping off a Marlboro ad: “No one was looking. This was a famous campaign. If you’re going to steal something, you know, you go to the bank.” More here.
• In a related post, Hrag Vartanian suggests sticking it to LV by buying one of Plesner’s tees, but it’ll cost you: they’re €35 (that’d be $55).
• The art industrial average: are we due for a 1990-style correction? (Via AFC.) Plus: The NY Sun looks ahead at the coming auctions in NYC (via AJ).
• In related news: Christie’s tries to sell the Kaufmann’s Desert House as art. (Via Grammar Police.)
• Iranian artists hot, hot, hot.
• Yet another nail in the much-hammered coffin for NYC’s meatpacking district (remember the Clit Club?): The Whitney unveils Renzo Piano design for the highline.
• Photos of Pace Wildenstein’s ginormous new space in China.
• No miscarriages for you: Yale student submits new work for senior project show.
• In L.A.: Eleven defendants, including the U.S. government, will have to pay Kent Twitchell $1.1 million for buffing his six-story mural of Ed Ruscha. In the story, Twitchell also has a few things to say about “spray paint vandalism.” And it ain’t good.
• The work of Pan Yuliang, prostitute, turned concubine, turned post-Impressionist icon.
• Not sure how I missed this: Carol Diehl’s follow-up to Eric Gibson’s op-ed in the WSJ about coma-inducing artspeak. This segues nicely to a wonderful quote about clarity that she featured separately.
• The work of Gregory Crewdson.
• Photos from the Phantom Sightings show at LACMA.
• The Daily Show reports that the Rev. Wright story is dominating the headlines “more than a missing white girl.”
• Graff of the Day: Unknown artist in Zaragoza.
• Exterior ads to run on NYC subway trains. Because what the world really needs is more advertising. Plus: The city’s Vandal Squad poses as a graffiti crew.
• Insane graff pool.
• British MPs describe Zaha Hadid’s Aquatics Centre for 2012 Olympics as “over-designed.” (Via architecture.mnp.)
• The New Republic on the New Museum: “SANAA’s New Museum is a freeze-dried packet of desiccated minimalism. It is in no way miraculous. We are in more trouble than I thought if this is the project that is supposed to restore faith in New York City or point the way toward the future of architecture. The most that can be said in its favor is that in the New Museum, as in the firm’s other projects, SANAA raises provocative questions about the value of minimalism in architecture.”
• eamesd has a nice set of Flickr pix on Louis Kahn’s Esherick house outside of Philly.
• Your moment of farting cows. (Via NotCot.)