The Digest. 08.20.08.

Loomit, in Germany. (Photo by Luna Park.)

• James Powderly of Graffiti Research Lab is held in Beijing after unfurling a Free Tibet banner at the Olympic Park. Another story here and Eyebeam’s statement here.
• China will not lend Cultural Revolution-era works to NYC’s Asia Society.
• Warhol chocolates? I suggested it months ago.
• Artist Self-Promotional Schpiel of the Day, courtesy of painter Jason Chase: “Go to my website, and remember that owning a painting by me will make you smarter and more likable.”
• Theo Jansen’s Animaris Rhinoceros. (Via Eyebeam.)
• LACMA acquires Illegal Operation, a 1962 sculpture by Ed Kienholz about illegal abortion.
• CultureGrrl reports that former Met director-turned-ArtNet columnist Thomas Hoving needs to pick up the clue phone.
• Will the bear market affect art giving? Um, yeah.
• The Golden Shit Awards. Turns out Paul McCarthy isn’t the only one with a poo fixation. (Via Ekosystem.)
• Bruno Taylor is making the world better one bus station swing at a time.
• Graff of the Day: Roa in Belgium.
• CNN on Steve Powers’ Waterboard Thrill Ride in Coney Island. More at Razor Apple.
• If you live in Houston, you can sign up for lessons in graffiti drawing.
• More on Architecture School, the Sundance Channel’s reality show in which students design schemes for single-family house for New Orleans. See video clips.
• Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world, is almost finished. And it looks like a rocket launcher.
• On the opposite end of the spectrum…Buildings that take forever to build: Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia cathedral is mired in controversy. Manuel Borja-Villel, director of the Reina Sofía in Madrid, told the Guardian last week: “What they are constructing has little to do with the spirit of Gaudí. It has more to do with building a tourist attraction…” (Via architecture.mnp.)
• When architecture imitates art: Beijing bird’s nest stadium meets Christo and Jeanne-Claude edition.
• WBEZ public radio in Chicago has a segment about the ethics of building in places such as China with Pritzker Prize-winner Thomas Mayne, among others. Mayne comes on at about Minute 30. (Via Unbeige.)
• Highly speculative and highly entertaining: Building megastructures for space.
• Your moment of Welcome Back.

Posted by C-Monster.