The Digest. 08.21.08.

Opera, 1922, by Ricardo Urgell, at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in Barcelona. (Photo by C-M.)

• Beautiful animated video: Where do all the balloons go? (Via Fecal Face.)
• Nature, in Technicolor: The world of toxic nudibranchs. (Via ackackack.)
• The booming micro-industry of Obama art. See the latest, by David Choe, here.
• The political conventions are spawning full-blown art-o-paloozas (via Fimoculous). See the update, with photos, here. (Loooove the bear, btw.)
• Oh, to party with those art-loving Russian oligarchs. (How come no one refers to hyper-rich Americans who buy art as oligarchs? I think I’m gonna have to start…)
• An overview piece on the restitution case involving the heir of a German-Jewish banker who is demanding that MoMA and the Guggenheim in NYC return two Picassos that belonged to his great uncle. (Via A.J.)
• So much for the New York/Paris/London trifecta: Sotheby’s to hold preview of Damien Hirst work in the Hamptons and New Delhi.
• Photographer William Eggleston to get a retrospective at the Whitney this November.
• The can spirals of Robert Zverina.
• More lovely lovely photos of NYC at Flaming Pablum.
• Graff of the Day: Kenor in Barcelona. More here.
• More Laws that Won’t Stop Graffiti: L.A. parents could be busted if their kids are caught tagging. Related: carrying spray paint is now a fine-able offense in Melbourne.
• A profile of Poster Boy, the guy mashing up all those NYC subway ads.
• Design-conscious doggie paddling: Jean Nouvel’s aquatic complex in Le Havre, France.
• Concrete infused with glass fiber lets the light shine through.
• Your moment of balloon dancing.

Posted by C-Monster.