My second reaction was, “Wait a second. Art isn’t made like sushi. Art isn’t a dress (though a dress can be art.) Hmm. This sounds like it could be horrifying.”

My second reaction was probably closer to the reality of this reality show. The Daily Beast has an interesting piece up about it, including this bit that I love:

As brilliant an auctioneer and entertainer as Simon de Pury can be, he needs to reconsider his snappy comment that “in a split second I can tell whether a work of art is great or not.” All I have to say to him is: Louise Bourgeois.

The artist, who died last week, was the antithesis of the sound bite, and didn’t “make it” until she was well into her 60s because no one saw the importance of her work until the next generation of (women) artists began to cite it as an important influence. De Pury should remember that some things happen slowly, and not all artists—or their work—can be recognized as “great” or “genius” in a split second. Art is about slowing down time, and thinking—neither of which television does very well.

Pretty much.

From Wonkette:

An Arizona elementary school mural featuring the faces of kids who attend the school has been the subject of constant daytime drive-by racist screaming, from adults, as well as a radio talk-show campaign (by an actual city councilman, who has an AM talk-radio show) to remove the black student’s face, and now the school principal has ordered the faces of the Latino and Black students to be changed to Caucasian skin.

(via the Millions, which I don’t want to link to, because I hate when my blog shows up in their comments. I know, I know. Don’t care.)

When Gunter came to work at a Wal-Mart in Riverside, California, in 1996, at the age of 46, with 20 years of retail experience, she was sure she’d advance in the company. A passionate animal lover, she also boasted 30 years of experience raising show dogs. Yet Gunter says she was rejected for the position of pet department head because she “didn’t have enough experience.” The job went (twice) to teenage boys.

During her tenure at the company, Gunter was repeatedly passed over for promotion in favor of men she had trained, she says in court documents. Her bosses didn’t pretend to be running a civilized workplace: Once, after she’d had a fight with her husband, her supervisor suggested, “Why don’t you put your face in my lap and take care of both of our problems?”

Disclosure:  I’m proud to work for the labor union that runs the Wake up Walmart campaign to improve Walmart’s treatment of their employees. And we run that campaign precisely because of stories like these.

Photo from Phillipe Halsman's JUMP

In this amazing find from The Photography Post (via notcot), pics from photographer Phillipe Halsman’s book, Jump. Halsman apparently found that asking his famous subjects to “jump” at the end of each photo session was a way to remove the masks that sitting subjects typically wear throughout.

The resulting photos are pretty amazing, and I have to think Halsman must have been one persuasive dude. I mean, who else could get RICHARD NIXON–Mr. Suits-and-Wingtips-on-the-beach–to jump in the air like a schoolboy?

He started his unusual hobby in 1986 and has continued ever since despite taking on huge debts, being sprayed with battery acid and risking his marriage.

His wife Dong Shuyan nearly left with their two soon after he burnt down the house while working on a robot and went £8,500 into the red.

But, hey, sometimes you have to suffer to do what you love–like make a robot rickshaw.

Oh, just watch the video. Which is clearly aimed at old people. It is funny (but, sadly, not on purpose) and like a movie trailer. (Thank you, Wonkette.)

Our forefathers would be so confused.