Short documentary on tattoo artist Cris Cleen by Andreas Tagger from Brothers By Choice.

Left: Blond Lips, Charlie Le Mindu using Hairdreams. Image by Manu Valcarce – Right: Sandra Backlund knitted dress, © John Scarisbrick

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Crafts Council celebrate the role of making in our lives by presenting an eclectic selection of over 100 exquisitely crafted objects, ranging from a life-size crochet bear to a ceramic eye patch, a fine metal flute to dry stone walling. Power of Making is a cabinet of curiosities showing works by both amateurs and leading makers from around the world to present a snapshot of making in our time. On view September 6 to January 2, 2012.

Lia Ices premiers a new music video for her song Love is Won on her current album Grown Unknown (Jagjaguwar). New york based singer/songwriter Lia Ices veers close to that edge of ‘sappy love pop,’ but careens away at the last moment proving to be an artist with an enormous potential and a beautiful vocal style that recalls that of Sinéad O’Connor’s.

“The mythic Parisian restaurant Maxim’s—owned and operated for the past twenty-five years by iconic designer Pierre Cardin — has hosted patrons from royalty and celebrities to courtesans and starving artists since opening its doors more than a century ago. The history of this legendary restaurant is captured through stunning photographs, and also features a selection of Maxim’s most successful recipes.” A new book out now by Assouline….

Directed by Andy Warhol & Chuck Wein. With Paul America, Ed Hood, Joseph Campbell, Genevieve Charbon. In this early Warhol narrative, several men and women on Fire Island vie for the attention of a hustler. Featuring catty dialogue, a few long takes, and limited camera movement, the film appears artless at first but ultimately proves canny, casual, and affecting.  On view tonight and Wednesday night the MoMA in New York  as part of the Hot and Humid: Summer Films from the Archives series. 

If you can believe it, she has read the bible a total of six times. Canadian born artist Charmaine Wheatley is as prolific as she exhibits her work, but lately its sex thats been on her mind.  Her new series of erotic illustrations are a testament to her own path of discovery of sex outside the confines of her religious upbringing. Having been living in New York for a little over a decade, Charmaine Wheatley – with ample freedom and wells of creativity – has certainly found her artistic identity, but as for her sexual identity, its exploration is all there on the canvas, per se. Charmaine Wheatley’s artwork is extremely multi-dimensional.  Mediums integrate into mediums: from illustration, to performance art, to sculpture and back again.  In her collaboration with DJ and sound artist Taketo Shimada, inspired by her namesake – her name comes from the widely recorded song and 1920s standard “Chaarmaine” – they are trying build and demonstrate the personality of CHARMAINE.  And if this collaboration is an example, it is proof unto itself how multifaceted and adroit the sum of Charmaine Wheatley’s artistic ambitions are. A description of this collaboration then makes total sense: “….a direct reference to fantasy, gift giving, sound art, contemporary feminist dialogue and pop culture while investigating issues of intimacy and sexual tension that dissolve any boundaries between sexual preference, cultural or class backgrounds, age or gender types.” Pas Un Autre was lucky enough to ask Charmaine Wheatley a few pertinent questions, after the jump. (Read More….)

Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles: A beautiful blow up doll, a prop from a secret movie project shot in Los Angeles.  

Getting to know Yayoi…..

A boy sits amid the ruins of a London bookshop following an air raid on October 8, 1940, reading a book titled “The History of London.” (AP Photo) From Alan Taylor’s photo retrospective entitled World War II in Photos presented in 20 parts on the Atlantic’s web platform. “World War II is the story of the 20th Century. The war officially lasted from 1939 until 1945, but the causes of the conflict and its horrible aftermath reverberated for decades in either direction. While feats of bravery and technological breakthroughs still inspire awe today, the majority of the war was dominated by unimaginable misery and destruction. In the late 1930s, the world’s population was approximately 2 billion. In less than a decade, the war between the nations of the Axis Powers and the Allies resulted in some 80 million deaths — killing off about 4 percent of the whole world.” [site]