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Archive for the ‘Art and Design’ Category

A few new Banksy images have been discovered in and around London's Camden Town. The first, and most topical, is a global warming denial message painted so it's partially submerged in the Regent's Canal under the Camden Street Bridge.

One other features a boy fishing in a pond polluted with graffiti. Another depicts a man unrolling graffiti onto a blank wall. Those two shots, AFTER THE JUMP…

(via londonist)

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Newsweek predicts Obama will do nothing for gay rights in 2010.

Activist Peter Tatchell says brain injuries from gay bashings in Brussels and Moscow are forcing him to step down as the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford East:
"The brain damage caused by Mugabe's thugs in Brussels in 2001 and by
neo-Nazis in Moscow in 2007 has been compounded by head injuries in an
accident while I was campaigning in Devon in July…The injuries don't
stop me from campaigning but I am slower, make more mistakes, get tired
easily and take longer to do things."

Video: Rihanna gets "Hard" with military men.

Viennese artist Alfred Hrdlicka, who outraged Catholics in 2008 with a homo-erotic depiction of The Last Supper, has died.

Lesbian mom files suit against Netflix, claiming the company's recommendation system algorithms could have outed her.

Ellen noticed.

Anderson Cooper, Kathy Griffin, and Lance Bass to host CNN New Year's Eve.

The Big Picture begins its look at 2009 in photos. Also, the decade in news photos.

Scotland's wild red deer are changing shape.

The Situation's high school yearbook photo.

Snooki gets apology from punch-thrower.

Author Jeanette Winterson is not happy with tabloids for sensationalizing her sexuality: "The 50-year-old Mancunian, whose latest BBC children’s drama called ‘Ingenious’ will be broadcasted on Christmas day, has strongly criticised the press for its offensive way to use the words ‘lesbian’ and ‘gay’.

Speaking of her new relationship, she said in a recent blog entry: 'I am in love. And I don’t care who knows it. The tricky bit is watching it turn into a girl-on-girl drama in the press.'"

A Single Man's Matthew Goode looking good in GQ.

Absolut Hunk hits the beach in Brazil.

Church's leave homeless ministry over Kalamazoo's anti-discrimination ordinance. "Martha’s Table, through which eight churches have provided Sunday
afternoon worship and meals for the needy at First Congregational
Church, is losing three of the churches because of the issue of
homosexuality, even though the ecumenical ministry takes no position on
it, said the Rev. Matt Laney, pastor of First Congregational."

LIST: Original song candidates for the Oscars.

Twitter hacked by "Iranian Cyber Army".

Slab of cement block from the Berlin Wall featuring Banksy rat for auction on eBay.

Dallas could elect its first gay judge: “This is the first election cycle that I can remember where we’ve had
openly gay candidates for the judiciary. It’s probably long overdue, to be honest with you.”

Five GOP Senators in NJ say "no" to marriage equality: "Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean (R-Union) along with Sens. Chris 'Kip'
Bateman (R-Somerset), Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth), Sean Kean
(R-Monmouth) and Andrew Ciesla (R-Ocean) asked for Democratic senators
to join them, saying it's 'unlikely that a bill redefining marriage can
pass the Senate.'"

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 Deviant Art's contest to mash the now familiar Shep Fairey poster "Love Unites" has attracted tons of entries.  A surprising number are worth a look, though as one might expect from Deviant Art and the open nature of the contest, others are not as well executed and a few are purposefully off topic, annoying or incindiary. But, just as love can unite, art can incite. Let us know what you think of the layers of issues here–from marriage equality to broader social justice and the fine point all this puts on fair use and ownership of images and creative work.

Towleroad Gallery: Mashing Equality 1

In case you missed it, some coverage of Homotracker's celebrity version of the contest with The Shepard Fairey Marriage Equality Project to raise money for FAIR (Facebook Page) .Movieline,Yahoo OMG! Access Hollywood, Greg in Hollywood.

Tons more entries on at the Deviant Art site  and don't miss the ones we pulled for a Towleroad gallery: Mashing Equality.

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Cool Hunting reports on Alabama-based artist Walton Creel, who uses his rifle to create artwork. Says Creel: “Whatever view a person already holds on guns is the view they project
onto me. If they love guns and think gun ownership is a God-given
right, then they see my work as reinforcement of that view. If they
think guns should be banned, they see my work as an ironic protest.”

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The CO2 Cube has debuted in Copenhagen as a reminder to those attending the United Nations Summit on Global Warming about carbon dioxide:

"The structure, pictured, sits on St. Jørgens Lake, near the city's Tycho Brahe Planetarium. Its creators said the cube represents the space that one metric ton of carbon dioxide would occupy if stored at standard atmospheric pressure — specifically, a space that is the equivalent of 27 feet cubed, or 19,683 cubic feet.

The size of the installation is crucial: The average citizen of an industrialized country releases one metric ton of carbon dioxide per month, according to a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change."

The cube, which was designed by L.A.-based architect Christophe Cornubert, also serves as a video screen and is currently rotating three hours worth of content. It's currently running off the local power grid but calculations are underway to determine its carbon footprint, after which solutions will be found to make it a carbon neutral installation (given its purposes, don't you think they should have figured out how to make it carbon neutral from the outset?).

Video, AFTER THE JUMP…

And a slide show of its construction:

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Prop 8 proponents to get to keep internal campaign documents private?

Nude Brangelina immortalized.

Witness immunity sought for gay service members at "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" hearings. Alcee Hastings: "How can there be anything more important than a gay member of the
service having the right to testify before the Armed Services Committee
of the Congress that he is under the aegis of. But if they come and testify, that testimony could
be used against them under 'don't ask, don't tell.' In my judgment,
it's just a question of fairness."

On the New Jersey marriage vote: the letter.

David Huebner, the openly gay ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, is being sworn in this afternoon.

Mugshot: James Franco busted.

Franco pens WSJ op-ed about General Hospital "performance art."

Black gay New Yorkers take out full page ad against Reverend Donnie McClurkin.

Irish lawmakers open debate on gay rights bill: "Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said the bill would give gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples on questions of property ownership, inheritance, medical care and access to state benefits — and also the same right to go to court seeking financial support from higher-earning partners when relationships fail."

Rick Warren tweets he's prohibited from hurting anyone or hurting back.

Is the NRCC using anti-gay innuendo against Tennessee state senate candidate Roy Herron?

SMU rejects adding sexual orientation and gender identity seat to the student government body.

Elf with dynamite threat terrorizes mall in Atlanta: "When Caldwell, who was wearing an elf suit, reached the front of the line, 'he told Santa Claus that he had dynamite in his bag,' Morrow police Capt. James Callaway said. 'He said that two times to Santa Claus.'

Santa notified mall security and Morrow police quickly arrested the 5 feet tall, 108 pound Caldwell. The mall was evacuated and the bomb squad was called in to examine the packages."

Daily Beast: What's hot at Art Basel Miami.

Two openly gay candidates in pool for assistant bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

Cory Monteith and Mark Salling play reindeer games.

Rich at FourFour takes a look at the Guidos of the new MTV show Jersey Shore.

First images from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The Southern Voice is now the Georgia Voice.

Pittsburgh gay bar Pegasus to shut down.

She's starting to remind me of Carol Channing.

Michigan bus driver accused of anti-gay harassment: "When I got off the bus, I stood up and was about to get off the bus, she was like, now you can get your gay self off my bus. Well, she said get your gay tail off my bus."

Bus driver who refused to respond to requests for help from  gay beating victim Jayron Martin has been fired: "Langham Creek High School officials acknowledged that the day of the beating, Martin asked school leaders and his bus driver for help and protection.

A Cy Fair ISD spokeswoman said an assistant principal at Langham Creek is still under review.

At question — did the assistant principal respond appropriately when an openly gay student asked for help before he was beaten by another student.

The district said the school bus driver has been fired. As for the assistant principal, a district spokeswoman said more details have come to light on how he responded, but those details are not being released now."

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Prop 8 defenders still haven't handed over documents even after third order from judge?

Oprah show finished in 2011.

The abs and poetry of hot NJ Guidos.

NJ Democrats search for spine on marriage equality as state senator says economy takes precedence.

Judge orders OPM to offer health benefits to lesbian employee and family: "It was the second order from a Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
judge in two days rebuking the Office of Personnel Management for
denying insurance coverage to the same-sex spouses of court-supervised
employees. The agency, whose director was appointed by President Obama,
intervened in both cases in February and invoked the Defense of
Marriage Act, a 1996 law that bars federal marriage benefits to
same-sex couples."

Rallies: Activists rallied in front of NYC's Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Office yesterday in response to the horrific murder of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado. They also rallied in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There are more vigils and rallies happening this weekend.

Uganda: Rallies in response to Uganda's proposal to make "aggravated homosexuality" punishable by death took place in New York and D.C. yesterday.

Coelacanth: Baby specimens of living fossil photographed for first time.

Boy George to join Celebrity Big Brother in UK.

Senator Arlen Specter likes Barney Frank's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" suggestion: “I think the better strategy would be the one that Frank suggested. If you have it as a stand-alone bill, it’s going to be
filibustered for sure. But if you attach it as an amendment — that’s
what was successful with the hate-crimes amendment — I think that’d be
best.”

NOM spent $112,736.75 on losing NY candidate Doug Hoffman.

New Yorkers looking for something to do this weekend might want to try Anti-Twink.

90210's Trevor Donovan shows off.

Meet the Season 2 cast of RuPaul's Drag Race.

Wrap-artist Jeanne-Claude dies of complications from brain aneurysm at 74: "Recognizable by her orange-dyed hair, Jeanne-Claude was a fixture of
the international art scene and was a highly visible New York
personality. Along with Christo, she created 'The Gates,' a 2005 public
art project consisting of 7,503 orange rectangular structures draped
with fabric and erected throughout Central Park."

Window Media publications South Florida Blade and 411 Magazine will continue to publish, under new owners.

"Ex-gays" setting up shop in Palm Beach this weekend.

Yikes: "A medium-sized popcorn and medium soda at the nation's largest movie
chain pack the nutritional equivalent of three Quarter Pounders topped
with 12 pats of butter, according to a report released today by the
advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest."

Playgirl writer: Levi Johnston saved us. "Playgirl pulled out all the stops to make this shoot a media
circus — overexerting itself financially to compensate Levi and bring
on board new and old staff members to see the project through
(including wunderkind party promoter Nardicio and myself, Playgirl's editor-in-chief from 2006 to 2008); and marketing the hell out of all things Levi (an ironic Levi Johnston line of Playgirl
condoms due out in the spring, a Levi Johnston poster complete with
signature). The 36-year-old magazine miraculously rose from the ashes
of the Phoenix to become in recent months a relevant brand name once
again."

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NY Senator Savino on marriage equality vote: "I'm hopeful it's Tuesday."

Alex Pettyfer strikes a profile in Vman.

Beaver watersports on The Early Show.

Anti-gay Liverpool attack inspires fast-tracking of hate crimes laws in UK: "A new law imposing two years imprisonment for those who incite
violence on the grounds of sexual orientation will come into force by
mid-December, several months ahead of schedule. And local
police forces nationwide will be encouraged to follow Merseyside in
setting up ‘frontline’ action teams to combat such crimes."

Kathy Griffin to play lesbian activist on Law & Order: SVU.

Philippines election committee (COMELEC) rejects gay party on grounds of immorality: "In a ruling dated November 11, the Comelec said that although the party presented proper documents and evidence for their accreditation, their petition is 'dismissable on moral grounds.'

Page 5 of the ruling states that Ang Ladlad's definition of the LGBT sector as a marginalized sector who are disadvantaged because of their sexual orientation "makes it crystal clear that the petitioner tolerates immorality which offends religious beliefs."

FOX News goes after gay YouTube newsclipper
(who we use constantly here at Towleroad, and provides a great service)
with takedown notices but leaves right-wing sites alone.

Mug shot of the week.

Dolce & Gabbana purchase NYC condo:
"A source dishes that over the weekend the fashion duo bought a
two-floor brand-new apartment on 10th Ave. in Chelsea — in a building
where one-floor units start at a whopping $5 million. They celebrated
with model Adam Senn (who is starring in the new D&G ads along with
Madonna) at Il Bastardo in Chelsea on Tuesday night."

Warhol Brillo box goes for $842,500 at Philips de Pury auction.

Daniel Radcliffe denies smoking weed.

Dutch bear band Bearforce1 breaks up.

India creates third gender for voters: "Indian election authorities have granted what they called an independent identity to gays and transsexuals — a third gender — on the country's voter lists.

Members of these groups were referred to as male or female on the voter rolls in the past. Now they will have the choice to pick "O" — for others — when indicating their gender on voter forms, the Indian election commission said in a statement Thursday."

Tonight: The Ugly Betty episode that AfterElton says you must not miss.

New York is Burning: Voguing ball returns to NYC's Irving Plaza. "This Saturday, the House of Xtravaganza will host their first ball in over five years. I live for balls, and I’ve always lived for the Xtravaganzas; this ball will consist of 26 different competitions."

Author James Jones was forced to remove expletives and homosexual scenes from the 1951 novel From Here to Eternity: "One character, Maggio makes extra bucks by hanging out with older, rich
gay men who live in Honolulu, who pay good money for his company. The
original manuscript goes into great detail about what kind of sexual
favors soldiers like Maggio are willing to provide. The soldiers act as
if it’s simply their company that these older men are paying for, but
there’s an underlying, secret understanding that many of them will
provide sex. Maggio sees nothing wrong with this at all, since it is a
means to an end – a way to make quick money so he can go back and hang
out with the whores."

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The money appears to be back in the contemporary art market:

"The price rose at breakneck speed as five collectors vied for the classic image, '200 One Dollar Bills.' It ended up selling for $43.7 million (including fees to Sotheby’s), more than three times its high estimate of $12 million. The buyer, whom Sotheby’s refused to identify, bid by telephone through Bruno Vinciguerra, the company’s chief operating officer. Sotheby’s would also not identify the seller, although people familiar with the collection said it was Pauline Karpidas, a London-based collector.

Just a year after the art market was in the doldrums with the world’s financial markets, buyers with deep pockets were not shy about stepping up for tried-and-true artists. The sale topped Sotheby’s expectations, totaling $134.4 million, well above its $67.9 million high estimate."

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NYT: Six tests for equality and fairness. "Three jurisdictions — New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia
— seem tantalizingly close to securing legislative approval for
measures ending the hurtful and unjustifiable exclusion of same-sex
couples from civil marriage. But in Maine, Washington State and
Kalamazoo, Mich., voters are being asked on Tuesday to strip away vital
rights and protections."

Adam Lambert and Ferras glam it up on Halloween in West Hollywood.

A-Rod's art collection? "He was so vain. He had not one, but two painted portraits of himself as a centaur. You know, the half man, half horse figure? It was ridiculous."

West Hollywood woos gay tourists.

LGBT liaison Dani Lee Harris wears uniform in Atlanta Pride parade: "Harris's decision comes after this week announcing she wouldn't wear
her uniform due to backlash from some in the LGBT community over having
the police represented in such a high-profile manner during the Atlanta
Pride parade after the controversial police raid of gay bar the Atlanta
Eagle.

This is the average color of the universe.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) urges Hillary Clinton to condemn bill proposed in Uganda that would increase penalties for "aggravated homosexuality" up to and including the death penalty. Here are some of the details on the community discussions of that bill. France slams proposal.

Hugh Jackman turns down offer to host the Oscars for a second year.

Chicago Cubs become first major-league sports franchise with lesbian owner, Laura Ricketts: "On Oct. 30, the Ricketts family were announced as the new owners of the Cubs, buying the team, Wrigley Field and a share in Comcast SportsNet Chicago for $845 million from the Tribune Co, according to MLB.com. Pete, Todd, Tom and Laura make up the board of directors, with Tom as chairman, NBC.com added. "

Study: "Illegal" music file-sharers spend more money buying music.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 video game spot pulled after outrage over "FAGS" acronym.

Gay groups to protest Focus on the Family conference in Birmingham, Alabama. In related news, James Dobson is exiting the group in February.

Robert Pattinson does Vanity Fair.

Male model fix: Matt Loewen.

NYT's Deborah Solomon interviews Maine governor John Baldacci.

Dan Savage: A Halloween tale about why we're winning.

One million celebrate rainy Pride in Rio.

NYT on Referendum 71 in Washington and the attempt by Protect Marriage Washington to keep private the names of signers
of the petition to get it on the ballot: "The case, legal experts say,
could chart new territory well beyond Washington State. The United
States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which had ordered the
release of the signatures, said the case presented 'novel questions of
whether referendum petition signatures are protected speech under the
First Amendment.'”

World's largest cruise ship sets sail from Finland, heads for Florida.

Ethan Hawke praises Madonna for speaking out for Romania's Gypsies: "She transcended being a pop star. She drew
international attention and shone the spotlight on a level of racism
and the need for greater education."

White House visitor logs opened… BBC:
"The White House put some 480 visitor records online on Friday in
response to specific requests for information. The newly-released data
covers a period from 20 January to 31 July and includes about 100
meetings with Mr Obama. From December, all visitor records will be
posted, as part of President Obama's pledge on greater transparency."

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