A postscript of sorts to our earlier post about Elizabeth Peyton’s brand-new portrait of Michelle and Sasha Obama, which was added to Peyton’s survey at the New Museum after our soon-to-be brand-new president was elected (and will also travel with the exhibition, which arrives here in February). That portrait was commissioned by W magazine in conjunction with its November issue, which is dedicated…

So I’ve been on a bit of a music hunt lately and somewhere within that I found it necessary to post a blog about the treasures I discovered. Definitely has a cool disco-y vibe. Think along the lines of the Scissor Sisters. So typically I’m not a huge Katy Perry fan, but this song has a completely different sound than the Katy Perry I’ve known. Acoustic and very raw sounding. Not to mention that it…

This winter the Walker Art Center turns bookish with a season of events surrounding Text/Messages: Books by Artists, an exhibition of works from the museum’s collection and library opening on December 18. Minnesota artists are invited to submit an application for participation in the fair portion of Multiples Mall. Organizers are looking for work that exists within the elastic discipline of book…

Leave it to Paul Schmelzer, the former chief blogger on Off-Center, to find the fine-art connection in Minnesota’s infamous Senate ballot recount. On his own blog, Eyeteeth, he’s mentioned how the “Lizard People” write-in vote on one ballot made waveslast week, thanks mostly to MPR’s excellent “Challenged Ballots: You Be the Judge”, a feature that provided an all-too rare occasion for election…

Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests were filmed from early 1964 – November 1966. Subjects would be seated in front of a tripod mounted camera, asked to be as still as possible, and told not to blink while the camera was running. There are a number of Screen Tests that diverge from this format entirely, the sitter purposely moving, gesticulating, or using props. Subjects were lit and filmed by Warhol’s stationary…