Strollerderby : art

Creepiest Pregnant Belly Art Ever

JeanneSager — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:26:00 GMT

I have never been a big fan of the pregnant belly as art to hang on the wall. Got your stomach cast? Good for you. I'm still not buying it.

But this isn't just one of those ultra personal pieces of art. It's plain old groooosss.

Are you thinking alien baby too? I'm thinking that Star Trek movie where the bug crawled into the guy's ear and took over.

Part of the soap line over at Bloomin' Bellies on Etsy it was brought to my attention via Craftastrophe, but they were just looking at this as an average woman's torso. Check out Bloomin' Bellies, and sure enough, these are moms a bloomin' in soap form. And you can get them as twins - with the baby from the black lagoon paired with the baby who has afflicted mom with leprosy!

So here's to mom, whose body couldn't have taken pregnancy any worse.

Image: Bloomin' Bellies

Bet You Can't Do Better Balloon Art

JeanneSager — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:34:00 GMT

People who hire clowns for their kids' birthday parties are either epically brave or epically dumb. Never want to be one?

I have found proof that even YOU can make the world's awesomest balloon animals for your kids, no clown required. Just trust me, you don't have to be the "can tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue" kind of person to handle this one.

See? Problem of how to entertain the kids at the birthday party solved. You can thank me - or thank Blogadilla who created this template for every parent's sanity.

Image: Blogadilla

FEMA Coloring Book Features 9/11 Image

Brett Singer — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Maybe it doesn't matter which party is in charge. FEMA is just clueless no matter what.

The latest head-scratcher from the agency that brought you the Hurricane Katrina fiasco is a coloring book that features the following image.

Yes. That is a plane flying into two buildings that are side by side. Twin Towers. Remember them?

After an outcry (translation: someone noticed), FEMA took the image off of their web site and issued the following statement, according to MomLogic:

"We removed the content from our website after reviewing www.FEMA.gov for appropriate material. FEMA for kids assists children in understanding disasters and we will continue to post appropriate material that supports its mission."

Does that mean that they usually don't review their materials before they get posted online? Wouldn't that be a better method?

This isn't the first weird kid-related thing FEMA has given the world. My personal favorite is the "FEMA for Kidz Rap," which features the following flow: "Disaster prep is your responsibility / And mitigation is important to our agency." This little ditty makes Vanilla Ice sound like Ice Cube.

Over at MomLogic, two commenters don't see what all the fuss is about. "I like it. How else are kids going to learn about 9/11?" Well, let's see. For one thing, they could learn about it from their parents. Or their teachers. Or are government-issued coloring books the preferred scholastic method in some communities?

I'm not saying that 9/11 has to be kept a secret. But what purpose does a coloring book like this serve?

What do you think? Should FEMA put the page back on their web site? Or should it not have been there in the first place?

Source: MomLogic

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Kids' Art Adorns The Corner Suite

Amy Kuras — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:01:00 GMT

The art in your average corporate office ranges from bland to, well, kinda scary. Rarely do you see something in an office and think “wow, that’s cool.”

But if that office contributed to a Philly nonprofit that trades kids’ art for corporate donations for art supplies, you’d be pretty impressed.

Fresh Artists works like this: students give permission to have their art reproduced for he program and it goes into a digital gallery. Donors to the program can choose a piece or several as a thank-you gift. The art then hangs in the headquarters of some of the city’s biggest companies.

Donations are returned to school art programs in the form of grants for art supplies. More than $40,000 was raised in the program’s first year alone.

This is so awesome. Not only is it a self-sustaining way to provide much-needed art supplies to city schools, but the kids (who attend disadvantaged schools throughout the city) get the serious self-esteem boost of knowing their work, with their name on it, hangs proudly someplace other than the school hallway, were people can see it and remark on it.

Founder Barbara Chandler Allen says, "Most charities are top-down: 'the haves' giving to 'the have nots,' This is totally different. We have created a lateral philanthropy. It is vulnerable children giving to other vulnerable children. The adults are there simply to grease the wheels."

What a great idea, all the way around.

Octo-mom Art!

SunnyChanel — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:30:00 GMT

It was only a matter of time before artistic effigies of Octomom would make their debut. The artist Daniel Edwards is known for his bizarre pop culture sculptures like his sculpture of Britney Spears giving birth to her son, a bronzed tribute to Suri Cruise’s first poop and an Oprah sarcophagus. Yeah, to say the pieces are merely ‘odd’ would be an understatement.

For his newest masterpiece, he used Octomom as his muse. In his Pepto-Bismol pink piece titled “String of Babies', holds a baby bottle upright,” Edwards created a bust of Nadya Suleman’s head with octopus tentacles reaching out to embrace the eight heads of her octuplets.
Would you want this piece of “art” in your house?

Source: Dlisted.com

Ten-Year-Old Graffiti Artist Captures London Art Scene

JeanneSager — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:31:00 GMT

This story made me feel really old. Not because the graffiti artist wowing London art critics is only ten (OK, that's part of it).

I feel old because I got that stern mommy frown until I saw the spots where the British tween is spray-painting on streets are all perfectly legal.

Drawing comparisons to Banksy, the world's most famous - and anonymous - graffiti artist, Solveig sat for photos and a quick interview with the London Daily Telegraph. The resulting picture gallery is amazing - the only sign this might be a little girl's work are the markings at the edge of each piece denoting "Sol's" age when she painted them. Like the best graffiti artists, she's mastered huge canvasses (if you've never tried painting, trust me, bigger is not always better - it's just harder), and she's not afraid to use bold colors and tell a story.

Besides her artistic talents, the little girl has a precocious sense of humor - beside a giant rendering of breakfast, featuring the letters S-O-L as eggs, bacon and toast, she scrawled "bite me." Shocked? She was nine when she made that piece. Nine.

Who else is feeling old?

Image: Telegraph - click here for more pictures from them, here for pictures from Solveig herself

Can Your Kid Doodle the Google Doodle?

JeanneSager — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:31:00 GMT

They've got down Noggin's doodle of the day, so can they doodle the Google doodle? And can you say that three times fast?

Google (yes, THE Google) opened up its second annual kids art contest this week to find the American school kid who will draw the logo rendition seen on the site's homepage.

With more than one hundred million daily site views, that means your kid could become an artist whose talents are appreciated by, well, one hundred million folks in one day.

The Doodle 4 Google contest is open to kids in kindergarten through twelfth grade (ages five through eighteen), and it's as open as their imaginations. The basic theme is "What I Wish for the World," which seems just right for a kid's contest - after all, their wishes are tomorrow's future (cue the cheesy music).

Last year's winner was Grace Moon, a middle schooler from Castro Valley, Calif. "My doodle, "Up in the Clouds," expresses a world in the sky," she told the judges. "This new world is clean and fresh, and people are social and enlightened. Every person here is treated as family no matter who they are. The bright sun heats this ideal place with warmth, love, and brightens everyone's day"

She earned the day's prime spot on the Doodle site plus a scholarship. This year, the national winner walks away with $15,000 for college, a trip Google's New York offices, a laptop and a t-shirt with their doodle. The kid's school will earn a $25,000 technology grant to be used in the school computer lab.

Another three national finalists will get the Google New York trip and laptop, plus their doodle on a Google tee, while the thirty-six regional winners get the tee and the trip (sorry, no computer). The company has added a District Quality Participation Prize of $10,000 for a school district that encourages "high quality participation." Also geared toward improving the school's technology, the grant must be used on the computer lab.

So whether your kid's a pint-sized Picasso or your school district just really, really needs the help, check out last year's winners (by age group) for some inspiration, then tell your kids to get doodling (registration is required by March 17, and the doodles have to be in by March 31).

Image: Google

Five Easiest - and Cheesiest - Christmas Gifts to Make With the Kids

JeanneSager — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:36:00 GMT

Let's face it, even when the economic picture is rosy, Christmas with the kids is expensive. There's that darn Toys R Us lookbook that always seems to make it into their hands. Most of us won't scrimp on their gifts, so it's the rest of the family that gets the shaft.

What if there was a compromise? No need to beat around the bush here - I'm talking good old-fashioned child labor here. Yeah, it's a little cheesy in that holiday commercial where a kid hands mom a big handmade card kind of way, but what the heck. At least you can afford it.

Tempted to throw caution to the wind and make presents with the kids? Here are my five favorites:

Cookies - seriously a no-brainer here. Most people who celebrate Christmas are making them anyway (or buying them and plunking a doily on a paper plate to make it look like they are anyway). So throw together an extra batch and take them with you - anywhere. The thing about cookies is that people who say, "Oh no, I couldn't," inevitably end up digging in. And they'll appreciate not having another tchotchke that ends up taking up space on their bookshelves. Speaking of which . . .
Whatsit jars - Forget the muffin mix in a jar. Have you ever actually seen someone bake one of these things? I usually end up pouring mine in the compost pile just in time to get another shelf full. Save the jars, the gingham squares and the raffia ties, and let your kids loose in the junk drawers or their toy room. Short of the knowledge that everything MUST fit inside the drawer, all they need to know is this is a gift for so-and-so. In other words, they can't get this stuff back, but they can make somebody's day and clean up your house. See what they come up with; you might be surprised - and your best friend will have a kitshy found art piece to show off instead of the same old macaroni necklace. Speaking of which . .
There aren't many people who really like to wear kid-made jewelry (their mothers accepted, of course - and maybe some grandmothers). But a button that can be stuck in a corkboard? Not too shabby. Flattened bottle caps, with pictures glued to the front and plenty of glitter are a bit more work, but the fact that they're kid-made is a bonus for these, not a detraction. (Click here for directions).
Who says the presents have to be people-specific? The same people who will stop in awe to watch a bluebird alight on their windowsill don't necessarily have the time (or the ambition) to go out and buy a feeder. You can do the old pine cone and peanut butter trick (or Crisco, if your kids are young and you're still wary of allergies). Smear the pine cone in goo, swirl in a pile of cheap birdfeed, tie on a piece of twine and voila. Or . . .
Popcorn strings will keep the animals who don't hibernate busy this winter, and provided your kids are old enough to trust with a needle and long piece of thread, they're something a trained monkey could make. And did I mention won't require dusting or take up space for time eternal?

Call them cheesy, but they're easy on the pocketbook - and your kids will remain out of your hair for a good thirty minutes.

Image: Family Fun

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Mini Baby Sculptures Not Edible, Selling Like Hotcakes

Brett Singer — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:00:00 GMT

When I became a parent, many things changed. For example, I started thinking quite a bit about someone else's poop. Also, I now look at babies, both real ones and artistic images, with a very different set of eyes. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that I paid a tad more attention to this headline from a recent press release:

Realistic Miniature Baby Sculptures Are Not Edible

I think that falls under the "Free Beer! Now that I have your attention…" chapter in the PR 101 Handbook.

The subheadline is much more obtuse, but when combined with the opener was intriguing enough to get me to read on:
Accidental Viral Marketing Gives Birth to Instant Success for Canadian Sculptor

So what exactly does this all mean? Basically, a Canadian artist named Camille Allen sells tiny little baby sculptures on eBay. All of a sudden the price on these unique (and, in my opinion, somewhat odd) works went up by 500%. According to the press release, "Recently a 1.5 inch (4 cm) baby named Jaimie sold for $2,650.00 US dollars." Not bad.

Why the price increase? Aren't we in a recession? Apparently it was the result of "a bogus email that turned viral." Someone took the photos of Allen's work from her web site and claimed that they were made of marzipan. As in, something edible. The always-helpful Snopes.com confirms that this was indeed a hoax.

The only thing I find a tad specious about this is the fact that it isn't exactly a new thing. Snopes' entry is dated October 2005. Still, it was new to me, so perhaps it was new to you as well. And we're always up for something weird.

Regardless of when this sales-increasing hoax actually began, I was curious what you, the reader, thought of the little babies. Obviously if they were edible that would be eligible for The Creepiest Thing EVER Award (an award that doesn’t exist but it really should.) Despite the fact that sculptures are not, in fact, food, I still thought they were weird, but the more I look at the picture I have to admit that I find them cute. Not cute enough to purchase, especially not for $3000. But I can admire the artistry that goes in to making the little…babies…

OK, the fact that they're babies still creeps me out a little bit. Like I said, becoming a parent changes you, at least it did me. So – what do you think of Ms. Allen's art?

Source/Image: mmdnewswire.com

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IVF Babies Two to Four Times More Likely to Have Birth Defects

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:30:00 GMT

A study by researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that babies conceived through in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection have a higher rate of birth defects than babies conceived naturally.

In a study of 18,500 babies, the CDC found that babies conceived through assisted reproduction were about twice as likely to develop heart defects and cleft palates and about four times more likely to develop gastrointestinal problems (esophageal atresia and anorectal atresia). The study factored in other health risks, such as smoking, and applied only to single births (since multiple births are also associated with a higher risk of birth defects).

Although the risk of birth defects is very low with any method of conception, the CDC notes that "it is still important for parents who are considering using ART [assisted reproductive technology] to think about all of the potential risks and benefits of this technology."

From Leave it To Beaver to the Louvre – Wally Gets Arty

SunnyChanel — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:30:00 GMT

The Beav’s big brother has made it to the big time. Tony Dow, the actor who played Wally on Leave it to Beaver, will have one of his abstract sculptures on display at the Louvre, yes that Louvre, the one in Paris, France. The bronze figure entitled “Unarmed Warrior” will be featured as part of the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts exhibition. The Louvre is home to pieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo and now Wally! It’s a long way from sharing space with the Beaver, June, and Ward Cleaver.

"Having something shown at the Louvre is about as good as you can get," said Dow, "especially when it's a juried show like this where there's a panel of judges who pick the pieces to be in the exhibition. I'm a little humbled by the whole thing but grateful nonetheless."

So is the Louve just going for some pop culture points? Doesn’t douns like it. "Of course, I'm really proud of 'Leave It to Beaver' …" said Dow “…but this is interesting because I don't think they know anything about that at the Louvre."

Via Salon and AP

Cartoon Violence Gets Gory!

SunnyChanel — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:32:00 GMT

Have you ever wondered what would happen if the violent and angst filled cartoons of yore took it to that next bloody level? Well the artist James Cauty and his fifteen-year-old son certainly have pondered it and have executed, quite literally, their conclusions of the cartoon chaos. At the Aquarium L-13 Gallery in London, the father and show present their show “Splatter” which “aims to look at violence and death from the perspective of cartoon characters”. Witness Sylvester after he’s eaten Tweedy Bird, Tom cutting up Jerry, or Bugs shooting Daffy’s head off.

For more blood and gore you can go here!

Do You Keep Every One of Your Kid's Masterpieces?

JeanneSager — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:27:00 GMT

For a kid who attends nursery school just twice a week, my daughter carts home A LOT of "artwork." Excuse the quotes, but I'm not one of those parents who sees a budding Monet or Dali in their kid's scribblings. I love that she has fun dabbling, but I'm not kidding myself. Her real genius is in her ball-handling skills. Hello, Beckham, I'm waiting for your call.

OK, with my track record for falling up the stairs more time than I can count, she's probably not going to play for the RedBulls anytime soon either. Sigh.

Do I still have to keep every piece of blue construction paper with one sticker in the middle of it? Last week, she came home with a sheet covered in stickers that said "Grace" on them. Her name isn't Grace. Another kid had been sharing her personalized sticker collection. I'm glad there are good little sharers in nursery school, but in 20 years, she's just going to ask me why the hell the teacher sent home the wrong kid's paper (and why did I keep it?).

So I've started weeding through the collection. For every "family portrait," that features a giant little girl and a teeny tiny daddy, I chuck a hunk of Elmer's glue slathered in glitter. When I discover a sippy cup of milk has leaked all over a watercolor masterpiece, I whip it into the garbage before anyone finds me out. So far, she hasn't missed a thing, and every time I show up at the school door, she's got another picture to share with me.

Am I pissing on her memories? Or just being realistic about the size of my refrigerator?

Image: ClutterControlFreak

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Beautiful Children's Art

Another non news photo

Brett Singer — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:00:00 GMT

This one doesn't even feature cute animals.

It's a bit of street art from Banksy, who I guess saw these phone booths and had one of those Ah-HA! moments. Kinda fun. Hey, anything for a smile these days, right?

Source: banksy via arollerskatingjam

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Best Place to Raise Kids Depends on What Kind of Kids You Want to Raise

LilySea — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:49:00 GMT

In June, an article in Forbes.com offered a top-ten list of the best places to raise kids. The article goes on about the process of selection, but in the end, it seems to add up to “uniformly white and middle-class” when you look closely at both the criteria and the final list. The article even suggests that proximity to shopping malls is a plus, because hanging out in them is important to teenagers' social development.

People in my former town used to say “but it's a great place to raise children!” after gripe sessions about the lack of diversity, over-abundance of fundamentalist churches or minimal opportunities for adventure. But I never agreed. I knew I wanted to raise my children in a city, and the “great place to raise kids” line always seemed to imply, “unlike a city where we adults might find many other things to enjoy but our children would suffer.”

It all depends on what parents want for their children.

Shopping malls aren't on the short list of what I want for my kids. What I do want is for them to feel that art, music and literature are theirs to make and own, not the special purview of a few special people. I want them to speak more languages than English and feel confident as global citizens. I want them to be just two more faces in a sea of friends without a dominant race or other social type. I want them to know that they aren't the only kids in the world with two parents of the same gender; or with parents of a different race than theirs; or who came into their families through adoption. I want Black adults in their lives to give them comfort in their own skin. I want somewhere interesting to go when there are 16 inches of snow on the playground and the wind-chill is negative five.

After their first two weeks in the city, my children have helped a professional artist with a piece for an upcoming show. They have met a dozen kids at the playground behind the loft where we're living and no two are in the same demographic. They have a French-speaking baby sitter and many Spanish-speaking friends and neighbors. They have a membership to the aquarium and have been there three times. There are two playgrounds within easy walking distance and an independent book store with a fabulous children's section and a weekly story hour across the street. True, the cost of living here is higher, but almost everything on that list is free.

When I opened the front door of the art gallery we are living above to a breathless young man introducing himself as “the drunken [expletive] that stole your bench last night” I was struck by how perfectly the event contained both the upside and the downside to living in an urban neighborhood. It seems the young man had a few too many and woke up with a new bench in his apartment. He recognized it as the bench the gallery owner keeps outside to accommodate the community of artists, art fans, neighborhood friends and homeless locals who gravitate towards her place.

I know that for some parents, the potential hazards of drunken revelers on the front steps is not worth the benefits of city life, but for my family, the limitless opportunities for reaching across difference and making friends out of those who might seem threatening at first glance, is more than a fair return for an occasional wandering piece of public furniture.

Enormous baby sculpture

Brett Singer — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:00:00 GMT

If you have a lot of extra cash lying around, along with a lot of space, you can be the proud owner of this gigantic sculpture of a seven-month-old baby. This Marc Quinn work is currently on display on the grounds of Chatsworth House in England. The piece, called "Planet," is owned by The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

A few quick comments:

-   That's one big baby.
-   I like that the artist felt the need to say it was a seven-month-old. Very specific.
-   Unless I'm looking at it wrong, that kid ain't Jewish.

Source/Images: Telegraph (here and here)

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Crafty: Sticky Sand

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:00:00 GMT

I've never understood the appeal of those pre-packaged peel'n'stick sand art thingies. They just seem so limiting. And, more importantly, a complete pain in the ass. A crafty blogger mom has come up with a better solution.

Make Your Own Sand Art with Contact Paper and colored sand. Does it get simpler? I think not.

This strikes me as a good outside craft, especially in a place where the crafters can find leaves and flower petals to add to their creations. Plus, if the sand stays outside, then you won't spend the next six years vacuuming it up.

Photo: Lazy Mama Designs

Awesome Photos Draw From Kid Art

Kelly Mills — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:03:00 GMT

One of my favorite things about the internet, aside from the easy availability of porn, is seeing how amazingly creative people are out there in the big wide world. I've found some of my favorite art ever this side of the Louvre by browsing through people's sites. And currently I'm very enamoured with Yeeondo Jung, who takes inspiration from children's drawings.

Jung stages photographs based on kid art, and the results are clever and wonderful. Bright colors and a faithful recreation of the shapes and textures in the original drawings make these pictures cartoonish and sweet and strangely touching. Check out my favorites, like "Modern Wedding" and "Rabbit Family Hopping Around". Good times!

Crafty: School's Out

Adrienne Martini — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Soon, soon, those little boogers who call you "mom" (or "dad" or "father" or "Sue") will be back in your house all day. My solution is to put them to work making cheap tennis shoes and sweeping the cinders out of the fireplace. You, however, may want to do something a little more wholesome. Here's a thought.

Using this tutorial from Geninne's Art Blog, carve some rubber stamps with the boogers. Then, once carved, go on a letterboxing expedition. Letterboxing combines treasure hunting with art in a completely satisfying way -- and I know because, when I let my little sweat shop workers take breaks, letterbox hunting is something we do together. Almost every area has at least one trail to follow.

Now I must go crack the whip. This is not a metaphor. Production is off because my youngest worker bee keeps trying to take naps.

Photo credit: Geninne

Male Artists, Female Muses: Exploitation or Symbiosis?

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:30:00 GMT

In the wake of a heated debate Down Under on the line between art and child pornography, thanks to Jezebel for pointing out a fascinating piece by Guardian writer Kira Cochrane on the power dynamics at play in the relationship between model and artist. The discussion was launched by the recent sale (for 17.2 million Pounds) of Lucien Freud’s “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping” (pictured). Although the painting obviously involves a male artist depicting a female nude, Cochrane argues that this is hardly a case of exploitation. Even the model’s posture depicts unself-conscious ease.

But Freud’s teenage daughters posing nude for him? That could be a different story, though both of the women report nothing but fond memories of the experience. We can all guess what Sigmund would say….

Cochrane further points out that almost every well-known muse/artist relationship involves a female muse and a male artist, which inevitably puts the male in a position of power and fame, while the woman passively supports his work behind the scenes. I would not argue that this relationship is inherently exploitative—many women have surely reveled in the role of muse—but it definitely has the potential to be so. In several infamous cases, this relationship has destroyed the lives of potentially great artists (Camille Claudel and Elizabeth Siddal, to name just two examples).

Most interesting to me was Cochrane’s citing of stats by the feminist artist group the Guerilla Girls, who found that less than 5 percent of the artists represented in the modern art sections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art are women, but 85 percent of the nudes are of females. At the risk of getting booed out of the feminist blogosphere, here’s my take on these stats: while the dearth of female artists represented at the Met clearly indicates a female disempowerment that is too far-reaching to get into here, I don’t necessarily see a problem with the fact that the majority of nudes are women. I’m a straight woman, and I would rather look at naked women than naked men any day. I know I’m not alone in finding their bodies far more aesthetically interesting—and pleasing. Whether or not this preference is a result of cultural conditioning, I can’t say. I just know that I would not be pleased if half of the breasts in the Met were replaced with pectoral muscles.

Photo: Martin Goodwin

Faking Abortions for Art?

Jen Chaney — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:02:00 GMT

It sounded pretty freaky and disturbing when Yale student Aliza Shvarts announced that she had herself artificially inseminated multiple times, then aborted the fetuses for the sake of an art project. But after sparking much controversy on campus and in the blogosphere, she admitted the truth: She faked both the pregnancies and the induced miscarriages. Which, in a weird way, makes her seem slightly more sane. Slightly.

Shvarts originally told her peers she had been inseminated frequently during the past year, then took legal drugs to induce the miscarriages, which she then allegedly filmed taking place in her bathtub. The whole thing was supposed to spark debate and be provocative. Personally, I think it sounds an awful lot like something one of Claire's pretentious art school classmates on "Six Feet Under" would have done.

Here is the part (okay, one of the parts) I don't understand: If the college senior's real intention was to kickstart conversation -- presumably about women's bodies or our views on reproductive choice or when art crosses ethical boundaries -- why did she need to make it seem like she had these experiences herself? If she had filmed the videos and created the accompanying sculpture featuring her own blood mixed with Vaseline, but made it clear all was fiction, she still would have stirred the cultural pot and gotten people talking.

Instead she had to pull a James Frey/Margaret B. Jones and soak the whole endeavor in verisimilitude. The Memoir Fixation -- an obsession with stories that are true, as opposed to just stories -- has become an epidemic. I give Shvarts credit for having the guts to come clean. As for demonstrating wise judgment and good taste overall? In those categories, this student gets a D.

Photo: CSU.edu

Crayola Intros Kid-Named Colors

Kelly Mills — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:31:00 GMT

In case you hadn't heard, Crayola has slid in eight newly-named colors to the big box of crayons. Now if I were them, I'd spend my development money adding some structural reinforcement the black crayon, since its frequent use means it's the first one to break in half and force you to do outlines with that annoying little stubby crayon. Ahem. Anyhow, the new color names aren't as descriptive as you might hope, and I think the whole kid-named thing is a sham.

So, what kind of monikers do we have in the box now? "Super Happy (yellow), Fun in the Sun (orange), Giving Tree (green), Bear Hug (brown), Awesome (dusty pink), Happy Ever After (blue), Famous (hot pink) and Best Friends (purple)." Uh, yeah. Naturally some bloggers have had fun coming up with alternatives. But my beef is this: While Crayola says they developed the names with online input from kids, you know these aren't the names kids would actually develop if they had the chance. Yellow would be "Pee Pee Head", green would be "Troll Booger", brown would be "Pants Crap"...and so on. Just call me a realist.

Strollerderby Playdate: THEBLOG WEEMADE

Brett Singer — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Today, I'm taking the Tim Hasselbeck role on the Playdate team - stepping in when the first stringer needs a break.

This week we're playing with THEBLOG WEEMADE. The concept is a little different from the mommy/daddy blogging that you usually see. The site's founder, Brian, stumbled onto "a box full of his old schoolwork and drawings that his parents had kept over the years," and decided to make a website where kids could contribute their creations.

Here's the rub: although some posts appear to be created by the currently young, others are from taller folks -- such as this terrorism poem from 1984, penned by Brian himself.

All posts are screened before they appear on the site, which makes this a bit of a playdate with a Type A parent -- more "OK, everybody ready for the next activity???" as opposed to "Sure kids, you can play video games until daddy finishes his six-pack of Meisterbrau." To encourage potential posters, they've just added Weemade Activities -- coloring pages with suggestions of what to draw.

The blog is fairly new and posts are few, so we'll see how it all develops. Me, I'm going to check my closet and see if I still have any of my old prank call tapes.

But Is It Art? Or Is It Sport?

Adrienne Martini — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Something just isn't right with Davy Lauterbach's baby pictures. By "baby pictures," I don't mean pictures of him as a baby. Lauterbach's baby pictures are paintings of how he'd image alternate versions of himself as a baby. And, no, despite how it might look, he says he's not mocking the kids who might ride the short bus.

Radar Online has an interview with Lauterbach where he talks about his resume -- he was an artist on the Simpsons for eight years -- and his irritation with his friends who are married with kids. His work is a response, he claims, to all of the people who call him childish when he mentions his decision to not have children.

Two things strike you when you read about his work, which he has sold to such lights as Bill Murray and Wes Anderson. First, if we could all think as highly of ourselves as Lauterbach does, the world would be a shiny, happy place. Second, any painted who has to defend his work by name-dropping Beckett, Oblamov, Karl Marx and Francis Bacon is trying waaaaay too hard.

Image credit: "Dustin" by Davy Lauterbach from www.radaronline.com

Once Upon a Time, Boobies Weren't Bad

Kelly Mills — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:34:00 GMT

Apparently when Facebook banned photos of breastfeeding women, they were just following a grand old tradition. Utne reports that late medieval and Renaissance art often showed the Virgin Mary nursing the baby Jesus. Perhaps as long as nipple wasn't visible, it was okay. Oh, and the breast was supposed to represent God's love, and the milk salvation. Nowadays we are "enlightened" enough to know that the boob is porno and any milk transactions better happen under a big nursing cover, only son of God or not.

So what happened? Oh you know, by 1750 breasts were taboo, and the crucifixion scene became the more dominant symbol in art. Hey, at least you know when someone tries to sell you a holy relic--the blanket Mary used to cover Jesus when she nursed--it's probably bogus. And nice to think that we are more prudish in some ways than medieval folks.

Via the ever-wonderful Jezebel.