Which is which?

One of these is a photo I took of kd lang in the late 1980s.

The other is a photo of my prized artwork, a painting of Elvis on black velvet that I purchased in Juarez in 1990.

Can you tell which one is which?

Hint:  kd doesn't usually wear muttonchops.

Chalk Visions

Chalk artist, Nikolas Larson, has started a blog to document his chalk drawings at various spots around the city.

The reason I'm familiar with his work at all is that I walk past his work on the way to and from the gym.  Near the corner of 15th and Market, at the Union 76 gas station, there is a place where the sidewalk widens in such a way that it's actually a pretty low-foot-traffic area, and Mr. Larson has drawn two drawings there now.

First, in early July, he drew an elaborate piece which, oddly, is not documented on his blog.  Because this particular little stretch of sidewalk is so low-traffic, the drawing stayed pretty fresh-looking for about two months.

Then, a week or two ago, the drawing disappeared overnight.  I assumed that either the city or the 76 station had washed it away.  But a new drawing, "The Prince of Wands," started to appear soon afterward.

The two drawings he has done in this spot are very similar in style, but his photos of his other works show a much broader range.  So when you have a few free minutes, go check out his blog, "Chalk Visions."

New Yorker cover drawn with iPhone app

New Yorker: Finger Painting

Jorge Colombo drew this New Yorker cover using the iPhone app, "Brushes," and used its companion app, "Brushes Viewer," to capture this video of the construction of the drawing.

"...watching the video playback has made him aware that how he draws a picture can tell a story, and he’s hoping to build suspense as he builds up layers of color and shape."

Peeps Show III

Pictured at the right: "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Peep Street."

This is the Washington Post's third annual contest for dioramas built with Peeps brand candy-type food-like products. The Peeps Show finalists are up and available for viewing at the Post's website. (Sorry, the contest is over. No more voting.)

Also notable among this year's finalists:

* Nightmare at 20,000 Peeps
* Peepzilla!
* Peeps of Wrath
* Peep Wee Herman's Playhouse
* Peepselot
* iPeep Nano

And this year's winner is:

Nightpeeps

Forlorn Candy Corn

I have been wondering about this for a little while now.

On Market Street, where there used to be an adult book store (near Golden Gate), there has been construction for a few months, and this blue barrier has been up around the construction site. I ride past it most mornings on the F Market on the way to work. But on Monday, both the F and the MUNI underground were experiencing delays, so I found myself walking up Market Street in this area (thus the photos).

Several weeks ago, someone painted sad candy corn on each end of the barrier, as well as a rainbow with a slightly odd face.

The rainbow and one of the two candy corns have been painted over, but for some reason, they did not paint over the candy corn on the south end of the barrier. So I thought I'd share the sad candy corn with you.

I'm sorry not to be able to share the rainbow as well. It was . . . unique. In the photo below, you can see where the rainbow has been painted over.

[UPDATE: Thanks to the gracious Holden, we have this link to the larger story behind the Forlorn Candy Corn, as a well as a photo of the rainbow and a link to the Flickr photostream of the artist, Matthew Briar Bonifacio Rodriguez, who says he likes "grumpy candy corns," "raccoon robbers and gamblin' squirrels," "lite brites and food packaging" and "rainbow monsters and color pallete boogie monsters." I forgot about the fact that the rainbow had one teardrop coming out of one eye.]

[UPDATE 4/1: Now it's gone. Like its companion corn and the monster rainbow, the lone forlorn candy corn has been painted over.]

Celebrities?

On the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue is a souvenir shop decorated with reproductions of iconic movie poster images.

Unfortunately, these reproductions are not very good.

Marilyn Monroe looks a bit like she has recently had a stroke and/or botched reconstructive facial surgery.

The two people in the "Casablanca" picture look more like Gary Shandling and Ava Gardner than Humphrey Bogart or Ingrid Bergman.

And Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh are equally difficult to recognize, except for their poses.

I guess it raises the question, "Is it a case of an inept artist, or is it this way deliberately to avoid potential lawsuits from the companies that own the copyrights on these images?"

Check out the detail (click to enlarge).

David Byrne

David Byrne's latest art installation is called "Playing the Building".

From his website:

"Playing the building is a sound installation in which the infrastructure, the physical plant of the building, is converted into a giant musical instrument. Devices are attached to the building structure — to the metal beams and pillars, the heating pipes, the water pipes — and are used to make these things produce sound. The activations are of three types: wind, vibration, striking. The devices do not produce sound themselves, but they cause the building elements to vibrate, resonate and oscillate so that the building itself becomes a very large musical instrument."