World’s Strangest

Pucker up as we explore 10 smooches that changed religion, art, culture, and history. 1. The Kiss of Judas: A Betrayal or Just Misunderstood? Nothing ends a good “bromance” quite like flagrant, murderous betrayal. A long time ago, a wandering preacher named Jesus was doing pretty well for himself—building up a following and promoting religious teachings—until one [...]

© Laurence Baker/Corbis On Saturday, Amy Winehouse passed away and became the latest member of Club 27—an exclusive club you don’t want to be in. Club 27 is headlined by musicians Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Brian Jones, who all died of a drug overdose, suicide, or accident at that young age. [...]

In the 70s and 80s, Polaroid’s founder, Edwin Herbert Land, provided prominent artists with custom-made cameras and film not available to the public. Big names like Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe and Ansel Adams were fans of the limited-edition technology and used it often, resulting in the 44,000-piece collection of Polaroid masterpieces now owned by Vienna-based WestLicht [...]

Photo link Flavorwire has assembled a cool slideshow of people with artist-inspired tattoos, from the pop art of Andy Warhol to Banksy’s graffiti work. Other artists represented include Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Gustav Klimt, Georgia O’Keeffe and Frida Kahlo. I think the colors in the Starry Night-inspired sleeve above are just gorgeous. Link

You know when you were a kid and would absentmindedly doodle smiley faces on dollar bills? Well it seems now there is a whole artistic community of currency defacers out there. Maybe part of the national budget crisis arose from all the cash that has to be taken out of circulation because George Washington has [...]

I posted a roundup of Peeps dioramas called Heaps of Peeps back in 2007 and Peeps Imitate Life in 2009. There are thousands of Peeps scenes and dioramas to enjoy, but I decided this year to focus on art and literature. Why? Because marshmallow chicks and bunnies can be more than Justin Peeper and The [...]

Tonight, a documentary in twelve parts about how money has ruined art. Well, it’s a bit more nuanced than that, but let’s just say this is a scathing critique of the current state of the art world, and it comes from Robert Hughes, a former TIME magazine art critic, who has seen a lot. He’s [...]

These names have probably all ended up in your shopping cart at some point, but how well do you know their origins? Let’s take a look at the names behind some of our favorite groceries. Kellogg’s Seventh-day Adventist brothers Will Keith and John Harvey Kellogg stumbled across a tasty process for flaking corn while working at Michigan’s [...]

Thursday was the 53rd anniversary of the death of Qi Baishi (1864-1957), who is considered an “obscure Chinese artist” by westerners but “the Picasso of China” by the Chinese. So, in the hopes of educating the west about this influential Chinese painter, today’s post is devoted to Qi Baishi. 1. Copying figures and motifs from The [...]

The new Jan/Feb issue hits newsstands this week, and we’ve got another preview for you. One of my favorite pieces from this issue is on Robert Indiana, the artist behind the LOVE sculptures featured in various cities and the popular postage stamps. Indiana’s led a wonderful, and sort of heartbreaking life, and I didn’t realize [...]