Waterboarding: It’s still more fun than eating 200 Nathan’s hot dogs in 5 minutes…

As we previously reported, New York artist STEVE POWERS (aka: ESPO) has been working on a torture-themed art project for a while now and in conjunction with CREATIVE TIME as part of its national public art initiative “Democracy in America: The National Campaign,” he’s just opened the Guantanamo Bay-themed “Waterboard Thrill Ride” on Coney Island in the shadow of the legendary Cyclone roller coaster and Nathan’s hot dog stand in an empty storefront on West 12th Street. When a dollar is fed into a machine standing outside Powers’ mock jail cell installation featuring paintings by the artist inside and out, viewers can climb a short flight of steps to peer through cell bars and view an animatronic torture scene of a hooded jailer pouring water down the throat of an orange jumpsuit wearing Gitmo detainee. In creating the exhibit, Powers hopes to use the inherent spectacle of Coney Island to broaden public awareness of and spark debate about a human rights issue that has received minimal weight in the public sphere. Says John Sifton of Human Rights Watch, “In the process of waterboarding, a person believes they are being killed, and as such, it really amounts to a mock execution, which is illegal under international law.” As host of the project, Creative Time president and artistic director Anne Pasternak explains, “Humor has long been a strategy for speaking the unspeakable, and it is vital that we as a nation begin a dialogue about the implications of waterboarding. There has been a critical shift in American ideology, where previously it was unthinkable that the United States would condone the practice of torture.” Powers himself puts it more ironically: “It’s about time that this uniquely American ritual of intense water horror, a practice long reserved for New England witches and Al-Qaida brass, was made available to the people. This project will give some everyday New Yorkers the chance to experience—for a few brief, bone-chilling seconds—all the thrills of being a prisoner under interrogation at Guantanamo Bay. And the installation is fun for the whole family.” In mid-August, Powers will produce a private performance in an undisclosed location in Coney Island, wherein he and several lawyers will volunteer to be waterboarded by a trained professional. “Is waterboarding torture? No, say the administration and the courts. Yes, say human rights activists,” Powers says. “Now actual waterboard riders will reveal, in their own words, exactly what a taste of death by water feels like.” Meanwhile, the exhibit will remain on public view until late August when the show is reinstalled in the Democracy in America Convergence Center at the Park Avenue Armory from September 21 to 27. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Team USA (l to r): Coach Krzyzewski; Dwight Howard; Chris Bosh; Tayshaun Prince; Carlos Boozer; LeBron James; Carmelo Anthony; Kobe Bryant; Michael Redd; Jason Kidd; Dwyane Wade; Deron Williams and Chris Paul

Ramping up to tomorrow’s epic opening of the OLYMPIC GAMES in Beijing, and the impending roundball battle we’ve all been waiting for, we’re happy to report that in a very unexpected move, one of our favorite young photographers, TARYN SIMON has been commissioned to shoot an official portrait of the US men’s basketball team for the occasion. Chosen by NIKE to capture an artistic view of the 12-man team made up of Kobe Bryant, Tayshaun Prince; Dwight Howard; Chris Bosh; Carlos Boozer; LeBron James; Carmelo Anthony; Michael Redd; Jason Kidd; Dwyane Wade; Deron Williams and Chris Paul led by coach Mike Krzyzewski, the stark photo represents the artist’s first foray into sports photography. A 33-year-old Guggenheim Fellow who has exhibited her photography in an array of prestigious international galleries and museums, including Gagosian Gallery and the Whitney Museum, Simon is renowned for her obsession with revealing hidden and inaccessible American stories in her work, most notably the highly acclaimed portrait series “The Innocents,” that documented cases of wrongful conviction in the United States and her recent body of work, “An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar.” See more of Simon’s photography after the jump. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Their BMX bikes are more louder than yers…

While the trend of fixed gear cycling explodes around the globe, a distinctly louder single geared biking phenomenon has been quietly evolving in the unlikeliest of places: the suburban backyards of Queens, NY. Fueled by a passionate and tight-knit group of Trinidadian teenagers who squeeze every spare cent into the $4,000+ soundsystems ingeniously integrated into their BMX bikes, the resulting Frankenstein-ian contraptions have become a deafening mobile spectacle in the borough on weekends when members roll out their thundering soundsystems in processions through the streets that can literally be heard for miles around. “MADE IN QUEENS” is a new short film directed by NICOLAS RANDALL and JOE STEVENS chronicling the group, led by teenage master builder NICHOLAS RAGBIR in their quest to build the ultimate bitchin’ mobile ghetto blaster. Explains Stevens, “In this age of obsessive video sharing and social networking nearly every action is designed and packaged for public consumption. Especially with young people. The immediate charm of Nick and his crew is that they’re the exact opposite of all that. There is nothing calculated or self-conscious about who they are. They’re just a group of friends doing something to challenge themselves and have some laughs. It’s a story which would have never come from kids who were born here.” HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Above: McLaren & Hirst. Below: One of the alleged original fake garments in question…

The world’s highest-paid living artist, DAMIEN HIRST recently shelled out $160,000 of his hard-earned diamond skull money to a private collector for a wardrobe of original punk clothing created by Sex Pistols impresario MALCOLM McLAREN and VIVIENNE WESTWOOD for their legendary 1970s shop SEX & SEDITIONARIES, only to have it all declared fake by McLaren himself. Purchased from longtime McLaren archivist SIMON EASTON as an intended addition to Hirst’s private museum currently under construction, McLaren examined the entire collection at Hirst’s home shortly thereafter only to find the entire lot was comprised of authentic-looking bootlegs. “Seeing these clothes, I said, ‘Wow, they’ve gone to great lengths to manufacture the labels, and distress the fabrics,’” McLaren explained, “but clearly they were not the fabrics we used 35 years ago, and the stitching was totally different. And there were bags and bags of them. We simply didn’t make that many. I mean, we literally made these clothes on my kitchen floor. They were each unique.” While Hirst remains under gag order pending legal action against the collector, Easton maintains that “absolutely everything my clients have purchased is authentic. McLaren actually had very little input in the design of the clothes; he’ll rewrite history on a daily basis. He has less knowledge about these clothes than the people who collect them.” Ever get the feeling you’ve been “cheet-ed”?…

McLaren & Westwood’s “Sex” shoppe as it appeared at 430 King’s Road in the ’70s…

As penance for the over-the-top blinged out art extravaganza that was his “Dirty Cash” show at the FLAWLESS GALLERY last month, London street sniper (and avowed foot fetishist) INSA threw a decidedly more low-rent but heavily alcohol-soaked East End bash for 500 of his closest friends last week replete with new art, free T-shirts, dancing girls, heavy doses of the aforementioned alcohol, and music by DJ ACYDE, KAM, and BURAKA SOM SISTEMA. Few in attendance are able to actually recall the night’s proceedings, a sure sign that the event was indeed a success. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

The Independents Show on vimeo from Beautiful Losers

Bringing the low-fi art world of BEAUTIFUL LOSERS to the big screen with a full-length documentary on the movement is director and Losers mastermind AARON ROSE, who will debut the film in NYC this Friday, August 8th (aka: 08.08.08) at the IFC CENTER (see screening times below). Presented by NIKE SPORTSWEAR, the film chronicles the lives and creative process of artists including Shepard Fairey, Margaret Kilgallen, Mike Mills, Barry McGee, Jo Jackson, Chris Johanson, Harmony Korine, Stephen Powers, Geoff McFetridge, Thomas Campbell and Ed Templeton, among others, whose DIY attitudes informed the aesthetics and ethos of their generation. To celebrate the film’s release, Nike Sportswear is presenting a series of “MAKE SOMETHING!