Had the chance to spend some time catching up with TAKASHI MURAKAMI the other day as the Pop demigod prepared for the grand opening of his forthcoming retrospective show, “© Murakami” set to debut publicly on October 29th at MoCA’s GEFFEN CONTEMPORARY in Downtown LA’s Little Tokyo district. Surveying the entire span of the legendary artist’s career, the show is an absolutely mind-boggling affront to the senses and a nearly comprehensive catalog of Murakami’s “greatest hits” from the past 10 years. We may not be able to show the installation views of the exhibit just yet (check back next Friday for the full update), but rest assured, everything you could hope to seeâ€â€from 20-foot tall sculptures to massive multi-panel painted masterworksâ€â€is present and accounted for in MoCA’s cavernous installation space. TAKE A LOOK:
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NEWS///STREET LIFE///BANKSY PAINTS NEW ORLEANS AS KATRINA MEMORIAL

One wouldn’t normally expect to find the world’s most Googled street artist lurking among the ruins of the lower ninth ward in NEW ORLEANS, but that’s just where renegade stencil artist BANKSY has been holed up for the past week, covering the desiccated city with art to commemorate the anniversary of KATRINA, the hurricane that killed 1800 people when it struck the coastal city in 2005. Said Banksy of the operation, “Three years after Katrina I wanted to make a statement about the state of the clean-up operation,” and attested that the city’s levee wall offered “the best painting surface in the state of Louisiana.” In the art world, timing is everything, and as the anonymous bomber wraps up his project, the city once again braces for the onslaught of an oncoming tropical storm. Hopefully, once residents realize what’s been painted on their doorstop, a quick sawsall session and a little eBay savvy will net them enough to build a mansion in the French Quarter. HAVE A LOOK:
FEATURE///TODD JAMES (AKA: REAS): THE SUPERTOUCH INTERVIEW
On the eve of the opening of “Blood & Treasure,”TODD JAMES‘ solo exhibition of new war-themed paintings at the starmaking LAZARIDES GALLERY in London this Friday, August 29th, we sat down with the New York-based artist, animator, and new dad for an in-depth discussion on the state of the nation. And a bunch of art stuff too. READ ON:
BEIJING///SUPERTOUCH AT THE OLYMPICS…

With all the mainstream news outlets presenting the “official” view of the 29th OLYMPIC GAMES in Beijing (including computer-generated fireworks and lip-synching 6-year-old body doubles), Supertouch brings you a street level look at the real haps around town from the back alleys to the 798 Arts District, you won’t see anywhere else…
NYC///ART CRIMES///ESPO UNVEILS “WATERBOARD THRILL RIDE” ON CONEY ISLAND…
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…
NYC///FILM///INSIDE THE “BEAUTIFUL LOSERS” MOVIE…
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. 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….















