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Lil Nas X and MSCHF drop Satan-themed Nike shoes that feature a drop of human blood.
To promote the video for his latest song, called “Montero (Call Me by Your Name),” Lil Nas X teamed up with the offbeat Brooklyn brand MSCHF to drop Satan-themed sneakers in a limited run of 666. Each pentagram-adorned shoe also features a single drop of human blood, which is mixed in with ink that fills an air bubble in the sneaker. Nike immediately distanced itself from the drop and sued MSCHF for trademark infringement shortly thereafter (we’re also sure the Consumer Product Safety Commission has a thing or two to say about potential biohazard concerns). Lil Nas X doesn’t seem to be remorseful: he ethered his haters on Twitter and posted a YouTube video called “Lil Nas X Apologies for Satan Shoe” that immediately cuts to a sexually charged scene from the video in which rapper gyrates on Satan’s lap.
The Cambodian government rejects a proposal to build a theme park near Angkor Wat.
After UNESCO raised concerns about Hong Kong casino operator NagaCorp’s plans to build a resort and theme park near Angkor Wat, the Cambodian Culture and Fine Arts Ministry has rejected the proposal. “There’s nothing wrong with the project but its scale,” culture ministry secretary of state Sum Map said in a statement, noting that the “enormous and bustling” resort would “run in contrast” to the sprawling temple complex. He further noted that future proposed development from Naga or any other developers would need to comply with UNESCO World Heritage standards.
“ An Occupation of Loss” (2016) by Taryn Simon at the Park Avenue Armory. Photography by Naho Kubota…
Taryn Simon and Shohei Shigematsu’s large-scale The Pipes will arrive at MASS MoCA.
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art will soon gain a new permanent outdoor art installation with The Pipes, a monumental piece by Taryn Simon and realized in partnership with OMA and Shohei Shigematsu. Originally deployed at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan as An Occupation of Loss, the installation features 11 occupiable 48-foot-tall concrete towers that help visualize the nature of grief and amplify the voices of those mourning within. “Visually and sonically, I kept gravitating toward the form of a well, but I wanted it to be superterrestrial and have height instead of depth while retaining the echo, the reflection, and the vertigo,” Simon wrote when the work was first unveiled, in 2016. It’ll officially open at MASS MoCA on May 29.
After delays, the closely watched Gwangju Biennale plans to kick off in South Korea.
After two delays—one this past September, the other in February—the Gwangju Biennale is forging ahead with plans to open on April 1. South Korea’s commendable management of the coronavirus pandemic has set the stage for “Minds Rising, Spirits Tuning” to finally get underway, though it will only run half of its originally intended time, 39 days. The exhibition is credited as an essential driver of the country’s growing contemporary art scene and international profile since launching in April.
Chengdu Future City by OMA and gmp architeckten…
OMA and gmp architeckten will build Chengdu Future City, an innovation hub in China.
The Dutch and German architecture firms have won the competition to masterplan the enormous new five-million-square-foot district centered around innovation, science, and technology in the Sichuan province. Inspired by Chengdu’s traditional Lin Pan villages, the car-free development will comprise six clusters containing multiple universities, laboratories, offices, residential areas, markets, public space, and more.
Four Antony Gormley sculptures have divided public opinion in a seaside U.K. town.
Though a local art dealer bought four Antony Gormley sculptures to be of “cultural benefit” for the seaside U.K. town of Aldeburgh, they’ve instead ignited a bitter public feud. Caroline Wiseman admitted to not having obtained planning permission to display the pieces, which were designed to stand upright instead of lie horizontally. Though they plan to be removed next week, the works remain a source of contention and have sparked debate within Aldeburgh about how public artworks need a broader consensus. “I think I didn’t need planning permission to have the structures anyway,” Wiseman tells The Guardian. “I believe the council would have likely refused the application, which is why I withdrew it.”
“Sakura Shibefuru” by Moto Yamamoto at the Setouchi City Art Museum…
Today’s attractive distractions:
A middle school in Sacramento aims to become a living street art gallery.
Motoi Yamamoto creates an illusory work out of 100,000 cherry blossoms.
The world’s most advanced prosthetic arm isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
