Salvador Dalí was approached by Walt Disney himself in 1945 to propose a collaborative film. Entitled Destino, the picture would be based upon a Mexican folk song of the same name, with the music played to accompany a sequence of Dalí-designed animation. The overjoyed surrealist enthusiastically agreed and quickly began sketching storyboards.
Disney’s sudden turn to surrealism was an attempt to silence several of his critics who felt that his films all too often sacrificed genuine artistry at the altar of marketability—favoring tradition and safety over innovation and experimentation. The evocative Fantasia, released in 1940, had been a groundbreaking first step on this front, and the animator now hoped that Destino would keep this newfound momentum going.
But alas, the project never came to be; Disney pulled the plug on the film after its third month of production. Though the two would remain lifelong friends, nothing remains of their short-lived joint venture but a 15-second demo reel and a handful of rudimentary sketches.
However, some 54 years later, the development of Fantasia’s long-awaited sequel, Fantasia 2000, inspired Disney’s nephew, Roy, to finally revive the project. A team of French animators were brought onboard to produce the six-minute film on the basis of Dalí's notes and storyboards. In 2003, his musical vision was released at long last. You can watch the results of their efforts below.
Clayscapes Pottery is a business that works with the ceramic community, offering classes and products for potters and aspiring potters. What struck my interest is this:
If you ever wondered what colors certain Brooklyn neighborhoods would be, check out Clayscapes Brooklyn.
After 35 years in storage and thanks to a massive donation by Drake, Luna Luna has been exhumed and restored and on exhibit at NYC's The Shed. Luna Luna was a theme park/carnival staged last in 1987 in Germany and incorporated the work of artists for the rides and attractions. That is, artists like Salvador Dali, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and Jean Michel Basquiat. Then it was put into storage where it sat ... until now.
I went last week and was delighted by the rides, performances and materials. Here are some of the highlights:
Throughout Japan, including in Tokyo, there are decorative “design manhole covers” intended to enhance the streetscape, celebrate culture and heritage, increase the visibility of infrastructure, and give a boost to the economy. They go beyond New York's unique and artistic manhole covers, by adding customized, full color images, sometimes with raised metallic details. Here, we look at examples from Tokyo and consider how New York City could do its own twist on this concept!
Haring created "Apocalypse" in 1988, at the height of the AIDS pandemic and after his own diagnosis. The screen prints are accompanied by captions composed by his series collaborator, William S. Burroughs. The complete set, including the captions, will be displayed in campus spaces to inspire discussion among students, faculty, staff, and alumni, especially members of the CCNY and CUNY LGBTQ+ communities. The art will also be available for loaning to other CUNY campuses for display, particularly but not exclusively, in their respective LGBTQ+ student centers and campus art museums.
“Art is often the embodiment of activism, and this is particularly true for the work of Keith Haring. The Apocalypse series is an important marker in a critical moment in the nation’s history,” said CCNY President Vincent Boudreau. “We are honored to receive this extraordinary donation from the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation, and we look forward to making the series the subject of courses, events, and exhibitions across campus and throughout CUNY in the years to come.”
The official opening of the exhibit will take place on March 4, 2025. The event will feature a discussion of the series, and the art and activism of the 1980s in New York City.
“This donation of Keith Haring's Apocalypse is a tremendous addition to our collections. As we already have an important Haring painting, it builds on an existing strength to expand our holdings of Haring's work greatly,” said Associate Professor of Art History Ellen Handy, the director of the CCNY art collection. “Haring's vibrant style and imagery perfectly captures the energy of New York City, and speak to the College's urban context and culture. The Apocalypse portfolio will engage many different constituencies within the College. These works enrich the life of the College community in many ways; they inspire and engage everyone who sees them when on view, they vividly convey the power of art as communication around urgent social issues, and they open up new possibilities for interdisciplinary dialogue.”
The art will remain at the College for at least 15 years, after which the pieces may be put up for auction. Monies from the auction would be used to support LGBTQ+ programming for students at CCNY and CUNY, and will be managed by The Foundation for City College.
About the Leonard-Litz Foundation Helping LGBTQ+ people fulfill their potential, the Leonard-Litz Foundation’s mission is to fund organizations which advance the interests and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community through advocacy, programs, and services that meet the needs of LGBTQ+ people.
About The City College of New York Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Like most of the World's Fair structures, these commemorative mosaic medallions may soon be lost!
One of the stops on our Remnants of the World's Fairs Tour will soon disappear. Since 1997, a series of mosaic medallions commemorating the 1939-40 and 1964-65 World's Fairs have decorated the ground at David Dinkins Circle. Now, the tiled works of art—severely damaged over time—will soon be another lost relic of Flushing Meadows Corona Park's past.
The news wasn't much of a surprise to Untapped New York's Chief Experience Officer and creator of our World's Fairs Tour, Justin Rivers. "I have watched the mosaics decay for years now and as Parks started cementing over certain ones periodically, I knew their days were numbered," he says.
The Parks Department attributes the significant deterioration of the mosaics to natural weather conditions. Because loose and missing tiles can lead to trips and falls, the works of art have been deemed a safety hazard. Patchwork cement repairs are evident on all the medallions, with graffiti marks, footprints, and tire tracks visible.
The Department says a mosaic art studio determined that the works were "not salvageable" after an analysis, and recommended against recreating them, "as in-ground mosaics cannot sufficiently withstand environmental conditions." The plan is to remove the mosaics and replace them with pavers similar to those in the surrounding plaza to create a level walking surface.
Installed in 1997, the Passarelle Plaza Mosaics depict various elements of the two World's Fairs in Queens. It is believed that 10 of the original mosaics have been lost. Two have been covered by cement and five are still visible. Elsie The Cow (1939), a smiling portrait of Robert Moses by Andy Warhol (1964), the New York Hall of Science and Rocket Park (1964), Fountain of Planets (1964), and Venus by Salvador Dali (1939) make up the five that have survived.
"My favorite of the five, honors the work of the legendary Salvador Dalí who designed the 'Dream of Venus' pavilion for the 1939 Fair," says Ray Victor, a Queens native and Untapped tour guide who leads our World's Fairs tours, "Like many of my guests, I have been amused by the Andy Warhol inspired mosaic of Robert Moses. And a smile was brought to my face by the Elsie the cow mosaic which recalls the children who enjoyed that magnificent fair with their families almost a century ago, children whose innocence would be shattered only two years later as America entered WWII."
Known missing medallions include mosaics depicting a work called EAT by Robert Indiana (1964), the Billy Rose Aquacade (1939), the New York State Pavilion (1964), New York City Pavilion (1939) (now the Queens Museum), and two medallions about the Westinghouse time capsules from each fair (1939 & 1964).
The mosaics are the last vestige of many World's Fair structures that have already been lost. The Aquacade was demolished in 1996, though you can still find a few remnants in the park. Dali's Dream of Venus theater was taken down in 1940 along with the majority of pavilions built for the 1939 fair. Some elements, like Robert Indiana's EAT sculpture, which was affixed to the facade of Theaterama during the 1964 fair, found homes outside New York (in this case at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine).
The Passarelle Plaza Mosaics are not the only mosaics at the former fairgrounds. The floor of the New York State Pavilion's Tent of Tomorrow was once covered by a terrazzo map of New York State that stretched over 9,000 square feet. Made of 567 terrazzo mosaic panels, the map depicted every Texaco gas station in the state. When the Pavilion’s roof was removed in the 1970s, the Texaco map—like the mosaic medallions—was left exposed to the elements and quickly fell into a state of decay. Only a few tiles remain preserved today.
Michael Perlman—a 5th generation Forest Hills resident, author of Legendary Locals of Forest Hills and Rego Park, Chairman of Rego-Forest Preservation Council, and longtime member of the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance—has been campaigning to save the Passarelle Plaza mosaics since 2022. He recently teamed up with Gloria Nash, author of the forthcoming World's Fair book, Looking Back At The Future, and Kevin Walsh of Forgotten New York, for his latest push to preserve the art.
Earlier this month, Perlman sent a proposal to Flushing Meadows Corona Park Administrator Anthony Sama that included an offer from a salvage expert willing to carefully remove the mosaics at no cost to the Parks Department. "Furthermore, they would be restored off-site before finding a future home, and the Parks would not have to pay for that either," Perlman explains, "Passion and teamwork are inspiring our generous proposal."
Elsie the Cow Mosaic, Photo by Michael Perlman
What would happen to the mosaics after they are removed is still unknown. "We envision the mosaics being on display in a public or private space, either outdoors or indoors, where they can be readily accessible for the public’s continued appreciation and education," Perlman says, "Our first priority is taking them out of needless harm."
While Perlman waits for a response to his proposal, the Parks Department has committed to partnering with the Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park to ensure that the Alliance’s Art in the Park Grant will prioritize Dinkins Circle as a location for at least one public art installation each year the grant is funded. The grant supports two local artists by awarding $10,000 to display a yearlong installation.
"New York is home to an army of amazing artists who could truly breathe new life into these wonderful reminders of our city’s past," says Victor, "I say to our city leaders, let them."
"They feel like windows into the World’s Fairgrounds," says Perlman of the medallions, "They celebrate our local and international culture, and architecture from the Fairs, and also offer a lesson in art, history, and craftsmanship."
Victor echoes Perlman's sentiment, "Not that long ago, Grand Central was almost the victim of architectural homicide when development efforts in the 1960’s and 70s threatened to destroy that magnificent centerpiece of our city. I am sure many might say preserving the mosaics in question is not the same as saving Grand Central, but we should all realize that saving the artistic and cultural history of our city, like every journey, has a first step."
According to Untapped City, spray paint cans are the latest unconventional objects in New York City to be arranged in the form of a Christmas tree. Standing in Freeman Alley at the UNTITLED Hotel on the Lower East Side, this graffiti-themed tree is made entirely of spray paint cans sourced from artists within the LES community and supplies from the iconic All City Legends art shop in Harlem. The festive display honors the creators who have made the alley a new street art hotspot.
Walking down Freeman Alley is like walking through a hidden art gallery. The building walls on either side are covered in colorful street art and wheat pastings. Jimmy Wright, an artist who lives in a 19th-century stable on Freeman Alley, told WNYC that there has been street art there since the 1980s, but the proliferation of art really took off during the Black Lives Matter protests.
The alley runs about halfway through the block between Rivington and Stanton Streets, parallel to Bowery and Chrystie Street. It opens at Rivington and dead-ends at Freeman's Restaurant which opened in 2004. The alley is just a few blocks away from another popular street art spot, the Bowery Wall Mural at the corner of Houston Street, where artists like Keith Haring, JR, and Banksy have left their marks.
In the early 1900s, Freeman Alley was where the bread lines would form for the nearby Bowery Mission. The short stretch of street was officially de-mapped at that time. Over the course of the 20th century, the alley remained a largely forgotten backstreet. Now, Freeman Alley is a vibrant corridor flanked by shops, restaurants, galleries, and the UNTITLED Hotel.
The tree will be on display through the holiday season on the ground floor outdoor terrace of UNTITLED hotel located at 3 Freeman Alley. Guests are invited to tag the tree with their own sticker “ornaments.”
According to Altas Obscura, every December 23, crowds gather in Oaxaca's main square to celebrate the Night of the Radishes, or La Noche de Rábanos. It’s a competition between artists who use the purple produce to make sculptures and, hopefully, win the big prize of the night.
All kinds of sculptures can be seen—saints, musicians, buildings, even a tiny cemetery where little radish people are celebrating the Day of the Dead. As Mexico is a heavily Catholic country, religious themes are common. Radish replicas of Michelangelo's La Pietà and da Vinci's The Last Supper have made appearances. To ensure fair competition, everyone uses vegetables grown by the government for the festival. And these radishes are big: Some grow 1.5 feet long and can weigh almost seven pounds.
The festival starts in the morning, when everyone can see the artists working on their sculptures, but wait until night if you want to see the finished masterpieces. The festival also features concerts around the city, fireworks, and light shows.
Don't get me wrong. I love Osgemeos, having seen their work in many international cities. But I get a bit worried when major museums begin to showcase street art. I think that the allure of street art is its unabashed freedom that is not restricted by established museum walls. So now as per the Washington Post.....
Museum shows can be death for street art. Osgemeos look alive and well.
In a Hirshhorn show squirming with energy, the famous Brazilian twins toss out discernment for populist exuberance.
You could write a lengthy history of efforts by artists to bust out of the studios, galleries and wealthy homes that traditionally confine them. A lot of those efforts create friction. Graffiti art is part of this story. The identical twins Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, known to the world as Osgemeos (Portuguese for “the twins”), have been the face of Brazilian graffiti art for several decades now. Their gradual crossover into mainstream international art-world acceptance is sealed by a year-long exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum. Organized by Marina Isgro with the support of CJ Greenhill Caldera, “Osgemeos: Endless Story” is billed as the artists’ first U.S. museum survey and the largest U.S. exhibition of their work.
I would not fight to the death with anyone who described Osgemeos’s work as twee and repetitive. And yet, honestly, I love it. “Endless Story” is an unusually exuberant museum show. Imaginatively installed across a full floor at the Hirshhorn, it feels joyous, funny and unstuffy.
The Pandolfo twins grew up in São Paulo and became world-famous multimedia artists known as Osgemeos. (Filipe Berndt/Osgemeos)
Born in 1974, the Pandolfo twins grew up in São Paulo. They weren’t yet 10 when they first encountered hip-hop culture. Under the influence of their older brother Arnaldo, they took to drawing and their parents soon enrolled them in a free art course. “Wild Style,” an influential film about hip-hop, was a big early influence, and by 1986 they had transformed themselves into young B-boys — a local DJ nicknamed them Os Gemeos — hanging out at the São Bento subway station in São Paulo, breakdancing, rapping and making graffiti.
By the 2000s, the Pandolfo twins were making major murals on city walls and subway cars, even as they were showing in commercial galleries. In 2004, in the lead-up to the Summer Olympic Games, they were invited to make two murals in the host city, Athens. The following year they made their first New York mural outside a Coney Island subway station, and they later made a mural in downtown Manhattan, on the same site (the intersection of Houston Street and the Bowery) as a famous mural by Keith Haring. They were establishing pedigree.
When Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art gave them a solo show in 2012, the exhibit was complemented by a large-scale mural commission — a boy in patterned pajamas crouching in a space that was perfectly congruent with the building’s silhouette. An eruption of color and pattern in gray downtown Boston, it totally transformed the cityscape.
The Hirshhorn presentation includes a montage of blown-up photographs of Osgemeos’s best-known murals, which have appeared all over the world.
Of course, institutional acceptance in the form of commissioned murals is one thing. But my sense is that, within the graffiti community, art world success, in the shape of museum surveys and commercial gallery representation, can be fatal to street credibility. So be it. If success is a deathbed, Osgemeos look surprisingly alive and comfortable in it.
Their show squirms with energy. Every gallery is different. Early on, a phalanx of display cabinets teems with sketches, comic strips and graffiti paraphernalia, all of it revealing the twins’ working methods and impressive drawing skills. As you go further in, you sense a creative partnership that thrives on expansion — into film, sculpture and installation art, and the creation of futuristic fantasy worlds.
