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Tag: andy warhol

  • Artsy Macaulay Culkin Conceptually Eats Pizza

    Mysterious former child star Macaulay Culkin has posted a YouTube clip of himself eating a slice of pizza, which has garnered over 800 thousand views since December 16th. The elusive actor is apparently promoting his pizza-centric Velvet Underground tribute band “Macaulay Culkin and the Pizza Underground.”

    To the untrained eye, Culkin appears to be plainly enjoying a slice of cheese pizza. Though, it’s clear that still waters run deep within the soul of the “Home Alone” actor, as the video seems to be an homage to pop artist Andy Warhol’s appearance in the “Andy Warhol Eating a Hamburger” segment of Danish filmmaker Jorgen Leth’s “66 Scenes From America” shot in 1981. Warhol was a frequent Velvet Underground collaborator.

    At the end of the “Pizza Underground”-produced movie, Culkin exclaims, “My name is Macaulay Culkin, and I just finished pizza,” adding an air of intrigue to the already deeply self-possessed clip.

    The similarities between Culkin’s and Warhol’s comfort food devouring segments are astounding:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejr9KBQzQPM

    So far, “Pizza Underground” has released wildly inventive singles including “Take a Bite of the Wild Slice” and “I’m Waiting for Delivery Man.”

    Culkin is again well-known for his Golden Globe-nominated role in “Home Alone,” a 1990 Christmas family comedy film written and produced by John Hughes. Culkin portrays Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy who is mistakenly left behind after his family leaves for Paris for their Christmas vacation. Below is the trailer:

    “Home Alone” was a huge holiday hit, and grossed $285,761,243 in North America, staying at number one for 12 weeks. Culkin, with a reported net worth of roughly $15 million, has also starred in films including “My Girl,” “The Good Son” and “Richie Rich.”

    One of Culkin’s few films as an adult is 2003’s “Party Monster,” which features tuneful genius Marilyn Manson:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRHGpNm96gY

    Culkin is presently dating “All My Children” actress Jordan Lane Price, and has been previously linked to “Black Swan” star Mila Kunis.

    Image via YouTube.

  • Macaulay Culkin Has A Video Of Himself Eating Pizza

    You’ve all surely heard by now about Macaulay Culkin’s Velvet Underground tribute band, “Pizza Underground.” Strange, huh? To make things even weirder, there’s now a four minute video on the Internet of Culkin sitting down at a table and eating a slice of pizza. That’s it. There’s occasional eye contact with the camera, but mostly it’s Macaulay looking somber and eating large bites of a cheese slice (sans crust).

    Confused? Many have speculated that it’s a gag just to promote his Pizza tribute band, which it partially is, but it turns out it’s also an homage to a 1981 video of Andy Warhol sitting at a table and eating a Burger King hamburger. Culkin sits similarly to Warhol, picking at his food and looking off into the distance in the same way. And – the spookiest similarity of all – both videos clock in at exactly 4 minutes and 28 seconds, with both Warhol and Culkin beginning to eat right at 40 seconds.

    It all seems to make sense, as most of the band’s artwork is inspired by Warhol, which you can view on their official tumblr page. Which is appropriate, given that The Velvet Underground was also largely influenced by the late artist.

    The New York City-based band obviously isn’t very concerned with taking themselves seriously, even now that the band has gained notoriety by inviting Culkin. “He’s amused by it, as we all are,” lead vocalist Pheobe Kreutz told Vulture earlier this month. “I don’t think it was anything any of us were looking for, and none of us know how long it will last or when we’ll feel like it’s over. I think we’re sort of waiting for the universe to let us know what to do.”
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    Image via Youtube

  • Jaclyn Smith Wants Painting to Stay with O’Neal

    They played Angels together on television. And it’s apparent that Jaclyn Smith has not completely gotten over the death of her friend Farrah Fawcett, who died from cancer in 2009.

    Smith stood in front of cameras yesterday at the Los Angeles courthouse in defense of Fawcett’s longtime partner Ryan O’Neal. The issue at hand is an Andy Warhol painting of Fawcett reportedly worth millions of dollars. Does the valuable piece of art belong to O’Neal or does it belong to the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Austin, where Fawcett went to school.

    Smith thinks it clearly should stay with O’Neal. The former Charlie’s Angels star said through tears, “I think the most important thing would be imaging what Farrah would want. I really feel Farrah would want that portrait with Ryan.”

    However, Fawcett left all her artwork to the school in her will. O’Neal argues that Warhol himself gave the actor the painting during a telephone conversation. The painting is currently at O’Neal’s house in California and that’s where Redmond, the son of Fawcett and O’Neal, thinks it needs to stay. “This portrait is a family heirloom. It has no money value to me. It’s sentimental. It’s to stay in the family. It’s a beautiful remembrance of my mom, and it belongs where it is.”

    Smith showed up at the courthouse to support O’Neal and Redmond. The actress says that it was the sight of Redmond that got her emotional to the point of tears. Smith described Warhol’s work as a spot on rendition of the 1970s iconic pinup model. “It’s her soul, it’s her eyes, it’s her hair, it’s everything she is.”

    Image Via Twitter

  • Jaclyn Smith Breaks Down Over Farrah Fawcett’s Death

    Former Charlie’s Angels star Jaclyn Smith attended a court hearing on Monday to support the late Farrah Fawcett’s widower Ryan O’Neal. Ryan has been battling the courts over a lawsuit that was filed by the University of Texas over an Andy Warhol painting that was owned by the late actress.

    Fawcett died in 2009, at the age of 62, after a long battle with cancer, and left all of her artwork to the University of Texas, where she studied. However, Ryan claims that he is the rightful owner of one of the two Warhol paintings of Fawcett, and is fighting to keep it in his family.

    “The reason I gave it to her is because there was a new woman in my life and the painting was making her uncomfortable; that Farrah seemed to be staring down at her,” O’Neal said in August 2012. “And so I said, ‘Well, I can fix that.’ I took it to Farrah and said ‘Keep this for me. I’ll be back.’”

    “This portrait is a family heirloom,” Fawcett and O’Neal’s son Redmond said. “It has no money value to me. It’s sentimental. It’s to stay in the family. It’s a beautiful remembrance of my mom, and it belongs where it is.”

    Jaclyn has defended Ryan on numerous occasions stating: “I think the most important thing would be imagining what Farrah would want. I really feel Farrah would want that portrait with Ryan.” She also said that if Ryan wins the case, it is also a win for Farrah.

    Once the hearing was over, Jaclyn broke down in tears outside of the courthouse after being spotted hugging Ryan and Redmond. When asked why she was crying, Smith told The New York Post that she broke down after seeing Redmond, and that she missed her dear friend Farrah.

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    Image via Twitter

  • Farrah Fawcett Legal Battle Heats Up With Ryan O’Neal’s Testimony

    Farrah Fawcett has been at the center of a legal battle this year regarding a portrait of her famous likeness done by Andy Warhol; now, the man she spent several years of her life with has his chance to speak about the artwork–which he says was given to him by Fawcett–and about their notoriously rocky relationship.

    The trouble began when the University of Texas at Austin–Fawcett’s alma mater and the recipient of all her artwork after her 2009 death, as outlined in her will–accused O’Neal of taking the expensive piece of art when it didn’t belong to him. Because they were bequeathed Fawcett’s collection, they say, they are the rightful owners. However, O’Neal says he took it from Fawcett’s home about a week after her death because he’d asked her to hold onto it for him after he’d already been in possession of it for years.

    “The reason I gave it to her is because there was a new woman in my life and the painting was making her uncomfortable; that Farrah seemed to be staring down at her,” O’Neal said in a deposition in August 2012. “And so I said, ‘Well, I can fix that.’ I took it to Farrah and said ‘Keep this for me. I’ll be back.’”

    The woman in question was a young lady who was caught in bed with O’Neal by none other than Fawcett herself; the couple later reconciled after she forgave him, O’Neal says.

    The “Love Story” actor testified on Monday that Warhol was a friend of his and that both he and Fawcett took prints from the artist when they were done. Her copy hangs in the university’s Blanton Museum of Art; O’Neal says he wants to keep the one he has to pass on to his son with Fawcett, Redmond.

    Image: Wikimedia Commons

  • Farrah Fawcett’s Warhol: Who Does It Belong To?

    Farrah Fawcett left behind an Andy Warhol painting of herself, which is valued at anywhere between $600,000 and $10 million.

    The portrait was painted from a Polaroid picture Warhol took of the actress in 1980. He gave her red lips and green eyes, but other than that, it is colorless.

    The question that will soon be decided in court, is who does it belong to, according to ABC.

    Fawcett’s long-time love, Ryan O’Neal, the man she had a relationship with for over 30 years, says that the portrait was his. He says that he brought it to her house so that the salty sea air at his beach property wouldn’t ruin the valuable art work.

    O’Neal has countersued the University for the return of a napkin that Andy Warhol drew hearts on for Farrah Fawcett.

    “It is a precious memento of his life with Ms. Fawcett, the love of his life, with whom he was romantically involved for 30 years up until the time of her death,” O’Neal’s lawyers wrote in a trial brief. “Because O’Neal’s Warhol portrait is an heirloom, he never intends to, nor will sell it.”

    On the other side, her alma matter, the University of Texas at Austin claims that the portrait was given to them in her will, and should hang beside the other one they have from her, at the University. They also claim that Ryan O’Neal wrongly removed the painting, which was one of the main attractions in a 2011 exhibit on portraiture at UT’s Blanton Museum of Art, from her condo after her death.

    “We simply want to honor and respect the charitable intent and wishes of Farrah Fawcett,” UT’s Vice Chancellor for External Relations Randa S. Safady wrote in a statement. “It is indisputable that in Ms. Fawcett’s living trust, she named the University of Texas at Austin as the sole beneficiary of all of her works of art, including artwork she created and all objects of art that she owned, for charitable purposes.”

    Jury selection will begin this week. Jurors will hear evidence concerning Ryan O’Neal’s relationship to Fawcett, as well as his friendship with Andy Warhol. They could also possibly hear testimony from Fawcett’s “Charlie’s Angels” co-star, Jaclyn Smith. They will hear testimony of Fawcett’s final wishes, as well, which reportedly state that she wanted the portrait to go to the school.

    The trial will start Wednesday, when attorneys will begin arguing over which evidence should be admitted into court, and is expected to last two weeks.

    Image via wikimedia commons

  • Andy Warhol Painting Shatters Record Sale

    Andy Warhol Painting Shatters Record Sale

    Andy Warhol painting, “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)” sold at Sotheby’s New York sale late Wednesday for a whopping $105.4 million, shattering the previous Warhol record set in 2007 when “Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)” sold for $71.7 million.

    Sotheby’s described the painting as, “a pivotal work from the artist’s ‘Death and Disaster’ series and the last of four works of its size and significance that was not currently in the collection of a museum.”

    A late phone bidding war jacked up the price, in what Michael Frahm, a contemporary art adviser and partner at the London-based Frahm Ltd called, “the ultimate trophy hunting.”

    “The demand for seminal works by historical important artists is truly unquestionable,” he told the Associated Press. “We will keep witnessing new records being broken.”

    “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)” was not the only Warhol to sell this week. Another of Warhol’s iconic pieces, “Coca-Cola (3),” sold for $57.2 million on Tuesday at Christie’s auction house. Earlier in the day on Wednesday, his portrait of Elizabeth Taylor titled “Liz #1”, sold for $20 million.

    However, the sale on Wednesday made that day Sotheby’s most successful one ever, they said in a statement. Records were set for more than just Andy Warhol, they were also set for a number of other famous artists including Cy Twombly, Brice Marden, Mark Bradford and Martin Kippenberger.

    This astounding new Warhol record comes just one day after the most expensive work of art ever sold at an auction went for $142.4 million. That was Francis Bacon’s “Three Studies of Lucian Freud”, which sold after just six minutes of bidding at another auction house, Christie’s, beating the previous world record set last year when financier Leon Black paid nearly $120 million for Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.”

    The buyer of “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)” remains confidential.

    Image via wikimedia commons

  • Farrah Fawcett Portrait in Middle of Court Debate

    Farrah Fawcett, the icon of the 70’s, had her beauty immortalized in artwork that is now the center of heated debates and court proceedings. Fawcett’s Alma Mater, the University of Texas, has brought a lawsuit regarding ownership of a silkscreen picture against Ryan O’Neal, who famously shared a glamorous yet rocky and public relationship with the blonde celebrity.

    Though O’Neal had previously spoken about the violent outbursts that happened throughout his relationship with Fawcett, he remains adamant that the portrait was a gift to him from his late love interest.

    Fawcett indicated in her will that all artwork in her possession was to be given to the University of Texas. When receiving the artwork, an Andy Warhol portrait of Fawcett was delivered. With the help of an informant, it soon came to the attention of the university officials that a second portrait had also been completed. Detectives were hired by the officials at the university to locate the second portrait, which was ultimately found in Ryan O’Neal’s home.

    There are two sides to every story, and according to O’Neal the second portrait was a gift from Andy Warhol, himself, to O’Neal. However, the situation has gotten messy. Trustees of the university have sued O’Neal, and he has countersued the university over a different Warhol sketch, which he claims is a personal belonging of his that has somehow ended up in the university’s Blanton Museum of Art.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cLHTmuU0ZQ

    Though the beauty died in 2009 on the same day as Michael Jackson, fans the world-over still hold a torch for the beloved Charlie’s Angel.

    [Image Via Wikimedia Commons]

  • Farrah Fawcett Artwork At Center Of Legal Battle

    Farrah Fawcett was the face of the ’70s; with her all-American good looks and gleaming smile, she was an icon from the moment she struck that famous “Charlie’s Angels” pose. Now, a highly-sought after piece of art bearing her likeness is caught in the middle of a legal battle, and it’s hard to say who will come out the victor.

    The artwork is a silkscreen done by none other than Andy Warhol, which puts the value somewhere in the $30 million range, and Fawcett’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, actor Ryan O’Neal, says it was given to him before she died in 2009. However, the University of Texas claims the actress wanted all her artwork donated to them and had it put in a living trust.

    O’Neal may have a hard time proving the piece belongs to him, but has garnered a list of celebrity names to take the stand during the court battle, including his son with Fawcett, Redmond O’Neal; celebrity Alana Stewart; and Fawcett’s former co-star, Jaclyn Smith.

    “It may come down to how good of an actor Mr. O’Neal is,” said probate and estate attorney Kenneth Ostrove. “If he can play out that emotional side of it, be believable.”

    The actor says that he was in possession of the artwork until the late ’90s, when a woman he was dating at the time objected to it being hung on the wall at his home. He says he took it down and gave it back to Fawcett with the condition that he would be back for it.

    “And the reason I gave it to her is because there was a new woman in my life and the painting was making her uncomfortable; that Farrah seemed to be staring down at her,” O’Neal said in a deposition in August 2012. “And so I said, ‘Well, I can fix that.’ I took it to Farrah and said ‘Keep this for me. I’ll be back.’”

    The trial begins today in Los Angeles Superior Court.

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  • Andy Warhol Gravesite Broadcasting Live Webcam Feed

    Andy Warhol was not only known for his colorful nods to pop culture, he also did lengthy video installations that, had they been done in today’s internet era, would have likely gone viral. Now, on what would have been his 85th birthday, the artist’s namesake museum in Pittsburgh has installed a camera on both his gravesite and the church where he was baptized which shows a live feed to viewers at earthcam.com. The camera is part of an art project called “FigmentCam”, taken from a quote by Warhol himself, who once said, “I always thought I’d like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph and no name. Well, actually, I’d like it to say, ‘Figment.’”

    We believe that this will give Warhol the pleasure of knowing that he is still plugged in and turned on over 25 years after his death,” museum director Eric Shiner said.

    Warhol was Catholic and reportedly attended church every day, so another camera is set up at the church he attended with his family, St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church. The live feed will show a liturgy presented by his family members at 3 p.m. pacific time today.

    Since his death in 1987 after gallbladder surgery, Warhol’s vision has lived on with fans who consider him to be a pioneer of pop art.

    Lead image: Wikipedia

    The artist

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    Warhol’s famous piece Campbell’s Soup 1

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