Disclaimer: This theory is posited by Neill's own lawyer, and is probably false. That said! The New York Post has the attorney's intricate legal reasoning:

Hillgardner argued that case law protects mere nude physical activity — like calisthenics and ball-playing — from lewdness charges.

So because Neill was kind of writhing around in a "I look like I'm on so much PCP but actually I'm an artistic nudie model" way, it was protected! Also the lawyer says that the only things ladies cannot legally do topless are sunbathing and "handing out promotional material," so, ladies? Everybody's into art again.
[Pic via]

Today, the Times runs a trend(ing) piece in the business section on how Twitter users are making serious cash Tweeting ads. Like, serious cash. How much?

Meet John Chow, a guy who makes money telling people how to make money online with his blog. Basically, imagine an infomercial about making infomercials. That's this guy, who's described as a "blogger and Internet entrepreneur." Watch, he makes money:

Mr. Chow treated his 50,000 Twitter followers to a photograph of his lunch (barbecued chicken and French fries), discussed the weather in Vancouver and linked to a new post on his Internet business blog. Then he earned $200 by telling his fans where they could buy M&M's with customized faces, messages and colors...In October, Mr. Chow's income from Twitter ads was around $3,000. "I get paid for pushing a button," he said.

$200 bucks. For telling people about M&Ms. Since the Times doesn't, let's take a look at what that Tweet looked like:

He's got the designation of it being an ad in two characters, four if you count the parenthesis. He puts the designation of it being an ad after he places the link, so visually, your awareness doesn't come into play until you've been given the chance to get to/click on whatever's being sold. And four characters out of 88 comes to about 4.54% of the message. It looks subversive to me, and I know it's an ad, but then again, I'm not dumb enough to follow this guy in the first place.

Yet advertorial content is a time-honored tradition in all kinds of publishing formats! Including this one, where we place "sponsored ads" everywhere. But these look like out-and-out endorsements, followed by the designation of it being an ad. And if you attach them to hashtags and @feeds, you can more or less just harass and molest the flow of information coming in to Twitter. Just like when you could see HOT XX NEKKD AMATEURS being attached to Twitter messages that were coming out of Iran after their elections a few months back, by automatic spam bots. Brilliant.

So: what's the defense for completely subverting and messing with the user experience on Twitter? Enjoy this:

"We don't want to create an army of spammers, and we are not trying to turn Facebook and Twitter into one giant spam network," said Joey Caroni, co-founder of Peer2. "All we are trying to do is get consumers to become marketers for us."

Kind of sounds like the way vampires work, right? Once you're done with getting your blood sucked, you become one of them because you need more blood. The reason people left MySpace en masse (besides the fact that Facebook offered a cleaner interface and unanimously better user experience) was because of the gross, nonstop barrage of advertising, which Facebook has thankfully kept to a tolerable minimum. What's to stop your Twitter feed from becoming just one, long, advertisement if the people and trending topics you follow are being turned into ad-vampires left and right? And do people even really care that much?

One problem is that many Internet users eschew the idea of these ads, saying they commercialize authentic dialogue and undermine people's credibility. "It interferes with your relationship with your friends and your audience," said Robert Scoble, a technology blogger with more than 100,000 followers on Twitter, who says he "unfollows" people on Twitter who send him ads.

Exactly. So who's to blame for all of this, really? When Twitter goes to shit, and like a bad strain of drugs, everything you touch comes from the same gross source lacing it with their nasty advertorial additives? This assclown, snake oil salesman Mr. Ted "The Murphman" Murphy, he of Pay Per Post, a company basically everyone in Silicon Valley regards as straight-up evil.

They're not wrong. Pay Per Post was having users sell other users on products with no disclosure that they were ads. Whoops! The Times article catches up with Murphy, who's now doing Izea. Which is how Julia Allison ended up shilling for Sea World. But Murphy's reformed! He's better now! He knows he made a mistake!

Ted Murphy, the C.E.O. of Izea, now a 30-person business backed by $10 million in venture capital, said the company initially "made a big mistake" by not setting disclosure standards for publishers and advertisers. Today, ad networks promote their standards; Izea's ads on Twitter are typically demarcated with signifiers like "#ad" or "#sponsor."

Right. Except, whoops, not all of them:

The Times piece wraps up like so, as they chat with people running Likes.com, which, I don't even care to know what it is, really. All of these people are gross and lecherous. Here:

"We are trying to limit it, to prevent people from losing their following," said Bindu Reddy, a former Google product manager who started the company with her husband, Arvind Sundararajan, a former Google engineer. "We know people are queasy about this."

Right! But probably not as much as Twitter is, or should be. It doesn't appear that they're doing anything to even take a cut of the product being moved under their hood. Amazing that the most money being made on Twitter isn't by Twitter. Their product goes down in value to them because it's becoming an ad network.

But who's even dumb enough to follow Julia Allison and John Chow? Won't they catch on to the con being run on them? Well: the same people who watch bad TV, for one thing. Philo Farnsworth probably thought his invention was going to make the world a way better place, too.

Meanwhile, spambots and assclowns like Ted Murphy's zombie army who're getting small bucks will attach themselves to hashtags and your @feed like leeches. Big brands won't care whether this hurts what people think of their product—however much we want it to, or however marginally it will—because this creates awareness. And to think, it's all because of a guy who likes like Ted Murphy. Look again. Right?

Nothing gold can stay, Pony Boy. Unless we can get everyone to do this:

Lacey's description, from Ebay:

The sixth painting in the Gawker series, which is an elaboration on the Rachel Maddow riding a be-saddled Keith Olbermann into battle with a lance and pancake shield against a comparably-though-perhaps-differently-armored Limbaugh riding Hannity suggestion. The suggestion was made before the full assention of Beck and includes a completely gratituous full bodied although one-legged Sarah Palin with pancakes on her head. Obama and Penelope the Unicorn insert themselves into the center of the fray but are powerless to stop the slaughter.

Provocative. Bid on this artwork that you, the Gawker commentariat, spawned, at Ebay.

[Previous paintings in the series here]

[Pic: Stephen Wiltshire. There's much more there]

It became clear one microsecond after our post went up that this was probably a hoax, since none of the people or places featured in the "interview" appeared to have any Google history, which, in the US of A, means you are a fucking fraud. (Note our rapid post-post disclaimer!). Which, on a personal note, was very disappointing, because just imagine the video we could have made when we traveled to this Rape Tunnel, and sent an armed intern through it. Internet gold.

Anyhow, the more interesting(?) question was, "Hey, what was the artistic 'motivation' of the nuts who made up this imaginary thing, eh?" Now Artlurker tells us, via the Miami New Times:

When the author of The Rape Tunnel pitched the idea to us we loved it. Of course it's an extremely sensitive subject, but our motivation for publishing the piece was to comment on contemporary art, not rape.

We cannot say what the intentions of the author were, but ours were simple: to generate conversation on the state of contemporary art based on the fact that an event like this is no so unrealistic today.

Okay, good! Now can someone get to work on building this Rape Tunnel?
[Pic: Artlurker]

Hey, you made the choice to go into the Rape Tunnel. Read the disclaimers! This "controversial" new work will reportedly go up in a gallery there, in Ohio, and then I guess people will come to see it or whatever, and guess what happens then?

I've constructed a 22 ft tunnel out of plywood that leads into the project room. There is no way in or out of the project room except for this tunnel. As you travel through the tunnel, it gets smaller and smaller, making it so that you have to crawl and put yourself in a submissive position in order to reach the tunnel's destination. At the end of the tunnel the subject will find me waiting in the project room and I'll try to the best of my ability to overpower and rape the person who crawls through.

See this is actually the sequel to Whitehurst's famed "PUNCH-YOU-IN-THE-FACE TUNNEL," where he says he punched some aspiring model in the face and broke her nose and they're still in court like years later but hey, what sort of tunnel did she think she was getting into?!!

Anyhow we very much encourage you to read this entire Artlurker.com interview with Whitehurst, cause we're not technically accredited art experts, so far be it from us to say where, exactly, the Rape Tunnel fits in "the canon" of Modern Rape Art. But before you book your tickets to Columbus, ladies (or gents! Young or old! He's taking all comers!), remember:

I want to make it clear that I plan to make the experience as unpleasant as I possibly can to anyone who dares to crawl through the tunnel. I will try to the best of my ability to make them regret their decision.

We are totally taking a field trip.
[Pic: Artlurker]

UPDATE: A tipster notes that Googling "Richard Whitehurst artist" turns up virtually no background on the guy. Likewise, the interviewer "Sheila Zareno" seems to be absent from Google. So this could all be hoax! Be warned, before you get all enthusiastic for the Rape Tunnel. Know more? Email us.

• "We made this movie for the same reason that we create all of our art; because we love it"
• "There is no number or level of success that would make me think, 'Wow, I didn't think that was possible.'"
• "My writing is authentic and whatever happens in my life is what I write about."
• "Now, I'm more like a smart missile."
• "We also wanted to make it feel realistic."
• "everyone just assumes it's going to be a success."

Over the weekend, the Post's magical resurrection of the Spitzer hooker scandal hit its peak. Instead of taking our advice and either disappearing or becoming a self-sustaining business mogul via pornography (either one of which would make her the master of her own fate and Money$$), Ashley foolishly chose to "get into bed," HEH, so to speak, with the dirty tabloid, in exchange for some "publicity" for her "musical career." It is a trick, Ashley! Give up this "musical" "career" at once and get as far away from the Post as possible!

The paper extracted the following things from the empowered young woman over the weekend:
1. Sexxxy photos.
2. Exclusive debut and video for her craptastic new pop song.

In return they gave her a puff piece calling her a "poster child for redemption." LOL! Oh and an explanatory piece on her tattoos. That too. And the Post's most painful concession (if you're a music critic): A positive review of her new single, "I Feel So Alive Without You." It's in the paper, but not online. That may have been a concession to Dan Aquilante, the critic forced to write this:

Unlike her first single, "Inside Out," a molasses-tempo ballad, this new tune has youth appeal in its complex melody that segues from a rock opening to a poppy chorus and ultimately plays with an unplugged acoustic bridge. Dupre should consider weaving in a quick rap for good measure.

Yes, weaving in a quick rap usually gives these things a touch of class. Aquilante didn't let this mandatory positive review go through without exacting his revenge in the kicker:

Ask any rock star and they'll tell you it's all about hooks, looks and the smarts to know how to take advantage of an opportunity when it falls into your lap — Miss Dupre has an abundance of all three qualities.

References to hookers and lap dances. You see Ashley, this is just the nature of the game. It was actually impressive when you turned down multimillion-dollar porn offers in the wake of the Spitzer scandal and went quiet for a while. What you don't realize, Ashley: the New York tabloid industry is shadier than the porn industry. And the tabloids don't even pay you.

When we first heard the tale, the first thing we thought of was, of course, real estate. Mr. and Mrs. Barney just purchased a house in Brooklyn Heights. However, they still haven't gotten rid of their West Houston Street apartment or their house in Snedens Landing, N.Y. Either they bought the Brooklyn house so that one of them could live their with their daughter, or they just wanted more room and can't get rid of either property in the shitty real estate market.

Maybe Barney's relationship with Peyton holds the key. The two worked together in June at the Diest Foundation for Contemporary Art on the Greek island of Hydra. Peyton, who is well known for painting and photographing her friends and lovers, displayed images of Barney during an exhibit last year. But how intimate are the two?

After divorcing her husband Rirkrit Tiravanija in 2004, Peyton lived with artist Tony Just for several years but early this year, an article in Frieze magazine states that curator Pati Hertling is her partner. In February a pair of lesbian aritsts tried to throw a "welcome back Elizabeth Peyton as gay party before being hit with what they said was a "cease-and-desist letter."

So, what do all these rumors mean for Björk and Barney? We don't know, but if you have any scoop, please fill us in.

Hyman went and got one of his nude models arrested yesterday in the Metropolitan Museum (enthralling blurry video of the crime at that link, btw). New York Post vagina beat journalist Justin Rocket Silverman got the explanation from the heroic security guard, who detained the stripping harlot model:

"There were little kids in here watching the whole thing."

Mmm hmm. And riddle us this: When Zach Hyman took nude hipster pixxx it was all fine and dandy, but as soon as he has socialite (we're just saying that because her photos appear on Guest of a Guest) model KC Neill strip at the Met, it's straight to jail. A bit of subculture favoritism? Well Zack Hyman takes nudes of all types of men and women all over, so don't blame him. Pigs.

[Pics: NBC New York, Zach Hyman]

Kate Levant is in art school at Yale and she came up with this "art" project and Yale shut it down for being, hmmm, too edgy, and we don't want a rerun of this whole abortion blood fiasco and things! Stare into the abyss, of art! Kate told New York mag about her taboo idea that was too hot, for Yale:

I wanted to do a project where the Red Cross would come into the gallery space and conduct a blood drive. There's something really amazing about the regenerative aspect of donating, and I'm interested in how such a personal thing for a donor has an immediate anonymity.

In a non-Ivy League art gallery setting this is known as a "blood drive." BANNED.
[Pic that Yale does not want you to see, via]

Hint: Banksy is nowhere in this picture.

So far the wingnuts are losing the Obama street art war, handily.

In Copenhagen. Via Per Corell.
U Street in DC. Via goimardantas.
In Jersey City. Via wallyg.
Shepard Fairey, museum-style. Via KwangSoo.
Shepard Fairey, street style. Via LoisInWonderland.
LES, NYC. Via tedjohnjacobs.
Italy is on some crazy shit. Via Max IK7TOE.
In Spokane. Via gerikasher.

[Joker pic via Newsbusters]

Wolverton's style is familiar to everyone—whether you saw his original bad-acid-trip stylings in MAD, or any of the scores of later cartoonists influenced by him. It would have been hard to imagine then, when he was whipping the ideals of Ozzie and Harriet with a rusty bike chain, that he'd become a darling of the art world half a century later.

But here he is, with a retrospective show at the Barbara Gladstone Gallery in Chelsea, being dubbed "The Van Gogh of Gross-Out" by the New York Times. His mama would be proud. As would Jesus:

A devout churchgoer, he hoped to be remembered for his Bible illustrations, not his cartoons.

His series of apocalyptic images are...memorable. Christians are the freakiest ones of all!
[NYT]

Yes he was. Both, of course. The only argument is about the degree to which he was either one. In the "tortured artist" camp are most of Dash's friends and family, who tell the L magazine that the characterization of him as just a cum-spewing hipster party boy were...simplistic, at least:

"It bothers me when I see people write, ‘It was about the drugs, it was about the nightlife' - it wasn't, it was about his feeling," [his former lover Kathryn Garcia] said. "I think [Snow's was] a common feeling in New York at the time, it was dark. I mean, it was post-9/11… you know? Everyone had this feeling of loss, and aloneness, and not understanding, and they were rebelling against everything, every structure they could think of. And Dash was one of those people. Dash was a free spirit in a world that wasn't kind to free spirits."...
"He was one of those really pure souls - he was affected by everything, mentally, he was reacting to things constantly," Garcia said.

Most of the art world figures seem to agree, in their public statements, at least. Dash's brand of media-friendly shock art definitely got mixed reviews from fellow artists, but his persona was universally admired. Although not by everyone! Excluding Gawker commenters, one of the harshest appraisals of Dash's legacy came from this Blognigger post today, which says that glorification of people like Dash Snow is one of the main reason people will continue to die from drugs, and be celebrated for it:

Shooting heroin is the pinnacle of what is hardcore. There's nothing more hardcore in the world - it's so hardcore that the most hardcore of us say not to do it because it's too hardcore. We see it as the forbidden fruit in the boring-ass garden of eden...

WE value being Hardcore, and that's why WE keep dying young, and leaving our toddlers behind. WE rebel against a culture that worships the Jonas Brothers or Will Smith or Amerikkka or Money - but as long as we worship being hardcore, we're going to see smack as the ultimate in hardcore, and WE are going to keep testing it, getting addicted, and dying.

Like everyone else in the world, the man had good and bad qualities. Unsatisfying but true! Dash Snow—whether you liked his art or not—lived life fully, which should be appreciated, though not emulated in its specifics. And yes, coming to the realization that killing yourself through hardcore-ness is one of the most important steps towards maturity. Urging your friend to try the equivalent of bungee jumping without a cord, because it's hardcore, is not really a friendly thing to do.

Deitch projects is preparing a Dash Snow memorial exhibition, and his mural is already up. He was a fine graf writer.
[Pic: Sabeth718 via AnimalNY]