Friday Night Links

Friday Night Links/P.J.'s Picks:

P.J. and I have had a pretty slow week and spent most of our time watching TV. We're not sure how or why, but we started getting channels that we never had before like VH1 Classic and The Biography Channel. We watched Joe Cocker belt out "With a Little Help from My Friends" at Woodstock on VH1 Classic. P.J. was pretty into it. I thought the performance lacked subtlety. Whatever.
The real highlight of our week came during the discovery of Ovation TV and one of its shows, "Art or Not?"

Each episode highlights a series of "artists" and their work as well as critics who argue about whether the "artist" creates real "art" or not. It's not nearly as pretentious as it sounds, though P.J. and I both thought some of the artists tried too hard when defending their work. Two artists I recognized were Obey Giant founder Shepard Fairey and Ed Hardy clothing creator, Don Ed Hardy.

I had no idea Ed Hardy was an actual artist who sells his designs to a clothing manufacturer. I thought it was just another clothing brand with obnoxious images. The strangest part is that the guy looks like an average suburban dad with curly hair and a plaid shirt. His laid back surfer/tattoo parlor aesthetic is entirely at odds with the muscular bros I see wearing his clothes.

Although not on TV, Fora.tv is a TED-like website that promotes the review and discussion of national issues including gay marriage in California, the success/failure of No Child Left Behind, and the influence of bloggers.

For those in a Los Angeles state of mind, we bring you Art Blogging L.A. The site is dedicated to tracking and promoting all manner of art exhibitions throughout the Los Angeles area, as well as show reviews.

The last links of the night are from P.J., who insists I promote his architecture-minded agenda. This time he is focusing on World's Fairs which, I must admit, is something of a secret obsession of mine (I guess that's why we get along so well).

Paris Exposition of 1925 and the Creation of Art Deco

San Francisco's Pan-Pacific International Exhibition of 1915.

Chicago's World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893

Expo Museum: Online archive of almost all the World's Fairs since their inception in 1851. It even keeps up with the latest World's Fair news like possible host cities for future fairs (Yes, World's Fairs still take place and or coordinated by the BIE).

University of Maryland also has a pretty extensive library archive.