Oh, My God. This buff Ronald McDonald, wearing an American flag speedo with a bunch of french-fries stuffed in his crotch; you cannot un-see it.
Photographed on Harrison Place in Buskwick, Brooklyn.
Vladimir Lenin, Mickey Mouse and Jesus Walk Hand-in-Hand in this Sculpture from Recycling Religion (All Photos By Gail)
Popular artists like Banksy, Ron English and Damien Hirst have all blended Religious iconography with commercial images in the creation of artworks that take the piss out of Things That People Worship, but that’s not to say they’ve made the definitive statements when it come to mockery of organized religion and scathing criticism of “The Church” in general. Because that domain is pretty much open to everyone with a thought and a way to express it.
Curated by Marat Guelman and Juan Puntes, Recycling Religion is a group show at WhiteBox which examines the role of religion in Russia and Eastern Europe since the collapse of the Soviet empire.
Kinetic Sculpture with Detail, Below.
A statement from the exhibit;s Press Release explains, “In the modern age, the once repressed and dormant Orthodox Church has evolved in the past quarter century to become an intrinsic and powerful extension of the State, commanding broad influence over life beyond its purely spiritual role. From art and entertainment to dress code, and numerous other aspects of personal behavior, this essentially anachronistic religion insinuates its moralizing, oppressive influence and rancid style into life at large.
“In the case of art, the Church goes to extreme lengths to impose and control popular taste, to the inevitable disgust of a new generation of artists — a stellar and representative group of which is represented in this exhibition — who dare to employ Orthodox imagery and symbolism to undermine the established religious canon and the dystopia it fosters in harness with state power. To such artists, the Church is but a hollow vessel that sustains itself only with elaborate stage sets and costumes, outdated ritual, and severe moralizing. However, it is their contention that while the regurgitated apparatus of the official Church represents a moribund ideology, it serves also as a foil by which art can transcend tradition and discover the new-within-the-old.
“This subterfuge is depicted vividly, and in fact compassionately, in this exhibition, in which, through installation, performance, video, and graphic art, the conservative and radical poles of post-Soviet society are shown to in fact interact. As one allegedly spiritual force engages in tearing the world apart while pretending to mend it, another, more pragmatic, biological force appeals to the need to rebuild society out of the ruins of Orthodoxy, thus recycling religion, rather than eradicating it entirely.
Artists participating in the Recycling Religion exhibit include Pussy Riot, Oleg Kulik, Dmitri Gutov, Iija Soskic, Jelena Tomasevic, Recycle Group, Alexander Kosolapov, Duke Riley + Mac Premo, Federico Solmi, Robert Priseman, ANVIL Collective, Electroboutique,Vladimir Kozin, Pavel Brat, Arsen Savadov.
The exhibit includes two walls covered with a grid of deified, iconic dead celebrities/public figures, whose demise often occurred by their own hand or as a result of misadventure. You will have some fun spotting your favorites; some instantly recognizable and others much less so.
These two are pretty fantastic, in both their concept and execution.
In the video above, you’ll see another kinetic piece, where the Pope’s head is depicted as a chattering, mechanized parade float.
Contemporary Homage to Thomas Paine, English-American political activist, philosopher, political theorist and revolutionary.
A HUGE pet peeve of mine is when galleries do not post the names of the artworks/artists on the walls adjacent to each piece, so that you have no idea who did what; because most people do not read minds but wish to know this information. Such was the case with Recycling Religion, as none of the displays offered the desired identification. and the website is similarly lacking. How lazy. At any rate, I really enjoyed the work of whichever artist created the above altar as part of a series of sculptures/installations involving wooden skulls. Here are a few more of his/her pieces.
And here’s a study sketch for several pieces.
Really nice.
Recycling Religion will be on Exhibit through January 17th, 2016 at WhiteBox, Located at 329 Broome Street, NYC 10002.
Street artist Ivan Orama is at it again, depicting polarizing celebrities and controversial public icons as McDonalds Restaurant’s clown mascot, Ronald McDonald. Previous victims have included Kim and Kanye, Michael Jackson and Mike Tyson, so it was only a matter of time until candidate for the GOP Presidential nomination, Donald Trump (a clown if there ever was one) received the Ivanorama treatment. Of course, Mr. OneTeas mines a similar vein of social commentary with his Wack Donald’s Project, but we say, the more, the merrier!
I only wish I had gotten to this poster before it had been defaced by one or more of Trump’s innumerable naysayers, but what can you do. At least Donald McTrump appears to have better hair! People were lined up to get this thing into their Instagram feed.
Mr. OneTeas Wack Donalds-ized version of Yoda and Winnie the Pooh were found still clinging to the exterior of the former Germania Bank located at 190 Bowery (Corner of Spring Street), which was the private residence of photographer Jay Maisel for the past 5 decades before being sold to developer Aby Rosen, despite claims that the building had been Buffed of its Graffiti, in preparation for being turned into the World’s Largest Starbucks.
OK, I’m aware that Frieze Art Fair 2014 ended over two weeks ago, so I know I am little off my game on getting some substantial coverage up on the blog. But I’m a busy girl, so sue me. Last year I posted a selection of photos of my favorite Word Art from Frieze, and there was lots more of that this year, so call this an encore performance. Enjoy!
Judging from the electrical cord hanging off this one, I’d guess it lights up, though it was not lit up at this juncture.
These two seem to go together I think.
This door had a message on the other side as well, but I’ve forgotten what it was.
The images across the letters that spell out “MAGIC” are photos of buildings exploding.
Behold! The new McDonald’s Uniform!
Agreed!
First runner up on the most recent season of Survivor!
Not sure if this is art or an advertisement. Don’t care.
Just don’t.
Obviously this is some type of mathematical formula for which there are no wrong answers.
Who Cares What?
Always a good call.
What is it they say, that if you have to talk about it, it probably isn’t that case? Yeah, that.
I have no idea what’s going to happen.
But there will be more Pictures from Frieze 2014, Coming Soon!
There sure was a lot of new street art to see in Williamsburg this past weekend, such as the McDonald’s-themed cartoon character parodies by a guy who calls himself Mr. OneTeas, dubbed The Wack Donald’s Project. Clever! The image of Snow White, above, was photographed on North 8th Street between Wythe and Bedford Avenues, while the images of Donald Duck and Sponge Bob are right by the stairs at the entrance to the L Train at Bedford and North 7th Street. I understand there is also a “Ronald Madonna” drawing, though I was not fortunate enough to come across that one.
This comfy looking upholstered chair, which bears the likeness of Hello Kitty, is currently displayed in the front window of the Hello Kitty / Sanrio Store in Times Square, on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. If you look, not even that closely, you can see a reflection of the McDonalds just across the street.