Art Basel Preview #7

UPDATED at 8:50 p.m. : Exact time of Dita Von Teese's performance added.

Art Basel is right around the corner! And though I've been eagerly anticipating a number of events, there are three that have captivated my mind and made my heart skip a beat...

Dark Night of the Soul
I already blogged about this exhibit a couple of posts ago, but this is worth repeating! The legendary surrealist film-maker David Lynch will display over 50 original photographs in an exhibit called Dark Night of the Soul. The photographs will be accompanied by a soundtrack bearing the exhibit's same name. The music was written by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous and features an eclectic mix of performers such as Iggy Pop, Suzanne Vega, the Flaming Lips, Frank Black - lead singer of the Pixies - and more. Just recently, GQ magazine named Dark Night of the Soul as the best album of the year.

The exhibit's opening reception will take place on December 2nd at 8p.m at West Of Wynwood (O.H.W.O.W.) gallery, located at 3100 NW 7 Avenue Miami, Fl 33127, and will remain on display until the 6th.


Dita Von Teese
The glamous burlesque dancer and pin-up model - famed for her raven colored hair and 22 inch waist - will be doing both a performance and book signing during Art Basel to promote her latest endeavor, Dita: Stripteese - a collection of three flips books featuring some of her most popular burlesque performances.

The book signing will take place this Friday at 4 p.m. in Books & Books, located at 927 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. On Saturday December 5, Dita will perform at the Miami Beach-based LIV at 2 a.m. (click on the image for more details.)

I had the pleasure of seeing Dita's burlesque performance a couple of years ago and it was terrific; I felt like I was transported back to the 1940s. She embodies what is best in that decade: a sense of elegance, sophistication and endless imagination.


Shepard Fairey's MAM Mural
Though he's well established in the art world, his name may not ring a bell for most people. But Shepard Fairey created one of the most iconic images of 2008, the Barack Obama HOPE poster (to the left.)

Fairey's Art Basel project Arab Woman 2006/2009 is a mural that will be located on an outside exterior wall of the Miami Art Museum (101 West Flager Street). It will be on display for the duration of Art Basel and "will convey a sense of urgency about various political struggles and summon the ideological associations and positions of each individual viewer," according to a MAM press release.

In addition, he will also unveil a new major mural done on shipping containers. That will be located in the Wynwood District at 2700 NW 2nd Avenue.