Our most-talked-about stories in Art, Design & Architecture, Fashion & Style, and Performing Arts, July 9-13, 2012:
ART
—Yayoi Kusama fever swept New York. Check out our review of her Whitney Museum retrospective, coverage of the star-studded opening, and look at her polka-dotted Louis Vuitton collaboration.
—Ben Davis reflected on the meaning of the sudden end of Artnet magazine and the time he spent working there.
—The buyer of the $119.9 million Edvard Munch "The Scream" pastel at a May 2 Sotheby's sale was finally revealed to be American businessman Leon Black.
—An online catalogue of 2,500 hours of curator Hans Ulrich Obrist's recorded interviews with hundreds of cultural luminaries is set to debut July 29.
—Julia Halperin investigated why smaller dealers are choosing to leave Chelsea for cheaper rent and the Lower East Side.
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
—Zaha Hadid has been commissioned to build a Z boat for mega-dealer Kenny Schachter and the results are straight out of a Christopher Nolan movie. Holy smokes, Schachter!
—Check out our slide show of the 10 most extreme works of LEGO art, from an M.C. Escher homage to a retelling of the Bible.
—McCarren Park Pool was revamped and reopened just in time for the dog days of Summer. Kelly Chan queries, can civic architecture take the heat?
—The Barbican Center opened an exhibtion devoted to international spy and apparently style icon James Bond. Check out our slideshow of 007 artifacts from big names like Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli, Tom Ford, Hubert de Givenchy, and Miuccia Prada.
—Tech-savvy industrial designer Yves Béhar raised $1 million dollars on Kickstarter in just 8 hours for a new Android-based gaming system called Ouya.
FASHION & STYLE
—Ladies in London are sick of paying upwards of $595 for Christian Louboutin heels and have taken matters into their own hands by mimicking the designer's signature and painting the soles of their shoes red.
—Dolce & Gabbana releases their first ever couture collection in a fashion show frenzy of chandeliers and enormous red capes.
—In celebration of her forthcoming appearance in the music video for George Michael's first single in eight years, we look back at Kate Moss's many music video appearances.
—Co-founders of New York-based Art Production Fund, Doreen Remen and Yvonne Force Villareal contribute their style picks to this week's Tastemaker series slideshow.
—"Dallas" Costume Designer Rachel Sage Kunin talked cowboy boots and Ralph Lauren in an interview with Ann Binlot.
PERFORMING ARTS
—The Spice Girls are finally giving fans what they want, what they really really want in an all new musical based on the girl band's music. Patrick Pacheco talked to "Mamma Mia" producer Judy Craymer on harnessing girl power in “Viva Forever!”
—Kenneth Lonergan’s 188-minute-long movie “Margaret” starring Anna Paquin is finally being released in an extended cut after a seven-year editing battle with Fox.
—Recent Tony winner Nina Arianda is set to play Janis Joplin in an upcoming movie based on the singer's life.
—Director Walter Hill has signed on to remake horror melodrama "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" But will the director be able to fill the shoes of the film's original divas Joan Crawford and Bette Davis?
—Scott Indrisek interviewed Danish filmmaker Nicolas Refn about his upcoming film "Valhalla Rising" and how to make a movie like a drug.
VIDEO
—Tom Chen documented the Yayoi Kusama madness surrounding a wax replica of the artist in Louis Vuitton's 5th Ave store window and captured remarks by Whitney Director Adam Weinberg and curator David Kiehl at a Museum press conference: