Our most-talked-about stories in Art, Design & Architecture, Fashion & Style, and Performing Arts, August 13-17, 2012:
ART
— After months of preparation, Bravo's "Gallery Girls" premiered; Chloe Wyma recapped the first episode of the deliciously trashy show, while actual citizens of the art world shared their disapproving reactions.
— Artist Neil Rivas called for the deportation of beloved superheroes including Thor, Superman, and Wonder Woman in a project questioning U.S. immigration policies.
— Ben Davis looked at the Watermill Center's Mike Kelley tribute exhibition through the lens of the late artist's growing disillusionment with the art world in the months before his suicide.
— Shane Ferro parsed the financial statements of six American artists' foundations — including the Warhol Foundation, the Rauschenberg Foundation, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation — to see how they spend their money.
— New York Academy of Art president David Kratz spoke out against Facebook's policy of censoring nude art in an op-ed.
DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE
— Google unveiled its Google World Wonders Project, which lets users explore major cultural heritage sites like Stonehenge and Versailles in a Street View-style display.
— London unveiled its plans to transform the Olympic park into a booming community.
— French artist Xavier Veilhan discussed a series of new installations he created while living in Richard Neutra's famous VDL Research House.
— Janelle Zara looked at the six most brilliant lights to come out of the current designer lightbulb trend.
— Twitter co-founder Evan Williams's plan to demolish his San Francisco home — a 1911 classic of the Arts and Crafts movement designed by Louis Christian Mullgardt — drew his neighbors' ire.
FASHION & STYLE
— Ann Binlot looked back on the illustrious career of influential (and 11-year-old) fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson.
— Helen Gurley Brown, the powerful editor of Cosmopolitan for 32 years, died.
— Lady Gaga defended her conspicuous fondness for wearing fur.
— Curator and former National Arts Club staffer Stacy Engman showed off her must-have fashion accessories.
— Ann Binlot and Caitlin Petreycik marked Coco Chanel's 129th birthday by chronicling 11 trends she spearheaded.
PERFORMING ARTS
— New York's Downtown art set organized a Pussy Riot solidarity reading the night before the three members of the group were sentenced to two years in prison, capping an absurd trial.
— The London Olympic Games closed with a lackluster musical finale featuring Madness, the Spice Girls, and a giant Union Jack spin painting by Damien Hirst.
— Danish auteur Lars von Trier took to the Internet to crowd-source his forthcoming video art project "Gesamt."
— Graham Fuller deemed the new based-on-real-events thriller "Compliance" "the most harrowing American film of the year."
— Jesse Eisenberg signed on to star in Kelly Reichardt’s fortcoming eco-terrorism drama "Night Moves" alongside Dakota Fanning.