The Week in Art: Expensive Clowns, Blood Art And Violent Maos

This week we read some beautiful billboard poetry, experienced the minimalist art process of a "blood artist" and discussed religious symbolism in Chinese sculpture. We also saw Stephen Colbert call Jeff Koons "the world's most expensive clown," which was incredibly entertaining. Read on for more...

Gao Brother's "The Execution of Christ" (2009)

In a recent work by the Gao Brothers, we saw Chairman Mao Zedong's firing squad taking aim at Jesus. The piece, titled, "The Execution of Christ," (2009) is forbidden to return to China due to its controversial depiction of the leader; however, it is now is being exhibited for the first time in Europe at SHOWStudio in London. "The Execution" is the centerpiece of SHOWStudio's exhibition "Death," surrounded by works that similarly access the transitional period between life and death.

We checked in with Robert Montgomery this week, who installs poetry in unexpected urban sites.

"[I] wanted to push the sort blank graphic style of text artists like Lawrence Weiner and see if I could make it a vehicle for a tone of voice that's closer to poetry, and then see if I could make all that work on a billboard. The ironic thing is they do work as billboards partly because they break all the rules advertising creatives will tell you about how to make a good billboard -- they'll say you have to have a sexy image and/or a funny strap line that people can read in seven seconds or they won't work. But that's nonsense of course because people aren't babies."

Jeff Koons' famous balloon dog creation

On Tuesday, Jeff Koons made an appearance on The Colbert Report. The master of kitsch is known for his giant balloon animals, and Stephen Colbert aimed right at the heart during the introduction, calling him "The world's most expensive birthday clown." Colbert continued the compliments, summing up his interest in Koon's art in the following sentence: "A lot of them are shiny, so when I look at them, I can see me, and then I'm interested in it."

Jordan Eagles, blood preserved on plexiglas, copper backing, UV resin

Jordan Eagles' artwork is certainly not for the faint of heart. The artist uses blood as the primary medium for his work, heating, electrifying, drying and decomposing life's precious serum in order to create his minimalist paintings. In the exhibit we featured this week, Eagles focuses on the transformation that blood undergoes during resin's curing process, depicting explosive scenes of sprawling tendrils and bulges of color that seem in constant motion.

The Central Utah Art Center (CUAC)

The Central Utah Art Center (CUAC), one of the only nonprofit arts centers in the state of Utah, is facing eviction and serious funding cuts at an Ephraim city council meeting Wednesday night. "I have my fingers crossed that they’ll say [the decision] was hasty and we’ll figure out a way to make it work," CUAC board member Andrew Shaw told HuffPost Arts this week. "If we have to leave Ephraim, it’s almost certain we’ll have to leave Sanpete County."

Have a great weekend everyone and we'll see you on Monday!

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