John W. Codling is not your average artist. When Wall Street began its tumble in spring of 2008 with the collapse of Bear Stearns, some financial honchos coped through yoga or a psychiatrist. Codling, who works in equities at Tellet Prebon, turned to Christopher Walken. Overworked and stressed out, Codling bought three canvases and started painting portraits of Walken every Sunday (see full gallery). The pieces range from "Walken This Way," a painting of Run DMC with Walken's face as Run's head to "I Follow Nobody," a painting of Walken with a collage of words incorporated in it. The series culminated into "Sundays with Chris," which is on display at the DVF Gallery until November 1. All proceeds from the sales will go to Team Continuum, a charity that assists cancer patients. I sat down with Codling at The Standard the evening before the opening.

Buenos Aires gallery owner Daniela Luna is just as likely to be caught reading The Harvard Business Review as she is to be seen dancing on a pole at six in the morning. She's the outspoken mastermind behind Appetite, where you can't turn a corner without coming face to face with photographs of sizable cocks, or more recently, a gigantic pink inflatable bear with breasts. Some of the city's best DJs have made their debuts at her War Club parties, and with Appetite showing everywhere from Lithuania to London, this international gallery is becoming more than just a downtown destination for the scrappy chic.

People are understandably disappointed in artist Shep Fairey for lying in court about which Associated Press image he did or did not borrow in creating his iconic “Hope” poster of future president Obama. Whether copyright infringement or instance of fair use, the important argument will now become secondary to the (seemingly deserved) public skewering of Fairey. Of course, this kind of debate would never come up in the literary world. Why? Because they actually have things like “plagiarism software”!. Initially designed to ferret out cheaters, it’s recently graduated to identifying brand new Shakespeare plays.

Take the Picture - There seems to be a never-ending plethora of artists dabbling in the at times indulgent art of self-portraiture these days, but few ever rise to the fierce degree of established and still relevant talents like Cindy Sherman or Robert Mapplethorpe. Photographer Gregory Moon is that rare exception, and though his work is way different from the aforementioned art greats, he adds his own singular touch to his work, which veers from the ultra-sexual to the uber-sexy. Constantly revealing and evolving, he shows absolutely no fear in expressing his unique vision of himself and gives pause to those seeking only an unhealthy dose of counterfeit astonishment.

We tapped four visionaries -- Juergen Teller, The Raveonettes, Jennifer Lynch, and James Jean -- for their takes on surveillance. The works of art they created are, well, out of sight.

Above: Juergen Teller
“Ed with camera, Il Pellicano,” 2009.
Teller’s exhibition, Juergen Teller, Paradis, is on display at New York’s Lehmann Maupin gallery until October 17, 2009.

Amy Gunther of the Williamsburg North skateboard mecca KCDC asked me to do the door at the Art Mosh opening in West Chelsea last night. The event, promoted by PAPER magazine and uber-trendy watch company Nixon, attracted a Jane-worthy hipster crowd. It was pretty much a no-brainer until the space hit its legal capacity and a large crowd of equally important folks got stuck outside. Then it was 3 out, let 3 in, and I had to actually work ... it's been a long time since I had to work a door. Four PAPER interns were on hand to help, as was PAPER's director of events Nicky Balestrieri. A hundred people were in the street and very few were leaving, as free booze and great music from cinematographer, filmmaker, and actor Shawn Regruto kept everybody happy. Oh yes, there was a great photography show as well. I controlled the crowd, whisked the super VIPs in as fast as allowed, and I thought of the problems over at the Jane and other hotspots where only a chosen few will ever get in.

Daniel Louis Rivas and Tony Ward make really awesome art together when they're not modeling in music videos or acting in really rad alternative film fare. On the heels of their recent NYC gallery premiere, cover of TrendyTokion Magazine, and posting for the straight issue of Butt Magazine, I asked the boys a couple of questions and you'll see I got the expected, colorful results. What I like about them and their art is its complete lack of bullshit. Everything they do is off the cuff and correctly casual.

I’m fairly confident there’s no giant pink fish in The Spy Who Loved Me. I’m equally confident that Cujo wasn’t an Irish Setter. Yet if you were introduced to these films by way of a movie poster in Ghana, you might have jumped to such outré conclusions (see more examples after the jump). During the 80s, many Ghanian posters were hand-painted by artists who had no scruple about misrepresenting the films they advertised. All manner of strange and incongruous elements got thrown into the mix, and in some cases artists clearly didn’t bother seeing the films at all.

In Spain, it's not at all unlikely to see a couple getting hot and heavy in a doorway, or to witness a rather passionate fight erupt on a corner. In most cases, it's rather entertaining to witness (or participate in yourself. However, a group of artists in Spain has created a protest versus a particularly private act made public: peeing on the streets. A Spanish collective specializing in interventions, Luzinerruptus has turned their attention to the malodorous problem of public micturition.

Tobie Giddio is one of the most unique and inspiring artists I have ever been lucky enough to work with during my past 25 years in the fashion biz. We first met in the late 80s when the New York club scene was ground zero for creative kids in search of an outlet outside of the mainstream media. I was about to launch an alternative anti-fashion magazine called STOP and Tobie, already a friend, soon became one of my most important and favorite contributors. From the very beginning of her career she has displayed an unbelievably polished and signature technique. Her work takes you into a gorgeously sublime & abstract world where you find yourself in an elegant, almost futuristic dream. I’ve never seen nor met another artist with her perspective and the passion she brings to her work is utterly infectious. She inspires me to always move ahead -- but in the most beautiful way possible.