As part of the Artist-in-Residence program at The Chinati Foundation (a non-profit gallery dedicated to the late Donald Judd), Rita Ackermann packed her bags, headed to Texas and chronicled for BlackBook her adventures with gun smugglers, drug lords and a dog named Mouse. See full gallery.

Marfa is a rather strange place, an artful and artificial oasis in the middle of the Texan desert, three hours from the El Paso airport, a straight road to peace. When Donald Judd first traveled through Marfa as a soldier in the early ’70s, it was just another ghost town. It once housed German war prisoners and was famous for giving shape to Western movies, its vast landscape the background to many films, including There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men.

In her celebrated black cut-paper silhouettes, Kara Walker unflinchingly critiques the violent and racist Antebellum South. But while dreaming about America’s new first lady, the award-winning artist reveals a less scathing side to her subconscious.

Well, the circumstances leading up to the dream were:
Last year, I met Michelle Obama in that brief, scintillating, oblique way of patrons and supporters. We shook hands, and I nuzzled in next to her for a quick snapshot—several others were there, vying to be a part of the picture. I look smug, my hand cinched around her waist like a fresh suitor. Holding my champagne and leaning my head an inch away from hers, we are the same height, or maybe she is taller. I position myself as girlfriend, sister, fond acquaintance. I am hoping that she will realize how good I am to know. I make a lame joke. She responds with a knowing look that, I think, means she understands that I am an artist of some repute who could provide the White House with some art—that I could make it “clean.” I even seem to believe this, my hand gripping the future first lady’s waist. Lord.

Armed, dangerous, and ready to riot. See full gallery. Photography by Seiji Fujimori. Styling by Elizabeth Sulcer.

Who is Raymond Pettibon, exactly? For me, he is a monolithic pillar felled, breaking open the wall that separated me from my courage to be an artist, any kind I desired. He was born in Tuscon, Arizona, in 1957, has a B.A. from UCLA, and for anyone who ever drew stuff and also knew what feedback was (in a good way), he probably changed their life. If nothing else, his work hovered menacingly in the bedrooms of thousands of kids who grew up and fucked up the world for the better.

One of the very first Yeah Yeah Yeahs songs to prick up my ears featured frontwoman Karen O repeatedly howling this line over a glorious racket of drums and machine-gunning guitars. In the intervening years, Karen O has edged closer and closer to pop star from art-rock star (even as designer Christian Joy’s space-oddity couture continues to transform her into a performance art piece on stage with each successive tour). With their effervescent new album, It’s Blitz!, a riotous dance party in 10 tracks, Karen tells BlackBook, “We’re trying to focus on pleasure more than pain, for once.” We’re all for it.

Japan’s new fashion guard is ready to rumble. At Aguri Sagimori’s awe-inspiring show during Japan Fashion Week in Tokyo this March, statuesque models clad in black military combat boots, trench coats, sculptural shoulder pieces and black net capes, marched with stone-white washed faces to strangely eerie music, like futuristic warriors in the fashion trenches. “I wanted to embody strength with dignity,” says Sagimori, 23, of the stark, sophisticated designs in her “Iconic Memory” collection, which delivered a mega-dose of raw power.

Feel-good music from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs? Who’d have thought? “We’re trying to focus on pleasure more than pain, for once,” explains lead singer Karen O, laughing. “It’s about nudging people a little closer to the dance floor,” she says of It's Blitz!, the band’s third studio album. “We’re working hard to generate as much good feeling as possible, which, you know, isn’t always easy.”

KAWS, born Brian Donnelly, is a Brooklyn-based artist and designer of limited-edition toys. He has collaborated with clothing monoliths such as Nigo’s A Bathing Ape, Nike and Comme des Garçons. He recently designed the packaging for the special edition of Kanye West’s latest record, 808s & Heartbreak.

Spring into action with a wardrobe of bright, sexy colors. See full gallery. Photography by Angela Hau. Styling by Bryan Levandowski. Art Direction by Judith Kaelin. Grooming by Brenna Scarrott using Mac Pro. Models by Julia @ Muse, Ross @ Q.

Peaches is a Berlin-based musician who sent shockwaves through the industry in 2000 with the release of her sophomore album, The Teaches of Peaches. She has since continued to push boundaries with Fatherfucker, Impeach My Bush, and this month’s equally explicit -- and remarkable -- I Feel Cream.