Archive of Michael Anthony Farley

Michael Anthony has written 547 article(s) for AFC.

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Michael Anthony Farley

GIF of the Day: TAN MOM!

by Michael Anthony Farley on July 31, 2017

tan mom

Watching the heinous dumpster fire that is the American news these days, sometimes it’s nice to reminisce about a more innocently crispy orange-faced villain from the news cycle’s simpler times. Remember Patricia Krentil, a.k.a Tan Mom? Her fifteen minutes of fame may have been shorter than her toddler’s sessions in the tanning bed, but boy did she leave behind a legacy.

For starters, her attempt to cling to fame with this insanely ill-conceived music video:

And her gay porn cameo.

And the amazing Jaimie Warren self portrait she inspired:

Self-portrait as Tanning booth Mom/Self-portrait as Necronomicon in Tanning Booth Mom Totally Looks like Necronomicon by MDFification

Self-portrait as Tanning booth Mom/Self-portrait as Necronomicon in Tanning Booth Mom Totally Looks like Necronomicon by MDFification

Oh Tan Mom, I’d say you could adopt me, but I don’t think social services would let you.

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L.A. Art Diary: The Final Entry

by Michael Anthony Farley on July 31, 2017
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In his final L.A. Art Diary post, Michael Anthony Farley explains why he can’t live in Los Angeles, even though it seems like everyone else is these days.

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Highlights From The Marciano Collection

by Michael Anthony Farley on July 26, 2017
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The Marciano Art Foundation has been the biggest pleasant surprise of 2017. As I’ve mentioned on the blog before, the new museum, funded by the GUESS Jeans fortune, delivers big-time with site-specific special projects from Jim Shaw and Ryan Trecartin and Lizzie Fitch. Those installations are so enthusiasm-inspiring it’s almost easy to overlook the “quieter” collection itself, on display mainly in the third floor galleries.

That would be a mistake, because the collection—the bones of the Marciano Art Foundation—has been curated in such a satisfying , thoughtfully-paced manner that the viewing experience stays engaging throughout. That’s a rarity, unfortunately, in so many hangs of private collections, which tend not to have a specific focus beyond showing off their holdings. Here, though, there are narrative interests evident in the Marcianos’ collection, perhaps highlighted by the apocalyptic nature of the Jim Shaw show and the site-specific “behind-the-scenes” vibe of the Trecartin/Fitch collaboration—namely an interest in social tension or upheaval and works that reveal their process, respectively.

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L.A. Art Diary Week Four (Everyone Loves Eames, Erotic Art, and More)

by Michael Anthony Farley on July 20, 2017
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In his fourth week in Los Angeles, Michael Anthony Farley discovers that there’s not enough to do on weekdays and way too much to do on weekends. Here’s how he spent the weekend. Everyone loves Ray and Charles Eames, and erotic art.

Catch up on Week One, Week Two (and Week Two, Part Two), and Week Three.

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In “The Wig Museum,” Jim Shaw Inaugurates An Institution For The End Of The World

by Michael Anthony Farley on July 18, 2017
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In the Marciano Art Foundation’s The Wig Museum, Jim Shaw combines theatrical sets, beauty culture, the suburban nightmare, apocalyptic imagery and more. It might feel like the end times, but it’s a promising start to a new institution.

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