- Wow. This Lebanese Super Brazil coffee commercial is amazing. We all need to drink some of that. [via: Metafilter]
- So this is what Silicon Valley billionaires do when they have a hate-on for media empires: they fund lawsuits to ruin them. It appears as if Hulk Hogan’s legal fees in his battle against Gawker for posting his sex tape — remember, he won $115 million, a decision Gawker’s now appealing — has been covered by Peter Thiel. The Trump delegate in California has long disliked Gawker: its tech site Valleywag outed him in 2007, and he once referred to it as “the Silicon Valley equivalent of al-Qaida.” [Guardian]
- Further, Josh Marshall weighs in on why Thiel bankrolling Hogan’s lawsuit is so disturbing: “Being able to give massive political contributions actually pales in comparison to the impact of being able to destroy a publication you don’t like by combining the machinery of the courts with anonymity and unlimited funds to bleed a publication dry.” [Talking Points Memo]
- The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) held an emergency meeting with tribal leaders, government representations and NGO officials to halt a May 30 auction in Paris that would sell off sacred indigenous objects. Organized by EVE auction house Drouot Richelieu, the auction includes an Acoma shield and a ceremonial deer from the Hoopa Valley Tribe in California. [Hyperallergic]
- Huh. Movie-star-cum-performance-artist Shia LaBeouf has embarked on his latest piece: #TAKEMEANYWHERE. The predictably designed-for-social-media-attention project involves LaBeouf hitchhiking, asking people to drop him off wherever they want, and apparently posing for lots of selfies. If you pick him up and need a place to put him, let me suggest somewhere far, far away from internet access. [Gothamist]
- Rock star auctioneer Simon de Pury is making the rounds promoting his memoir, dishing about the life he’s led. Not only did he head up Sotheby’s and Phillips, but almost died in a boat fire in the crocodile-infested Niger river. Oh, and dated Louise Blouin. Such life-threatening experiences! [Observer]
- Despite a slowing of the Chinese market, Christie’s has committed to opening an exhibition space in Beijing this fall. The exhibition space will allow permanent viewing, and joins the auction house’s Shanghai salesroom, which opened in 2013. [Art Newspaper]
- Hong Kong has been majorly investing in culture in an attempt to maintain and expand its position as a global art capital. But as authoritarian Beijing tightens its control over the island city, freedom of expression has come under attack. The latest victims of censorship are Sampson Wong and Jason Lam, who had their public artwork “Our sixty-second friendship begins now” removed from the facade of a skyscraper. The piece projected a countdown clock onto the tower, which referenced, among other things, the looming reunification of Hong Kong with the mainland. [Quartz]
- Staten Island is about to have its shore revitalized through art. Or at least that’s the plan envisioned by Design Trust for Public Space and Staten Island Arts, which has announced an intent to use art to create better public spaces, but no actual details on what they are doing. We don’t want to sound cynical, but the whole thing looks like a developer scheme to increase property value. The project has received funds from the EDC and developers like BFC Partners, Ironstate, Triangle Equities and New York Wheel and is being pitched as a collaborative effort between these parties and the arts community. [Curbed]
- Paper Magazine thinks Medellín, Colombia is poised to become one the next big art destinations. We’ve seen plenty of great Colombian artists and galleries on the art fair circuit, so even though we’ve never been there it’s a prediction we’re inclined to believe. [Paper]
