Now through November 16th, check out the 25th
anniversary of the Miami Book Fair taking place on the streets of Downtown
Miami on the MDC campus. Among the authors that will be attending this year’s
fair: Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, Anthony Bourdain, Gore Vidal and former
poet laureate Billy Collins. For an entire list of authors and events, check
out the book fair online at www.MiamiBookFair.com
MDC Wolfson Campus
300 NE 2nd Ave
Miami, FL
The Great Green Family Festival
One of Homestead’s hidden
gems, The Fruit and SpicePark hosts the Great
Green Family Festival this Saturday and Sunday. Entrance to the park is $6 and
free for kids under 11. The festival will provide classes on eco-friendly
living, an organic farmer’s market from local growers and much more. Check out
more information online at www.FruitandSpicePark.org
Fruit and SpicePark
24801 SW 187th
Ave
Homestead,
FL
305-247-5727
NASCAR Sprint Cup
Starting this Friday and thru Sunday, you can check out
racing champs Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards go head to head right in our
backyard at the NASCAR Sprint Cup. 3-day tickets range from $135 to $195.
HomesteadMiamiSpeedway
One Speedway
Blvd
Homestead,
FL
305-230-5000
2008 Obama Fest
Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Sean Kingston, Mr. Vegas and many
more will be performing this Sunday at the International Caribbean Music
Festival – recently renamed the Obama Fest. Gates open at noon and performers start
hitting the stage at 3 p.m. Tickets are $30. Check them out online at www.ICMFest.com
Kenny Scharf has a whimsical, pop style that combines his 1970s popular art style with a unique surrealist approach. Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1958, Scharf still lives in California although he formally studied art in New York.
Scharf’s piece “Superdeluxa” is currently on display at the Waddington Gallery in London. His pieces are also big hits in Miami where he is a regular at the annual ArtBasel festival. His art has also been on exhibit at The Miami Art Museum and The Bass Museum of Art. You can check out Kenny Scharf’s chronology, biography and art work on www.KenyScharf.com
Born on June 7, 1965, Damien Hirst is the most popular of the Young British Artists (YBAs). Hirst is best known for his art works which involve dead animals, often cut into sections, preserved in formaldehyde. Hirst’s most popular piece, “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living” (right), features a 14-foot tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde. In 2004, the piece sold for enough to make Hirst the second most expensive living artist after Jasper Johns. However, in 2007, he became the most expensive living artist with the sale of another piece, “Lullaby Spring”, which sold to Sotheby’s in London for $9.65 million. Hirst managed to surpass the sale of “Lullaby Spring” when he sold “For The Love of God” (bottom left), a piece which some say sold for as much as $100 million to an undisclosed investment group. Possibly one of the most commercial exposures of Hirst’s art, is as an artistic influence in the 2000 film, “The Cell”, during a scene in which a horse is split into sections.
Hirst is also known for his “spinning paintings”, paintings which
are created by applying paint to a spinning, circular surface. In
addition, Hirst is known for his “spot paintings”; paintings of rows of
randomly colored spots in symmetrical rows. However, Hirst was never
excited about painting symmetrical rows of dots and is said to have
only created about five of the paintings personally, leaving hundreds
of other paintings to be created by his assistants.
Hirst’s
career over the years has seen as much controversy as success.
Nevertheless, despite harsh critics and issues with drugs and
alcoholism, Damien Hirst’s work continues to be original, edgy and
socially relevant.
