Artist: Jeff Koons and RxArt

CHICAGO, IL.- RxArt, the non-profit organization that curates contemporary art installations in hospital settings, and Kiehl’s Since 1851, the venerable New York-based purveyor of fine quality skin and hair care, have partnered to bring the artwork of Jeff Koons to Chicago’'s Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital. Kiehl’s underwrote the fabrication and installation of works by world-renowned pop artist Jeff Koons on a CT Scanner and throughout the scanner room at Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital for RxArt. As a result of this project, Koons’ iconic characters will find a permanent home in the hospital’s radiology department, to soothe and cheer young patients and brighten the typically sterile and potentially scary testing environment.

To create the installation the CT Scanner was disassembled and painted, and decals featuring Koons’ Monkeys were applied to the machine. His iconic Balloon Dog, Hanging Heart, and Donkey imagery were also installed to brighten the room as wallscapes. Koons generously donated his artwork and took no fee for his participation in this project.




It's an exciting time in history as Washington leaders work to repair a broken U.S. healthcare system. At this critical moment, RxArt is hard at work as well - mending the broken spirit of patients caught in that failing system. Too often, patients arrive at our nation's hospitals defeated by their illness and overwhelmed by a healthcare maze which is burdensome. These challenges won't disappear overnight, even with comprehensive health reform. That's why RxArt is making steady, small improvements in our nation's hospitals right now - with creativity, we aim to improve the experience of healthcare treatment and steady patients who need relief. Tonight, when you discuss the latest in Washington healthcare politics, take a break and consider RxArt's small, yet creative approach to reform.

http://www.rxart.net/

Macy's Parade - Old Pictures

In the 1920s many of Macy's department store employees were first-generation immigrants. Proud of their new American heritage, they wanted to celebrate the United States holiday of Thanksgiving with the type of festival their parents had loved in Europe.

In 1927, the inaugural parade (originally known as the Macy's Christmas Parade and later the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Christmas Parade. was staged by the store. Employees and professional entertainers marched from 145th Street in Harlem to Macy's flagship store on 34th Street dressed in vibrant costumes.There were floats, professional bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. At the end of that first parade, as has been the case with every parade since, Santa Claus was welcomed into Herald Square. At this first parade, however, the Jolly Old Elf was enthroned on the Macy's balcony at the 34th Street store entrance, where he was then "crowned" "King of the Kiddies."With an audience of over a quarter of a million people, the parade was such a success that Macy's declared it would become an annual event.

http://social.macys.com/parade2010/#/history

Takashi Murakami at Rockefeller Center: Reversed Double Helix

Takashi Murakami - Mr. Pointy at Rockefeller Center

New York City's most famous plaza has been transformed into a fantastical pop cityscape. Takashi Murakami at Rockefeller Center: Reversed Double Helix, a major outdoor art exhibition organized by the Public Art Fund on behalf of Tishman Speyer Properties and presented by Target Stores.

This all-encompassing installation-Murakami's most ambitious U.S. solo show to date features all new work including a large freestanding sculpture, two giant floating balloons, and a forest of mushroom seating. Tongari-kun (Japanese for "Mr. Pointy") as he is known in Murakami's universe of characters, is flanked by four smaller figures. Low-lying mushrooms, a familiar motif in Murakami's artwork, surround the central sculpture and serve as seating areas for visitors. Surveying this scene are two gigantic "eyeball" balloons, each 30 feet in diameter, floating 60 feet in the air above the Rockefeller Center Ice Rink. Murakami also designed the flags surrounding Rockefeller Center in order to complete the aesthetic transformation.

Takashi Murakami: Reversed Double Helix

The exhibition subtitle, Reversed Double Helix, refers to the twisted spirals of DNA strands and plays upon Murakami's universe of mutant cartoon characters, where wide-eyed mushrooms coexist with multi-armed giants, happy flowers, and elfin creatures. Characterized by horizontality, bright acrylic patterns and flat unblemished surfaces, Murakami's works are an inspired mix of tradition and modernity, as Japanese Nihon-ga paintings of the 19th century meld with pop culture influences like Andy Warhol's Factory and Walt Disney animation. With its formal sophistication and ever-gleeful cast of characters, Murakami's art appeals on a purely visual level even as it references religion, subcultures, and art history.

Murakami is also internationally recognized for his recent collaboration with designer Marc Jacobs to create handbags and other products for the Louis Vuitton fashion house. Takashi Murakami's highly publicized $2 million art installation at Rockefeller Center is on view for only one month. The 30-foot-tall, polychromed plastic, 20-armed Buddha-like sculpture, Mr. Pointy, has been acquired by France's Francois Pinault, the owner of FNAC, Christies and assorted luxury goods concerns. Pinault bought the installation during his visit to the Venice Biennale in June.

Howl's casle as a sculpture - pretty dang big

Howl