Canadian artist Marcel Dzama applies his creativity to many mediums.
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A sculpture of Sylvester Stallone as Rocky is risin’ up, back on the street: specifically on the iconic stairs outside the Philadelphia Art Museum.
“The Rocky statue sitting atop of Philadelphia Art Museum’s famed steps could soon be there permanently — and the one at the bottom may be going back to the Italian Stallion himself, Sylvester Stallone.
“That’s according to a recent proposal from Creative Philadelphia, the city’s office for the creative sector, which is slated to present its proposal at an Art Commission meeting for a concept review Wednesday. The plan, the proposal notes, is endorsed by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Art Museum officials, as well as leaders in the Parks and Recreation department and at the Philadelphia Visitor Center, all of whom filed letters of support.
“’This project is about more than relocating a sculpture,’ chief cultural officer Valerie V. Gay and public art director Marguerite Anglin wrote in a letter to the Art Commission. ‘It’s about elevating an artwork that, for decades, has symbolized perseverance, aspiration, and the resilience of the human spirit.’”
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Still from Viagra Boys video for “Man Made of Meat” (2025) directed by Daniel Björkman
A sarcastic Swedish rock band made a music video incorporating various establishment art world tropes.
“In the video for their new single ‘Man Made of Meat,’ the Swedish punk band Viagra Boys take on the art world with their characteristic absurdist satire. The video opens with a heavily tattooed man wearing a tank top, lead singer Sebastian Murphy, in a museum, gazing at a painting of fleshy-pink organic forms, also tattooed. He takes a swig from a bottle of wine, then tosses it aside, where it shatters on the floor. Other museum-goers mistake the debris for an artwork, and he is quickly taken under the wing of a man in a slick suit, played by Swedish artist Ernst Billgren, who molds Murphy into the next art superstar.
“’The basic concept of the film was born out of an idea of putting the band in a context where they don’t really belong,’ the video’s director, Daniel Björkman, told Hyperallergic. ‘What happens when you put Viagra Boys in an art gallery? This fragile, fleeting place.’
“Billgren’s character mentors Murphy, sets him up in a studio, and shepherds him through various art movements and styles. He riffs on the readymade, placing a wine bottle on a Duchampian bottle rack; paints a massive canvas with a spray gun in a send-up of zombie formalism; and parodies action painting, dripping paint as he flies through the air wearing a harness.”
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Marc Chagall “Song of Songs IV” oil on canvas 20″ x 24″ (1958)
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Songs for Drella is a 1990 album by former Velvet Underground bandmates Lou Reed and John Cale. In it they tell the life story of their mentor, artist Andy Warhol. This live performance of “Work” describes Warhol’s demanding work ethic.
Andy was a Catholic, the ethic ran through his bones He lived alone with his mother, collecting gossip and toys Every Sunday when he went to church He’d kneel in his pew and he’d say, “it’s just work… All that matters is work.”
He was a lot of things, what I remember most He’d say, “I’ve got to bring home the bacon someone’s got to bring home the roast.” He’d get to the factory early If you’d ask him he’d have told you straight out “It’s just work!” No matter what I did it never seemed enough He said I was lazy, I said I was young He said, “how many songs did you write?” I’d written zero, I’d lied and said “ten.” “You won’t be young forever, tou should have written fifteen, It’s work!” “you ought to make things big
People like it that way
And the songs with the dirty words – record them that way” Andy liked to stir up trouble, he was funny that way He said, “it’s just work” Andy sat down to talk one day He said decide what you want Do you want to expand your parameters Or play museums like some dilettante I fired him on the spot, he got red and he called me a rat It was the worst word that he could think of And I’ve never seen him like that It’s just work, I thought he said it’s just work Work, he said it’s just work
Andy said a lot of things, I stored them all away in my head Sometimes when I can’t decide what I should do
I think what would Andy have said He’d probably say “you think too much” That’s ’cause there’s work that you don’t want to do It’s work, the most important thing is work It’s work, the most important thing is work
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I don’t fundraise off of my blog. I don’t ask for Patreon or Paypal donations. If you’d like to support the Remodern mission, buy abook. Or a painting.
A 2008 song by the Barenaked Ladies, featuring artwork by band member Kevin Hearn.
There’s a blueberry pancake flying in the sky I can see it. I can see it. There’s a castle in the cloud and it’s floating on by Can you see it? Can you see it? With my imagination I can see it! With my pencil crayons I can draw it! On a piece of paper I can show it to you. I can show it to you. There’s a purple hippopotamus riding on a bike I can see it. I can see it. There’s a spaceship over my house at night I just know it. I just know it. With my imagination I can see it! With my pencil crayons I can draw it! On a piece of paper I can show it to you! I can show it to you. Draw, Draw, Drawing. Na na na na na. Draw, Draw, Drawing. Na na na na na. My imagination. My imagination. My pencil crayons. My imagination.
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I don’t fundraise off of my blog. I don’t ask for Patreon or Paypal donations. If you’d like to support the Remodern mission, buy abook. Or a painting.
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason drew the cover of their 1971 odds and sods compilation album Relics. It’s not surprising Mason could produce such an elegant compostition. He first met his future bandmates Roger Waters and Rick Wright as architecture students at the Regent Street Polytechnic in London.
I love this album. You can hear the developing sound of the mighty force Pink Floyd became.
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I don’t fundraise off of my blog. I don’t ask for Patreon or Paypal donations. If you’d like to support the Remodern mission, buy abook. Or a painting.
A 1974 song by King Crimson describes Rembrandt’s masterpiece “the Night Watch.”
Shine, shine, the light of good works shine The watch before the city gates, depicted in their prime The golden light all grimy now 300 years have passed The worthy Captain and his squad of troopers standing fast
The artist knew their faces well The husbands of his lady friends His creditors and councillors In armour bright, the merchant men
Official moments of the guild In poses keen from bygone days City fathers frozen there Upon the canvas dark with age
The smell of paint, a flask of wine And turn those faces all to me The blunderbuss and halberd-shaft The Dutch respectability
They make their entrance one by one Defenders of that way of life The redbrick home, the bourgeoisie Guitar lessons for the wife
So many years we suffered here Our country racked with Spanish wars Now comes a chance to find ourselves Quiet reigns behind our doors Think about posterity again
So the pride of little men The burghers good and true Still living through the painter’s hand Request you all to understand
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The band Pink Floyd had amazing run of iconic album art on their greatest records. The creation of those images ranged from simple to disastrous.
Ronnie Rondell Jr, the stunt man set on fire for 1975’s Wish You Were Here, just passed away at 88 years old. RIP.
“Pink Floyd were slowly falling apart when they came to make their follow-up to Dark Side of the Moon. To the perpetually angst-ridden Waters, the title track was a lament both for the absent Barrett (unrecognisable when, bloated and confused, he visited the group during the recording sessions) and also for the fact that they were becoming strangers to one another. He was commenting, too, on how the record business turned musicians against one another while cheerfully ripping them off.
“That was the message that Powell and Thorgerson seized upon for the cover. ‘There was a lot of anger, especially in Roger, about the record business,’ said Powell. ‘So we’re talking about the absence of sincerity, about people being ripped off.’
“They had the perfect image in mind: two businessmen shaking hands, one on fire – symbolising the cynical nature of the music industry and how someone always ended up getting burnt in a deal.
“However, in the era before CGI or sophisticated animation, a picture of a burning man required a man to be literally set alight. This led them to Stunts Unlimited, where none of the resident stuntmen were up for the gig. ‘Who wants to be on a record cover when we can be in The Towering Inferno?’ said one.
“There was just one exception – veteran Rondell, who was excited to take part in what he knew to be a dangerous undertaking, staying on the spot while on fire (‘You’re standing still and fire moves’).
“A few days later, Rondell was on the Warner Bros set in Burbank, in a suit and wig. The clothes were covered in flame-retardant material while Rondell was smeared in gel. They took 14 shots, hoping to get the perfect image – but Powell wanted to press on. On the 15th time, the wind changed direction, setting ablaze one of Rondell’s eyebrows and half his moustache.”
I don’t fundraise off of my blog. I don’t ask for Patreon or Paypal donations. If you’d like to support the Remodern mission, buy abook. Or a painting.
A 1978 song by the Talking Heads, perhaps inspired by their art school experiences at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Let’s go I’m painting, I’m painting again I’m painting, I’m painting again I’m cleaning, I’m cleaning again I’m cleaning, I’m cleaning my brain Pretty soon now, I will be bitter Pretty soon now, will be a quitter Pretty soon now, I will be bitter You can’t see it ’til it’s finished I don’t have to prove that I am creative I don’t have to prove that I am creative All my pictures are confused And now I’m going to take me to you
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I don’t fundraise off of my blog. I don’t ask for Patreon or Paypal donations. If you’d like to support the Remodern mission, buy abook. Or a painting.
THE REMODERN REVIEW 
