Earlier this month we learned that the famed animated family The Simpsons would be making their way to a $0.44 postage stamp near you and today we get our first look at what Homer, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and Marge Simpson will look like on their new stamps … behold:

“Simpsons” fans can get the first peek at stamps featuring Homer, Marge & Co. — and vote for their favorite — when the U.S. Postal Service unveils the designs Thursday morning. The stamps will be available nationwide on May 7. “This is the biggest and most adhesive honor ‘The Simpsons’ has ever received,” said creator and executive producer Matt Groening. Executive producer James Brooks quipped, “We are emotionally moved by the Post Office Department’s selecting us rather than making the lazy choice of someone who has benefited society.” The Postal Service is encouraging people to vote for their favorite “Simpsons” character on its Web site (http://www.usps.com). Fans also can preorder the 44-cent first-class stamps on the site and register for a sweepstakes for a limited-edition “Simpsons” poster signed by Groening. Elie Dekel, executive vice president at 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising, said the previously announced stamps are a key part of the show’s 20th anniversary celebration. “‘The Simpsons’ is more than just a television show, it’s an American institution,” he said. “These stamps help solidify this legacy.” David Failor, U.S. Postal Service executive director of stamp services, also predicted a benefit for his organization. “Issuing ‘The Simpsons’ stamps, which includes known philatelist Bart Simpson, will serve as a great opportunity to interest youngsters in stamp collecting.”

It’s not every day that I get excited about a new postage stamp … well, OK, there is never a day that I get excited about a postage stamp … but I do think it’s kinda cool that The Simpsons have each been honored with their own stamp. There is a requirement in this country that says that only deceased people and animated characters can be featured on postage stamps … happily, The Simpsons fall into the second category. In an age where snail mail is becoming less and less important, I think it’s very wise of the US Postal Service to do fun things like this in order to get people to buy stamps. After the jump, check out how the rest of The Simpson family will look on their own stamps …

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French avant garde designer Thierry Mugler has been tapped to create the onstage costuming for Beyoncé’s upcoming new tour and, as you might expect, the sketches that have been released are nothing short of fierce … behold:

“The duality between being a woman and a warrior.” That’s the spirit Thierry Mugler wanted to capture with the costumes he designed for Beyoncé’s upcoming world tour, and from the look of these illustrations, he succeeded. The tour kicks off today in Edmonton. “Sasha Fierce is another aspect of Beyoncé’s personality,” Mugler offered via e-mail. “She is Fierce on stage and Beyoncé in real life. I tried to understand these two sides with my own perception of both aspects.” The look pictured here captures that duality. It imagines Beyoncé as a tough, chic, superheroine type who likes her power glam with a bit of froth; hence, the bow bustle and mismatched gloves that pair lacy fishnet with articulated metal. But don’t expect Beyoncé to stay in that guise for long. “There will be a lot of dramatization and metamorphosis on stage,” Mugler promised. The designer said he and Beyoncé share “the sense of mise-en-scène.” As the tour’s creative adviser, he has worked on all of the show’s visual aspects — lights, sets, costumes — while “working hard to achieve her dreams. “He describes the costumes as “very elaborate,” and rooted in the songs’ meanings. “Feminine. Free. Warrior. Fierce. As a creative adviser for this tour, it is my responsibility to make her vision come true,” the designer said.

Love it!! I’m totally diggin’ the warrior vibe of the costumes … I’m glad they look more like Wonder Woman: Amazon Princess rather than Xena: Warrior Princess. As I’ve mentioned before, I have never been able to see Beyoncé live in concert … but I think it’s time. If these sketches are any indication then the show will be amazing. After the jump, check out another set of Mugler costume sketches …

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Happy couple Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson are the subject of a new piece of art that features them in the traditional and iconic American Gothic portrait painted by artist Grant Wood in 1930. LA artist Ben Tegel created the piece for the animated art show Name That ‘Toon that will open on March 27 at the World of Wonder gallery here in SoCal. In addition to being on display at the Name That ‘Toon exhibit, this poster artwork of L. Ron is also being used as the poster promoting Girl on Girl night at the Viper Room rock club … which, I suppose, is kinda fitting. Here is the art piece and some deets about how it came to be:

Lindsay Lohan is a piece of work—literally. Los Angeles-based artist Ben Tegel created his latest Lohan-inspired work for a poster promoting Girl on Girl night at the Viper Room rock club. The image is a take on Grant Wood’s iconic 1930 portrait, American Gothic, with Samantha Ronson as the pitchfork-holding farmer and LiLo as her wife. But what’s it all mean? The artist explained to me: “Lindsay and Sam are the all-American couple for the 21st century,” Tegel said. “I call it American Sapphic.” Tegel’s work is part of Name That ‘Toon, an upcoming animation exhibit at Hollywood’s World of Wonder Storefront Gallery. Other Tegel works featuring Lohan include Rehabflaunt, a group portrait-like piece with Lohan, Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty that was used to illustrate a story in Flaunt magazine. And if that wasn’t enough, Tegel was inspired by Lohan’s DUI arrest for another Viper Room poster that shows the starlet engaging in illegal activities while kneeling in a seedy alleyway. “I seem to have some sort of fixation with her,” Tegel wrote in an email. “She (along with Britney, I suppose) embodied the fin-de-siecle celebrity archetype. Her child-star-turned-drug-addict-turned-lesbian narrative seems to sum up the way fame operates in the 21st Century. I’m really interested to see what happens in the next chapter of her character’s storyline.” Name That ‘Toon opens at World of Wonder on March 27.

And pop art strikes again. Unlike the Octomom statue that we saw over the weekend, this piece of art seems to have a bit more wit and substance behind it. As poster artwork for the Viper Room’s Girl on Girl night, it’s brills. Illustrators have long used celebrities in this way to promote parties and clubs. I think it’s wholly fascinating that L. Ron appear to be the new American Gothic, ie. the portrait of traditional American family values. It’s brills. Imitation is the purest form of flattery … I really love this piece. What do y’all think?

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Pop culture artist Daniel Edwards, who previously immortalized Britney Spears giving birth and Hillary Clinton’s bare breasts in statues of their own, has created a new piece of artwork titled String of Babies in honor of the so-called Octomom Nadya Suleman … behold:

It’s the stuff nightmares are made of, not fit for any nursery… But this collectible rubber toy can be yours for the bargain price of your immortal soul. Daniel Edwards, the artist who brought us Suri’s poop, Britney birthing, Paris’ insides and Oprah’s head-with-dogs, has brought his sculptor’s sensibility to Octomom with his latest creation, String of Babies’, holds a baby bottle upright. The bright pink “toy” features octopuslike tentacles sprouting from a replica of Nadya Suleman’s head and cradling eight little identical baby heads and a baby bottle. No word on which of the eight doll-reminiscent heads are supposed to be Noah and Isaiah, the two Suleman infants who on Tuesday were the first of the eight to be released from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Bellflower, Calif. The press release touting the new addition to the creep-out canon deems String of Babies to be in the ironic, in-your-face style of American Gothic—Grant Wood’s much-parodied painting of a pitchfork-wielding farmer and his equally severe-looking wife standing in front of their home. Of course. We’re sure countless cultural histories about String of Babies are forthcoming.

Blah! While the Octomom has become something of a pop cultural phenomenon, I can’t help but think that all of this crazy attention is exactly the sort of thing she relishes. While I don’t necessarily think that she planned on becoming a “celebrity” because of her octuplets (and by that I mean, Nadya Suleman doesn’t strike me as the kind of person to possess intelligent foresight) I absolutely believe that she is prolly loving every minute of all of the attention. Now that she has been immortalized by Daniel Edwards, she joins the ranks of other celebs like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Oprah Winfrey and more as subjects of pop culture who will live forever as art … which, to Suleman, is prolly a very nice perk of giving birth to 8 babies at once.

AND GET THIS … YOU can buy this piece of artwork for a mere $199! What a bargain! Is anyone interested in owning this? Should I buy one?

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Fans of the epic graphic novel Watchmen who happen in live in NYC might be encountering either some extreme fandom or really illegal movie marketing on the streets of their fair city. As fans of the comics know, the phrase Who Watches the Watchmen? is spray painted on public walls thru out NYC in the story … and this week, real graffiti of that phrase has started showing up on real buildings in NYC … which either means there are some really rabid fans out there who want to promote the movie OR viral movie marketing for the film has taken on an illegal slant. Here are a few examples of some of the graffiti that has been spotted this week:

The familiar “Who Watches The Watchmen?” graffiti from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons‘ celebrated graphic novel — and Zack Snyder’s upcoming “Watchmen” movie — has been popping up all over lower Manhattan lately. But is it a viral marketing campaign, or fans excited about the film’s looming arrival in theaters? Sure, graffiti is nothing new in New York City, but the fact that this kind of graffiti is showing up around the city has become a common topic of conversation among New York City comics fans — and everywhere else the familiar tag is popping up. From personal blogs to Twitter feeds and Flickr photo sets, “Watchmen” graffiti has found its way online, with photos [being] snapped in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood and … in the SoHo area. If viral marketing was indeed involved, the company would have to go great lengths to get permission from the city to tag a telephone booth near Union Square, while the tag found in Chelsea was on the side of a restaurant. I’d assume it would be difficult to get the restaurant owner to agree to that one. Better yet, is the graffiti a product of something more like the controversial “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” viral marketing campaign that hit Boston back in 2007? One kind of hopes, though, that it’s the work of one — or more — comics fans who just like “Watchmen” that much. While we probably won’t get any answers about the graffiti’s origins, any chance to show off a comics in-joke posted in a public forum is worth mentioning.

On the one hand, I think this is genius … on the other, it’s grossly criminal. Seeing this type of graffiti splashed on buildings all around town, just like in the comics, adds a level of meta-ness that, I think, heightens the movie going experience. But I suspect that owners of storefronts and buildings who may fall victim to this type of marketing might not be too happy about the practice. I agree with the report that we may never find out if this graffiti is actually sanctioned by the movie makers or if it’s merely the work of fanboys. Having seen the film yesterday (review to come later today), I can understand how fans of the original comic might want to express their fandom in this way. The movie, in my estimation, is excellent. While I personally would not go to these lengths to profess my fandom, I can see how some might. It’d be interesting to know if this sort of graffiti has been seen in any other cities.

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Okay … so remember that shoe throwing incident that happened to ex-president George W. Bush on a surprise visit to Iraq last month? Yeah, well, that incident has been immortalized with a giant monument of the shoe in honor of Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi — the man who chucked his shoes at GWB’s head during that infamous press conference. On display at an Iraqi orphanage, artist Laith al-Amari says he created this effigy not as a political statement but as a “source of pride for all Iraqis”. Here are a couple pictures of this shoe monument in Iraq:

A sculpture of an enormous bronze-coloured shoe has been erected in Iraq to honour the journalist who threw his shoes at ex-US President George W Bush. The sofa-sized artwork was formally unveiled in Tikrit, hometown of late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein. Artist Laith al-Amari insisted it was not a political work, but a “source of pride for all Iraqis”. Mr Bush managed to dodge the shoes but the man who threw them, Muntadar al-Zaidi, was arrested and awaits trial. As he pulled off his shoes, Mr Zaidi, now 30, shouted: “This is from the widows, the orphans, and those who were killed in Iraq.” He also told Mr Bush, who launched the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and was paying a final visit to Iraq last month: “This is a farewell kiss, you dog”. Mr Zaidi shot to fame as a result of his actions, which signalled extreme contempt in the Arab world, and inspired rallies across the Middle East and beyond. About 400 people gathered on Thursday to see the monument unveiled – a shoe on a white pedestal, about 3m (10ft) high, with a poem praising Mr Zaidi at its base, AFP said. There is also a bush sticking out of the shoe. The sculpture stands in the gardens of an Iraqi foundation that looks after children whose parents died in the violence following the US-led invasion. The foundation’s president, Shaha al-Juburi, said the sculpture was not backed by any political party or organisation. Since his arrest, Mr Zaidi, a TV journalist, has reportedly been beaten in custody, suffering a broken arm, broken ribs and internal bleeding. He has been charged with aggression against a foreign head of state, and faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted. His family denies he has done anything wrong.

HMMM. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this piece of art … but, I can imagine that people of a war-torn country might have lingering feelings of hatred for the head of state of an invading country and peaceably protesting or voicing that displeasure thru artwork seems like a rational option. After the jump, for those of you interested, watch video of the incident that sparked the inspiration for this new art installation …

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Shepard Fairey, the amazing graphic artist who brought us this iconic image of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama …

… has created a new piece of Obama artwork to commemorate Inauguration Day next week, behold:

A Limited Edition, signed and numbered version of this poster can be purchased online HERE for $500, while a numbered unsigned version can be purchased online HERE for $100. OR, you can donate $20 HERE and get your hands on one of these one-of-a-kind posters (if you donate $35, you’ll get two posters):

To celebrate this historic inauguration, graphic artist Shepard Fairey has created another unforgettable poster. Make a donation of $20 or more to get your limited edition inauguration poster. Or, make any donation of $35 or more and receive two posters — one to keep and one for a friend. We’re organizing the most open and accessible inauguration in our nation’s history. Your support will be crucial to making that possible, as we’re not accepting donations from PACs, federally registered lobbyists, or corporations.

I understand that proceeds from the sale of these posters and THESE other Fairey Obama products will go towards paying for various Inauguration festivities in Washington DC next week. I know that the original Hope poster sold out very quickly and is very difficult to find as a result … this is your chance to get in on the ground floor and snag one of these posters while you still can.

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