A Luau Birthday Celebration at the

Official Bad Art Museum of Art

Wednesday, August 4th, 7:pm - Cafe Racer/OBAMA
5828 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle WA 98105

Cafe Racer specials featuring Food and Drink of the Islands

Music by The Ukadelics

Wednesday August 4th is the birthday of President Obama, and because Obama is a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, and because we at O.B.A.M.A. are looking for an excuse to have a party, and celebrate the Hawaiian and Tiki Culture, we’re having a Luau inspired party to celebrate OBAMA! Wear a muu-muu or Aloha shirt, have a fruity cocktail, get lei’d!

This beachfront home’s dramatic pool lights up in vivid shades of blue and purple, creating an incredible setting. The pool features an adjustable swim current for when you want to break a sweat, plus a champagne-glass spa when you just want to relax. When it’s time to dry off, this amazing outdoor spot also has multiple balconies and a private rooftop deck for sun bathing. And the price has just been reduced to only $9.9M!

‘kettle house’, originally uploaded by BizarreRecords.

I’ve always loved this image of the Kettle House in Galveston, Texas.

Robert McLaughlin, who has created the fabulous website KC Modern and also the blog http://www.kcmodern.blogspot.com/, has photographed dozens of modern homes in Southern California. Above is a photo from a set called SoCal Modern Residential.

Oh My God! was the first Art Car created by artist and filmmaker Harrod Blank. At the age of 16, Blank became embarrassed by the blandness of his all-white Volkswagen and painted a rooster on the driver’s door. He never stopped decorating the car, which ultimately served as the springboard to his career in building Art Cars and documenting the Art Car movement.

Unusual Life is based here in Seattle, and we’re excited because Harrod Blank is bringing “Oh My God!” all the way from the Art Car World Museum in Douglas AZ to Seattle for the Art Car Blow Out. The film “Automorphosis” will play Thursday June 17th at the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle at 7 and 9 pm where “Oh My God!” and other art cars will be parked outside. Then he will attend the Seattle Art Car Blow Out from the 18th -20th at the Fremont Fair and the film will show again on the 21st at the Central Cinema at 7 pm. The filmmaker and other art car artists will be in attendance.

So if you live anywhere near Seattle, please stop by. Unusual Life will be in the Mighty Mighty Elvismobile, so stop by and say Hello!

Space ship house, originally uploaded by MizMagee.

Located on the Richardson Highway, approaching North Pole from Fairbanks. For years it’s been a natural log structure, but he just painted it in a whimsical fashion to the delight of those passing by.

The Cave House in Tulsa, OK, originally uploaded by queenodesign.

“Built in 1920s by Joseph Koberling Sr. and James Purzer. Onetime restaurant and “speakeasy” with Pretty Boy Floyd as a guest. Now the tunnels are currently sealed off. It is rumored that the park across the street, Newblock Park, is a mass grave with the bodies of the black victims from the 1921 Race Riots.”

  

ugly house, originally uploaded by Dept. of Treasure.

The photographer’s caption for this home is “ugly house” but I love it! It’s just so weird and wacky. I wish I knew where it was, I’d talk to the homeowner and get the story. You know it’s gotta be good!    -  Marlow Harris

-  And here is a Flickr Group slideshow of Pink and Purple Houses  -  jodavid

Mountain Googie, originally uploaded by Chimay Bleue.

This unusual building is near Lake Tahoe in Incline City. This was originally an Orbit gas station and has been vacant since around 1998. They’ve been arguing about whether to demolish it or turn it into a Visitors Welcome center for years. Most locals are not fond of the building.

It’s a great example of Googie architecture, modern and eye-catching, awaiting the future in the land of tomorrow.

Shepard Fairey  •  May Day

Recap - Opening in NYC at Deitch Projects - May 1st, 2010

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•  Click here to see the whole story, with lots of event photos and videos  •

Shepard Fairey’s current show at the Deitch Projects will be the last exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch’s groundbeaking SoHo gallery.  After a decade of presenting art here, the doors will close on May 29th. Deitch has been appointed the directorship of L.A’s MoCA.  You should catch this show if you’re in NY before May 29th.

Shepard Fairey’s illustrious career is highlighted in this ambitious exhibition, a fitting New York finale for the Deitch Projects. An impressive body of work is shown here, prolific in intent, from the artist who’s iconic red, white, and blue Obama/Hope campaign has made Shepard Fairey a household name, and made his style a deliberate viral cultural brand upon the brain of society’s visual literacy. Pure genius!

The opening night of this event was an epic art mob scene. The lines to get in extended for blocks, stopping traffic on Wooster St. for hours.  Artists, collectors, fans, and excited hipsters were out in force in the hot and humid night looking to catch a glimpse of the magic that was in the air.   - JD

•  Click here to see the whole story, with lots of event photos and videos  •

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On April 29th, 2010, we at Unusual Life were thrilled to attend the gala opening of The Gay 90’s, the newest set of masterpieces by artist Mark Ryden. The show is at the Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York City. You can see the full show of 5 paintings, and 18 watercolors and drawing studies online at the Kasmin Gallery website, or in person at the gallery thru June 10th, 2010. 

Guests attending the opening were asked to dress in the Olde Tyme theme. Mark’s friends and supporters showed up from all over the country, ready to congratulate him on yet another remarkable body of work. The crowd was thick with artists, creatives, and smiling admirers.  

-  Click here for many fun photos from the opening celebration!  -

-  Click here for many fun photos from the opening celebration!  -

Bizarre Architecture, originally uploaded by caliban23_.

This old milk store has been repurposed into a Vietnamese sandwich shop, but it still sports the original milk bottle and the name Braums Dairy on the sign.

This giant milk bottle is located in Spokane.

This old dairy building has been repurposed into a sign for an RV park in Corpus Christi, TX.

This giant milk bottle is at the Children’s Museum in Boston.

For more photos of large milk bottle buildings, see Giant Milk Bottle group on Flickr.

Museu Dalí de Figueres. Dalí Museum of Figueres. SERIE 01, originally uploaded by ¡arturii!.

A short train ride from Barcelona takes you to Figueres and the fantastical Dali Theatre and Museum. Even lining up to get in, you know you’re in for an intriguing visit.

From Wikipedia : “The Dalí Theatre and Museum (Teatre-Museu Dalí in Catalan language), is a museum of the artist Salvador Dalí in his home town of Figueres, in Catalonia.

The heart of the museum was the building that housed the town’s theatre when Dalí was a child, and where one of the first public exhibitions of young Dalí’s art was shown. The old theater was bombed in the Spanish Civil War and remained in a state of ruin for decades until Dalí and the mayor of Figueres decided to rebuild it as a museum dedicated to the town’s most famous son in 1960. The museum also occupies buildings and courtyards adjacent to the old theater building.”

Dali Museum