Kiehl's X Koons Limited Edition Collection Benefits Kids And Dry Skin.

Kiehl's has collaborated with world-recognized contemporary artist Jeff Koons (again*) to raise awareness - and funds- for kids in need.




Jeff Koons is using his creative genius and Kiehl's is using their brilliant body lotion (I kid you not, it's one of the greatest products ever made) to help children in need around the world. With the shared vision of creating safer, more sustainable environments for children, the partnership is raising awareness and funds through the sale of the 2010 Limited Edition Creme de Corps Holiday Collection, a four-product collection that includes 3 sizes of their awesome body lotion, each with a colorful Koons label and their newest formulation, Creme de Corps Whipped Body Butter.

The Jeff Koons painting used for the Keihl's limited edition collection labels:

above: Tulips, oil on canvas, 111 5/16 x 130 11/16 inches, 282.7 x 331.9 cm, 1995–1998

1 Liter ($70) and 16.9 oz ($45) pump bottles :

8.4 oz size ($27) and the new Whipped Body Butter ($35):


Buy the products here

Keihl's has collaborated with artists several times before. Below is their 2009 Creme de Corps Holiday Collection with labels by KAWS:



100% of Kiehl’s net profits from the sale of each product will benefit The Koons Family Institute, an initiative of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC).

*This is not the first time Koons has lent his creative talents to Kiehl's. This past March, in celebration of Earth Day, Jeff Koons, along with Pharell Williams, Julianne Moore and Malia Jones created special edition labels for Kiehl's Acai Damage-Protecting Mist.

images and information courtesy of Kiehl's

Jeff Koons BMW Art Car Is Finished. And Here It Is.

On April 7th, I brought you the news that artist Jeff Koons would be designing the 17th BMW Art Car.

At the premiere of the 17th BMW Art Car Jeff Koons unveiled and signed his car in front of 300 international VIP guests on June 1 in the Centre Pompidou, one of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions for modern and contemporary art. It is the same place where Roy Lichtenstein back in 1977 first presented and signed his Art Car. Koons’ canvas is a BMW M3 GT2, which was homologated to compete at this year’s running of the world’s most famous endurance race.

Here's a look at it, from all angles:







As part of his creative process, the artist collected images of race cars, related graphics, vibrant colors, speed and explosions. The resulting artwork of bright colors conceived by Koons is evocative of power, motion and bursting energy. Its silver interior along with the powerful exterior design, the Art Car will impart a dynamic appearance even when it’s standing still.

“These race cars are like life, they are powerful and there is a lot of energy,” said Koons. “You can participate with it, add to it and let yourself transcend with its energy. There is a lot of power under that hood and I want to let my ideas transcend with the car – it’s really to connect with that power”.

Koons has been in an intense collaboration with BMW’s team in Munich for months – melding his skill with sophisticated BMW engineering – to ensure that the 17th BMW Art Car will be race-ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Under Koons’ direct guidance and supervision, his BMW Art Car was produced in assistance with a team of BMW engineers and designers at Schmid Design, outside Munich.

The challenge to create the BMW Art Car had to do with using a light material and a design that would not interfere with the racecar's aerodynamics and weight. Timing was also an issue, as there was only a two month window between the first design sketches and the Paris world premiere. This is why digital print on car wrapping vinyl was used covered by a double clear-coating to bring out the color.

To apply hundreds of dynamic lines of Koons' design onto the car, CAD designs were translated from 3D into 2D for the printing process and then painstakingly applied to the entire car as well as onto individual spare parts. Koons design incorporates many bright contrasting colors to communicate the aesthetics of power. The concept design was transformed into hard edged lines of color. Graphics of debris were added to the rear sides and back of the car to simulate the power of the car. Furthermore, two graphic rings on the rear of the car represent supersonic acceleration.
information and images courtesy of BMW.


To see all 16 previous BMW art cars, go here.

Bunny Bonanza: In Art. In Books. In Movies. As Brands. And Just Big.

Above: Dieter Roth's Shit Hare (1975)

Happy Easter, Happy Bunny Day, Happy Christ Resurrection and all that. In honor of the holiday, I'm going to share with you a bunch o' bunnies. Bunnies in art, in literature, in movies, as brands and some of the biggest bunnies in the world. I had to really cull down this post or by the time you finished reading it, it'd be Christmas.

For the purpose of convenience, in this post I am referring to all rabbits and hares as Bunnies. I know that there are several differences, variations in species etc., but for ease and entertainment, today they are all Bunnies.

First off, there are so many bunny-related and bunny-inspired things out there that I must leave a large majority out of this post. But to see the hundreds of cute and not so cute bunny items and art made by talented people be sure to check etsy.com and flickr, deviant art, behance, coroflot, and other online art databases and user uploaded art sites.

Bunnies, or rabbits and hares, have been prevalent in art for centuries. Early biblical engravings and religious art often had the animal in them. Dutch and Flemish Masters frequently included them as soon to be meals in their kitchen and repast scenes.


above: Jean Baptiste-Oudry's Rabbit and Pheasant (1751)

Romantic French painters like Boucher and Fragonard often had the furry little animal in their angelic and cherubic landscapes. Being chased (or eaten) is how they were depicted in many an English hunting scene. Countless Victorian Easter cards and vintage German engraved Easter cards can still be found at many flea markets and antique stores (like the ones shown below).




Today they can be seen everywhere from handmade cutesy crafts, as advertising mascots, fun vinyl toys and in many a darker representation as well, such as Joseph Beuys' film still below.


above: Photo of Joseph Beuys’ performance How to Explain Paintings to a Dead Hare, Nov. 26, 1965

To start with, here's a little serious Bunny art for you. When I say serious, the following pieces go for thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars- if you can find an available original. Most of the names of the artists are probably fairly well known to many of you.

Bunnies By World-renowned Artists:

Albrecht Durer, german engraver and painter 1471—1528:

John James Audubon:

Henri Rousseau:

Barry Flanagan:


Andy Warhol:

Wayne Thiebaud:

Claus Oldenberg:

Jeff Koons:

Masao Kinoshita:


Bunnies by contemporary artists, illustrators and designers from all over the world:

Mark Ryden:

Luke Chueh:

Kathie Olivas:

Frank Kozik:


Kozyndan:


Darla Jackson:

Morwenna Catt:

Momoyo Torimitsu:


Kim Simonsson:

Haidee Henry:


Bunnies in Classic Literature:


Shown above:
Br'er Rabbit
Mr. Flopears
The Velveteen Rabbit
The White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland
Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit (click the link for a online flip book version)
Uncle Wiggly
Rabbit from A.A. Milne's Pooh books
and, of course, Pat The Bunny

Bunnies in movies:


Shown above:
Brer Rabbit From Disney's Song of The South
Thumper from Disney's Bambi
Roger Rabbit
Harvey (The Jimmy Stewart classic)
Donnie Darko

Bunnies as brands:




Shown above:
General Mills Trix Bunny
The Playboy Bunny
The Nestle's Quick Bunny, aka the Nesquik Bunny, aka Quicky
Blue Bunny Brand
The Volkswagon Rabbit logo
Blink 182's Rabbit
Miffy, the dutch bunny (books and branded items)
Warner Brothers' Bugs Bunny
Jim Benton's Happy Bunny
The Energizer Bunny
Sanrio's Melody
And the world's most fashionable rabbit, Fifi Lapin

And now for some BIG Ol' BUNNIES (or Rabbit Record Holders):
And these have all been snopes, hoax-slayer and urban legends verified. They are not photo-shopped or retouched.

Amy, the present record holder as of 2008:


Above: An average sized rabbit atop Amy, who weighs approx 49 lbs.
read the article here.



Above: Karl Smolinksy with Robert
Read the article here.

The 2006 record holder, Herr Rabbit, 22 pounds:


Also worth checking out:
Bunnylicious, a great blog of all things bunny.
Rabbits In Design
Rabbit Remix
Hopper Home Bunny Blog
Contemporary Rabbit Art

And special thanks to brandsoftheworld, artnet, artfacts, artcyclopedia, allposters, amazon and the individual artists for the use of their images.

Well, that should be enough bunny lore to keep you satisfied until next Easter!