A skateboarder’s lament: the dismantling of San Francisco’s iconic and divisive fountain

San Francisco's Vaillancourt Fountain, a controversial concrete sculpture and centerpiece of Embarcadero Plaza since 1971, caught fire during its dismantling in early May 2025 after the city voted to potentially replace it with a grassy park. Designed by artist Armand Vaillancourt, the fountain was a landmark for the city's skateboarding scene in the 1980s and 1990s, but fell into disrepair and became a flashpoint in debates over modernist public art. The removal, costing $4 million for storage and assessment, was mourned by skateboarders and preservationists who saw it as a loss of cultural and architectural heritage.

Where did the great artist Joseph Beuys live? The comic story by Gianluca Costantini

Dove viveva il grande artista Joseph Beuys? Il racconto a fumetti di Gianluca Costantini

In the summer of 2022, the author visited Düsseldorf and discovered that Joseph Beuys's former home at Drakeplatz 4 in Oberkassel was for sale, but the city's cultural department declined to purchase it. Beuys lived and worked there from 1961 until his death in 1986, using the space as both a residence and studio. The article recounts the intimate details of family life there, including how Beuys painted the main room white for his wife Eva's photography, and how the family navigated the blend of private life and artistic practice. Two years later, the Brunhilde Moll Foundation acquired the house and opened it to the public, though it was closed for renovations when the author returned. The house now displays about sixty works from Beuys's creative period and will host artist residencies and events.

San Francisco’s Vaillancourt Fountain Catches Fire During Controversial Removal

San Francisco's Vaillancourt Fountain, a Brutalist concrete structure at Embarcadero Plaza since 1971, caught fire on Wednesday morning as workers used blow torches to disassemble it. The fire ignited rubber tubing and debris inside the sculpture's cantilevered arms, producing smoke that forced the temporary evacuation of nearby paddle board courts. The fountain is being removed to make way for a $32.5 million redevelopment of the plaza and playground into a five-acre park.

Cannabis Art Exhibition Comes to Fort Collins

A traveling art exhibition called Hear/Say, part of the Tea on THC campaign, will open May 27 at the Center for Creativity in Fort Collins, Colorado, and run through May 31. The exhibition combines scientific research with visual art—including painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, and installation—to spark public conversations about the health impacts of high-potency cannabis. It is organized by the Colorado School of Public Health and Initium Health following Colorado House Bill 1317, which mandated research and public outreach on high-potency THC products. A free opening reception is scheduled for May 29, with additional events planned in Colorado Springs in June.

South Lafourche artist's work featured in Kotex documentary

Akira Crosby, an artist from Cut Off, Louisiana, had her painting removed from a Houma art gallery in 2024 because it depicted menstrual blood as part of her feminist exhibit “Pieces of Me.” Months later, Kotex featured the same artwork in a documentary, bringing unexpected national attention to her work.