Bits: 04.25.09

Paul Fryer, Pieta

• Paul Fryer's Pieta, a sculpture of Christ in the electric chair, has been raising hackles in Gap, France. Some, including the newspaper Le Monde, reacted angrily to its installation in a cathedral, but the work (from the collection of Francois Pinault) was suggested by the local bishop, Jean-Michel di Falco. He says:

"Usually, one does not feel any real emotions in front of something really scandalous: the Crucifixion.

"If Jesus had been sentenced today, he would have to reckon with the electric chair or other barbaric methods of execution. Scandalous is therefore not Jesus in the electric chair, but the indifference to his crucifixion."

• Issue 56 of Visionaire, the editioned art and fashion publication, is "solar": it "uses photo-sensitive printing wizardry that instantly transforms black-and-white artwork—by contributing artists that include Yoko Ono, M/M Paris, Alex Katz, John Baldessari, and Ryan McGinley—into vibrant color when exposed to direct sunlight."

• There's little of interest in this Flavorwire interview on "redefining urban art at the auction house," except for the last paragraph, in which Phillips de Pury & Co. curator Alex Smith give props to artist Judith Supine.

• An excellent Bill Moyers interview with The Wire creator David Simon: Part I, Part II.

• New on Ubuweb: Derek Jarman's 1993 film Wittgenstein.

• Art & Ecology's William Shaw spots a gigantic tin of whale meat on his way to work.

• Comedy Central caption contest: Wax Obama and Hugo Chavez.