Bits: 07.15.09

Patricia Renick, Triceracopter: Hope for the Obsolence of War, 1977

• "In 1977 Patricia Renick mounted an extraordinary solo exhibition at Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center. The exhibit comprised one exceptional sculpture crafted of fiberglass and built on the frame of a Vietnam era U.S. Army OH6A/Cayuse helicopter. Triceracopter: Hope for the Obsolescence of War is now available for acquisition by a qualified museum, institution or individual." Via Worlds Best Ever.

• Damien Hirst makes Fast Company's list of the "100 Most Creative People in Business." Ranked #22, Hirst is cited for selling $200 million at auction last September, "cutting out the middleman and raising the real possibility of the death of the art dealer."

• Among the other artsy types on FC's list: anime pioneer Hayao Miyazake (#31), Sandman and Coraline creator (and Minnesota resident) Neil Gaiman (#40), Helvetica/Objectified director Gary Hustwit (#74), Brian Eno (#80) and Cai Guo-Qiang (#86).

• Jen Bekman opens Summer Reading, featuring works by Eyeteeth friends Brian Ulrich, Alec Soth, Steve Lambert and others, July 16 in New York.

• London Exhibition: Radical Nature: Art and Architecture for a Changing Planet 1969–2009 at the Barbican through October 18.

• Design guru Steven Heller rebrands the GOP as "Grand Old Plagiarists" for a logo by Maine gubernatorial candidate Les Otten that "looks like it was copied out of the Obama stylebook." He adds that the Republican's website "typographically looks like Scott Thomas, Obama's web guy [and co-star of the Walker's "Desiging Obama" discussion], designed it."

• Call for proposals: Conflux City is looking for "artists, urban geographers, technologists and others to organize and produce innovative activities dedicated to the examination, celebration and (re)construction of everyday urban life" for a September 20 open-format event in New York. Deadline: July 20. Via Proximity.

• Call for writers: The excellent Laundromat Project -- which invites artist to present public art in laundromats across New York City -- is seeking writers for its Create Change artist residency. Writers, who'll receive a $500 honorarium, will be paired with visual artists to write about their projects. Deadline: July 22.

• Apparently, Minneapolis stencil-artist John Grider (Broken Crow) was commissioned by Green Day to make an artwork inspired by the band's album 21st Century Breakdown. (Also, congrats to John and his now-wife Christin, who got hitched over the weekend.)

• Grider's buddy, hip-hop artist P.O.S., has a new video out, featuring familiar Minneapolis locales and figures, including Doomtree cohort Dessa.