Bits 10:08.10

"Crossing the painted road which extends east from the Philadelphia Museum of Art," Sept. 1973, National Archives on Flickr, via Prison Photography

• Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija wins the second annual Absolut Art Award "for his ability to rule out conventional categorization."

• The 2nd-place winner at Korea's Incheon International Design Awards is the lovely Spiral Garden System by Spanish team Benet and Saida Dalmau, Anna Julibert and Carmen Vilar: "This spiral contains an ascending garden where native vegetation can coexist with urban orchards, shared and planted for the neighbours for easy maintenance and serving also as a green outdoor walk."

• Audio: Really nice MPR piece on No Assumption: A Collaborative Exhibition of Art in a Residence, a group show in a foreclosed Northeast Minneapolis house that opens tomorrow night. The outside of the house will be wrapped in an inflatable bag, says artist Mirelle Zacharis, who inherited the home after her mother died of cancer last year.

• Minneapolis film-art projection: At 10 pm Saturday night, Minneapolis Art on Wheels presents Seaworthy, a piece about water use that'll be projected on the exterior of Northrop Auditorium.

• Photographer Chris Floyd was shocked to find his photograph of men in a town square in Mexico depicted as illegal immigrants in the U.S. in ads by Republican Senate candidates Sharron Angle and David Vitter: "The fact that these men were Mexican citizens photographed in Mexico kind of negates their claims... At the point that photograph was taken not one of them had ever set foot in America, and I have no idea if they ever did."

• Right back atcha, Erik: A blog you should know about, MCAD designer Erik Brandt's Geotypografika, which brought us this street-art back-and-forth I linked up the other day. (See and suggest other Twin Cities design blogs here.)

• "Artisanal Pencil Shapening": He does it the old-fashioned way. By hand, and for $15 apiece you can get the sharpened pencil, shavings, and a "certificate of sharpening" shipped your way. Via Doobybrain.

• Just in time for Halloween: Milk jug stormtrooper helmet (via Cynical-C), and weird skimpy Star Wars-esque costumes for the ladies (via The Daily What).