After spending months on the road playing music for Lady Gaga's little monsters, musician and artist Cole Whittle finds himself in Los Angeles feeling inspired to create an installation to express his ideas of artistic anarchy. Curated by Lenora Claire his new show opening at Pop tArt gallery tonight entitled All the Kicks. The exhibit, that will be on view next to Austin Young's Your Face Here, features multi-media work by Whittle. After he opens this aggressive new show (look for many images of him giving the finger), Whittle heads out on tour playing bass for Semi Precious Weapons on the Lady Gaga tour. While he was readying pieces for the Pop tArt show, LAist learned about about how Whittle approaches creating visual art, the forces that drive his rebellious choices, and how he gets his kicks. more ›

Though we're decades past the era of the fresh-faced WWII recruit mooning over a Betty Grable picture tacked up in the barracks, the appeal of the pin up girl has endured. A new art show, opening this weekend at Gallery Nucleus, celebrates the art of the pin up girl by featuring original artwork by contemporary artists and pays homage to pin up masters such as George Petty, Gil Elvgren, and Alberto Vargas. See why men and women have long admired the pin up girl's sensuality and charm. more ›

Celebrated portrait photographer Austin Young brings out the beauty and layered emotions in the colorful people he captures with his lens. Tonight when he sets up his camera, it will be aimed at a very lucky party goer who will experience being photographed by Austin Young first hand. During the run of Your Face Here, portrait sittings with Young will be available for a mere $100-$500. As he completes the images they will be added to the show. Your Face Here opens tonight at the new PoptArt Gallery and runs though March 5. more ›

Lenora Claire surrounds herself with talented artists and colorful people. As a curator she has helmed Golden Girls Gone Wild, Bettie Page Heaven Bound and countless other unique art shows and events. We caught up with a very busy Lenora Claire to find more about her friendship with Austin Young and how the Your Face Here plan was hatched. more ›

Last weekend Bettie Page: Heaven Bound curated by Lenora Claire ended its run at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery. The amazing Olivia was on hand to sign books. Joe Dallesandro was there to check out the best Bettie Page inspired outfits. It was a bittersweet night at World of Wonder. As the Bettie Page show closed, the staff got the gallery ready for their final show in the space. After the run of 14 from Gallery of the Absurd, the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery will close. The space will reopen at the end of the month as the Bettie Page Clothing company. more ›

On Saturday night, Lenora Claire invites everyone to the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery closing night party for her show Bettie Page: Heaven Bound. The night will feature signings by the artist Olivia and a Bettie Page look-a-like contest. more ›

On Saturday night at World of Wonder Storefront Gallery, Lenora's Claire's Bettie Page: Heaven Bound show opened. in honor of the beautiful Bettie Page, the spanking machine was ready. One wall of the show features Austin Young's photos of Perez Hilton and Margaret Cho, Marla Rutherford photos of Bernie Dexter, Steve Diet Goedde's photos of Midori in Bettie Page's actual gloves, a pair of Bettie's shoes, and many more Bettie inspired pieces. The rest of the gallery is filled with the gorgeous, sultry work by the one and only Olivia. more ›

Lenora Claire is well known for her love of the beautiful and outrageous. She shocked just about everyone with her Golden Gals Gone Wild art show. She interviews the late night crown in her new web series doNuts. Lenora is sure to make a big slash with her hew Bettie Page: Heaven Bound show at World of Wonder. We asked Lenora to tell us about her fascination with Bettie Page, what to expect at the show, and what she'll wear to try the spanking machine at the opening night party. more ›

Last week World of Wonder threw an opening celebration for a new incredible exhibit of drag queen themed art. LAist was there to see the most beautiful people in LA arrive in droves to celebrate the upcoming premiere on February 2nd of RuPaul's Drag Race. more ›

Jim Wirt is a St. Louis native living in LA, but most people know him as Gay Bigfoot. The 42-year-old North Hollywood resident moved out to Los Angeles in 1996 and is a local artist who recently found himself in the middle of some online censorship when he tried to get one of his pieces printed on a t-shirt. Here's his story... more ›

It's sexy, it's sacrilegious, it's scandalous, and it's just in time for Christmas. LA's hottest art curator Lenora Claire has done it again with a new collection of saucy art pieces guaranteed to get folks hot and bothered. Mixing Christmas themes with ample female breasts and featuring the work of Austin Young, Kitten Natividad, Buff Monster, and our fave the Gay Bigfoot, among others, Claire chose not to rest on her laurels of the... more ›

The NSFW video above shows the sweet (and sweaty) scene inside the Golden Gals Gone Wild art opening held Saturday night in Hollywood at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery. It was so hot that some of the go-go dancers decided to take their clothes off and get more comfortable. Who can blame em. Read our review and view a photo essay of the event here, and click here for an interview with the... more ›

There were cross dressers, women in fishnets, a little person, celebs, frat boy authors, tattooed artists, and musicians dressed as nurses. Just another night on Hollywood Blvd? Perhaps. But mix in the opening night of an art show totally dedicated to erotic, unusual, and sometimes disturbing images of tv legends, The Golden Girls, and you get something very different, even for Hollywood. Curator Lenora Claire was glowing as she worked her way out of... more ›

Not since Magritte was in town at the beginning of this year have so many people talked about an art show. Featuring dozens of controversial pieces from a variety of artists like Jackie Beat, Angus Oblong, Plastic God, Mad Puppeteer, Jim Winters, Austin Young, Selene Luna, Jtodd Irby, Chris McKim, Garilyn Brune and Gay Bigfoot, who knew that a topless painting of Bea Arthur that was bought off eBay for a little over $100... more ›