NME reports today that a rare photograph showing The Beatles walking across Abbey Road in the opposite direction to which they are depicted walking on the cover of the legendary 1969 album of the same name will go on the auction block in the UK later this month.

Taken by late photographer Iain Macmillan, notable differences between the two shots include the fact that Paul McCartney is wearing sandals rather than walking barefoot, and the cigarette he’s shown holding on the album version is missing. The print is among a set of 25 being sold by a private collector. Viewings start this Friday, May 18th, 2012, with bids expected to go as high as £9,000 (Approximately $14,300) at auction.

Thanks to Geoffrey Dicker for the Tip!

In February 2012, shortly after completing a tour of Japan, Johnny Venus, drummer for American rock band Greek Fire (and longtime drum tech for Story of The Year) was diagnosed with Leukemia. Devastating news, to be sure. Representatives for the band have issued a statement saying that, “Johnny is fighting the battle of his life, and even in these darkest of times his incredible courage and strength inspired Johnny’s fellow band mates to write a song about this profoundly difficult and emotional journey.”

The song, “If this is the End (The Sound of Belief)” was made into a video, which Greek Fire released via YouTube on May 15th, 2012. Watch “If this is the End (The Sound of Belief)” at This Link. The statement continues that, “The video was made free of charge by a group of amazing and selfless individuals who donated their time and talents, and the result is a heartfelt and emotional offering of hope and support for anyone, anywhere, who has experience with cancer. Greek Fire is releasing this video in hope that it can help people find the courage and strength to fight with all of their heart, and as a reminder that there are people everywhere in the world fighting with them. Please share this video with as many people as you can. Nothing will make Johnny Venus and the band prouder than if the song can help someone, somewhere, in some way.”

“If this is the End (The Sound of Belief)” is also available to purchase/download via iTunes, Amazon, and countless other outlets. 100% of proceeds generated from the sale of  the song will go directly to The Johnny Venus Leukemia Fund to help him with the cost of his medical treatments. You can also make a donation directly to Johnny’s fund, by clicking This Link. Get well now, Johnny!

While we were sorry to say goodbye to Chef Dave Martin’s woefully short-lived Meatball Factory, which shuttered its doors at the end of April, the space at the corner of 2nd Second Ave and 14th Street didn’t stay empty for long. In an exciting “Contemporary art gallery meets fun summer eatery” venture, the folks at The Hole Gallery have launched a pop up restaurant, cleverly named Hole Foods, which will serve a rotating menu of seafood and featured comfort food dishes in a vibrant, modern art gallery setting.

Creating a completely artist-designed space, Joe Grillo of the collective Dearraindrop has transformed the restaurant into a colorful den of artworks, with a neon drip mural (pictured above) across the ceiling, walls and floor, customized tables and tablecloths, painted furniture, video works, black light bathrooms (Yes!), a ceiling installation and interactive sound sculptures. He even made a customized chef suit and hat for the executive chef, Robert Rubba. Grillo has exhibited internationally and has his first big New York City solo show with The Hole this coming October.

We passed by the restaurant this past Sunday afternoon, feeling parched by the freakish late spring heat, and being excited to perhaps sit at the bar and enjoy a chilled and refreshing artsy cocktail. Alas, it was not be, as the Mother’s Day holiday found the place to be closed up tight. We did peek in the windows, however, and the place is pretty cool. The limited menu looks appealing also, but the big green B on the door makes us want to wait a few weeks to see if they can transform that into a much happier blue A. Hole Foods promises to fill their summer tenure with special art projects and performances, including a Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black night, with hostesses and servers in head to toe Karen Black make up (read: expect partial nudity). So, maybe the food isn’t what’s most important. We’ll see.

Hole Foods, a Three-Month Pop Up Restaurant, is located at 231 2nd Avenue (Northwest corner of 14th Street) in NYC and will be in Operation until August 5th, 2012. Phone 212-260-8015 for more information.

Bold Hype Gallery’s summer group exhibition, Suggestivism, opened last Thursday in NYC. This fun exhibit of paintings and sculptures, which features 43 of the new contemporary art scene’s most talented and intriguing artists, was curated by uber hot surrealist painter Nathan Spoor, whose fantastic work we first discovered just a year ago at his own Bold Hype solo exhibit, Phantom Passport. The concept of Suggestivism, according to Spoor relates to introducing “a common creative thread amongst several disparate and unique voices within the modern art world.” Thus, you may notice seeming shared influences among the artists – which is very cool and ends up drawing you further into the search for meaning in each piece.

Kathie Olivas

Artists participating in the exhibit include some of our favorites such as Eric Richardson, Jason Limon, Chris Mars, Chet Zar, Kathie Olivias, Colin Christian and Spoor himself, as well as Annie Owens, Bob Dob, Bob Schnider, Brandt Peters, Brendan Monroe, Chandler Wood, Christian Van Minnen, Dan May, Darren Legallo, David Molesk, Francesco Locastro, Heidi Taillefer, Heiko Muller, Jason Maloney, Jeff McMillan, Joe Vaux, Joey Remmers, Julian Callos, Kevin Peterson, Marco Mazzoni, Mia Araujo, Michael Page, Naoto Hattori, Nathan Ota, Nathan, Nc Winters, Rod Luff, Sandow Birk, Scott Schiedly, Skinner, Thomas Doyle, Tom Bagshaw, Winnie Truong and Yevgeniya Mikhailik.

Eric Richardson

I really loved this exhibit and would “suggest” that you check it out before it closes. See more pictures from Thursday’s opening after the jump!

Suggestivism will be on Exhibit Through June 30th, 2012, at Bold Hype Gallery, Located at 547 W. 27th St., 5th Floor New York, NY 10001

Jason Limon

Thomas Doyle

Heidi Taillefer

Chris Mars

Francesco LoCastro

Joe Vaux

Scott Scheidly

From LA to London and beyond, so many cities around the world embrace a thriving and vibrant Street Art scene. Leave it to Opera Gallery (with its global presence) to realize that it just makes sense to curate  a group show representing the artists of the world who never stop creating in innovative ways in an effort make sure that you never stop thinking about why things are the way they are. Because when you really get it, you know that Street Art isn’t just about creating a distraction, or making something that’s nice to look at; it’s about conveying a message.

Faile / Fortune (Click on any Image to Enlarge for Detail)

Streets of the World collects the work of 40 global contemporary  artists that have emerged from the Street Art Movement. A number of the participating artists, such as Banksy, Kenny Scharf and Os Gemeos, represent International Household Names of Street Artists. Others, including Ron English, Logan Hicks, and collectives The London Police and Trustocorp, exhibit regularly at Opera, so we were already familiar with, and fans of, their work. But many others were exciting  discoveries. Overwhelming new favorites are selected works by How and Nosm (from Germany), Interesni Kazki (Ukraine) and Spain’s Sixeart. There is so much to see at this exhibit, and Opera has accented every wall — including the stairwell and the entire basement space — with exciting paintings, sculptures and collage.

Ron English

Trustocorp (One of 4 Featured Works by this Collective in the Show)

In fact, we took so many cool pictures at last Thursday’s opening, it was hard to select just a few for this post. Please hit the jump below to see more work from this Do Not Miss Exhibit!

Streets of the World will be on exhibit at the Opera Gallery, Located at 115 Spring Street in New York through May 30th, 2012.

See Tons more Photos, along with a Full list of Participating Artists and their Represented Regions, After the Jump!

Los Angeles: Augustine Kofie, David Choe, Saber

Detroit: Revok

Washington DC: Mark Jenkins

Baltimore: Logan Hicks

New York: Ron English, Swoon, Faile, Eric Haze, David Ellis, Trustocorp, Mare 139

The Netherlands: The London Police

UK: Banksy, Nick Walker, Paul Insect, Remi Rough

Germany: Herakut, How and Nosm

Belgium: Roa

France: Blek Le Rat

Spain: Hyuro, Liquen, Sixeart

Portugal: Vhils

Greece: b., Alexandros Vasmoulakis

Israel: Know Hope

Ukraine: Interesni Kazki

China: DALeast

Japan: Aiko

Australia: Kid Zoom, Anthony Lister, Rone

Poland: M-City

This “enhanced” Photo of a Sea King Helicopter by Killergonzo took 34th place in the Think Pink 2 A contest sponsored by Worth1000.com.

In Italian, the word Bufala (if you couldn’t guess) means Buffalo: as in the mighty animal and the delicious mozzarella cheese, but the word can also signify something that is meant to be a joke, or a humorous story. At least that’s what I was told when I visited Fratelli La Bufala, a new European-based chain Pizza restaurant that opened its doors on Broadway and 76th Street on April 27th. One might ask if New York City really needs another pizza restaurant, let alone a chain restaurant just getting its feet wet in America. But early signs point to Fratelli la Bufala having something unique to offer.

The Fratelli La Bufala brand (FLB) was established in Naples, Italy in 2003 by three partners, who created a whimsical back-story for their road to success, recounted as an old-fashioned fairy tale. The story goes that, after the loss of their father, the young and brave Fratelli brothers emigrated to different corners of the world in search of fame and adventure. After many years of hard work, they joined together their respective successful pizza restaurant ventures, which today account for 100 Fratelli La Bufala (literal translation: Brothers of the Buffalo) restaurants in major cities across Europe, and now in the US (the NYC location is only the second in the US after Miami) with plans to expand further.

La Reale Pizza With Prosciutto (Food Photos By Anne Raso)

As soon as you enter the lively and bustling space, you’ll see the impressive black pizza oven attended to by three authentically regional chefs, who came over from Naples to work and train new employees in the ways of pizza making. Once we gazed upon these hot and deliciously fragrant pies travelling from the oven to various tables across the restaurant, we knew we had to taste them. Since we had brought only a modest appetite, we chose to focus on sharing one pie, knowing that future visits were likely so we could sample many other selections. Our choice was the La Reale ($20.50), a white (sauce-less) pie covered with mozzarella, provola and ricotta cheeses, cherry tomatoes, and plentiful portions of salty prosciutto. To us, there is no such thing as too much cheese, and this was one of the most luxuriously cheesey pizzas we’ve tasted. Dare we say it: Best on the Upper West Side! The pizza also has a wonderfully chewy-crisp thin crust, which is what you expect from old fashioned oven-baked pies like these. Add a big green salad and you’ve got a feast that will satisfy any appetite. Of course, we also had to try a dessert, and their rich and creamy Tiramisu ($9) ranks among the best. Mangia!

Tiramisu

With Fratelli La Bufalo open for just under a month, as expected, they still have a few wrinkles to iron out, which we’ll make you aware of now. When we visited, the gas grill was not yet in operation, which meant that none of the menu’s featured meat dishes (including the mashed potato-stuffed meatballs and the rib eye steak) were available. Likewise, several pasta dishes (and even a featured dessert) were unavailable for whatever reason, so it’s advisable to either stick to ordering the pizza, or be sure to ask before you start perusing the menu’s many color photo-studded pages if there are certain dishes which are ‘off menu’ that day.

On the upside, the NYC location is lovely and comfortable with an engaging ambiance. The interiors were designed by Lelia Castellano and include colorful murals and pop art paintings by Antonio Montariello. It’s simple, but chic, modern and unpretentious. And the pizza really is delicious.

Fratelli La Bufala is Located at 2161 Broadway at the Northwest Corner of 76th Street, New York, NY 10024 ( just blocks from the 1, 2 and 3 trains at 72nd Street). Phone 212-496-5303 or visit their website at This Link for more information. The Restaurant does not accept reservations at this time.

Nice job, right?

Thanks to Joe Flavin for the Image!

Available at This Link — you know, for Mother’s Day!