Kenny Scharf

Someone dug up footage of Warhol Superstar Nico covering Bowie’s “Heroes” with a disco beat in a small British bar in the early 1980s. She looks totally crazy and it’s one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in my life. [YouTube].

More counterculture nostalgia out of England: London’s Michael Hoppen Gallery has a show of vintage punk memorabilia and 1970s photographs of Vivienne Westwood, Siouxsie Sioux, Johnny Rotten, and more. It’s on view through August 26th, if you’re planning a trip to take advantage of the cheap pound! [Blouin Artinfo]

Alexandra Lange questions the veracity and relevance of the “50% of the world’s population live in cities” assumption. She makes some good points about the inaccuracy of the UN’s methodology and the need for more nuanced looks at local morphologies for designers and theorists. In the Bay Area, for example: “I can think of a dozen other reasons, right in their own backyard, why a Silicon Valley incubator should be interested in the future of housing, transportation, regional planning, and workplace design. Why, then, must they go global? The future of one kind of city, in which people live densely and work in sprawl, is being written on their doorstep, and yet, the use of the statistic implies that they want to change a larger, less knotty idea of the city.” But isn’t the whole fun and spirit of architecture, design, and planning a never-ending strive for the utopian? [Curbed]

The New York Post unearthed pictures from the mid 90’s, when Melania Trump (then Knauss) posed with another female model for a “lesbian-themed” photoshoot. True to the Post’s classy editorial style, this just reeks of slut-shaming and isn’t really journalism. Maybe all those out-of-work Gawker staff can send their resumés over to Rupert Murdoch. [The New York Post]

Related: Australian muralist Lushsux has had his Instagram account deleted after publishing photos of a mural he completed depicting Hillary Clinton in a sexy American Flag swimsuit. [9 News]

Update: Lushux responded to the censorship by covering Clinton in a Burqa. [ABC News]

This must’ve been a fun article to research… the history of drugs in art, from ancient times to Kenny Scharf’s installations for tripping and Damien Hirst’s medicine cabinets of psychopharmaceuticals. Even Marina Abramović has dabbled in mind-altering substances! But for the best example of drug-induced creativity, rewatch Nico’s “Heroes” rendition at the top of the page. [CNN]

Job alert: Italian art fair Artissima is seeking a new director. The fair takes place in Turin in November. [artnet News]

The AC Institute is holding an open call for a gun memorial design. Those interested should submit a mock up for a memorial design at the National Mall in Washington DC. The winning projects won’t be installed at the mall, but will be included in an online show and a publication. Deadline: December 2016. [AC Institute]

Creative Time has added seven new board members: artist/actor Waris Ahluwalia, artist Trevor Paglen, designer Ivana Berendika, collector Heather Farrer, curator Sofía Hernández, Clinton Foundation program vice president Maura Pally, and Andrei Tretyakov, a venture capitalist. [ARTnews]