Dozens of punk rockers in Indonesia were arrested and had their mohawks shaved by security officers last December.
They were also forced to undergo a so-called re-education programme in Aceh – the only province in Indonesia with Islamic law.
But now the punks are back on the streets in what they say is their way to protest against “corruption” and “injustice”.

Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen reports from Aceh, Indonesia.

…

The Propeller Group has been invited to participate in Los Angeles’ first Biennial opening June 3rd and is being organized jointly by the Hammer Museum and LAXART.

“The roster of emerging and under-recognized L.A. artists for the inaugural Hammer/LAX Art biennial has been released, along with an announcement of a $100,000 prize to be awarded to one participant. Liz Glynn, Analia Saban and Henry Taylor are among the 60 artists tapped for the show…

This isn’t a photograph of the daVinci we know and love hanging at the Louvre. This is the fully restored ‘copy’ found in Prado, painted in Leonardo daVinci’s studio at the same time the painting at the Louvre was created. According to official experts on the subject, the copy definitely came from daVinci’s studio: “Italian panel paintings of the time were normally done on a gesso ground, but the Prado copy is now shown to have been painted on a double layer of lead white and linseed oil, a technique usually adopted by Leonardo on finely-grained woods.” art newspaper… read more to see additional photos of the fully restored masterpiece…

This last week, Bill Weir of ABC Nightline gets to be the first journalist allowed inside the infamous and mysterious Foxconn factory located in Longhua, Shenzhen, China. The mystique of this factory has grown to a sort of Willy Wonka proportion, with the U.S. media become increasingly concerned for the well being and treatment of the workers in the factory.

The Shenzhen Foxconn factory has an estimated 1.2 million employees according to the NY Times. That is more than the population of some countries; even more than the population of Fiji, Bahamas, Belize and Iceland all put together.

How do you instill hope into a country and subsequently back into your brand? If you are Chrysler you hire a Clint Eastwood.

Meanwhile… this advert which was produced by Citizens Against Government Waste a few months ago was quickly banned from major networks as it is seen as too controversial…

Following up on Saors post just a couple days ago, shortly after, three more Tibeten monks set themselves on fire in an act of protest against Chinese rule in Tibet. Two of those Tibetans are in critical condition and one passed away. The latest protest would mean 19 Tibetans had self-immolated in the past year and 13 of them had died. Most of the protesters are Buddhist monks or nuns in what are seen as acts of desperation in the face of tightening Chinese controls over Tibetan life and culture. Most of the immolations have occurred in heavily Tibetan areas of China’s Sichuan province. The Dalai Lama recently spoke out about the wave of self-immolations in Tibet blaming Beijing’s “cultural genocide” continue reading …

Los Angeles and the world loses an amazing artist. Here’s to you Mr. Kelley. You’re not so bad after all.

“Brechtian Theatre Techniqes by Mike Kelley

After hearing psychedelic music I became a rock music fan and went to many concerts. Two concerts changed everything for me: One was a concert by Sun Ra at the Ann Arbor Blues and Jass Festival, and the other was a concert by Iggy and the Stooges at a small biker bar in Wayne, Michigan…” continue reading…

Art historians say they have found a copy of the Mona Lisa, which they believe is probably painted by one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s own pupils. Via bbc.

Etta James.