This week’s Downtown Express includes an article on the growing art gallery/bar scene in the Lower East Side of NYC.

They announce that in one of these galleries, Gallery Nine 5, will be a an exhibition called “Makeover” starting this Friday, featuring the work of artist Sali Taylor, who’s created “montages of images of contemporary fashion models, female iconography and art history.”

An excerpt, at left.

Looks like we’re not the only ones enthralled by Caroline’s northward pursuits. The piece is entitled “Jump”, and we sincerely hope Sali considers Kriss Kross for his soundtrack.

While most people will either sleep in or try to get a good deal on a family supply of scarves this Friday, here’s something fun you could do instead:

Stop by the Sunglass Hut (between 1pm and 5pm) in Soho to watch artist Chris Mendoza hand-paint 100 pair of Wayfarers with graffiti-ish illustrations for customers to either buy on the spot, or to be sold on SunglassHut.com starting December 3rd.

The specs will go for $250 a pop, with 25% of the proceeds going to Gift of Sight.

That is, of course, if you haven’t tired completely of seeing them on the face of every person under 30 (Or, you know, that part about “$250.”)

Banana Republic’s sponsoring NADA’s (NADA is the New Art Dealers Alliance) Art Fair 2008 Preview Benefit for the New Museum this year at Art Basel Miami. So, Banana Republic’s contribution (other than funding the whole thing)? Totes, of course!

BR and the New Museum chose six artists out of eighty-five to have their work splashed on the front of cotton totes to be sold at Art Basel Miami and at the New Museum store (though only three will make it to the New Museum gift shop), with 100% of the proceeds benefiting NADA and the New Museum.

The six artists whose work and signatures will be featured on the future grocery bags are Chris Caccamise from Eleven Rivington in New York, Kon Trubkovich from Museum 52 in London/New York, Slawek Pawszak from Czarna Gallery in Poland, Olivier Babin from Frank Elbaz Gallery in Paris, Shinro Ohtake from Take Ninagawa in Tokyo and William O’Brien from Shane Campbell Gallery in Chicago.

But the best part? They’ve made a special tote produced with the “Hell Yes!” catchphrase on the front of the New Museum, by artist Ugo Rondinone. We’re sure that one will have a special place in the heart of anyone who’s ever looked down to Bowery from the west, and giggled.

(Check out Caccamise’s and Babin’s tote designs, after the jump!)

Keds were our sneaker of choice in grade school, but they haven’t been since - and we’re sure we’re not alone in this.

But have you seen the sneakers they had some GenArt kids design?

At left, is the limited-edition design by artist Anne Faith Nichols, of British Columbia. They’re blue, there’s a bird, they’re $60 and they even come in half sizes - in short, they’re kind of perfect for jeans on the weekends and printed mini-dresses for Spring.

Plus, wearing them around would be a little like time traveling - and who didn’t want to do that in sixth grade?

While some companies are trying their hardest to come across as inexpensive as possible through advertised (and constant) sales and “everyday” low prices (Olay, Target, Bloomingdale’s), other companies, we’ll call them “luxury,” simply aren’t, because the general consensus has been that the luxury market is doing just fine.

But a big impressionist and modern art auction at Christie’s last week wasn’t just uneventful - it tanked.

44% of the works, including 19th century landscapes by Monet, failed to sell, with the auction’s sales totaling to less than one third of the pre-sale lowball estimates.

So what could this mean? Either people at the tip top of the financial echelons are hanging on to their money a little tighter these days due to their own financial woes - or, it’s simply become distasteful to drop jillions when news like this comes out.

Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how all the high-end jewelry companies respond to this holiday/bonus season. Harry Winston on sale? Let us pray.

“It’s a survival instinct. But I think, you know, they’re all as bad as each other. I mean, you look at the [art] dealers, it’s a heavy show you’re playing with there. That’s as bad as any retailer I’ve ever come across. It’s the same kind of thing, it’s selling, selling and selling.” - Stella McCartney, in an art world vs. fashion world conversation with artist Ed Ruscha, on an upcoming Iconoclasts.

Fact: Everyday, Britt walks past this gallery on her way to and from her hotel in Paris.

Fact: And everyday, it’s closed.

Fact: Jessica Stam is the only Stam we’ve ever heard of.

Theory: Is this a side project of hers that gets neglected during Fashion Week?

Of course we know it’s not, but funny to picture her sitting there, n’est-ce pas?

“To our mind the work of a fashion designer is so different from that of an artist! We usually work in a necessarily more collaborative manner. We present our work twice a year, using the same medium, respecting the same human form, within an industrial framework, using industrial means of production, and having our work translated through the chain of distribution for our work.” — Maison Martin Margiela, on why fashion is not an art form in the new Interview

If you happen to find yourself in Dallas between the dates of July 31 and September 6, we already have an event that we think you should attend -

The Light & Sie gallery (129 Leslie Street, 214.745.2255 - Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to 5pm) is hosting a group exhibition called Sehnsucht (translated loosely from German, you get “longing” or “aspiration”) including photography from Vanessa Beecroft and Jeremy Kost (of RoidRage fame and Fashionista Fashion Week backstage coverage), alongside Hedi Slimane.

The works are meant to investigate the notion of beauty in contemporary art, and how it’s approached by artists working in a variety of mediums.

We won’t be in Dallas on July 31, but if you are, we urge you to go. And if you do, can you please ask Hedi about Dior Homme?

Thanks.

Spotted on Prince Street yesterday afternoon.

A preview to the Met Ball?

Only to us…

I just moved into my first apartment, and was having some trouble with finding fashion related artwork for cheap.

I might bid on one of those Bardot by Avedon portraits but alas, my trust fund hasn’t kicked in yet (kidding).

But luckily my budget still allows for my magazine addiction. So thank goodness for Design*Sponge, and their DIY on Subscription Card Art.

With a little paint and insomnia, I can finally turn the straight-to-the-recycling-bin inserts into something pretty for my walls.

This is perfect, since I usually spend the first few minutes of magazine reading just going through each page to pull them out for smoother flipping - now it’s like prep for my arts and crafts. That is, if they don’t fall out first…

— JAZZI McGILBERT

By now you’ve surely heard all the buzz surrounding tonight’s ball at the Brooklyn Museum celebrating Takashi Murakami’s “Murakami” exhibit.

Kanye West will perform, Marc Jacobs will pose, Jay-Z might appear…yadda yadda. As always, we’re most concerned with the fashion.

At left is the LV camouflage print designed for the event (which we think is actually pretty genius), which will be sold, along with other LV bags, at tonight’s event via ten New York street vendor style booths. The move is meant to showcase just how serious Louis Vuitton is about cracking down on fakes, a part of the company’s new “zero tolerance” policy on counterfeits. They’re even having a press conference about it right before tonight’s event.

No word on whether Marc’s Göran Olofsson scarf will be sold alongside other LV goodies…

When we first heard that Polaroid was discontinuing its instant film (a fashion crowd favorite), our first thought was, “What’s going to happen to Jeremy Kost?”

Well, in addition to his work achieving a whole new level of antiquity in a few years, we at least know he’s going to have a career in making fun videos.

Tomorrow night is the premier of his first video installation work in NYC, “Not Yet Titled (Making Faces)”, (a take on Bruce Nauman’s own video work), to be shown in the lobby of the Tribeca Grand through Sunday night, when the private bash hosted by Terence Koh and Shamin Momin (the Whitney curator), takes place.

We highly suggest making the pit stop way downtown if you want to see 20-foot tall videos of boys in their underwear making faces at each other from across the lobby.

See you there!

(Click through to see a few more stills…)

Can you connect John Singer Sargent and Andy Warhol in one step?

Sure - they were both obsessed with society girls.

Now the painter David Foote takes his shot at stardom - or at least a steep commission from a wealthy family.

David’s drawn Patrick McMullan regulars like Jessica Joffe (left) and Olivia Palermo, and he puts them all up for exhibit next week at the L Gallery Studio, with a party hosted by Brian Wolk and Claude Morais of Ruffian.

We expect the portrait subjects will attend their big unveiling, but which socialite will lend her patronage to Mr. Foote for a future painting of herself?

Like the Spring ‘09 collections, that’s still TBA…

We all know Miuccia Prada is really into art and Rem Koolhaas, and now she’s bringing her two loves even closer together in her hometown.

The Prada Foundation just bought an exhibition space in the south of Milan to be turned into a museum, (design by Prada-stores architect Koolhaas), within the next three or four years.

There’s going to be a full story on it in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, in which Miuccia explains that, “art is more or less [her] second career.”

The space is meant to be not just a museum, but a “cultural center” with room for Miuccia’s “collection” to be on view.

Could this be the future venue for Prada AW12? (God that looks weird.)

Maybe Sasha can donate some of her drawings, then it would really be an art/fashion collision…

In college, we studied with a rich girl. She was in our art program, and bought Louis Vuitton bags to cut up or cover over, or half burn or part shred or whatever. She said it was a comment on consumerism but we thought a little differently:

That she was a pretty 19-year-old showing off all the shit she could buy.

We haven’t seen her since, but yesterday in Paris, we did spot this:

A new Colette art exhibit from the artist Comenius Roethlisberger, with giant chocolate blocks carved with designer logos.

You’ll notice the logos are white, and that’s because they’ve been filled with a mix of powdered sugar and cocaine.

We have to laugh because of how it could hold up in court:

Drug laws versus artistic expression?

Also: You think anyone will bust Colette for possession charges?

Tonight’s the open house for Scott Schuman’s photo exhibition at Danziger Galleries, and it’s going to be special.

After all, Scott Schuman is The Sartorialist, and his images of Carine, Anna, Sofia, Daria, and every Conde Nast assistant worth her motorcycle bag will dot the walls of Chelsea.

If you want to spot Scott’s impeccable subjects, or meet the man himself, here’s all the info:

Danziger Projects
521 W. 26th St, New York City
6 - 8pm

Now make sure you wear skinny jeans or tights, a navy a-line coat with metal buttons, chunky heels, and a bright one-colored cashmere scarf, and also bring your bicycle… otherwise, risk not getting photographed (eek!).

Those wishing to see The Sartorialist’s photographs in person should call The Danziger Gallery in New York.

Next month, they’ll host the first exhibit of Scott Schuman’s photographs, with prints selling for $1200 each.

Whether the images will be more illuminating than the blog is a matter of personal preference, but it’s worth noting The Costume Institute’s winter exhibit is also about the interactions between websites and style - their new program, Blog.Mode allows visitors to write their reactions to various Costume Institute outfits on a special Met blog.

Maybe it’s too much to ask, but we hope The Sartorialist will bring his camera to both art openings, documenting what people think they should wear when their own opinions and manifestations of style are on the line.

Also: we’re dying to go to the Sartorialist’s big art opening, because we know everyone will really dress up.