Illustration by Luke Armistead

Las Vegas is preparing to erect two giant paintbrushes that shoot laser beams up into the sky at the entrance of its arts district … Dennis Oppenheim, the artist behind Canada’s controversial “Device to Root out Evil,” an upside down church balanced on its steeple, seems to have lost his edge … In Vancouver, brothers Zhen and Qiang Gao, have erected “Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin’s Head,” a giant stainless steel head of Vladimir Lenin and a tiny prissy Chairman Mao Zedong as part of the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale, sparking much debate … Apache, the rapper behind what may have been the most controversial rap album of the 90s, “Gangsta Bitch,” died Friday, January 22. He was a member of Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit Crew … “La Belle Ferronniere,” a fake daVinci is going up for auction this week. In 1929 the painting provoked a fierce debate—real or not real?—which nearly brought a foremost expert to his knees, which shows just how fragile and fussy the art world is. If the painting were a daVinci, it might fetch over 250 million dollars, but as it stands, the current price can only buy a month’s worth of slurpees for an NBA team …