It's the Pulse edition of "Believe it or not." First there was "Tempation Island", then "Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire" and now there's Art Star - the art world's entree into the world of bad reality TV. Uh-huh. That's why we're glad to see that at least one painter is keeping pop culture real. Meet Kehinde Wiley.

While in an art residency program in Harlem, Wiley began painting black men in historically heroic settings (e.g. as Napolean on a white horse). These paintings are over-sized and bound in signature gilt, almost royal frames. By giving African-American males a place in art history that has been reserved for Europeans his commentary easily crosses color lines and called the attention of the fickle art world to his door. Recently, his latest paintings of Biggie Smalls, Ice-T and other hip-hop luminaries have garnered him spots in some of the best galleries worldwide. Collectors are starting to go ga-ga and the haters are beginning to snap their jaw from all that envy. Ah, sweet success...

Kehinde is a bigger than life personality, just like his paintings. Legendary for his bravado and hyper-devoted legions of fans, Wiley is poised to be the next "real" art star as he takes on all of pop culture with a stroke of his brush.

RANDOM TANGENT:
Sienna Miller (who is set to play Edie Sedgwick in an upcoming biopic), Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie all refused to be the Bond babe in the new 007 movie Casino Royale. Instead, it will be Eva Green.

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