Stephen Colbert and the End of "Stephen Colbert"

On October 17^th, 2005, comedian Stephen Colbert introduced the persona “Stephen Colbert” on the first episode of The Colbert Report by also introducing to the world the concept of “Truthiness.” That bit (the full video’s here) not only resulted in “truthiness” becoming Merriam-Webster’s 2006 Word of the Year, but also introduced the “truthiness” of performance art to a mainstream American audience. What began as a broad caricature of a Bill O’Reilly-esque conservative TV pundit evolved over 9 years into a multidimensional character with elements of the real wit, charm, warmth, and unyielding mental sharpness of the real man. With news that Colbert will be leaving The Colbert Report at the end of 2014 to replace David Letterman as the host of the Late Show on CBS in 2015 comes great sadness on seeing “Stephen Colbert” the character come to an end, but we’ll still have the rest of the year to celebrate, appreciate, and understand what Stephen Colbert the performance artist truly accomplished. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Stephen Colbert and the End of 'Stephen Colbert.'"

Will Jeff Koons Feel the Colbert Bump?

Love him or hate him, Jeff Koons clings to the center of the contemporary art world like few artists today. And love him or hate him, Stephen Colbert and his show The Colbert Report act like a cultural epicenter, sending shock waves through the zeitgeist. When Koons appeared on The Colbert Report last week, he found himself ready to ride that wave of sudden success that Colbert himself refers to as the “Colbert bump.” If Koons ends up feeling the Colbert bump, what will it mean not only for him, but for contemporary art itself? Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Will Jeff Koons Feel the Colbert Bump?"