The Week In Arts & Culture: Worst Of 2012, Best Of 2013 And More (PHOTOS)

We hope you had a great holiday week! Here we were reviewing the best and worst from 2012 and looking forward for the art-filled year to come. Intrigued? Read on...

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Pinaree Sanpitak: Temporary Insanity WHAT: Exhibition of Southeast Asian artist, Pinaree Sanpitak, who combines organic symbols and brightly colored sculptural installations to reflect on themes of spirituality, femininity, and equality in the region. WHEN: January 12th - March 3rd, 2013 WHERE: Austin Museum of Art What to look out for: One hundred amorphous, squeezable sculptures that you can play with. IMAGE: Pinaree Sanpitak, Temporary Insanity, 2003-4 (installation detail) Silk, stuffing, motion sensors and devices, dimensions variable, Courtesy of the artist and Tyler Rollins Fine Art

Enrico David WHAT: An exhibition of Italian-born artist, Enrico David, known for his figurative multimedia works that reveals a dark underworld of surreal, craft-informed creatures. WHEN: January 12th - May 5th, 2013 WHERE: Hammer Museum What to look out for: Paper mummies, hand-crafted tapestries and cavernous paintings IMAGE: Enrico David Untitled 2012 Acrylic on canvas. 103 3/4 x 91 3/4 inches. 281 x 233 cm. Courtesy Michael Werner Gallery, New York and London. Michael Werner Gallery, New York and London.

American Vesuvius: The Aftermath of Mount St. Helens WHAT: An exhibition dedicated to the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State. WHEN: January 13th - May 12th, 2013 WHERE: The Cleveland Museum of Art What to look out for: Many photographs revealing the transformation of Mt. St. Helen's surrounding landscapes taken throughout the 20th century. IMAGE: Inside Mount St. Helens Crater, Base of Lava Dome on the Left (detail), 1983. Frank Gohlke (American, born 1942). Gelatin silver print; 45.3 x 55.9 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of museum members in 1989 1989.433

Alexandre Singh: The Pledge WHAT: The first North American museum exhibition of New York-based artist, Alexandre Singh. WHEN: January 17th - March 13th, 2013 WHERE: The Drawing Center What to look out for: Collage art accounts of interviews conducted by the artist with noted scientists, artists, writers and filmmakers. IMAGE: Alexandre Singh, Assembly Instructions (The Pledge- Leah Kelly), 2011. Framed inkjet ultrachrome archival prints and dotted pencil lines, 18 x 24 inches, #6 from a set of 37. Courtesy Art: Concept, Monitor gallery, Sprüth Magers

The Artist and the Poet WHAT: Planned to coincide with the institute's "Picasso and Chicago" exhibition, the array of prints and drawings reveal the collaborative relationship between artists like Pablo Picasso, Robert Motherwell and David Hockney and poets such as Max Jacob, Rafael Alberti and Wallace Steves, respectively. WHEN: February 1st - June 2nd, 2013 WHERE: The Art Institute Chicago What to look out for: "Skin with O’Hara Poem" (1963–65), a print by Jasper Johns that was inspired by the poet Frank O'Hara.

Shinique Smith: Firsthand WHAT: A exhibition of Shinique Smith's work that reflects on the artist's Baltimore upbringing and early desire to work with fashion and design. WHEN: February 8th, 2013 - ongoing WHERE: Los Angeles Museum of Art What to look out for: A combination of costumery and textiles tangled into sculptural installations like "Swaying Beauty." IMAGE: Shinique Smith, Swaying Beauty, 2007, clothing, foam, rope, and twine, 60 x 22 x 22 in., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Schiff Fine Art, © Shinique Smith.

Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui WHAT: The first solo exhibition in a New York museum by the Ghana-born artist El Anatsui. WHEN: February 8th - August 4th, 2013 WHERE: Brooklyn Museum What to look out for: Twelve giant wall and floor sculptures made from metal, wood and appropriated objects. IMAGE: El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944). Earth’s Skin, 2009. Aluminum and copper wire, 177 x 394 in. (449.6 x 1000.8 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photograph by Joe Levack, courtesy of the Akron Art Museum

Angles, Demons, and Savages: Pollock, Ossorio, Dubuffet WHAT: An exhibition of work by American artists Jackson Pollock and Alfonso Ossorio, as well as French painter Jean Dubuffet. WHEN: February 9th - May 12th, 2013 WHERE: Phillips Collection What to look out for: Around 53 paintings and drawings that show a visual friendship enjoyed by all three artists. IMAGE: Number 7, 1952 1952 Enamel and oil on canvas 53 1/8 x 40 inches The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Eye Level in Iraq: Photographs by Kael Alford and Thorne Anderson WHAT: The photographs of Kael Alford and Thorne Anderson, two American-trained photo journalists who documented the aftermath of the US-led allied invasion of Iraq in 2003. WHEN: February 9th - June 16th, 2013 WHERE: de Young What to look out for: Images taken outside the confines of the U.S. military's embedded journalist program. IMAGE: Thorne Anderson, Thawra, Baghdad, Iraq, April 18, 2003. Digital inkjet print. High Museum of Art, Atlanta. © Thorne Anderson

Gutai: Splendid Playground WHAT: The first U.S. museum retrospective of Gutai, a postwar Japanese artist collective and influential avante-garde proponent of the 1950s and '60s. WHEN: February 15th - May 8th, 2013 WHERE: Guggenheim What to look out for: A whirlwind of paintings, conceptual art, experimental performance and film, indoor and outdoor installations, sound art, mail art, interactive art, light art... and kinetic art. IMAGE: Murakami Saburo Passing Through, 1956 Performance view: 2nd Gutai Art Exhibition, Ohara Kaikan, Tokyo, ca. October 11–17, 1956 © Makiko Murakami and the former members of the Gutai Art Association, courtesy Museum of Osaka University

William H. Johnson: An American Modern WHAT: An exhibition of the work of modern American artist William Henry Johnson, the self-described "primitive and cultural painter." WHEN: February 16th - May 12th, 2013 WHERE: Georgia Museum of Art What to look out for: Twenty landscapes, still-lifes and portraits including the iconic "Blind Singer" and "Aunt Alice." IMAGE: William H. Johnson (American 1907–1970) Aunt Alice (detail), ca. 1944 Oil on compressed board 33 3/4 x 28 5/8 inches Collection of Morgan State University

NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star WHAT: A time capsule-esque exhibit that centers on the art, pop culture and politics of 1993 in New York. WHEN: February 13th - May 26th, 2013 WHERE: The New Museum What to look out for: Time-specific references to the ongoing conflict in Europe, attempts at peace in the Middle East, the AIDS crisis, and national debates on health care, gun control, and gay rights. IMAGE: Art Club 2000, Untitled (Conrans I), 1992–93. Chromogenic color print, 8 x 10 in (20.32 x 25.4 cm). Courtesy the artist and the Estate of Colin de Land

Chagall: Beyond Color WHAT: A look at the paintings, sculpture, ceramics and collage of the Russian-French artist, Marc Chagall. WHEN: February 17th - May 26th, 2013 WHERE: Dallas Museum of Art What to look out for: A display of costumes made by Chagall in 1942 for the production of the ballet "Aleko," choreographed by Léonide Massine with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. IMAGE: Marc Chagall, Double Portrait with Wine Glass (Double Portrait au Verre de Vin)1917-1918 Oil on canvas Overall: 92 17/32 x 53 15/16 in. (2 m 35 cm x 137 cm) Framed dimensions: 97 1/4 x 58 21/32 x 2 3/4 in. (2 m 47 cm x 149 cm x 7 cm) Centre Pompidou Photo : (c) Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN / Adam Rzepka. (c) 2012 Artists Rights Society. (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Kehinde Wiley: The Memling Series WHAT: A new series of paintings by the New York artist Kehinde Wiley, who is known for his knack for re-envisioning classical styles of portraiture. WHEN: February 20th - June 23rd, 2013 WHERE: Phoenix Art Museum What to look out for: Eight paintings based on the work of Hans Memling, the Flemish master painter of the Northern Renaissance. IMAGE: Kehinde Wiley, Marechal Floriano Peixoto (The World Stage: Brazil), 2009. Oil on canvas, 96" x 84." Phoenix Art Museum. Museum purchase with funds provided by Contemporary Forum in honor of the Museum's 50th Anniversary.

Color Rush: 75 Years of Color Photography in America WHAT: A history of color photography in the United States from 1907 to 1981, including magazine images, gallery works, advertisements, and photojournalism. WHEN: February 22nd - May 19th, 2013 WHERE: Milwaukee Art Museum What to look out for: References to Life, Vogue and Kodak. IMAGE: Edward Steichen (American, b. Luxemburg, 1879–1973) Bouquet of Flowers, January 8, 1940 Dye transfer print image: 9 9/16 x 6 5/8 in. (24.3 x 16.8 cm) Collection of George Eastman House (Bequest of Edward Steichen by Direction of Joanna T. Steichen) Permission of the Estate of Edward Steichen, Courtesy of George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film

Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity WHAT: A survey of the fashion trends that appeared in the works of the Impressionists and their contemporaries. WHEN: February 26th - May 27th, 2013 WHERE: The Metropolitan Museum of Art What to look out for: Around eighty major figure paintings seen in conjunction with period costumes, accessories, fashion plates, photographs, and popular prints that also show the relationshi between fashion and art at this time. IMAGE: Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926) Women in the Garden 1866 Oil on canvas 100 3/8 x 80 11/16 in. (255 x 205 cm) Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Workt by Hand: Hidden Labor and Historical Quilts WHAT: The exhibition examines the impact of feminist scholarship on historical quilts, giving focus to the ways in which ideas of anonymity, authorship and collectivity affected the interpretation of the craft. WHEN: March 15th - September 15th, 2013 WHERE: Brooklyn Museum What to look out for: Thirty-five American and European quilt masterpieces. IMAGE: Elizabeth Welsh (American). Medallion Quilt, circa 1830. Cotton, 110 ½ x 109 in. (280.7 x 267.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of The Roebling Society, 78.36. Photo by Gavin Ashworth

James Turrell: A Retrospective WHAT: A collection of the many light installations of American artist James Turrell, concurrently presented by the MFAH, LACMA and the Guggenheim WHEN: June 9th - September 22nd, 2013 at MFAH (May 26th, 2012-April 6th, 2014 at LACMA and June 21st-September 25th, 2013 at Guggenheim) WHERE: Museum of Fine Arts Houston What to look out for: "Vertical Vintage", a grouping of a dozen interactive, light-based installations. IMAGE: James Turrell, The Light Inside, 1999, neon lights, gypsum board, plaster, glass, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, museum commission, gift of Isabel B. and Wallace S. Wilson. (c) James Turrell

Claes Oldenburg: The Street and the Store WHAT: A retrospective of Claes Oldenburg, an artist who once rented a storefront in New York City and filled it with handmade, painted sculptures that mimicked the everyday commercial products sold in stores throughout the neighborhood. WHEN: April 14th - August 5th, 2013 WHERE: Museum of Modern Art What to look out for: A selection of Oldenburg’s past "Store" performances, seen through films projected throughout the exhibition's halls. IMAGE: Claes Oldenburg (American, born Sweden 1929). Two Girls’ Dresses. 1961. Muslin soaked in plaster over wire frame, painted with enamel. 44 1/2 x 40 3/4 x 6” (113 x 103.5 x 15.2 cm). Private collection. © 1961 Claes Oldenburg. Photo: Gunter Lepkowski

Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Masterpieces of Modern Mexico WHAT: An exhibition of works collected by Jacque and Natasha Gelman, Eastern European ex-pats who became Mexican citizens in 1942 and subsequently acquired art by Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Rufino Tamayo, David Alfaro and more. WHEN: May 25th - August 18th, 2013 WHERE: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art What to look out for: More than 100 paintings, sculptures, photographs, and drawings. IMAGE: Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907-1954). Diego en mi pensamiento (Diego on My Mind), 1943. Oil on Masonite, 29 7/8 x 24 inches. The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. The Vergel Foundation. Conaculta/INBA. © Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Mika Taanila WHAT: An exhibit dedicated to Finnish artist Mika Taanila, who has created works in film, video, photography, sound, and installation that explore technological innovations and human's innate desire to continuously advance. WHEN: May 31st - August 11th, 2013 WHERE: Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis What to look out for: The CAM show will feature large multi-channel video installations, 35mm film presentations, and new photographic works.

Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes WHAT: The works of Le Corbusier (aka Charles-Édouard Jeanneret), whose work spanned architecture, interior design, visual art, city planning, writings, and photography. WHEN: June 9th - September 23rd, 2013 WHERE: Museum of Modern Art What to look out for: The exhibition will place particular focus on the ways in which Le Corbusier imagined landscapes, in his early watercolors of the Mediterranean, his sketches of India, and his photographs of architectural projects. IMAGE: Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret) (French, born Switzerland. 1887-1965) with Pierre Jeanneret (Swiss, 1896–1967). Villa Savoye Poissy-sur-Seine, France. 1929-31. Wood, aluminum, and plastic. 16 x 34 x 32? (40.6 x 86.4 x 81.3 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris / FLC

Future Beauty: Thirty Years of Japanese Fashion WHAT: An entire exhibit dedicated to revolutionary Japanese fashion designers who are credited with influencing Western couture as we know it. WHEN: June 27th - September 8th, 2013 WHERE: Seattle Art Museum What to look out for: Eighty gowns by designers like Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto and Jun Takahashi. IMAGE: ISSEY MIYAKE ( Naoki Takizawa) + Aya Takano / Kaikai Kiki Autumn/Winter 2004 Collection Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute,Gift of ISSEY MIYAKE INC.

Fernand Leger and the Modern City WHAT: Using Fernand Léger’s 1919 work, "The City," as a jumping off point, the exhibit showcases the French artist's array of paintings, all of which incorporate forms of cultural production central to modern cities, like graphic and advertising design, theater, film, and architecture. WHEN: October 2013 - January 2014 WHERE: Philadelphia Museum of Art What to look out for: Over one hundred Leger works from collectors and institutions across Europe and the US. IMAGE: The City, 1919. Fernand Léger, French, 1881 1955. Oil on canvas, 7 feet 7 inches x 9 feet 9 1/2 inches (231.1 x 298.4 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art, A. E. Gallatin Collection, 1952. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris Image courtesy of Philadelphia Museum of Art

Charles Marville: Photographer of Paris WHAT: The first retrospective exhibition in the United States of 19th-century Parisian photographer Charles Marville, which serves as a biographical account of his life as well as an artist survey of his career. WHEN: September 29th, 2013 - January 5th, 2014 WHERE: National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. What to look out for: Around one hundred photographs, mostly of Paris, that range from city scenes and landscapes to architectural studies of Europe in the early 1850s. IMAGE: Charles Marville Hôtel de la Marine, c. 1870 Diana and Mallory Walker Fund

A new year is upon us, dear readers, which means a new line-up of exhibitions and gallery shows. In honor of the year ahead, we've scoured the upcoming retrospectives and solo shows and picked 25 exhibits that we just can't wait to see. From Frida Kahlo and Marc Chagall to female quilters and Japanese fashion designers, the art of 2013 gives us hope for the months ahead.

Scroll through the slideshow below for a sneak peek at the 25 exhibits on our list. Packed with artwork previews and details you won't want to miss, its our perfect guide to art admiring in the new year. Let us know which exhibits you are most excited for in the comments section.

We wished a happy birthday to comic genius and wily television personality, Stanley Lieber, better known as Stan Lee. The Marvel writer and editor behind works such as "The Amazing Spiderman" and "The Incredible Hulk" is turning 90 years old this Friday, December 28.

On Wednesday, archeologists revealed the remains of an ancient arts center underneath Rome dating back to 123 AD, according to the Guardian.

Emperor Hadrian is believed to have funded "the Athenaeum," as it was known at the time; it was a 900-seat complex created to promote arts and culture, CBS News reports. Archeologists discovered the arts center during excavations for a new subway line to run through the Italian capital.

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So this eighty year old woman walks into a church in Spain and takes it upon herself to restore a crackly old Jesus fresco. The result looks like an electrocuted ghost monkey and the art world goes wild. The culprit gets famous, makes money and earns the title of "worst restorer in history," and Beast Jesus becomes one of the most recognizable and beloved works of contemporary art.

Sometimes you get drunk and make regrettable decisions. Like Carmen Tisch, who rubbed her butt and urinated against a $30-40 million Clyfford Still painting. It happens, what's your question? Oh, also it was at 3:30 pm, aka five o'clock somewhere.

Many artists flirt with the boundary between high and low, art and entertainment, culture and celebrity. Domingo Zapata is not one of those artists. The star-crazy Mr. Brainwash wannabe (does that make him a wannabe wannabe?) churns out C-grade portraits of Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian and Sophia Vergara that go for around $100K. Can a washed up starlet start dating the man already so he will stop making art?

Who would have thought one of the most controversial artists of the year would be conservative pundit Glenn Beck? Beck took a hint from Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ" for his own pièce de résistance, "Obama in Pee Pee," an Obama bobble head in a jar of "urine" (beer). Beck's jab at the art world's equation of scandalous art and good art hit a little close to home.

Super hip vandal alternative artist Vladimir Umanets made headlines when he scrawled the message "a potential piece of Yellowism" onto a Mark Rothko painting worth at least $8 million. Umanets attributed the act to his artistic movement Yellowism, which he described as "not art or anti-art." Confused? So was the court that sentenced him to two years in jail.

The awards for best-dressed art thief and least climactic art thief both go to the polka-dotted Dali caper, who strolled up to an $150K Salvador Dali work, casually dropped it in his tote bag and walked out of an art gallery at 5 pm. Surveillance guards are still kicking themselves. In their defense, they were blinded by the polka dots!

This year Richard Prince took a break from his normal artist duties to team up with AriZona iced tea and craft the perfect lemon fizzy beverage. The commercial endeavor was made all the more bizarre by the seriousness Prince attached to the project, best exemplified in the black-and-white, hot-and-bothered head shot adorning every can. *Full disclosure, we did try the drink at Art Basel Miami Beach and it was quite refreshing.

This year the prestigious learning establishment that is the University of California decided its 144 year old logo had gotten a bit stale. The revamped logo garnered comparisons to a flushing toilet, loading symbol and cheesy health care ad. After an onslaught of fury from students, alumna and people with eyes, the university agreed to suspend use of the new logo.

Two art thieves probably experienced extreme nausea when they realized the Ford they had chosen as their getaway car was too small to fit their stolen loot. After breaking into a house and stealing the hefty Carl Larsson work "Clair-Obscur," the criminal masterminds tried to squeeze it in the car, failed, and threw the $500,000 painting to the side of the road. To all future art thieves: just go with the standard white van.

You know Damien Hirst? The world's richest artist whose fortune estimates at about $346 million? Yeah, well turns out he can't really paint. His 'Two Weeks One Summer' show at White Cube was truly "Guy Fieri-ed" from all angles, from Jonathan Jone's comparison to the delusional works of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to our personal favorite tweet: "Insult a three year-old child's painting by saying 'Damien Hirst could've done that.'"

Really though? It's 2012, guys.

Hey, art world, everyone makes mistakes. We don't judge... But we may make fun of you a little. We've compiled a list of the 10 most embarrassing art moments of 2012, from the laughable to the truly reprehensible.

From the restoration fail that launched a thousand memes to an art heist foiled by a tiny getaway car, these epic #artfails remind us that even the self-serious art world has an awesome blooper reel. Why so serious, art world? Enjoy the biggest art blunders of 2012.

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Who would want to own a soiled pair of the King's underpants? Apparently no one. The unique auction offering went up for sale at Omega Auction House in September 2012, but alas, it found not an interested buyer in sight. The reserve price was a generous $11,000 but the bidding only reached a measly $8K. Presley's old Bible, however, fetched a whopping $94,600.

This December, Sotheby's auctioned off the extramarital love letters of 'Peanuts' creator, Charles Schulz. Sent to a young lady 23 years his junior, the lovesick missives failed to attract a buyer, yet remain one of the weirder items we saw on the bidding block this year. IMAGE: AP Photo/Sotheby's

For just shy of $2,000, an antiques dealer bought two skeletons -- one male set of bones in a tuxedo and one Bible-carrying female counterpart -- at Tom Hall Auctions in Pennsylvania. The lucky auction winner, who scored the unusual lot in September, plans to resell the skeletons along with another set he already owns.

Two rare menus from the doomed vessel were sold at auction in November for an astounding $160,450. The menus weren't actually aboard the Titanic though; instead, the meal listings were used at a dinner at the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast prior to ship's departure. Maybe the bidder was up for a really dark historical reenactment?

It might seem like a typical Leica, but this particular M3D camera allegedly snapped the photograph of cubist master, Pablo Picasso. Owned by Picasso's pal and former LIFE magazine photographer David Douglas Duncan, the famous camera sold at the Westlicht photo-gallery in Vienna for a world record price of €1.68 million ($2.19 million) in November. IMAGE: DIETER NAGL/AFP/Getty Images

The piano used for the song "As Times Goes By" in the classic 1942 film "Casablanca" fetched more than $600,000 at auction this December. Offered up by a Japanese collector on the film's 70th anniversary, the iconic instrument undersold its $1.2 million estimate at Sotheby's. (We imagine the lucky new pianist saying, "Here's looking at you" to the antique set piece.) IMAGE: AP Photo/Sotheby's

In December, Tunisian authorities put property confiscated from ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali up for auction. The unusual lot included a pair of miniature gold sphinxes, a diamond-encrusted pen and a staggering 39 luxury cars. One of the rarities up for grabs was a super-pricy Mercedes that belonged to Ben Ali's nephew. Mohammed Lassaad Hamayed of Tunisia's confiscation committee called the car "a handmade gem made of carbon fibers that costs more than $2.6 million." IMAGE: FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images

In April, a racy photograph of the performer taken in 1990 and printed in 1991 hit the Bonham's auction block. Snapped by photographer Steven Meisel, the black-and-white photograph simply titled "Madonna" features the pop icon lying supine, naked on a bed with a sheet loosely covering her nether regions. Madonna’s Sensual Naked Photo Goes Under The Hammer Home » Culture » Art » Madonna’s Sensual Naked Photo Goes Under The Hammer A saucy photo of pop singer Madonna from 1990’s in beach blond hair and dark eye-make up went on sale at Bonhams at a price three times the estimate. The sultry photo in grey and silvery tone was taken by fashion photographer Steven Meisel, when Madonna was about 31 during her Blond Ambition tour. The provocative image was one among many photographs for which Madonna had posed at the time. The picture fetched £14,761 ($23,750). IMAGE: Steven Meisel, 'Madonna' (American, born 1954) 1990. Gelatin silver print, printed 1991, signed and annotated 'ed no. 1' in pencil on verso. 21 1/2 x 19in Estimated $5,000-7,000.

In October, a handwritten letter in which Albert Einstein challenges the idea of God and the notion of being "chosen"went for sale on eBay, receiving an opening bid of $3 million. The note, dubbed the "God letter" and penned a year before Einstein's death, expressed the famed physicist's views on religion, the Bible and the concept of a creator.

And the final slide of this year's "Weird at Auction" list is reserved for the woman who sold off her own virginity. Catarina Migliorini, a 20-year-old Brazilian woman, put her virginity on the bidding block for more than three-quarters of a million dollars. A man named "Natsu" won the online auction -- which was sponsored by an Australia-based website -- and now has exclusive rights to deflower the self-proclaimed virgin. (Feel free to commence collective "ewwws" now.)

We've already given you the year's most expensive artworks to hit the bidding block in 2012. Taken together, the collection of 25 paintings, drawings and sculptures totaled nearly $1 billion dollars at auctions across the world. What's more shocking than a slideshow of the sticker prices of pricey masterpieces, you ask? The weirdest and rarest auction objects that went up for sale in the same year.

Well, that was our week. We look forward to a beautiful new year together.

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