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The Book Object as Exhibition, an Interview with Dayanita Singh Nov 01, 2018

Show notes

Artist Dayanita Singh wasn’t happy taking photographs in the traditional way, preferring to create what she calls “book objects,” mini-exhibitions to showcase her work. Singh plays with the conventional language of art, and even calls herself an “off-set artist” to denote her preferred way to display her images.

She is currently exhibiting in the Carnegie International exhibition in Pittsburgh, and she has a small retrospective of her book objects at Callicoon Fine Art on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. I talked to her about her love of images, a formative (and funny) experience she shared with Robert Frank, and the future of the artist book.

A special thanks to Flash Trading (flashtrading.bandcamp.com) for providing the music for this episode.

The Artist as Lawyer, an Interview with Sergio Sarmiento about Art Law Oct 25, 2018

Show notes

The world of art has become more complicated as copyright, appropriation, and other issues force artists, dealers, collectors, and others to turn to lawyers for help. As foibles around the sale and maintenance of luxury art objects grab media headlines, you might be fooled into believing the future of art is in litigation.

I invited Sergio Sarmiento to join me to talk about the evolving world of art law and discuss why he went to law school as an art project, what he thinks about some recent sensational cases (Richard Prince/Instagram, Sam Durant at the Walker Art Center, and the recent Banksy auction stunt) and his thoughts on how appropriate has changed from the 1970s.

Linda Nochlin Explores the Role of Women in the Arts in a Previously Unaired Interview Oct 11, 2018

Show notes

On October 29, 2017, the world lost its first feminist art historian. That title, of course, describes Linda Nochlin, a leading academic who changed the world of art after she published her important essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?”

In 2016, I had the honor of interviewing her for the Women of Abstract Expressionism podcast and only used a few minutes of our interview. In this episode of Art Movements, we release the whole interview (leaving out some in-between bits) where she discusses the role of women in the arts, how oppression impacts culture, and her personal friendship with Joan Mitchell and others.

I also briefly interview one of her former students, art writer Aruna D'Souza, to explain what Nochlin was like as a person.

And the music this episode is “Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G, Movement I (Allegro)” one of the most renowned compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, who was Nochlin's favorite composer.

YO, Deborah Kass! Oct 04, 2018

Show notes

After decades in the art world, Deborah Kass has a hit. A major one. The type of beloved public artwork that you see endlessly on your social feeds, and brings a smile to your face whenever you encounter it. I'm talking about "OY/YO" (2015), the eight-foot-tall yellow sculpture that just landed at the Brooklyn Museum for an exhibition titled Something to Say.

I took the opportunity to invite Kass into the studio to talk about her work, her thoughts on the art world (she's a pessimist), the role of art today, and more. I also got to ask her something I've always wanted to ask her, particularly since she's so well known for her Warhol-inspired Barbra Streisand series: Does she have a favorite song by Streisand?

And a special thanks to sound artist Bradford Reed, who performed this past weekend as part of the 24-hour Sonic Transmission Archive event at the Newburgh Open Studios in Newburgh, New York. I was able to attend the Sunday portion of the event, which is a Wave Farm Partner Transmit project organized by Ethan Primason and Caroline Partamian, and got to hear and record his performance myself. Thanks to the artist and organizers for allowing us to use the sound work.

How the #MeToo Movement Has Impacted the Performing Arts Sep 27, 2018

Show notes

September has become the #MeToo movement’s defining month. Bill Cosby recently received a sentence of 3 to 10 years in prison for the drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand. And as I write this, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her allegations of sexual misconduct and attempted rape against the Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Under intense public scrutiny, survivors of sexual assault are often asked to revisit painful, traumatic memories with crystal clear recollection and foolproof evidence about a violent act that, by its very nature, is manipulative and deceitful.

As in Congress, so too in the arts: the scales of justice are weighed against survivors of sexual assault. That’s why American Theatre magazine’s thorough investigation of sexual assault allegations in the performing arts is so important. In a field where intense recreations of violence and intimacy are often part of the job description, victims of sexual misconduct are often disregarded or otherwise face effective banishment from the theater community’s predominantly male-run list of organizations. American Theatre’s entire September issue is devoted to investigating the #MeToo movement in the performing arts. Below is a recording of my conversation with the magazine’s senior editor, Diep Tran, wherein we discuss the major allegations facing major regional theaters in Houston, Minneapolis, New Haven, and beyond.

A special thanks to Miserable Chillers & Sun Kin for the music to this week’s episode, which features their latest album, Adoration Room. You can listen to that and more at miserablechillers.bandcamp.com and other streaming services.

What Does a Black Radical Art Education Look Like? Sep 20, 2018

Show notes

Faced with the ubiquity of white supremacy in US culture, some are seeking new, radical ways to shift the conversation to center Black consciousness as a way to combat the poison of White supremacy. Two artists and educators, Shanti Peters and Joseph Cullier, founded The Black School to confront such realities. Hyperallergic editor Jasmine Weber spoke to the pair about the role of radical Black education and the "Black art world," in a special interview that comes on the heels of their residency and exhibition at the New Museum in New York. One of the things they discuss are is the group's tarot cards, which can be purchased in the group's online shop.

Then Jasmine and I were joined by editor and critic Seph Rodney and contributor Shirine Saad to talk about the new Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power exhibition that opened at the Brooklyn Museum last weekend.

And finally, we have our last segment. Earlier this week, LA-based writer Matt Stromberg reported on the "pause" artist lauren woods pressed on her American Monument project at Cal State Long Beach's museum. The action comes after the museum director Kimberli Meyer was fired. American Monument — a multi-media installation addressing police brutality and the killing of African Americans by police officers — was a project Meyer helped realize, so woods decided that a pause was a necessary act of solidarity in light of the news. Stromberg recorded the roughly 28-minute speech, and we have the recording for those who want to hear it first hand.

A special thanks to Dried Spider for the music to this week’s episode. You can visit driedspider.bandcamp.com, for more information.

What the Hell Are McMansions and Why Do They Exist? Sep 13, 2018

Show notes

McMansions are the houses many of us love to hate. They're big, gaudy, and often they're accumulations of traditionally mismatched architectural elements. Whatever they are, they're everywhere in suburbia. We invited Kate Wagner, aka McMansion Hell, to talk oversized buildings of wealth and status, including the McMansion that is US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's house in Holland, Michigan.

As Hyperallergic editor and critic Seph Rodney returns from Brazil, I invited him to talk about the São Paulo Biennial (Sep 7–Dec 9_)_, which opened a few days after the Natural Museum of Brazil burned down in Rio de Janiero. He picks some favorites and discusses what he saw at the second-oldest art biennial in the world.

A special thanks to Althea SullyCole for the music to this week’s episode. You can visit her website, altheasullycole.com, for more information. She is also performing on September 21 at Postcrypt Coffeehouse in New York City, and September 22 at the Rhythmic Integration Center in New Milford, CT.

The Rebel Women of 19th-Century New York Sep 06, 2018

Show notes

The stories of trailblazing women continue to inspire but many of these figures, who occur throughout history, have been written out of the history books or relegated to accounts of their time and ignored by historians. Now, curator Marcela Micucci talks to use about these figures who had a big impact on all aspects of city life, including the so-called "Witch of Wall Street," Hetty Green. It's an exhibition full of colorful stories.

And then I talk to critic Paddy Johnson and artist William Powhida, co-hosts of the Explain Me podcast, about the fall season, New York museums, and what they've been up to.

A special thanks to Twig Twig for the music to this week’s episode. You can listen to that and more at twigtwig.bandcamp.com and other streaming services.

Is the Art World Ready for the Sanctuary Movement? Aug 30, 2018

Show notes

This week's we talk to Abou Farman, artist and anthropologist at the New School, and Raquel de Anda, director of public engagement at No Longer Empty, about their recent efforts to educate New York City cultural leaders about the needs of immigrant communities. Then I invite Hyperallergic staff writer Zachary Small to tell us about the latest news in the #MeToo movement, particularly in light of the case of NYU professor Avital Ronell, who was found responsible for sexual harassment and suspended her for the 2018–19 academic year. He interviews Emma Sulkowicz, who many people suggest helped kick off the movement with their widely publicized "Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight)" (2014–2015) performance.

A special thanks to Newborn Huskies for the music to this week’s episode. You can listen to that and more at newbornhuskies.bandcamp.com and other streaming services.

Who Was Artist David Wojnarowicz? Aug 23, 2018

Show notes

Last month, a dozen activists gathered at the Whitney Museum of Art to condemn the institution's lack of modern context about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in relation to Wojnarowicz's artwork. Their action was noticed by the art world and the museum, which is continuing to talk to the protesters after changing some of the labels to reflect on the fact that the AIDS crisis is not over.

In this episode we talk to Wojnarowicz biographer Cynthia Carr, author of Fire in the Belly: The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz, who helps narrate the complicated story of an artist who has become one of the luminaries of New York's East Village scene in the 1980s. I also invited two artists, Jean Foos and Frank Holliday, who knew Wojnarowicz during his lifetime, to help paint a picture of a scene that burned bright, but was eventually snuffed out by a commercial art world obsessed with novelty, and the looming disaster that was AIDS.

A special thanks to Twig Twig for the music to this week's episode. You can listen to that and more at twigtwig.bandcamp.com and other streaming services.

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