Scratching the Surface

Latest Episodes:

164. Kyle Chayka (Originally aired 10/14/20) Jun 05, 2024

Show notes

We're taking the summer off and will be republishing some of our favorite episodes from the archives through August. This episode originally aired October 14, 2020. — Kyle Chayka writes about art, technology, design, and the systems that shape culture. His first book, The Longing for Less, is a cultural history of minimalism that looks at minimalist movements in art, music, and philosophy. In this episode, Jarrett and Kyle talk about how minimalism often obscures complex systems, how all culture writing is also design writing, and the role of structure in his writing process. Kyle's new book, Filterworld, is now available and you can read him weekly in The New Yorker. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/164-kyle-chayka.  —  If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

253. Leonard Koren May 22, 2024

Show notes

Leonard Koren is a writer, aesthetics expert, artist, and publisher. He’s the author of books like Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, What Artists Do, Arranging Things: A Rhetoric of Object Placement, Musings of a Curious Aesthete, and most recently On Creating Things Aesthetic. From 1976 to 1981, he was the editor and publisher of Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing. In this conversation, Jarrett and Leonard talk about methodologies and conceptual tools, bookmaking, avant garde graphic design, and the influence of Leonard’s architecture education on his career. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/253-leonard-koren.  —  If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

252. Ingrid Schroder May 08, 2024

Show notes

Ingrid Schroder is the director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. She was previously Head of Design Teaching and Director of the MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Cambridge Department of Architecture. In this conversation, Jarrett and Ingrid talk about the legacy and future of the AA, the changing states of architecture and design education, and what experimental design education looks like today. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/252-ingrid-schroder.  —  If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

251. Cynthia Davidson Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

Cynthia Davidson is the cofounder and executive director of Anyone Corporation, a nonprofit architecture think tank. She is the editor of the architecture journal Log, and previously ANY magazine, an architecture theory tabloid that published from 1993-2000. She is also responsible for more than 40 books in print, including 24 books in the Anyone project’s Writing Architecture series, published with MIT Press. In this conversation, Jarrett and Cynthia talk about the evolution of architecture publishing, the state of design discourse, and how the visual design of Log and ANY shapes how it is read. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/251-cynthia-davidson.  —  If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

250. Jacob Moore Apr 10, 2024

Show notes

Jacob R. Moore was named the executive director of The Architectural League of New York in June 2023. He previously served as associate director of the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University. He’s worked as a writer, editor, curator, and publisher and helped co-found The Avery Review. In this conversation, Jarrett and Jacob talk about the mission of The Architectural League, the role of non-profits in design discourse, and the changing state of design publishing. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/250-jacob-moore.  —  If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

249. José Esparza Chong Cuy Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

José Esparza Chong Cuy is the executive director and chief curator of Storefront for Art and Architecture, a New York-based institution that amplifies the understanding of the built environment through artistic practice. Before Storefront, José was an associate curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and an associate curator at the Museo Jumex. In this conversation, Jarrett and José talk about the history and mission of Storefront, their year-long curatorial framework, and balancing institutionalism and experimentation. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/249-jose-esparza-chong-cuy.  —  If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

248. Kathleen & Christopher Sleboda Mar 13, 2024

Show notes

Kathleen and Christopher Sleboda run Draw Down Books, a publishing project and bookshop focused on graphic design, typography, and printed matter. They also work as graphic designers for clients and teach at Boston University, RISD, and the University of Connecticut. Previously, Christopher was Director of Graphic Design at the Yale University Art Gallery for 15 years and Kathleen worked as an archivist at the Beinecke Rare Books Library at Yale. In this episode, Jarrett talks with them about experimental publishing, publishing as a form of community building, and the continued relevance of printed matter. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/248-kathleen-christopher-sleboda.  —  If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

247. Aaron Betsky Feb 28, 2024

Show notes

Aaron Betsky is a critic, curator, and administrator. Until 2022, he was the director of Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture and Design. He previous was the president and dean of the School of Architecture at Taliesin, the director of the Cincinnati Art Museum, director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute, and a curator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He’s the author, most recently, of The Monster Leviathan: Anarchitecture. In this conversation, Jarrett and Aaron talk about anarchitecture and the relationship between theory and practice, the role of modernism, and why the future is multidisciplinary. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/247-aaron-betsky.  —  If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

246. Alison Place Feb 14, 2024

Show notes

Alison Place is a designer, educator, and researcher whose work explores the intersection of design and feminist theory. She is the editor of Feminist Designer: On the Personal and the Political in Design and teaches graphic design in the School of Art at the University of Arkansas, where she serves as director of the graphic design program. In this conversation, Jarrett and Alison talk about what feminist design looks like, designers as trouble makers, and rethinking school critiques. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/246-alison-place.  —  If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

245. Michael Cina Jan 31, 2024

Show notes

Michael Cina is a graphic designer, creative director, typographer, and artist. Since 2010, he’s run Cina Associates where he’s worked on projects for clients like Disney, Adobe, and Coca-Cola, as well as his long-running collaboration with Ghostly International. He previously co-founded YouWorkForThem, a designer-run online shop for typefaces, stock art, and other resources. In this conversation, Jarrett and Michael talk about the challenges and opportunities in working across mediums, how painting influenced his commercial design work, and how the internet shifted the state of design discourse. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/245-michael-cina.  —  If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

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