The Art World: What If...?!

Latest Episodes:

The Art World: In Other Words, Artist Ian Cheng: "The best art is like a Trojan horse" Mar 14, 2019

Show notes

Ian Cheng wants to change the way you think. "I really want to make art that taps into some part of a viewer's neurology and gets them into a different state," Cheng says to host Charlotte Burns during this In Other Words podcast. The wide-ranging conversation covers topics from the freedom afforded humans by AI, to the genius of The Real Housewives television show.

Cheng creates art with a nervous system: his practice often involves computer simulations that resemble video games—albeit ones that play themselves. His current exhibition "BOB: Bag of Beliefs" centers around an AI lifeform whose evolution is shaped by viewers who can make offerings—both poisonous and benign—to BOB via an app. Cheng has created his own form of art; a work that is mesmerizing and surprisingly moving (at Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York until 23 March).

"It's a funny time we live in," says Cheng, who studied both cognitive science and art. He wants his work to tap into our limbic systems ("the most easily triggered and exploitable" part of the brain) with the goal of making us "feel safe enough to be explorative, to be open-minded, to be conscientious".

Following in the footsteps of artists and storytellers across the centuries, Cheng is spinning tales that might better help us understand our world, using cutting-edge technology to do so.

Transcript: https://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-ian-chengs-guide-to-worlding/

"In Other Words" is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby's, produced by Audiation.fm.

The Art World: In Other Words, The "Daft Punk of Contemporary Painting": Artist Mickalene Thomas Feb 28, 2019

Show notes

In the words of the Los Angeles Times, the artist Mickalene Thomas "is to contemporary painting what Daft Punk is to music: acclaimed as one of the more original remix artists working today." Her genre-busting work takes many forms, and grapples with bodies and their desires, with power, equity and identity. In today's episode, she talks about community and collaboration—both essential to her practice—in a conversation with her partner and muse, the art consultant Racquel Chevremont, the cultural critic Antwaun Sargent and Charlotte Burns, the host of In Other Words.

Thomas and Chevremont recently launched "Deux Femme Noires", an organization focused on mentoring emerging artists of color. "The more of us that come up, the better," Chevremont says "We want the room to be filled with us."

Thomas was studying to be a lawyer when a chance encounter with the photographs of Carrie Mae Weems inspired her to change direction and become an artist herself. "Whatever that power is, or mystery one may feel when they're excited by or inspired by particular art—I knew that's what I wanted to do with images," Thomas says. "And I knew I wanted to create that space for others."

Tune in for more from the artist, the muse and the writer in today's episode.

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-community-collaboration-and-sisterhood-with-mickalene-thomas-racquel-chevremont-and-antwaun-sargent-on-creating-change/

"In Other Words" is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby's, produced by Audiation.fm.

The Art World: In Other Words, In Other Words Live in LA: Expanding the Canon Feb 22, 2019

Show notes

Produced in partnership with Frieze Los Angeles, this live recording is a conversation with major Californian institutional leaders Naima J. Keith (Deputy Director, California African American Museum), Michael Govan (CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director, Los Angeles County Museum of Art), Andrew Perchuk, (Deputy Director, Getty Research Institute), Megan Steinman (Director, The Underground Museum), moderated by our host Charlotte Burns.

Taking as a starting point the research published by In Other Words and artnet News, which examined the representation of African American artists in US museums and the international market, our panelists talk about the ways in which they are working to broaden the canon, and think specifically about local communities.

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-frieze-la/

"In Other Words" is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby's, produced by Audiation.fm.

The Art World: In Other Words, Sir Nicholas Serota: "We All Want To Know What It Means To Be Alive Today" Feb 14, 2019

Show notes

The man credited with reinventing the museum and changing British culture, Sir Nicholas Serota joins us for a special extended episode of In Other Words.

Now Chair of Arts Council England, Serota was the director of Tate for 28 years. More than anybody else, he helped shift attitudes in Britain, making the country more comfortable with contemporary art while he oversaw the growth of Tate both physically and in terms of reputation and ambition. Once a small institution, Tate became a phenomenon and the best attended museum of Modern art in the world.

Serota began his career in the 1980s during a period in which the country's politics were isolationist and there was a "certain paranoia about continental Europe and artists from Europe". By the early 2000s, the country had become more international and open, and the arts were flourishing as London established itself as a creative and economic hub.

Recorded on the day of a historic defeat in the government's "meaningful vote" on Brexit, Serota discusses the current climate with our host Charlotte Burns: "Some things don't change. And human nature is one of those. People feel challenged by difference."

While he himself is "always regarded as being right in the center of the establishment… I still have a sense of what it means to be an outsider," Serota says. "I will continue to believe that international exchange of all kinds is valuable."

He discusses running one of the world's largest museums—including why he never left for an American museum—and talks about the challenges facing institutional leaders today: "Whatever the difficulties were in the late '80s, it's become even more difficult to run these big institutions now than it was then."

For this, and much more, tune in now.

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-nicholas-serota/

"In Other Words" is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby's, produced by Audiation.fm.

The Art World: In Other Words, Expectations and Epiphanies with NPG Director Nicholas Cullinan Jan 31, 2019

Show notes

From ticketing scandals and the implications of Brexit, to a major £35m museum renovation, this episode of In Other Words features a frank conversation with Nicholas Cullinan, the director of London's National Portrait Gallery, on a broad range of topics.

Cullinan discusses a recent attendance crisis at the museum, when faulty counters reported that visitor figures had fallen by 35% between 2017 and 2018. While the numbers were proven to be wildly inaccurate, the museum was blasted in the media, which suggested its contemporary program was out of touch with the public. In this episode, Cullinan counters some of the criticism: "Basically, you're saying that we and possibly other British museums shouldn't program contemporary artists or women artists if they don't reach a huge audience. I disagree with that fundamentally."

Cullinan talks to host Charlotte Burns about the implications of judging a museum's success solely on attendance, a metric that is "both helpful and vital but should not be the only thing," he says. "The key thing—in a way, the only thing that matters—is the integrity and the quality with which you do those projects. If we were doing exhibitions that we didn't believe in, or were bad or shoddy or slapdash, that would be a concern."

Although the museum's "entire remit is to serve the public", it is 70% privately funded. Cullinan, who has worked within both American and British museums, talks about issues of funding in each country and ways to be innovative.

Recorded in London during a moment of acute political uncertainty, Cullinan discusses what it is like to manage a national museum in times of turmoil. "I will really fight for the things I believe in and support them. I wouldn't just abandon the ship," he says.

"You have to have the courage of your conviction. Things are changing around us rapidly and radically, and people have very opposing views. But what we represent, and what we should communicate, is both a timeless and very positive message about British identity," he says. "It's very important to hold on to that. So, in a way, we're doubling down right now."

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-popular-or-populist-a-conversation-with-nicholas-cullinan/

"In Other Words" is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby's, produced by Audiation.fm.

The Art World: In Other Words, Artist Laurie Simmons "I don't want to be a second generation anything" Jan 17, 2019

Show notes

"Being an artist was a great excuse for anything you wanted to do that was 'different'," says the artist, photographer and filmmaker Laurie Simmons, whose work is the subject of a major retrospective survey on show now at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (until 27 January).

In this episode, she talks to host Charlotte Burns about everything from Internet culture to egalitarian art and the concept of magical thinking. Simmons's tableaus, which are often created with dolls, explore memory, sexuality and artifice and she discusses what it was (and is) like working in a male-dominated industry.

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/transcript-laurie-simmons/

"In Other Words" is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby's, produced by Audiation.fm.

The Art World: In Other Words, The Best of 2018 Jan 03, 2019

Show notes

What were the hot topics of 2018? Host Charlotte Burns looks back on the year in this special episode, breaking down key moments in conversation with Julia Halperin (executive editor of artnet News). The broadening of the canon across markets and museums—from African American artists to outliers, from women artists to conspiracists—was a major topic for In Other Words guests last year. Another key area of focus was the future of the museum, with topics from deaccessioning to digital swarming discussed by institutional leaders in their appearances on the show, including Glenn Lowry (director, MoMA), Richard Armstrong (director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation), Jessica Morgan (director, Dia Art Foundation), Michael Govan (CEO and Wallis Annenberg director, LACMA), Doryun Chong (deputy director and chief curator, M+ ), Budi Tek (founder, Yuz Museum and Foundation) and Lisa Phillips (director, New Museum of Contemporary Art). And the most popular topic of 2018? Art criticism. Roberta Smith (co-chief art critic of the New York Times) and Jerry Saltz (New York magazine's senior art critic) talked about their writing and audiences, as well as the best art being made today. Tune in to toast the year.

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/podcast/podcast-highlights-from-2018/

"In Other Words" is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby's, produced by Audiation.fm.

The Art World: In Other Words, Jerry Comes Alive Dec 27, 2018

Show notes

For this special live recording from Washington, D.C., we were invited to interview Jerry Saltz, the senior art critic at New York magazine, in front of an audience as part of the "Critics in Conversation" talks program organized by the Hirshhorn National Museum of Modern Art.

Jerry has previously appeared as a guest on In Other Words—an intimate and introspective conversation in which he talked to our host Charlotte Burns about his life and work. He brought a different energy to this live recording, bouncing from topics as varied as politics to Led Zeppelin to Medieval art—and back again.

Saltz—who won a Pulitzer Prize earlier this year for his article "My Life As A Failed Artist"—talks about how he "wanted to change the structure of criticism, which felt exclusive to me. I couldn't get in. I didn't go to the right schools", and dispenses advice for writers, artists and art-lovers alike: "First of all believe and trust yourself, for God's sake! For two minutes! Is that so hard? Put down the urge to be smart. Put down the urge to be right."

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/podcast/live-podcast-critics-in-conversation-with-jerry-saltz/

"In Other Words" is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby's, produced by Audiation.fm.

The Art World: In Other Words, Art and Power with New Museum Director Lisa Phillips Dec 13, 2018

Show notes

Named "the most powerful woman in the New York art world" by The New York Times, Lisa Phillips has been the director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art since 1999. On today's show, she talks about the future of the museum—from the current $85m capital campaign to the ways in which Phillips sees the institution moving beyond bricks and mortar—with host Charlotte Burns (executive editor, In Other Words) and Allan Schwartzman (co-founder of AAP and Sotheby's chairman)—who was a founding staff member at the New Museum, hired as a curator aged 19.

Founded in 1977, the museum recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. Phillips and Schwartzman discuss the "spirit of the new" in art, and talk about power—what it means, who has it and how it might better be redefined. Phillips, who was formerly a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, discusses the forces that are shaping museums—such as technology and shifting demographics—and how to respond to them.

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/podcast/lisa-phillips/

"In Other Words" is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby's, produced by Audiation.fm.

The Art World: In Other Words, Collecting and Patronage with Glenn Fuhrman Nov 29, 2018

Show notes

Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, the non-profit FLAG Art Foundation in New York was founded by Glenn Fuhrman. On this episode of In Other Words, Fuhrman talks how he began collecting art ("I lived in a one-room studio apartment for the first eight and a half years I lived in New York, and spent all my disposable income on art."), and discusses philanthropy (he and his wife sponsored the creation of the nation's largest free Wi-Fi network, covering 95 city blocks in Harlem, in 2013).

Fuhrman discusses plans for his own collection—and offers some advice to aspiring collectors as part of this conversation with Amy Cappellazzo (a chairman at Sotheby's and a co-founder of Art Agency, Partners) and our host Charlotte Burns (executive editor, In Other Words).

Fuhrman, who co-founded and co-manages the private investment firm MSD Capital, also talks about the legacy of FLAG and its future, as well as his views on the art market.

Transcript: http://www.artagencypartners.com/podcast/glenn-fuhrman-amy-cappellazzo/

"In Other Words" is a presentation of AAP and Sotheby's, produced by Audiation.fm.