Dr Great Art! Art, Art History, Visual Metaphor, Politics!

I am starting to do something I have long planned, a series of auto-bio vignette comics, something along the lines of the new-form Flash-text pieces, as sequential art. I am alsomaking audio versions of them for my podcast. This is the first one "Flash-Memoir Vignette 1, Summer Evening." Link to drawn comic version: https://brandlflashmemoirvignettes.blogspot.com/2025/08/mark-staff-brandl-dr-great-arts-graphic.html

Me in German. Dr Great Art auf Deutsch. Es war spannend und ich habe Spass gehabt. In the Podcast "Dorf_Sex" by Dr Stephanie Meyer and Nicole Blattmann. Ich als Gast. "Zwischen Lust und Leinwand – Ein Ausflug in Kunstgeschichte und Erotik In der ersten Folge unserer speziellen Kunst-, Schauspiel- und Fotografie-Reihe haben wir einen ganz besonderen Gast: Mark Staff Brandl, aka Dr Great Art, Kunsthistoriker und Experte! Gemeinsam tauchen wir ein in die Welt der Kunst und Erotik, diskutieren spannende Themen, von politisch bis feministisch – und bringen ordentlich Power ins Gespräch. Seid dabei, wenn wir die Verbindungen zwischen Kunst und Lust entblättern und dabei die Grenzen von Darstellung, Sexualität und Gesellschaft hinterfragen. Hört rein, wenn Kunst und Erotik eine spannende Symbiose eingehen. Sehe auch Stephanies und Nicoles viele, gute Podcast Episodes, alle auf Deutsch: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dorf-sex/id1782695532 "

My podcast makes a come-back with some slight changes. I will still be talking mostly about art and art history, but will also expand my discussions regularly into visual metaphor, as I did in several recent podcast episodes, based on my recently released philosophy book, A Philosophy of Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art, from Bloomsbury Press London. I will also be adding a short "pamphlet" section at the end of each with thoughts about recent politics, as they are so prevalent and dangerous now, and especially when they affect art and the artworld.

My recently released philosophy book, A Philosophy of Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art, from Bloomsbury Press, features short descriptions of artists and their works which I find important to visual metaphor. Here is one, one of several times I discuss the great William Conger. Get the book and read it! But here is an excerpt. Link to page for my book on Bloomsbury Press: US: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/philosophy-of-visual-metaphor-in-contemporary-art-9781350073838/ Europe: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/philosophy-of-visual-metaphor-in-contemporary-art-9781350073838/

This is a crossover episode, it is a short interview Dan Hill made on his EQ Spotlight podcast with me, Mark Staff Brandl, about my book A Philosophy of Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art. Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight podcast link: https://www.sensorylogic.com/eq-spotlight-podcast Link to page for my book on Bloomsbury Press: US: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/philosophy-of-visual-metaphor-in-contemporary-art-9781350073838/ Europe: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/philosophy-of-visual-metaphor-in-contemporary-art-9781350073838/

Last episode, I discussed the ins-and-outs of the front cover of my new book from Bloomsbury Press, A Philosophy of Visual metaphor in Contemporary Art. This episode we have a few discussion points about the recommendation blurbs on the back cover by three very important and creative scholars Dr Daniel F. Ammann, Dr James Elkins, and Dr Philip Ursprung. Link to page for the book on Bloomsbury Press: US: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/philosophy-of-visual-metaphor-in-contemporary-art-9781350073838/ Europe: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/philosophy-of-visual-metaphor-in-contemporary-art-9781350073838/

The podcast is back after a break of about one year. I was extremely wrapping up my book titled A Philosophy of Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art for Bloomsbury Press. This is the first of an arc of podcast episodes where I will be working my way somewhat improvisationally through the book. Not reading it out-loud, though. I will go through and find certain details, points, examples, artists and ideas that I want to expand on or use as springboards. Bloomsbury link: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/philosophy-of-visual-metaphor-in-contemporary-art-9781350073838/

Catastrophes, such as the Covid pandemic, don't cause problems and breakdowns in society as much as reveal and intensify the problems already present. The coronavirus crisis has accelerated already existing troubles in the artworld. Normal was not all that great anyway, and to revive it as a zombie would be even worse.

A new Dr Great Art Podcast Episode 72: Design vs Fine Art After a 7 month break, I'm back. My artecdote this time is concerns differentiating the ontological state of design versus that of fine art without denigrating either. They are different. It has to do with purposeful polysemy.

Christmas time! A Dr Great Art podcast about how Santa Claus LOOKS --- the history of his visual appearance. St. Nicholas, Thomas Nast, Fred Mizen, Coca-Cola, Luther, the Orthodox Santa, "Twas the Night Before Christmas," Puritans, Nazis and more including the Swiss Samichlaus and Schmutzli This is the 71st Dr Great Art podcast, a reprise from way back, podcast number 5. In this troublesome time of Covid, Lockdowns and the attempted fascist takeovers of the US and the UK still in progress, let us pray that times get better. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Yuletide, Happy Solstice, Happy Bodhi Day, Merry Pancha Ganapati, Happy Human Light Day, Io Saturnalia, -- in short, Happy Holidays.

The New Dr Great Art Podcast, Episode 70. The Grammar of Visual Metaphors Part 3 of 3. The third of three parts of a breakdown of the fourth chapter from my in-the-works philosophy book for Bloomsbury Press titled 'Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art and Analytic Philosophy.' Conceptual Blending, Foundational Metaphors and Allusciviousness in visual metaphors. Sonya Clark, William Conger, and more.

The New Dr Great Art Podcast, Episode 69. The Grammar of Visual Metaphors Part 2 of 3. The second of three parts of a breakdown of the fourth chapter from my in-the-works philosophy book for Bloomsbury Press titled 'Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art and Analytic Philosophy.' Trope: including metaphor, metonymy, simile, synecdoche, litotes, hyperbole, irony, analogy, allegory, symbol, metalepsis and so on. Visual metaphors are not linguistic, nor illustrations of them; they are more deeply embodied. Analytic philosophy and cognitive metaphor theory.

The first of three parts of a breakdown of the fourth chapter from my in-the-works philosophy book for Bloomsbury Press titled 'Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art and Analytic Philosophy.' Is there a set of structural rules governing the creation of visual metaphors by artists that parallels the conventions of linguistic grammar? Analytic philosophy, Literary theory, cognitive metaphor theory, Anti-Positivism, Similarities and more interesting dissimilarities between linguistic and visual tropes, and the ludic!

The third of three parts of a breakdown of the third chapter from my in-the-works philosophy book for Bloomsbury Press tentatively titled 'Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art and Analytic Philosophy.' Philosophy affects our ways of living, and more important to this book, it affects or artistic production, even when we are not completely cognizant of this. Visual trope production is how contemporary artists achieve what they do.

The second of three parts of a breakdown of the third chapter from my in-the-works philosophy book for Bloomsbury Press tentatively titled 'Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art and Analytic Philosophy.' Philosophy affects our ways of living, and more important to this book, it affects or artistic production, even when we are not completely cognizant of this. Visual trope production is how contemporary artists achieve what they do.

The first of three parts of a breakdown of the third chapter from my in-the-works philosophy book for Bloomsbury Press tentatively titled 'Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art and Analytic Philosophy.' Philosophy affects our ways of living, and more important to this book, it affects or artistic production, even when we are not completely cognizant of this. Visual trope production is how contemporary artists achieve what they do.

The third of three parts of a breakdown of the second chapter from my in-the-works philosophy book for Bloomsbury Press for the "Aesthetics and Contemporary Art" Series, titled Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art and Analytic Philosophy. A discussion of what visual metaphor is. This is Part 3 of 3 episodes covering this chapter.

The second of three parts of a breakdown of the second chapter from my in-the-works philosophy book for Bloomsbury Press for the "Aesthetics and Contemporary Art" Series, titled Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art and Analytic Philosophy. A discussion of what visual metaphor is. This is Part 2 of 3 episodes covering this chapter.

A breakdown of the second chapter from my in-the-works philosophy book for Bloomsbury Press for the "Aesthetics and Contemporary Art" Series, titled Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art and Analytic Philosophy. A discussion of what visual metaphor is. This is Part 1 of 3 episodes covering this chapter.

Since we have to keep a certain social-distancing in real life, social contact online is important. I am inviting all to join me in online streaming "live" art history and art discussions. Skype (mark.staff.brandl), Facebook ("Mark Staff Brandl" or "Dr Great Art"), or Microsoft Teams. Contact me at Facebook Messenger or the Dr Great Art Email to set up a time.