Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages

Neil Harbisson is a contemporary artist who hears colors. He deliberately chose to hear colors and to make that happen, he underwent surgery which has caused him to become the first person ever to be issued a government ID recognizing him as a cyborg. Harbisson has a condition known as achromatopsia. For him and others with complete achromatopsia, all three types of cones in the retina are nonfunctional. He sees using only his rods meaning there is no color in his vision. It is a relatively rare condition affecting only about one in every 30,000 people. The thing that is even more rare though is Harbisson’s management of the condition. First off, you might expect someone with this condition not to gravitate toward the arts, but while color is one of the elements of art, it is not required. Art is about human expression and creativity. Harbisson found a very creative means of enhancing his senses. Neil Harbisson has an antenna. Basically, there is a camera at the end of the antenna. A digital camera detects light and stores it as electrical signals. Inside the antenna, the colors are translated into sound. Different hues or colors are converted to different sound frequencies. It is actually attuned to even detect light that is invisible in the infrared and ultraviolet spectra. Related Episodes: Who ARTed | Wassily Kandinsky Art Smart | Photography Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michelangelo Merisi, born in 1571 amidst the darkness of the plague, would come to be known not by his christened name but by the name of his birthplace – Caravaggio. Orphaned young, the specter of loss would forever paint itself onto the canvas of his life. Yet, from this darkness, a genius of light and shadow would emerge, revolutionizing the art world with his raw and dramatic style. While controversial in some circles, this mix of gritty realism and the divine was exactly what the Catholic church needed at the time. The Protestant Reformation was a backlash against what they considered to be a corrupt and greedy church. The Pope and others within the church commissioned art as a form of damage control. In an era of low literacy rates, images of artworks were powerful tools to spread ideas. Caravaggio’s paintings depicted a faith that was humble as he painted from his real-life observations of people on the streets. Though the subjects of the art were saints, the models were lowly people off the streets and Caravaggio painted every detail down to the stains in their clothing or dirt under their fingernails. The message was that the church was a place for the ordinary people. Using real people as models and placing them in settings familiar to the masses made the stories more immediately accessible and relatable. The Calling of Saint Matthew is one of 250 artworks required for AP Art History. While I have not yet covered all of those artists/works you can find many on my Spotify playlist, AP Art History Cram Session Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Claes Oldenburg (1929-2022), the Swedish-born American sculptor, wasn't your typical artist. He wasn't interested in grand figures or historical scenes. Instead, he found inspiration in the most unexpected places: the everyday objects that cluttered our lives. His art, a blend of Pop Art and gigantic whimsy, continues to transform cityscapes around the world. Related Episodes: Andy Warhol Roy Lichtenstein Yayoi Kusama Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jess Phoenix is a designer based out of Seattle, Washington. She is known for making bright, bold floral patterns. She was nice enough to sit down with me to share her history, her influences and her process. Find Jess Phoenix online: Website: www.jessphoenix.com Instagram: @Jessraephoenix Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) stands as a titan in the realm of Japanese woodblock prints of the ukiyo-e period. His tranquil landscapes, meticulously detailed cityscapes, and captivating depictions of flora and fauna continue to resonate with viewers centuries after their creation. Hiroshige's life, however, was far from a serene stroll through the picturesque scenes he immortalized. Born into a humble background and navigating a rapidly changing artistic landscape, Hiroshige's artistic journey mirrored the dynamism of his era. Related episodes: Who ARTed | Katsushika Hokusai Art Smart | Ukiyo-e Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As I know many high school students around the US are prepping for the AP Art History test, I thought it would be nice to put out an episode on one of the required works from the AP Art History curriculum. One Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous works is not housed in a museum. It is in the Convent of Santa Maria in Milan Italy. It seems totally fitting for a depiction of the last supper was painted on the wall in the convent’s dining hall. Visitors today are often surprised by how enormous the work it. The People are life sized on this massive 15 by 29 foot painting. Another surprising fact is that while people flock to see Leonardo’s work on the wall of the convent, very little if any of what we see there today was actually painted by Leonardo. Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Putty Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is an encore presentation of my episode about how DayGlo colors work and how they were developed by a pair of brothers in the 1930s. Check out my other podcasts  Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Seidenberg is an incredible photographer and in this episode, I spoke with Steven Seidenberg and the writer, Carolyn White about a little-known bit of history in Post World War 2 Italy. His latest book The Architecture of Silence: Abandoned Lives of the Italian South documents the ruins of a failed policy that gave impoverished people a bit of land and housing without the infrastructure needed to sustain a community. The companion book Distant Voices: on Steven Seidenberg's Architecture of Silence is a collection of essays that help put it all into perspective with relevant historical context. Find Steven Seidenberg: ww.stevenseidenberg.com Links to buy the books: https://www.amazon.com/Architecture-Silence-Abandoned-Italian-South/dp/8869658902/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1YOGKULHMU1C6&keywords=architecture+of+silence&qid=1687919169&s=books&sprefix=architecture+of+silence%2Cstripbooks%2C217&sr=1-3 https://www.amazon.com/DISTANT-VOICES-Seidenbergs-ARCHITECTURE-SILENCE/dp/8869658961/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32C3234K86US5&keywords=distant+voices+carolyn+white&qid=1687919234&s=books&sprefix=distant+voices+carolyn+whit%2Cstripbooks%2C144&sr=1-1 And a link to a recent piece on his work in Rome, documenting a migrant tent city that was destroyed in 2018. https://placesjournal.org/article/baobab-tent-city-in-rome/ Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is time to announce the winner of this year's Arts Madness Tournament. Thank you all for taking the time to share your opinions and insights about all of these great artworks. I hope you learned a bit, had some fun and please continue listening and telling your friends about the show. Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Paul Rubens wasn't your typical 17th-century artist. He produced magnificent Baroque masterpieces, his canvases overflowing with vibrant colors and dynamic figures. While Baroque art was known for its high drama, in this case, the real life of the artist may have been even more intriguing. Rubens was not only a highly skilled artist, he was also a shrewd diplomat and a cunning spy, a man who navigated the treacherous world of European politics with as much finesse as he wielded his paintbrush. Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Vote in the Current Round Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I have another artist interview. I have been a big fan of Tom DesLongchamp since I first encountered his drawings while I was researching an episode of my other podcast Art Smart. In addition to mind blowing marker drawings, Tom creates live animation performances on Cartoon Mess. I talked with him about his life, his influences and his process. Check out Tom's links: Website https://www.tomdeslongchamp.com/  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tomthinks/  Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/tomthinks  Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@thismystery https://www.youtube.com/@CartoonMessLIVE  Related episodes: Art Smart | Markers Who ARTed | Interview with Herb Williams Who ARTed episode talking about Tom's marker drawing Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Vote in the Current Round Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Betty Woodman was an artist who started as a conventional potter but through her career began making creative connections that elevated the form. She built off traditional plates, bowls, vases etc. adding bold colors, and twisting the forms into something that was more about the artist's creative vision than a functional object. Betty Woodman expanded people's notions of what ceramics could be. Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Vote in the Current Round As I mentioned in the intro for this episode, I have been thrilled to begin writing articles for The Art of Education University's magazine. Check out my article with some tips and tricks as well as ceramic lesson ideas when it is published on the AOEU website Monday, April 1. Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Piet Mondrian is considered an icon of modern art, but he didn't start off that way. While he always loved art, he got his degree in education. Mondrian's early paintings were somewhat traditional landscapes. He experimented with Impressionist and Post Impressionist styles, then moved on to some Cubist influence. His major breakthrough was with the De Stijl movement focusing on the basic elements of art using straight lines and primary colored rectangles. Mondrian was one of the most prominent theorists of the group as he developed a style he referred to as Neoplasticism. While I have covered Mondrian previously, I wanted to release this episode today to celebrate the publication of my first article for The Art of Education University. Check out my article in their magazine over at www.theartofeducation.edu Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Vote in the Current Round Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Who ARTed: Weekly Art History for All Ages, we delve into the captivating world of The Forbidden City, a monumental complex in Beijing, China, steeped in history and artistry. We explore the architectural marvels that define its majestic presence, from the sprawling palace compounds of the outer court, reserved for state affairs and accessible only to men, to the intimate domestic spaces of the inner court, dedicated to the imperial family. The Forbidden City is one of the works required for AP Art History. To learn more about works from the AP Art History list, check out my Spotify playlist, AP Art History Cram Session Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Prediction Form Vote in the Current Round Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In what many would consider a major upset last week, Leonardo da Vinci was knocked out of our Arts Madness Tournament. I love the stories surrounding Leonardo and his work, so I thought this would be a perfect time for an encore presentation of my interview with Nicholas Day, author of The Mona Lisa Vanishes Order The Mona Lisa Vanishes on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mona-Lisa-Vanishes-Legendary-Celebrity/dp/0593643844 Lisa Gherardini was not born to fame and fortune. In fact, her family had fallen on hard times as wars laid waste to their land. She was an unlikely subject for a prominent artist. Leonardo da Vinci was a second-class member of his family. He was acknowledged by his father but barred from the family trade and left to make his own way in the world. He was smart and talented but bounced around pursuing interests in science and engineering as well as the arts. He was notorious for trying the patience of his patrons taking excruciatingly long to complete a job if he finished it at all. He was an unlikely candidate to become a prominent artist. Vincenzo Peruggia was a humble tradesman. He had worked at the Louvre putting artworks behind glass in an effort to protect them. He actually built the box to protect The Mona Lisa. He was an unlikely culprit for the greatest art heist of all time.  The crime was investigated by the greatest detectives of the day, but nobody could imagine the man with a postcard of the Mona Lisa on his mantle had the real thing tucked away in his humble apartment for two years. This week we’re talking about the highly improbable people and events that turned a lovely Renaissance portrait into the most famous painting in the world. Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Prediction Form Vote in the Current Round Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we are wrapping up Round 3 of Arts Madness 2024. The matches are very close. Last week, Emily Kame Kngwarreye beat Keith Haring by a single vote. This week, one of the most famous artists of all time is on track to be eliminated. Be sure to check the links below to see the brackets and vote for your favorites. I also wanted to share something for a little fun fact Friday. As many long time listeners know, I love a good caper or con (see the linked episodes below). I recently learned that as a young adult, Michelangelo, the famous Renaissance artist, engaged in some forgery. Art Capers, Cons and Heists: Han van Meegeren Wolfgang Beltracchi Nat Tate Take the Money and Run The Stockholm Heist The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist The Mona Lisa Vanishes The Eiffel Tower Sold for Scrap Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Prediction Form Vote in the Current Round Check out my other podcasts  Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I interviewed Margaret Shepherd, a calligraphy artist and author. She has written several books, but her latest is Learning American Calligraphy. As she explains in the interview, calligraphy is an art form with a rich history all around the world. Check these links for more information: Margaret Shepherd's website Learn American Calligraphy book for sale on Amazon Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Prediction Form Vote in the Current Round Check out my other podcasts  Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Rubik's Cube is a fun puzzle toy, but some have begun looking at it as a medium to create pixelated masterpieces. Learn a little bit about Erno Rubik, his cube, and a young artist using it in a way Rubik never anticipated. Daniella Chaim is a teenager making sophisticated works by solving and meticulously arranging hundreds of Rubik's Cubes. See her work on Instagram The math to figure out how many possible permutations there are on a Rubik's Cube: (1/2) * (8! x 3⁷) * (12! x 2¹¹) = 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Prediction Form Vote in the Current Round Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Herb Williams is an incredibly talented sculptor bringing crayons to a whole new dimension. I sat down to talk to Williams about his background, his artistic influences, and exactly how and why he uses crayons to sculpt. He shared his memories of making art as a child as well as his experience working in a foundry making lost wax castings before he decided to pursue a literal dream of making sculptures out of crayons. If the name Herb Williams sounds familiar, you may recall I talked about him in my crayon episode of Art Smart. I mentioned that I am writing an article for The Art of Education University's magazine about Williams, Stark and DesLongchamp (probably to be released late March or possibly in April). In the meantime, if you want to learn more about Stark or DesLongchamp, check out my Art Smart episodes about paper and markers respectively. I also did an episode of Who ARTed about Tom DesLongchamp back in December of 2023. For more from Herb Williams, check out his website and follow him on Instagram @herbwilliamsart Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Vote in the Current Round Check out my other podcasts Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The late 1930s were a rough time in Europe. Nazis were on the rise, and museums began hiding their most treasured works or even shipping them off to safe locations. As all of these works were floating around in the art world and many pieces being hidden, Hans van Meegeren emerged as an art dealer with some lost Vermeers. As I explained in the previous episode about the Vermeer stolen from the Isabella Steward Gardner museum, there aren’t a lot of Vermeer paintings and much of his biography is unknown. There are some historians who believe Vermeer studied under an artist who was heavily influenced by Caravaggio.  Van Meegeren was celebrated for bringing the world the gift of these lost Caravaggio influenced Vermeer paintings. The critics loved the paintings and they loved Van Meegeren for discovering these lost works. He sold them for huge amounts and over just a few years amassed a fortune of about $30 million in today’s money. The thing is Van Meegeren would sell to anyone with money, including the Nazis. Hermann Goering, Hitler's vice chancellor was an art lover. He particularly loved the Vermeer painting he got from Van Meegeren. In the 1940s, the allies came knocking to ask why Han van Meegeren was doing business with the Nazis. Now whatever they expected to hear as his response, I guarantee they were surprised. Van Meegeren declared that he deserved to be treated as a hero for his dealings with the Nazis because all of the works he sold them were fakes. He claimed that by selling and trading these forgeries he was able to get 137 authentic Dutch masterpieces from the Nazis. It was an interesting defense, that he was not a war criminal but simply forger. It would be hard for anyone to feel sympathy for the victims of this crime but most found it too hard to believe. Check out the article 6 Seedy Parts of the Art World Art Educators Love to Teach Arts Madness 2024 links: The Brackets Spotify Playlist Prediction Form Vote in the Current Round Check out my other podcasts  Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices