The Definition of Postmodernism Postmodernism was an international phenomenon, neither style nor movement, but a state of mind. An inversion of Modernism, Postmodernism was a philosophical discourse applied to painting which reconsidered the “languages” of Modernity and revived the dead styles of the past. With Postmodernism, the is dead and the past is pillaged and painting […]
Georgia O’Keeffe, Part Four During the 1940s, Georgia O’Keeffe split her time between Taos and New York and while in the Southwest she was present at some remarkable little discussed events. Her home away from home, Ghost Ranch was the site where dinosaurs have been unearthed for over a century. The Ghost Ranch was a […]
Georgia O’Keeffe, Part Three Liberated from the steel canyons of the skyscraper-lined avenues of New York City, Georgia O’Keeffe found “her country” in New Mexico. Here the painter found new vistas – the extraordinary landscapes of the Southwest – and unique motifs – the bleached bones of cattle and sheep. This podcast discusses the unexpected link […]
Georgia O’Keeffe, Part Two Refusing to be trapped by demeaning art writing that discussed her flower paintings as inherently female, Georgia O’Keeffe defied gender expectations by taking up that most masculine of subjects—the new towering skyscrapers. This podcast discusses the practicalities of actually building and living with the skyscraper and the challenges faced by O’Keeffe […]
Georgia O’Keeffe, Part One The career of Georgia O’Keeffe was a paradox: on one hand, she was dependent upon the patronage of her husband, photographer and art dealer, Alfred Stieglitz; on the other hand, she always had an independent vision. The podcast, the first of four parts, focuses on her first mature phase: the flowers and […]
Norman Rockwell, Part Three Contrary to what many Americans assumed, Norman Rockwell was a very modern and forward thinking artist. Far from being old-fashioned, the artist moved with the times and was able to follow the nation from the sleepy fifties to the turbulent sixties. This podcast, the last of the series, reveals the surprising […]
Norman Rockwell, Part Two America was never more united in a single national effort than it was during the Second World War. During the dark days of these years, American on the home front took comfort from a steady stream of covers on the Saturday Evening Post. Through a series of invented characters, such as Rosie the […]
Norman Rockwell, Part One Although the career of Norman Rockwell, the acclaimed illustrator for the Saturday Evening Post, spanned the twentieth century, his mature period of the 1940s and 1950s is the best known. This podcast, the first of three, discusses how this artist “invented” a traditional old-fashioned America, using modern movie methodology of “directing” […]
Pablo Picasso, Part Four For decades one of the most famous and iconic works of modern art was mis-placed, waiting in New York City for the Spanish Republic to return. Predicting the horrors of the Second World War, Guernica had a potency and power that lingered long after the mural was finally sent home to Spain. This […]
Pablo Picasso, Part Three Much has been written about Picasso’s masterwork, Guernica, and most of the art historical accounts focus on the iconography and the style of the mural. This podcast examines the meaning of the mural within the cultural context of the Spanish Civil War. The small town of Guernica was the testing ground […]
Pablo Picasso, Part Two Few artists were as renowned for their appetites for women as Pablo Picasso. The paintings of his middle years were veritable diaries of conquest. This podcast presents the women in Picasso’s life – Olga, Marie-Thérèse and Dora Maar – and their impact on his art. Each woman had different personalities and […]
Pablo Picasso, Part One Although we accept Picasso as one of the great artists of the twentieth century, he was not born a famous artist, he was “made.” This podcast discusses the role of the Great War and the creation of the post-war market in buying and selling avant-garde art. In order to be successful, Picasso […]
NEW DEAL ART AND ARTISTS In the decades before local community museums were common, New Deal art was, for many communities, the only access to art. Although often disparaged as being too “folksy,” New Deal murals were only one part of an extensive government program which not only supported artists but also professionalized these groups. This podcast […]
THE STORY OF ART UNDER THE NEW DEAL Long ignored and often neglected, the art made during the New Deal was far more impactful for American art than is usually realized. For the first time, the American government supported artists and art through a number of programs that made “American” art for Americans. The result […]
WHY DID THE ARTISTS “SELL OUT?” Long sequestered and rarely viewed, recent art historical writings have begun to examine the art of Fascism. This series of podcasts, in four parts, attempts to answer a series of questions: what were the goals of Nazi art, who were the Nazi artists – the painters and sculptors – and […]
NAZI SCULPTURE Long sequestered and rarely viewed, recent art historical writings have begun to examine the art of Fascism. This series of podcasts, in four parts, attempts to answer a series of questions: what were the goals of Nazi art, who were the Nazi artists – the painters and sculptors – and what was the impact of […]
THE PROPAGANDA OF NAZI PAINTING Long sequestered and rarely viewed, recent art historical writings have begun to examine the art of Fascism. This series of podcasts, in four parts, attempts to answer a series of questions: what were the goals of Nazi art, who were the Nazi artists – the painters and sculptors – and […]
THE OXYMORON OF NAZI “ART” Long sequestered and rarely viewed, recent art historical writings have begun to examine the art of Fascism. This series of podcasts, in four parts, attempts to answer a series of questions: what were the goals of Nazi art, who were the Nazi artists – the painters and sculptors – and […]
THE GERMAN ARTISTS BETWEEN THE WARS, PART ONE OTTO DIX In the period between World War I and World War II, Otto Dix dedicated his art to demonstrating with frank brutality the cost of war. While George Grosz leveled his attacks on self-satisfied bureaucrats, Dix concentrated on those who had borne the brunt of the Great […]
THE GERMAN ARTISTS BETWEEN THE WARS, PART ONE GEORGE GROSZ Nothing is more sad than a perpetually disillusioned person. George Grosz spent his art career as a social critic; an artist who dissected his own tragic era with a knife-edged line. This podcast investigates that brief moment in time in Germany when art told the […]