Episode 8 Introducing the "Series of Shorts"

While Mark is away doing super important family activities and other cool summer things, I decided to keep the recordings alive until his return which I hope will be very soon. So the next series of podcasts will be about a wide array of topics, from Matisse to the use of crochet in art. Each episode will be short, 7 minute podcasts about stuff I like, artists I admire, things I like about art.  I know you miss Mark, I do as well, but he shall return very soon. 

Episode 7 The Business of Art

After a three week break, Mark and I discuss the business of art, the way in which art is evaluated,  and everything we can think of around this subject.  We argue that collectors are central to the valuation of artwork and wonder if some artwork will hold up well in 200 years.  Will Mark pick up his paintbrush again? I do hope so. He's a good artist! It looks like I'll continue giving my paintings away for a while as I am not quite ready yet to enter the world of making art for money. Living the life of the Visual Artist interests me more right now. It's a good life.  Photo: Damien Hirst, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone living, 1991.

Episode 4- Gigantic Steel and Colour Field

In this episode we cover a huge amount of topics: Algoma Blue by Llewelyn Davies, Frank O. Gehry's Gugenheim in Bilbao, Serra's UN Square entrance piece, Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial, amongst a few. As usual, our conversation meanders to what we've done and liked. I have since found what the pick up stick game is called, it's called Mikado sticks! That's what Algoma Blue looks like! Although Isabelle laughs at Mark's red paintings, she actually loves them. Enjoy and don't forget to comment!

Episode 3 - Expressionism and the Painters 11

Artist Stephanie Babcock a.k.a Geordie joins me on a discussion about our time together at Algoma University. In this episode, we talk about her end of the year Thesis show, about Conceptual art, and Expressionist art.  We also talk about Jack Bush and Kazuo Nakamura. Expressionism is one of those categories that we find difficult to define. But what the heck, we'll have fun talking about it anyway! Thank you so much for joining me today, Stephanie and I hope we can join our voices again soon. 

Episode 2 - Beyond the Group of Seven

I came upon the Group of Seven when I came to live in Sault-Sainte-Marie, Mark learned to see art through the eyes of a friend who initiated him to the vastness of art in Southern Ontario. Mark's sensibilities were closer to the Automatistes, Paul-Émile Borders and Jean-Paul Riopelle.  My parents loved Jean-Paul Lemieux and the Automatistes of course. Who else is there beyond Varley, Carmichael, Lismer, Johnston, Harris, Jackson and MacDonald?  A whole lot more! But somehow, no matter what, we always seem to return to these seminal seven (or eight with Tom Thomson, or eight with Emily Carr, or nine with Casson...) Somewhere deep in our hearts, they have a special place and that's all fine.

Episode 1 - New York Art, Pop Art, Realism and Chuck Close

Mark and I are starting our weekly conversations about art.  Where to start? All roads lead to New York somehow. It's always hard to start anything new, what to chose? Here's our first step! We discuss Hyperrealism, Pop Art and Andy Warhol, Chuck Close and other artists.  Next week: The Group of Seven, can Canada move beyond? 

Here are some links of photos we looked at during our conversation.

http://serenayang.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Serra_9766b.jpg

http://www.openobject.org/cloudfarm/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Richard-Serra-trowing-lead.jpg

http://www.playbillarts.com/images/photos/metoperachuckclose460.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Rbreich.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a2/Christinasworld.jpg