Pep Talks for Artists

We're talking collage! Jennifer Coates joins me in a quest to get to the heart of why collage is such a powerful generator in the studio. We also take a look at 2 artists who used collage in different ways: Lee Krasner and Jess. Krasner used collage at certain key moments to bridge bodies of work, and Jess used collage as his main ecstatic medium spanning more than 4 decades of his output. As Krasner teaches us: "Knife or scissors....

Louise Bourgeois Part 2!

Mandolyn Wilson Rosen is back in her Book Talks seat to help me dissect a new delicious art book: Drawings & Observations by Louise Bourgeois with Lawrence Rinder. Bourgeois referred to these sketches as her "thought feathers" and revealed her thinking behind the reproduced works in recordings transcribed by curator Lawrence Rinder. It was so cool to get these direct insights into her imagery.

This episod...

Beka Goedde and Mandolyn Wilson Rosen join me this episode to unpack our experience visiting renowned artist, Louise Bourgeois' home in NYC. We entered her historic brownstone and were immediately transported to another world and time. Louise lived a full life but was very much an artistic homebody. She made her home her studio in every sense of the word, stuffing each room full of materials to be on hand whenever inspiration struc...

In this new Book Talks episode, Mandolyn Wilson Rosen is back to help me review a new art book: Jack Whitten: Notes From the Woodshed, Edited by Katy Siegel for Hauser & Wirth. Equal parts profound, strident and hilarious, Jack Whitten's (1939-2018) 50 year studio log packs a wallop. And it's meaty at 581 pages, so we had lots to discuss! Stick around to hear some sage advice, inspiring tales of studio experimentation and even ...

Artist, Judy Glantzman, is back on the pod this week to discuss her friend and incredible artist, Dawn Clements (1958-2018). Come along with me as I hear more about this brave, innovative artist who celebrated the idea of the ungovernable doodle. Her ink and gouache drawings span walls and rooms, yet she often made them folded up on trains and while lying in bed. It was wonderful to hear Judy's recollections of this artist I have l...

We're back for Part 2! Artist, Jennifer Coates joins me again to discuss 2 modern-day women mystic artists: Cornish Visionary, Ithell Colquhoun and Desert Transcendentalist, Agnes Pelton.

Ithell Colquhoun links and mentions:

"Papers of Ithell Colquhoun (1906-1988)" archive at Tate Modern

The Living Stones: Cornwallbook by Ithell Colquhoun

"The Mantic Stain" 1949 essay by Ithell Colquhoun

"Dance of the Nine Opals" 1942 painting by Ithel...

In this episode, Jennifer Coates returns to help me explore the spookily wonderful topic of Women Mystics and their connection to art and artists. In Part 1, we cover mystics from the Pythia of Ancient Greece to ecstatic visionaries like Hildegard von Bingen of the late Medieval era.

P.S.: Keep an eye out for Part 2 where we dip into our fave 20th-century mystical artists.

Ancient Mystics mentioned: The Pythia, priestesses of Apollo ...

Artists, Jennifer Coates, David Humphrey and Catherine Haggarty and are back for Part 3 of our series on Drawing. This time we switched things up and each artist brought both an artwork from art history and a related work of their own to discuss. Get ready to hear some vivid "ekphrasis" on our drawing picks (new vocab word unlocked-thanks, David!).

Jennifer brought “The Castle with the Angel” 1863 by Victor Hugo and her ...

This is an episode about how acting on dumb ideas in the studio can be just the thing to get you out of artist's block or help you make a big change. Get ready for some choice bon mots from the likes of Weird Al Yankovic, Laurie Anderson, William Kentridge and others on the sage subject of being open to studio stupidity.

Mentions: Weird Al Yankovic, Laurie Anderson, William Kentridge, Jack Whitten, Epictetus, Susan Sontag, Mister T,...

*Disclaimer: This episode is meant to be funny and Amy would love to attend any of the aforementioned residencies. Please accept her if you find yourself on a panel. End disclaimer.*

Just got rejected from an artists' residency? Well, this is the mini-episode for you because I am going to let you in on a little technique I use to feel better. There's a curse word abundantly used throughout, so listen far away from small ears, Dear L...

This is a little episode about how I think a one-of-a-kind whale is kind of like the 16th -17th century Mannerist artist El Greco, and also like us. It sounds a little far fetched but admit it, you like me when I’m weird, you weirdo’s

El Greco:

Artworks mentioned: “The Vision of St John” 1608-14 and "View of Toledo" 1599-1600 (El Greco), “Les Desmoiselles D’Avignon" 1907 (Picasso), "Rocks at Fontai...

::CW: during the Kathe Kollwitz section, we discuss a print dealing with sexual assault::

Jennifer and I are back with our bushel baskets of researched artists of the past to soothe our shattered nerves. Tune in to hear about 6 artists that made exceptional work under strained circumstances: Käthe Kollwitz, John of Arderne - medieval surgeon and margin doodler, Gustav Metzger, William Gropper, David Hammons and Joan Miró.

Käthe Kollw...

Today's episode is a special conversation and recap of Elisabeth Condon and my experiences collaborating as visual artists in the ballet project CounterPointe (now in its 12th year) produced by Norte Maar and staged at the Mark O'Donnell Theater (Brooklyn) in March 2025. Jennifer Coates kindly came on to ask us questions about making props and what it was like for 2 newbies to enter the world of dance. Thanks, Jennifer!

Special than...

In this audio essay, I roam from post-war France to the abstract expressionists to the artists of the East Village and even to outer space to consider times in art history when art was forced to bloom in the dark. These under-the-radar moments yielded deeply experimental work, and I wonder how we might channel some of that spirit in our own time.

Artists mentioned: Laurie Anderson, Joan Miro, Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Davi...

I'm offering for you here a new mini ep about what I've been thinking about lately: the wackiness of Meret Oppenheim's titles - and how they expand the mystery of her images rather than explain them. 

I recently snagged the catalog from the Moma retrospective show from last year and highly recommend it if you don't have it yet. It's full of lovely color plates: https://store.moma.org/products/meret-oppenheim-my-exhibition-hardc...

This is Part 2 of Mandolyn Wilson Rosen and my review of "Lifeline: Clyfford Still" 2019 directed by Dennis Scholl. It's a juicy art bio tell-all with a crusty curmudgeon as its talented but embittered subject. Don't forget to listen to Part 1 too!

Find the film on Amazon ($2.99 SD) or for free on ⁠Kanopy⁠

Find Mandolyn online at: ⁠https://mandolynwilsonrosen.com⁠ and on IG at ⁠@mandolyn_rosen⁠

Artists mentioned: Philip Guston, Bar...

Mandolyn Wilson Rosen is back on the podcast! This time, instead of a book we are talking about an artist documentary. The film is called "Lifeline: Clyfford Still" 2019 directed by Dennis Scholl. It's a juicy art bio tell-all with a crusty curmudgeon as its talented but embittered subject. Come along with us as we enter a turbulently Still world.

Find the film on Amazon ($2.99 SD) or for free on Kanopy

Find Mandolyn online at: http...

Jennifer Coates is back with me this week to cohost Part 4 of our series about researching our way to feeling better as artists. This time we go all the way back to 1306 to the Mongol empire and then zoom forward to the 1970's in the USSR and with a few more stops in between. We studied hard (and maybe got C minuses) but we ended up feeling inspired and hope you will too.

The artists we spoke about:

Zheng Sixiao of Southern China's ...

Welcome back, Elisabeth! This time I am very excited to be speaking to Artist, Elisabeth Condon, about one of my favorite Chicago Imagists: Christina Ramberg.

The Art Institute of Chicago recently mounted a retrospective of Ramberg's work and Elisabeth travelled to see the show this past summer. She spent time telling me about her favorite works, but also offered insight into Ramberg's personality and teaching style - as Elisabeth ...