Reconciling the Mother and the Artist with Jori Finkel

Legendary LA-based art reporter Jori Finkel joins co-hosts Eric Newman, Kate Wolf, and Medaya Ocher to discuss her first documentary film "Artist and Mother;" which investigates why the contemporary art world, which prides itself as a space of absolute free expression, seems more-than-reluctant to embrace work about Motherhood, even when done by theretofore established artists who are new mothers. Finkel and her team of filmmakers highlight the work of four powerful Los Angeles based artists, all mothers, who challenge this bias: Kenyatta A. C. Hinkle, Andrea Chung, Rebecca Campbell, and Tanya Aguiniga. In the interview, Jori shares her theories about why such a universal theme remains taboo in this iconoclastic realm. Also, LARB's Eric Newman recommends Nella Larsen's 1929 classic Passing, which has long been a staple of academic syllabi but has remained relatively obscure among the general public. All that should change, Eric explains, as it's soon to be a major motion picture.