Edge of Reason

In this episode, artist Gary Simmons and “Surviving R. Kelly” filmmaker dream hampton examine personal and collective memory, what we choose to remember, and what we choose to forget. Simmons reflects on how cultural memory—particularly through race and erasure—has influenced his work, from his iconic chalkboard drawings to his installations that blur the lines between representation and abstraction, while hampton considers the silencing of certain memories and the power of reclaiming erased narratives.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liberty: A principle emphasizing freedom, autonomy, and the inherent rights of individuals.In this episode, artist Lorna Simpson and poet and scholar Dr. Elizabeth Alexander question the nature of individual rights, autonomy, and separate the idea of "liberty" from "freedom" via Simpson's evocative representations of race, gender, and identity and Alexander's celebrated poetic insights. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inquiry: The spirit of questioning, exploring, and seeking to understand, rather than merely accept, established truths. In this episode, artist Pipilotti Rist and MOCA curator Anna Katz unearth the dynamic relationship between nature, technology, and the human experience.Image Credit: Pipilotti Rist, Twin concept pictures, 2023 © Pipilotti Rist. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Progress: the belief in constant societal advancement through reason, knowledge, and education. In this episode, artist Thomas J Price and renowned scholar Steven Pinker discuss the challenges of defining human advancement and the importance of measuring both tangible and intangible progress.Image Credit: Installation view, ‘Thomas J Price, Untitled (Icon) Series,’ 2017 © Thomas J Price. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Ken Adlard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Individualism: The idea that each person possesses a distinctive and autonomous self that is able to develop within society.  In this episode, artist Christina Quarles and Xicana writer Cherríe Moraga navigate the conundrum of individual identity, revealing the profound intersections and deviations that shape our understanding of who we are.Image Credit: Christina Quarles, (And Tell Me Today's Not Today) (detail), 2023 © Christina Quarles. Courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth, and Pilar Corrias, London. Photo: Fredrik Nilsen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Humanism: the value and agency of human beings while recognizing the relationship between the human experience, evolution, and extinction. In this episode, artist Nicolas Party and researcher Thomas Moynihan explore their mutual interest in human agency, the arbitrary circumstances of planetary civilization—and dinosaurs!Image Credit: Nicolas Party, Portrait with a Donkey (detail), 2023 © Nicolas Party. Courtesy the artist & Hauser & Wirth.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guests Allison Katz and Nuar Alsadir discuss the uses and limitations of rational thought, the intersection of poetry and psychoanalysis, the importance of non-verbal communication in psychoanalysis, the role of laughter in challenging authority, and the significance of allowing the logic of painting to unfold.