Scratching the Surface

José Esparza Chong Cuy is the executive director and chief curator of Storefront for Art and Architecture, a New York-based institution that amplifies the understanding of the built environment through artistic practice. Before Storefront, José was an associate curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and an associate curator at the Museo Jumex. In this conversation, Jarrett and José talk about the history and mission of Storefront, their year-long curatorial framework, and balancing institutionalism and experimentation. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/249-jose-esparza-chong-cuy. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Kathleen and Christopher Sleboda run Draw Down Books, a publishing project and bookshop focused on graphic design, typography, and printed matter. They also work as graphic designers for clients and teach at Boston University, RISD, and the University of Connecticut. Previously, Christopher was Director of Graphic Design at the Yale University Art Gallery for 15 years and Kathleen worked as an archivist at the Beinecke Rare Books Library at Yale. In this episode, Jarrett talks with them about experimental publishing, publishing as a form of community building, and the continued relevance of printed matter. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/248-kathleen-christopher-sleboda.
 — 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Aaron Betsky is a critic, curator, and administrator. Until 2022, he was the director of Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture and Design. He previous was the president and dean of the School of Architecture at Taliesin, the director of the Cincinnati Art Museum, director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute, and a curator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He’s the author, most recently, of The Monster Leviathan: Anarchitecture. In this conversation, Jarrett and Aaron talk about anarchitecture and the relationship between theory and practice, the role of modernism, and why the future is multidisciplinary. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/247-aaron-betsky. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Alison Place discusses feminist design principles, designers challenging norms, and rethinking critiques. They explore feminism in design education and upcoming plans for an open source archive. The conversation also touches on the intersection of conflict and change in communities through productive transformation.

Michael Cina is a graphic designer, creative director, typographer, and artist. Since 2010, he’s run Cina Associates where he’s worked on projects for clients like Disney, Adobe, and Coca-Cola, as well as his long-running collaboration with Ghostly International. He previously co-founded YouWorkForThem, a designer-run online shop for typefaces, stock art, and other resources. In this conversation, Jarrett and Michael talk about the challenges and opportunities in working across mediums, how painting influenced his commercial design work, and how the internet shifted the state of design discourse. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/245-michael-cina. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Freek Lomme is a publisher, editor, curator, and writer. He is the founder of Set Margins’, a support structure, a platform for production, a network and publisher focused on impulses from the margins with a focus on communication, cooperation, and involved politics. Previously, Freek was the co-founder and director of Onomatopee, an art and design space and publisher in The Netherlands. In this conversation, Jarrett and Freek talk about the infrastructure of bookmaking, the role of the publisher, and the continued affection for print culture. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/244-freek-lomme. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Nicholas de Monchaux is an architect, designer, and author. He is currently Professor and Head of Architecture at MIT. He is the author of Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo and Local Code: 3,659 Proposals about Data, Design, and the Nature of Cities. Until 2020, he was Professor of Architecture and Urban Design and Chair in New Media at UC Berkeley. In this conversation, Jarrett and Nicholas talk about reframing our definitions of design, what a contemporary architecture education could look like, and building a multidisciplinary practice. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/243-nicholas-de-monchaux. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Helen Molesworth is a writer, critic, and curator. Her new book, Open Questions: Thirty Years of Writing About Art, collects her writing on art and artists from exhibition catalogs and art publications. From 2014 to 2018, she was the chief curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and previously served as curator at ICA Boston, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Harvard University Art Museums. In 2022, she hosted the six-part podcast Death of an Artist. In this conversation, Jarrett and Helen talk about blending theory and feeling in criticism, making exhibitions like essays, and the questions that still animate her work. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/242-helen-molesworth. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Adrian Lahoud is an architect, urban designer, researcher, and the dean of the School of Architecture at the Royal College of Art. Previously he was director of the MA program at the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths and a research fellow at Forensic Architecture. In this conversation, Jarrett and Adrian talk about the intersection of decolonization and decarbonization, architecture as a site for posing problems, and fostering an interdisciplinary research culture. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/241-adrian-lahoud. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast

Stephen Eskilson is professor of art and design history at Eastern Illinois University and the author of the new book Digital Design: A History, a history of digital design from the nineteenth century to today. He previously wrote Graphic Design: A New History, which is now in its third edition. In this conversation, Stephen and Jarrett talk about the challenges in writing a history of digital design, the increasingly complexity of design tools, and the usefulness of the term graphic design. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/240-stephen-eskilson. 
— 
If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon and get bonus content, transcripts, and our monthly newsletter! www.patreon.com/surfacepodcast