Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages

Gerhard Richter, born in Dresden, Germany, in 1932, is a towering figure in contemporary art, whose life and work were forged by the tumultuous history of 20th-century Germany. Growing up under the Nazi regime and later living in Communist East Germany, Richter's early artistic education was in the state-sanctioned style of socialist realism. In 1961, he escaped to West Germany, where his career began to flourish. Rejecting adherence to a single style, Richter has spent decades exploring the possibilities of painting. His vast and varied body of work includes blurred photorealistic paintings based on found and personal photographs, monumental abstract pieces created with a giant squeegee, somber historical paintings, and modern stained glass designs. Richter's artistic practice is marked by a systematic and conceptual approach. He meticulously numbers each of his works in a catalogue raisonné, emphasizing their place in an ongoing investigation of how images are made and understood. His iconic abstract paintings are often created by dragging a large squeegee across layers of wet paint, a technique that introduces an element of chance and removes the traditional artist's hand. Richter's work frequently delves into the complex nature of memory and history, using his own family photographs—including a haunting image of his "Uncle Rudi" in a Nazi uniform—as source material. This tension between the personal and the historical, the abstract and the figurative, is powerfully captured in major works like his enigmatic 1988 portrait of his daughter, "Betty," and his celebrated stained-glass window for the Cologne Cathedral. Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since it is back to school season, I thought I would make a series of episodes optimized for classrooms to give students a quick overview and a few interesting facts about an artist. I am labeling these episodes with TLDR and each of them will follow the same format. First, I will give a very quick bit of biographical information. Second I'll list 5 interesting facts about the artist. Finally I'll talk about one of the artist's works. This week I covered Georges Braque and his painting Violin and Palette from 1909. Georges Braque co-founded the groundbreaking art movement of Cubism. Discover his beginnings in a family of house painters, where he learned decorative techniques like creating faux woodgrain that would later influence his fine art. The summary traces his artistic journey from early Fauvist-inspired works to the pivotal moment he met Picasso. This led to one of art history's most famous collaborations, an intense period where Braque and Picasso deconstructed traditional perspective to invent Analytic Cubism, working so closely they compared themselves to the Wright brothers. Learn how Braque's service in World War I and a severe head injury profoundly changed him, leading him to develop a more personal, contemplative style focused on still lifes for the remainder of his celebrated career. Delve into the specific innovations that cemented Braque's legacy, including his 1912 invention of papier collé (pasted paper), a technique that evolved into collage and forever changed the definition of art. We also uncover the surprising origin of the term "Cubism," born from a critic's dismissive remark about Braque's paintings being made of "little cubes." The discussion highlights a key masterpiece, Violin and Palette (1909), a prime example of Analytic Cubism. The painting breaks down its subjects into fragmented, geometric planes with a muted color palette, inviting viewers to analyze form and perception from multiple viewpoints at once, challenging the conventions of Western art and paving the way for abstraction. Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pioneering 19th-century photographer Eadweard Muybridge is celebrated for his groundbreaking work in capturing movement, which laid the foundation for modern cinema. After immigrating to the United States and gaining fame for his stunning landscape photographs of the American West, his career took a decisive turn in 1872. Muybridge was commissioned by railroad tycoon and former California governor Leland Stanford to settle a popular debate and a significant wager of $25,000. Stanford had bet that all four of a horse's hooves leave the ground at once during a gallop. This question pushed the limits of early photographic technology and set Muybridge on a quest to freeze a moment invisible to the naked eye. After years of experimentation, interrupted by a dramatic murder trial, Muybridge devised an ingenious solution in 1878 at Stanford's Palo Alto farm. He arranged a series of cameras along a track, with their shutters triggered sequentially by threads broken by a galloping horse. The resulting sequence of images, famously known as The Horse in Motion, definitively proved that a horse is, for a brief moment, completely airborne. This experiment did more than settle a bet; it revolutionized the scientific study of locomotion. To display his findings, Muybridge later invented the zoopraxiscope, a device that projected the images in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement, directly paving the way for the development of cinematography. Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is Mark Vernon, author of Awake! William Blake and the Power of Imagination. We discussed William Blake, the famous poet and visual artist known for his spiritually charged work. The piece we discussed was The Ancient of Days. Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, I wanted to share an episode of my other podcast, Fun Facts Daily, with some interesting information about clay and ceramics. You'll learn what makes things blow up in the kiln and how to avoid it. The episode also covers interesting facts from ancient uses of ceramics to modern applications in smartphones and even space shuttles. Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest for this episode is Kathleen Langore, author of a new book about the artist, Amalia Kussner. She was a highly successful portrait artist who specialized in miniatures. Kussner drew her subjects in a realistic but soft and flattering style that left her patrons feel like she was giving them the best version of their likeness. Her miniature portraits were a big deal as she traveled to Europe painting for royalty. Pick up a copy of The Miniature Painter Revealed: Amalia Kussner’s Gilded Age Pursuit of Fame and Fortune by Kathleen Langone on Amazon or wherever you get your books. Listen to Kathleen Langone's podcast, People Hidden in History Listen to my episode on another royal portrait artist, Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the life and work of celebrated American artist Wayne Thiebaud, known for his vibrant and textured paintings of everyday objects. Born in 1920, Thiebaud's early experiences as a sign painter and an apprentice animator at Walt Disney Studios shaped his understanding of visual communication and iconic forms. Though often associated with the Pop Art movement of the 1960s, Thiebaud’s approach was distinct. While artists like Andy Warhol embraced mechanical reproduction, Thiebaud celebrated the painter's touch, using thick impasto, brilliant colors, and strong shadows to bring his subjects to life. His signature works feature commonplace items, particularly diner foods like pies, cakes, and gumballs, transforming them into objects of formal study and cultural nostalgia. Thiebaud's career gained national recognition following his inclusion in the landmark 1962 exhibition, "New Painting of Common Objects," at the Pasadena Art Museum. A deep dive into one of his early masterpieces, Pie a la Mode (1961), reveals the key elements of his style: the luscious, tactile quality of the paint, the signature halos of color outlining the object, and the ability to find artistic complexity in the simple pleasures of American life. Beyond his famous still lifes, Thiebaud also applied his unique vision to compelling landscapes of San Francisco and detailed figure paintings, solidifying his legacy as one of America's most beloved painters and a dedicated long-time professor at the University of California, Davis. Related episodes: Claes Oldenburg Roy Lichtenstein Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Man Ray was a pioneer of cameraless photography. His signature technique was the "Rayograph" created by placing objects directly onto light-sensitive paper often manipulating them during exposure. Of course, that was not his only trick. Man Ray experimented with solarisation and in his piece Ingres's Violin, he painted on a photograph, then took another picture of the manipulated image. For this episode, my guests were Mark Small and Jack Shoulder, the writers of a new book Museum Bums: A Cheeky Loot at Butts in Art. They are also behind the wildly popular Museum Bums Instagram account. Show them some support: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/museumbums/?hl=en⁠ Book: ⁠https://a.co/d/fDvMMBb⁠ Calendar: ⁠https://a.co/d/gWl0QPG⁠  Cards: ⁠https://a.co/d/4fd1EaJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amrita Sher-Gil, born in 1913 to a Sikh aristocrat and a Hungarian-Jewish opera singer, was a trailblazing artist who blended European and Indian influences. After studying art in Paris and achieving early success at the Grand Salon, she returned to India in 1934. Though initially met with resistance due to her modern style, Sher-Gil's evocative portrayals of Indian life and her unique fusion of cultural traditions ultimately garnered critical acclaim. Her paintings, like the renowned "Bride's Toilet," showcased her bold colors, expressive figures, and insightful observations. Despite her untimely death in 1941, Sher-Gil's legacy as a pioneer of modern Indian art endures, inspiring generations of artists and solidifying her place as one of India's most celebrated creative figures. Related episodes: ⁠Paul Cezanne | Mont Sainte-Victoire⁠ ⁠Charuvi Agrawal | 26,000 Bells of Hanuman⁠ ⁠Shiva Nataraja | Shiva Lord of the Dance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the life and work of David Hockney, one of the most influential British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Born in Yorkshire in 1937, Hockney's rebellious spirit and prodigious talent were evident from his early days at the Royal College of Art. His move to Los Angeles in 1964 marked a pivotal moment, as he swapped the grey skies of England for the bright, constant sunlight of California. This new environment inspired his most iconic motifs, including pristine swimming pools, modernist architecture, and a vibrant, flat style perfectly captured with new acrylic paints. Hockney became celebrated for his psychologically rich double portraits, his innovative photographic collages known as "joiners," and in later years, a passionate return to painting the English landscape of his youth. A deep dive into Hockney's 1967 masterpiece, A Bigger Splash, reveals his genius for capturing time, motion, and atmosphere. The large 8 foot by 8 foot painting juxtaposes a serene, California setting with the chaotic, fleeting explosion of water from an unseen diver. While often associated with Pop Art, Hockney's work is deeply personal, celebrating the joy of looking and challenging the conventions of perception. From paintbrushes to the iPad, Hockney has remained a relentless innovator, solidifying his status as a modern master. Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices