Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages

Jessica Poundstone is the author of Museum of Dogs: a Romp through Art History for Dog People. As the name suggests, it is a light and fun look at dogs as portrayed by various artists throughout time and across cultures. In this episode, we discussed dogs in art history and mentioned several artists including Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Berthe Morisot, and Diego Velázquez. In the second segment, we looked at Tama, a dog, as painted by Renoir and another version of the same dog painted by Manet. Buy a copy of Museum of Dogs: a Romp through Art History for Dog People on Amazon or wherever you get your books Contemporary artists we mentioned who are worth supporting: Ryan Berkley Katie Kimmel 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

Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal, 1887-1985) was a prominent Russian-French modern artist whose life spanned nearly a century of dramatic historical change. Originating from a Hasidic Jewish community near Vitebsk, Russian Empire (now Belarus), Chagall pursued art studies in St. Petersburg before immersing himself in the Paris art scene from 1911-1914. There, he absorbed influences from Cubism and Fauvism, blending them with his unique heritage of Russian folklore and personal memories to forge his signature dreamlike style. Trapped in Russia by World War I, he married his muse, Bella Rosenfeld, and briefly served as Commissar of Arts in Vitebsk after the Revolution. Chagall later returned to Paris, only to flee Nazi persecution during World War II, finding refuge in the United States where Bella tragically died. Returning to France after the war, he married Valentina "Vava" Brodsky and embarked on a prolific late career, expanding into ceramics, sculpture, and notably, magnificent stained glass works, continuing to create until his death at 97. Please help me launch my new show Fun Facts Daily! Give it a listen and leave a kind rating or review to help others find the show. Find ⁠Fun Facts Daily on Spotify⁠, ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠, ⁠Amazon Music⁠, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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

Fun Facts Daily is a new podcast I have been working on for a bit. It is exactly what the name suggests. Every Monday through Friday, on Fun Facts Daily, I’ll be sharing five fun facts, a word of the day and practical tips all related to a single topic in around 10-15 minutes.  I’ll still be bringing you episodes of Who ARTed on Mondays and Fridays, but I wanted to create another show because there’s a lot of amazing stuff to learn beyond the art world. I have been wanting to do this for a while now because I am not just a teacher, but also a lifelong learner and I love sharing the awesome new things I learn. Over the last year or so I noticed that a lot of news shows I listened to left me feeling wound up and anxious. I decided to create the kind of show I want to listen to, focusing exclusively on the good stuff. Every episode has fun facts and interesting stories that are all clean and appropriate for listeners of all ages, so you can listen with the kids and learn together or take some time for yourself to just relax and learn something awesome. Today, I’m giving you all a sneak peek of two episodes I think you’ll enjoy. First, I’m going to have an episode of Fun Facts Daily on Leonardo da Vinci, then I’ll have my episode on inventions built off NASA technology. I hope you like the show, and if you do, please do me a favor and follow Fun Facts Daily on your favorite podcast app. It’s a brand new show and you really appreciate your help getting it off the ground by giving it a listen, a kind rating or just telling a friend about the show. Thanks! Find Fun Facts Daily on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Codex Borgia is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican manuscript, a 36-foot folded document made of animal hide, dating from the 13th to early 16th centuries. Created by Indigenous peoples, likely in central Mexico, it serves as a religious and divinatory almanac used by priests. Filled with intricate depictions of deities like Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, and Tlaloc, it illustrates the 260-day tonalpohualli ritual calendar. Part of the “Borgia Group,” it survived the Spanish conquest and is now housed in the Vatican Apostolic Library. The codex offers invaluable insight into pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican beliefs, cosmology, and rituals, showcasing complex iconography and artistic skill. It provides crucial information for understanding the history, culture, and religion of ancient Mexican civilizations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Walter De Maria (1935-2013) was a pivotal figure in Minimalism, Conceptual Art, and Land Art, known for large-scale environmental installations. His significant works include The New York Earth Room and The Lightning Field. The Lightning Field, commissioned by the Dia Art Foundation and completed in 1977 in Catron County, New Mexico, comprises 400 stainless steel poles arranged in a precise grid, designed to interact with light and evoke the sublime. De Maria's art often explores themes of scale, human perception, and the relationship between nature and human intervention, emphasizing direct viewer experience over traditional art consumption.My guest this week is Tim Bogatz, host of Art Ed Radio from The Art of Education University.Tim and I are both active on the Art of Ed Community and I would encourage all my fellow art teachers to join if you haven't already.If you are interested in learning more about The Lightning Field or you would like to try to make the pilgrimage and stay there, check head over to Diaart.orgCheck out my other podcasts  Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science LabWho 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

Elaine de Kooning (1918-1989) was a vital figure in 20th-century American art. She was a renowned Abstract Expressionist painter, portraitist, and writer. Elaine de Kooning's 1963 portrait of John F. Kennedy, now at the National Portrait Gallery, is a significant work reflecting her Abstract Expressionist style applied to portraiture. Commissioned by the Truman Library, the painting captures Kennedy's dynamic energy and charisma through vibrant colors, bold brushstrokes, and a fragmented, almost unfinished quality. Created during and after Kennedy's time in office, the work became a poignant memorial after his assassination, symbolizing the turbulence and vitality of his presidency, and cementing de Kooning's reputation as a master portraitist.Related episodes:Willem de KooningJackson PollockJanet SobelLee KrasnerMark RothkoErased de KooningCheck out my other podcasts  Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science LabWho 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

Willem de Kooning, a Dutch-American Abstract Expressionist painter, was born in Rotterdam in 1904. He stowed away on a freighter in 1926, eventually settling in New York City. De Kooning's early work transitioned from figurative studies to abstraction, though he never fully abandoned the figure, famously stating, "Flesh was the reason oil paint was invented." He gained recognition for his black-and-white abstract paintings and married fellow artist Elaine Fried. Known for his perfectionism, he often reworked his canvases extensively. He moved to East Hampton in 1963, and despite later suffering from Alzheimer's, continued painting until the late 1980s. De Kooning died in 1997, leaving a lasting legacy as a key figure in 20th-century art.Willem de Kooning's "Woman I," created between 1950 and 1952, is a seminal work of Abstract Expressionism. This large-scale painting, now housed at the Museum of Modern Art, is the first in his "Woman" series and is renowned for its intense process and controversial imagery. De Kooning worked on the canvas for nearly two years, repeatedly painting over and scraping away layers, embodying the "action painting" style. Inspired by diverse sources, from contemporary advertisements to ancient fertility figures, "Woman I" depicts a distorted, powerful female figure with aggressive brushstrokes, vibrant yet garish colors, and a chaotic composition. The painting sparked debate upon its 1953 exhibition, with some critics viewing it as misogynistic, while others recognized its challenge to traditional notions of beauty and the female nude. "Woman I" remains an influential piece, reflecting de Kooning's struggle with representation and solidifying his reputation as a major, albeit provocative, force in post-war art.Related episodes:Jackson PollockJanet SobelLee KrasnerMark RothkoErased de KooningCheck out my other podcasts  Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science LabWho 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

The CIA secretly leveraged Abstract Expressionism, particularly the art of Jackson Pollock, during the Cold War. This wasn't about controlling artists but using their work as a symbol of American freedom and individualism against Soviet Socialist Realism. Through the Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF), the CIA funded major art exhibitions like "The New American Painting" and collaborated with institutions like the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to promote this art internationally. While the CIA didn't create Abstract Expressionism, they amplified its impact, making it a powerful cultural weapon and shifting the art world's focus to New York. Discover the hidden history of how art became a tool in the battle for hearts and minds during the Cold War.Related episodes:Jackson PollockJanet SobelLee KrasnerMark RothkoErased de KooningCheck out my other podcasts  Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science LabWho 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

Tembe Denton-Hurst (@tembae) is a beauty and culture writer at New York magazine and the author of Homebodies. Her newest book Fresh Sets: Contemporary Nail Art from Around the World travels the world to put today’s most inspired nail art at your fingertips. It features profiles of 35 professionals who are carving out a name for themselves on the streets of cities like New York, LA, Vancouver, London, Berlin, Paris, Moscow, Seoul, Tokyo, Punjab, Melbourne/Naarm, and more.In the second segment, we discussed work by Leslie Arrañaga and a photo of her work is used as the cover art for this episode. Photo credit: © Lesly Arrañaga / @leslydidthemWho 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

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's Arts Madness Tournament. After 6 weeks and thousands of votes, we have narrowed the field from 64 down to 1 ultimate artist. Listen for fun facts about our two final artists, Katsushika Hokusai and Maurizio Cattelan, and find out who came out on top in our final round.Check out my other podcasts  Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science LabWho 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