Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of America's most famous and influential architects. He famously said, "No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other." It was this emphasis on unity between the construction and the surrounding landscape that made Falling Water such a breathtaking design.Related Episodes:Frank Lloyd Wright | Falling Water (full episode)Arts Madness 2025Season 11 is all about my Arts Madness Tournament. Once again, I hope you will weigh in on your favorite artists/artworks as we go from 64 down to 1. For this year’s tournament, I put 32 works from the AP Art History list in one bracket, and on the other side, I have 32 artists/works from my personal “Salon des Refusés” that were not included in the curriculum. Voting for Round 1 will begin Monday, February 24. In the meantime, learn about all the different artists/artworks. I will be posting daily mini episodes for 64 days (mostly encore presentations with some updates and new episodes most Mondays).Arts Madness 2025 links: The Brackets Vote in the Current 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

Andy Warhol's Marilyn Diptych is a commentary on the nature of fame, celebrity, and mass media. Warhol appropriated a well-known image of Monroe, using repetition and contrasting colors to create a work that is both iconic and unsettling. The diptych format, traditionally used for religious works, elevates Monroe to a figure of almost religious significance, while also highlighting the manufactured nature of her celebrity persona. Through this work, Warhol explores the tension between the public image and the private individual, and the way in which mass media can distort and commodify our understanding of reality. The Diptych serves as a powerful critique of the cult of celebrity and the dehumanizing effects of mass media.Arts Madness 2025Season 11 is all about my Arts Madness Tournament. Once again, I hope you will weigh in on your favorite artists/artworks as we go from 64 down to 1. For this year’s tournament, I put 32 works from the AP Art History list in one bracket, and on the other side, I have 32 artists/works from my personal “Salon des Refusés” that were not included in the curriculum. Voting for Round 1 will begin Monday, February 24. In the meantime, learn about all the different artists/artworks. I will be posting daily mini episodes for 64 days (mostly encore presentations with some updates and new episodes most Mondays).Arts Madness 2025 links: The Brackets Vote in the Current 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

Michelangelo was considered to be one of the greatest examples of a Renaissance man. He is also one of the worst examples of personal hygiene. Learn a little bit about the artist who painted the ceiling on the Sistine Chapel.Related episodes: Michelangelo | The Sistine Chapel Ceiling Art Smart: The Renaissance Arts Madness 2025Season 11 is all about my Arts Madness Tournament. Once again, I hope you will weigh in on your favorite artists/artworks as we go from 64 down to 1. For this year’s tournament, I put 32 works from the AP Art History list in one bracket, and on the other side, I have 32 artists/works from my personal “Salon des Refusés” that were not included in the curriculum. Voting for Round 1 will begin Monday, February 24. In the meantime, learn about all the different artists/artworks. I will be posting daily mini episodes for 64 days (mostly encore presentations with some updates and new episodes most Mondays).Arts Madness 2025 links: The Brackets Vote in the Current 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

The Bay was painted in 1963 as Frankenthaler had refined her soak and stain process. While Mountains and Sea was made with diluted oil paints, The Bay is acrylic on unprimed canvas. She had found that using acrylics gave her greater control over the viscosity or how fluid the paint was. As I look at The Bay, the title indicates a landscape and the brightness, the organic shapes of blue and green give me a sense of a Bay, but it feels like it is more about a happy, contented sort of tone. There is movement, but it seems gentle like sitting out on a boat drifting in calm waters. The Bay represents a different sort of take on Abstract Expressionism. While many followed Jackson Pollock’s and Willem de Kooning’s aggressive and agsty style, Helen Frankenthaler’s color fields are more gentle and at peace. Her work was a breath of fresh air showing that painting could reduce art to fundamental elements in line with esoteric modernist philosophy and still be beautiful and joyous. Related episodes:Jackson PollockDiego RiveraArts Madness 2025Season 11 is all about my Arts Madness Tournament. Once again, I hope you will weigh in on your favorite artists/artworks as we go from 64 down to 1. For this year’s tournament, I put 32 works from the AP Art History list in one bracket, and on the other side, I have 32 artists/works from my personal “Salon des Refusés” that were not included in the curriculum. Voting for Round 1 will begin Monday, February 24. In the meantime, learn about all the different artists/artworks. I will be posting daily mini episodes for 64 days (mostly encore presentations with some updates and new episodes most Mondays).Arts Madness 2025 links: The Brackets Vote in the Current Round The Bay from 1963 is one of the required artworks for AP Art History. Check out my Spotify playlist, AP Art History Cram Session to learn about other artists and artworks from that curriculum.Check out my other podcasts Art Smart and 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

Maria Martinez belonged to the Tewa-speaking Pueblo people, known for their rich artistic heritage. Pottery-making was deeply rooted in Puebloan culture, serving as a means of artistic expression and a reflection of their close connection with the natural world. Maria grew up watching her family members create pottery, learning the traditional techniques. Of course, we seldom talk about those who simply carry on a tradition. Maria Martinez and her husband Julian revolutionized pottery production and shared their methods with their community. In doing so, they raised the profile of pottery as an art form while helping others understand and appreciate their cultural heritage.If you would like to learn more about modern clay production, check out the clay episode of my other podcast, Art Smart.Art Smart | ClayArt Smart | GlazeArts Madness 2025Season 11 is all about my Arts Madness Tournament. Once again, I hope you will weigh in on your favorite artists/artworks as we go from 64 down to 1. For this year’s tournament, I put 32 works from the AP Art History list in one bracket, and on the other side, I have 32 artists/works from my personal “Salon des Refusés” that were not included in the curriculum. Voting for Round 1 will begin Monday, February 24. In the meantime, learn about all the different artists/artworks. I will be posting daily mini episodes for 64 days (mostly encore presentations with some updates and new episodes most Mondays).Arts Madness 2025 links: The Brackets Vote in the Current 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

Today Diego Rivera is less of a household name than his wife Frida Kahlo, but in the early 20th century, he was the more established artist. In Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central Park by Diego Rivera, Mexico's rich and complex history comes to life. It is a slightly surreal and thought-provoking composition. This massive mural, set in Mexico City's largest park, invites viewers to take a stroll through four centuries of Mexican history, where hundreds of characters from different eras mingle in a dreamlike atmosphere.Related episodes:Frida KahloPablo PicassoListen to my AP Art History Cram Session playlist on Spotify.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

Cezanne is widely celebrated today, but he struggled early on. He was rejected by Beaux Arts multiple times. He went back home to work at the bank for a while but he felt compelled to pursue the arts and he persisted. He met other artists like Renoir and Monet who had also been rejected by academic establishment and many critics of the day. The supported each other and learned from each other. In 1863, people were so sick of being rejected by the Paris Salon, they actually set up “Salon des Refuses” (salon of the rejected) next to the official salon to exhibit works by Monet, Manet, Pissarro. Cezanne would have loved to have his paintings exhibited in The Paris Salon, but his work hung in The Salon des Refuses.Related episodes to check out: Paul Cezanne (full episode) Art Smart - Impressionism & Post Impressionism 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

The transformation mask is a carved and painted sculpture, a status symbol, a costume element and a simple machine all at once. Pulling the strings on the mask allows the wearer to move parts that effectively animate the mask and bring it to life in front of the gathered crowd. Kwakwaka’wakw artists created a number of different masks representing different figures.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

Constantin Brâncuși was a Romanian sculptor who made a significant impact on modern art through his abstract sculptures. His passion and dedication to art is legendary. In the autumn of 1903, he began a months-long walk from Bucharest to Paris, where he sought to immerse himself in the avant-garde art scene. Brâncuși's work, characterized by simplified forms and a focus on the essence of his subjects, often sparked controversy, as seen with his Bird in Space sculpture, which was challenged by U.S. customs officials who didn't recognize it as art. This led to a landmark court case that ultimately recognized abstract art as a legitimate form. Brâncuși's dedication to his unique artistic vision and his exploration of fundamental forms left a lasting legacy on the world of modern sculpture.Related episodes:Auguste RodinAmedeo ModiglianiHenri MatisseMarcel DuchampThe Kiss is one of the 250 artworks required for AP Art History. For those students across the US trying to prep for the test, check out my AP Art History Cram Session playlist on Spotify.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

Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" is an iconic Art Nouveau painting, renowned for its use of gold leaf and intricate patterns. The painting depicts a couple embracing in a passionate kiss, their bodies adorned with abstract designs that symbolize interconnectedness and the natural world. While the identities of the figures are unclear, the painting has been interpreted as representing mythological figures, Klimt and his companion Emilie Floge, or a more allegorical representation of love. The painting's symbolism, including floral motifs and the gold halo effect, contribute to its spiritual dimension. The Kiss sold immediately after Klimt painted it. In 1908, the Austrian Government bought it for their Moderne Galerie. They paid 25,000 crowns which would be the equivalent of about $240,000 today. That was 5 times higher than the price paid for any painting in Vienna up until that time. It quickly became one of Klimt's most celebrated works extremely popular beyond the fine art world. "The Kiss" has permeated popular culture, appearing in countless reproductions, adaptations, and homages. Its iconic image has been used in advertising, fashion, and even movies.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