Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages

Claude Monet loved his garden and made about 250 paintings of water lilies. He and his Impressionist contemporaries were focused on color, light, and how our eyes perceive the world, but I would say technology was also central to the development. In his paintings of the train station, The Gare Saint Lazare, Monet gives us a glimpse of iron and glass station filled with the smoke of the steam engines. One critic wrote, “Unfortunately thick smoke escaping from the canvas prevented our seeing the six paintings dedicated to this study.” While the Impressionists were overtly apolitical, there is always a statement made by what is shown and what is not shown. Even if the artist himself or herself strives to be objective simply holding a mirror to their world, which way they aim that mirror matters. Monet shows the steam engine in its element as the subject of the work not merely something in the background. Technology of course drives change in our world. In the middle of the 19th century, painters suddenly had to compete with the camera. As photographs could quickly and easily capture the lines, shapes and proportions of a subject, painters shifted their focus to the color, an element cameras could not capture at that time. The tube of paint and numerous synthetic pigments also came about in the 19th century giving artists easy access to a wider range of colors. As I look at Monet’s use of so many colors, the pinks and blues of the cloud rising from the steam engine, I think of the critics the defenders of the status quo feeling threatened by change. They feel overwhelmed by the subject and begin to choke at the sight of roaring engines filling the space with smoke and they want to look away. They want the grand facades buildings and well-dressed elites walking city streets, not the workers and machines that powered the advancements. Monet though was unwavering. He meticulously studied his subjects at different times and in different seasons to find the beauty of even the smoke and engines in the industrial space. While the critics wanted grand visions of mythology, Monet showed what he and countless others experienced in the real world.Other episodes to listen to: Claude Monet | Water Lilies Pierre-Auguste Renoir | Luncheon of the Boating Party Berthe Morisot | The Cradle Gustave Caillebotte | Paris Street Rainy Day 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

As a young adult, Edvard Munch studied art. He was influenced early on by the Impressionists, but he really came into his own when he began using painting as a way of expressing his inner struggles. He is best known today for his expressionistic works like The Scream. Interestingly The Scream is not about a person screaming. The tormented figure in the painting is actually suffering an anxiety attack and overwhelmed by the din or the noise of the world around him. The specific look of the figure may have actually been based on a Peruvian mummy that was on display in the World’s Fair in Paris in 1889.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

Alfred Stieglitz is considered by many to be the father of modern photography. He looked at the camera as not simply a tool to document the world, but an artistic medium. His photograph The Steerage from 1907 is possibly his most famous work. As he set out on a European vacation, Alfred and his family were in first class, but he did not feel comfortable. He went out onto the deck and looked down at the people on the lower deck, the steerage. He said he wished he could mingle with them and he was struck by the lines and shapes on the ship as well as on the people's clothing. Everything about the scene laid out before him felt like a modern artwork and he sought to create a photograph using those lines and shapes to express his feeling in the moment. He ran back to his room and got his camera but only had one glass plate, one shot to capture the scene. 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

Louis Daguerre was an early pioneer of photography. While he didn't invent the medium, he did come up with a method that was workable, and perhaps most importantly, he made his method open source, so others could build off of his findings. In his early photograph, The Artist's Studio, from 1837, Daguerre wanted to show the potential for photography as not only a science but an art. He arranged a still life filled with symbols alluding to mythology demonstrating that his new method was well suited to capturing traditional subjects.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

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 PicassoCheck 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

In this episode, we have Frida Kahlo, a painter associated with the Surrealist movement, discussing her iconic self-portraits that convey her pain and strength. The podcast explores the symbolism in her work, her relationship with Diego Rivera, and the inspiration behind 'The Two Fridas'. They also analyze the artwork, delving into the heart, recurring themes of pain and illness, and the feminist message.

The bulk of Olowe’s carvings seem to have been both decorative and functional artworks for the Yoruba kings and prominent families. One of his celebrated works for example is the veranda post that sits in the collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. In that piece we see the elongated neck and oval faces that were a part of his signature style. Traditionally Yoruba artists used scale and proportion to indicate hierarchy. The more important a figure, the larger they are within the composition. The status of the king’s senior wife is shown by her size while the king is seated central to the post. His crown eye level to the viewer and the king sits with his feat up above the ground signifying his transcendent nature. His eyes are cast down expressing a contemplative mood as he looks down on the world beyond. The crown has four ancestral faces signifying the legitimacy of his royal lineage, the divine line and wisdom running through it.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

In this depiction of Shiva we see the natural rhythms to everything in the cosmos. Birth and death, creation and destruction are symply phases all things will go through. In this bronze work from 11th century India during the Chola period, we see Shiva in a dancing pose. He is surrounded by a ring of flames. Fire is an interesting force as it can be tremendously destructive and dangerous, but simultaneously if it is handled properly, fire can provide warmth and light. As the flames dance, they transform the material world around them sometimes to our benefit and sometimes to our peril. In this piece, Shiva is surrounded by flames representing the eternal cycle of creation, preservation and destruction. 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

China's Longmen Caves or Longmen Grottos are a UNESCO world heritage site. Starting in the 5th century CE, artists chiseled away at the limestone carving out around 2300 caves and 110,000 statues. Because they were constructed over such a long period, the sculptures in the Longmen Caves not only reflect the religious tradition, but they track changes in artistic style over the centuries.Related episode: Sand MandalasCheck 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