Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages

This mini episode is about The Book of the Dead, a collection of funerary texts from ancient Egypt. To better understand the collection as well as the culture and mythology behind these works, I looked a little bit at the page showing the judgment of Hunefer, a high-ranking scribe and priest. I gave a quick shoutout to Abigail Green from CourseStorm.com who was kind enough to include me in her blog post listing The Best Art Podcasts for Arts Organizations, Educators and Creatives. Check out her list if you are looking for other art education related podcasts: https://www.coursestorm.com/blog/best-art-podcasts/Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Putty 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

I was asked to create an episode about how art affects the brain. I found there is quite a bit of research conducted by neuroscientists around the world indicating that engaging with the arts makes people smarter, happier, and healthier.Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Putty 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 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.Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donatello’s statue of David, just like the story, seems straightforward and simple at first glance, but with great art, there is always more than meets the eye. His bronze statue of the boy who slayed the giant depicts a figure who seems young and vulnerable yet with confidence and a bit of swagger. This was the first life-sized, free-standing nude statue since antiquity. Donatello and his David were triumphant helping to usher in a re-birth of ancient style for the Italian Renaissance. Ironically, part of Donatello's innovation was borrowing from the ancient style. Like all great artists, he reached new heights standing on the shoulders of giants.Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Putty 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

Cirque du Soleil combines acrobatics, theater, music, and dance to create a magical experience that pushes the boundaries of our imagination and inspires the audience to rethink what is possible. There are no animals or ringmasters because Cirque does not seek to tame nature but rather to push boundaries and invites viewers to stand in awe. Performers undertake stunts that are dangerous and as spectators, we experience some vicarious fear for the performers' safety, but then a cathartic release and inspiration as they pull it off. Since it began, Cirque du Soleil has amazed about 180 million people. In this episode, I gave a shout-out to my good friend, Sean Roschman. He is an amazingly talented artist putting on the first show of his new company Niko8. For all my listeners in the Chicago area, if you enjoy modern dance, check out their show at the end of July. Details are at www.Niko8.com Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Putty 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

Machu Picchu would translate to “old mountain” but it isn’t that old. While stone ruins are often associated with ancient civilizations thousands of years old, Machu Picchu is relatively young having been built in the middle of the 15th century. Nestled high in the Andes mountains of Peru, this ancient Incan citadel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a bucket-list destination for travelers from around the globe.Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Putty 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

Jack Kirby created some of the biggest names in the golden age of comics including: Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Iron Man, Black Panther, The Incredible Hulk. He basically populated the Marvel Universe. In 1970 though he felt like he wasn't getting the credit he deserved there and left Marvel for DC. There he created a series, Fourth World which I imagine he thought would demonstrate his brilliance and make Marvel wish they hadn’t blown it with him. The series was a commercial flop so maybe not the great “I told you so” he likely envisioned as he left Marvel for their rival, but some of the New Gods from the series live on in the DC Universe.Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Putty 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

Origami is the Japanese art of folded paper sculpture. It is a tradition that is basically as old as paper. In the 6th century CE, Buddhist monks brought paper from China to Japan. While origami has been practiced for hundreds of years, it has gone through some drastic changes in the way it was perceived by people. Early on when paper was really expensive and labor intensive to produce, origami was for the select few and for special occasions. As paper became more affordable, ordinary people made origami models as gifts or folding cards and envelopes for correspondence. It was used as I said to illustrate concepts like geometry in school and became associated with school children. For a long time, origami remained at a relatively low status dismissed as a children’s craft rather than fine art of a mature artist. Akira Yoshizawa probably elevated the art form more than anyone else. 1954 his first book was published Atarashii Origami Geijutsu (New Origami Art) this established the system of notation for origami folds which is basically the standard for origami instructions today. That same year, he founded the International Origami Center of Tokyo.I'm honored that Who ARTed is listed on FeedSpot's list of top podcasts for the classroom. Check out the others on their list: https://blog.feedspot.com/classroom_podcasts/?feedid=5246489 Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Putty 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

Romare Bearden grew up during the Harlem Renaissance. He enlisted in the army during World War 2 and in addition to painting, he made collages, he wrote and he loved music. One of my favorite works of Bearden's is based on a Renaissance painting imagining the return of Odysseus. In his work, Bearden puts black people into classic mythology because representation matters and he wants a diverse audience to be able to truly embrace the work and see themselves in the story.I am proud Who ARTed is part of the media library for the Art Explora Academy. Check it out for tons of free resources to further your art education.Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Putty 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

Hilma Af Klint was making abstract paintings before Kandinsky and Mondrian. She was exploring automatic writing and drawing guided by the subconscious decades before the surrealists. The term avant-garde literally refers to those going ahead of the rest. Hilma Af Klint was among the greatest avant-garde artists in history. Hilma Af Klint’s long time in relative obscurity is partly due to the stipulations of her will. She stated that her works should not be shown until 20 years after her death. She was medium who said that her abstract paintings were guided by otherworldly entities. She was a part of a collective known as The Five and the women would hold seances which guided their artistic practices. Hilma Af Klint said her works could not be understood or appreciated until decades after her death because while most artists are chasing trends, Hilma Af Klint was using her intuition to create paintings that would blow the minds of future generations.My guest this week was Natalie for the podcast, Reframables. Click here for the link tree showing all the places you can find her podcast.Check out my other podcast Art Smart | Rainbow Putty 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