Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages

Herb Williams is an incredibly talented sculptor bringing crayons to a whole new dimension. I sat down to talk to Williams about his background, his artistic influences, and exactly how and why he uses crayons to sculpt. He shared his memories of making art as a child as well as his experience working in a foundry making lost wax castings before he decided to pursue a literal dream of making sculptures out of crayons.For more from Herb Williams, check out his website and follow him on Instagram @herbwilliamsartArts 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

Reggie Laurent is a contemporary artist based out of Atlanta. Laurent is a largely self-taught artist working in a variety of media and often on unexpected surfaces. He is known for his DNA series of paintings characterized by bold colors and elaborate patterns in abstract compositions. He says that the DNA series is largely similar to his childhood doodles and the creative expression that was always in him. While many artists inspire students with their stunning work, Laurent goes further by explaining his process and working with groups of students via Zoom.Find Reggie Laurent Online:https://www.laurentoriginals.com/ www.instagram/laurentoriginalshttps://woodpeckerscrafts.com/reginald-laurent-dna-collection/ 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

Jason deCaires Taylor, is a UK-based contemporary artist who has seamlessly merged art and environmental activism. Renowned for his captivating underwater sculptures, Taylor's creations serve as a powerful reminder of the urgent need to address environmental concerns. Crafted with meticulous detail, his sculptures not only captivate the eye but also provide a haven for marine life, fostering the growth of coral reefs and supporting fragile ecosystems. Join us as we explore Taylor's artistic journey, his passion for marine conservation, and the profound impact his work has on raising awareness about the delicate balance of our planet's oceans.Find out more and support his work:www.underwatersculpture.comwww.underwatermuseum.com Donate to a projectInstagram: #jasondecairestaylorYouTube: @jasondecairestaylorstudioArts 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

Hilma af Klint was a painter making abstract art years before men like Kandinsky and she was exploring automatic drawing long before the surrealists. She knew she was well ahead of her time, which is why she stipulated in her will, that many of her greatest works were not to be displayed until 20 years after her death.Related episodes: Hilma af Klint | What a Human Being Is Spirit Photography 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

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.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

When you think of bold and revolutionary modern artists from the 20th century, you probably don't think of a grandmother laying across her living room floor painting, but maybe you should. Janet Sobel was a Ukrainian American painter who was dripping paint across the canvas long before Jackson Pollock "invented" the technique. Other artists mentioned in this episode:Jackson PollockAlexander CalderNorman RockwellRoy LichtensteinGeorgia O'KeeffeArts 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

Wolfgang Beltracchi, born Wolfgang Fischer in 1951, is considered one of the most skilled art forgers in history. He meticulously crafted fake paintings by adopting the styles and techniques of famous artists. Rather than simply copying, he immersed himself in the artist's world, studying their letters and visiting their inspirational landscapes. With a deep understanding of the artist, he created pieces missing from their body of work. Beltracchi also forged supporting documentation, including photographs and gallery notes, to establish provenance. His forgeries were so convincing that many were sold as authentic works. However, his scheme unraveled when a painting attributed to Heinrink Campendonk was discovered to contain titanium white, a pigment not available during Campendonk's time. Despite being convicted for just over a dozen forgeries, Beltracchi hinted at creating hundreds more.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 late 1930s were a rough time in Europe. Nazis were on the rise, and museums began hiding their most treasured works or even shipping them off to safe locations. As all of these works were floating around in the art world and many pieces being hidden, Hans van Meegeren emerged as an art dealer with some lost Vermeers. As I explained in the previous episode about the Vermeer stolen from the Isabella Steward Gardner museum, there aren’t a lot of Vermeer paintings and much of his biography is unknown. There are some historians who believe Vermeer studied under an artist who was heavily influenced by Caravaggio. Van Meegeren was celebrated for bringing the world the gift of these lost Caravaggio influenced Vermeer paintings. The critics loved the paintings and they loved Van Meegeren for discovering these lost works. He sold them for huge amounts and over just a few years amassed a fortune of about $30 million in today’s money. The thing is Van Meegeren would sell to anyone with money, including the Nazis. Hermann Goering, Hitler's vice chancellor was an art lover. He particularly loved the Vermeer painting he got from Van Meegeren. In the 1940s, the allies came knocking to ask why Han van Meegeren was doing business with the Nazis. Now whatever they expected to hear as his response, I guarantee they were surprised. Van Meegeren declared that he deserved to be treated as a hero for his dealings with the Nazis because all of the works he sold them were fakes. He claimed that by selling and trading these forgeries he was able to get 137 authentic Dutch masterpieces from the Nazis. It was an interesting defense, that he was not a war criminal but simply forger. It would be hard for anyone to feel sympathy for the victims of this crime but most found it too hard to believe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rene Magritte's painting, Son of Man, is among the most famous images of the Surrealist Movement. It is one of the few artworks that transcends the museum and has become a part of pop culture. Actually, technically it isn’t even in the museums. Son of Man is privately owned and rarely seen on public display, but it has been referenced in books, movies like Stranger than Fiction and The Thomas Crown Affair, tv shows like The Simpsons, music videos by the likes of Michael Jackson. Of course, listeners of this show no doubt recognize that the painting was also the inspiration for the greatest pop culture image of all time, my podcast cover art.Related episodes:Rene Magritte | The False Mirror (full episode)Salvador Dali | The Persistence of MemoryArts 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

Keith Haring, renowned for his iconic pop art and graffiti, rose to fame in the 1980s New York art scene. His signature style, characterized by bold lines, vibrant colors, and symbols like the radiant baby and barking dog, often conveyed social messages. Haring's art wasn't confined to galleries; it flourished in public spaces, notably subway stations, making it accessible to everyone. Despite his untimely death due to AIDS in 1990, his legacy lives on through his art and the Keith Haring Foundation, which supports children and AIDS/HIV organizations. Haring's work continues to inspire and resonate, bridging the gap between high art and popular culture.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