Episodes
Betty walks Quinn through select pavilions and artworks at the 2022 Venice Biennale. This art show has everything: sculptures, paintings, deeply moving artist statements, a paper maze, dreams made out of milk(?)
Published 06/07/22
A brief overview of Venice's biannual international art exhibition, but primarily the most scandalous controversies in its 127 year history.
Published 05/24/22
Augusta Savage was a sculptor, teacher, and part of the Harlem Renaissance. While she was relatively unknown when she passed away, today she's been rediscovered and recognized for her work and for her mentorship to the next generation of artists.
Published 05/10/22
What is the earliest art made by humans? Depends on what you mean by "earliest," "art," and "humans."
Published 04/26/22
We discuss the Netflix mini-series _This Is A Robbery_, a documentary about the theft of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. Featured topics include mobsters, Rembrandt's only seascape, and how easy it was to commit crimes in 1990.
Published 04/12/22
After the recent vandalism Anna Leporskaya’s Three Figures, we decided to take a look at some other remarkable (and hilarious) museum incidents.
Published 03/22/22
Thousands of years ago, the first emperor of China dictated the construction of thousands of life-sized terracotta soldiers in a hidden mausoleum. Fifty years ago, we found them.
Published 03/08/22
Saturn Devouring His Son is a dark, disturbing painting made by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya, depicting horrific violence, never intended for the public eye. And it's a really funny meme.
Published 02/22/22
Betty uses her nearly 10 years of gallery guide experience to teach Quinn strategies for how to engage with art without any contextual information; Quinn interprets some paintings through her experience of of horror movies, Americana, and picnic food.
Published 02/08/22
This episode we're talking about the contemporary artist Sarah Hatton. Her work focuses on reclaiming materials, the natural world, and investigating questions about human nature. Also, she's Canadian, so Betty's having a great week.
Published 01/25/22
For our first episode of 2022, Betty is walking Quinn through a brief history of concert posters: the good, the bad, and the psychedelic.
Published 01/11/22
In blatant exploitation of the responsibility of hosting our 50th episode, Quinn walks Betty through musicals about famous visual artists.
Published 12/14/21
Betty tells Quinn all about the Florida Highwaymen, a group of African American landscape artists who sold paintings door-to-door and out of the trunks of their cars starting in the 1950s.
Published 11/30/21
In October, the internet came together to laugh about an absurd-sounding art story: a Danish artist had pocketed $84,000 given to him by a museum and returned blank canvasses titled "Take the Money and Run." Today we dive into the full story.
Published 11/16/21
We finish up our religious art mini-series with a look at the temples and sculptures of Hindu art!
Published 11/02/21
In part three of our religious art mini-series, Quinn and Betty talk about the hamsa, Hiddur Mitzvah, and the paintings of Marc Chagall.
Published 10/19/21
Betty and Quinn look at the art of the biggest religion in the world, Christianity. They cover pieces from catacomb paintings in the fourth century, to the iconic art of Michelangelo, to the surrealist interpretations of Salvador Dalí.
Published 10/05/21
Quinn and Betty kick off a four-part mini-series on major religious art traditions with a peek into the history of Islamic art.
Published 09/21/21
What do the Virgin Mary and the Blue Man Group have in common? Their association with ultramarine blue and its high tech sibling, International Klein Blue.
Published 09/07/21
During World War II, hundreds of art experts and historians pushed for some protection and rescue of millions of art pieces and artifacts. In response, the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program was created.
Published 08/24/21
What's the relationship between a 19th century occult movement and the development of abstract art? A lot more than you might think!
Published 06/29/21
Quinn and Betty return to Cyberfeminism by examining the experimental art pieces ALL NEW GEN, Cyberflesh Girlmonster, and Brandon.
Published 06/15/21
In our first episode about Cyberfeminism, Quinn walks Betty through the history and principles behind this 90s art movement. Betty reveals her cyborg dreams.
Published 06/01/21
Betty shares the style and history of lowbrow art, otherwise known as pop surrealism. They examine a unique version of Katy Perry, and Quinn has a cynical take on the underground-to-art-museum cycle.
Published 05/18/21
How does a priceless piece of Nigerian art disappear, only to be found decades later in a London apartment? Honestly, we're still not quite sure, but Ben Enwonwu and his masterpiece portrait Tutu are fun to talk about anyway.
Published 05/04/21