What does contemporary kitsch look like? In this episode, Paddy and William use a discussion of the art fairs and New York gallery scene to lead a defining of the term. From its generic definition of objects described to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, to the current nostalgia driving a tasted for recycled art movements, all kitsch lacks in originality. Listen in for the whole conversation. THE INDEPENDENT Kenny Schachter at Allouche Benias Gallery Renate Druks at The Ranch, Olivia Reavey at Helena Anrather 1-54 CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART FAIR Sanaa Gateja at 50 Golborne WonderBuhle at BKhz Gallery VOLTA Michael Foley GALLERIES Judith Linhares at PPOW JTT Gallery Anna-Sophie Berger and Sam McKinniss Sky Hopinka at Broadway Gallery Paul Mpagi Sepuya at Bortalami Nora Turato at 52 Walker Gallery ARTICLES The Downward Spiral: 59th Venice Biennial by Dean Kissick

Art media does a great job at looking forward to art events, yet rarely looks back to reflect on what these happenings say about the cultural moment. In this episode of Explain Me, co-hosts Paddy Johnson and William Powhida do a deep dive into the fairs to discuss the deeply conservative sales landscape we've been sinking into over the past ten years. ARTISTS DISCUSSED Carlos Jacanamijoy’s 2020 ab ex painting “Carminos de Luz” at Harper’s Laurie Reid’s “Ballast” at Et Al. Gallery The Baboon Chair by Margaux Valengin at Pact Paul Gabrelli’s “Everyday Objects” at New Discretions Elliot Reed at Anonymous Gallery Dan Colen at Gagosian Al Freeman at 56 Henry Tessa Lynch’s text-based compositions at Patricia Fleming Gallery Scott Lyal at Migeul Abbreu Gallery Aaron Garber-Maikovska Casja von Zeipel’s Celesbian Terrain Kevin McCoy’s corporate-sponsored display of Quantum and some generative artworks by Jennifer and Kevin McCoy. Pedro Reyes, Alex da Corte, Nayland Blake, Alex Katz, Matthew Wong,

We're baaaaack! After a four month break William and Paddy return with some big news about the podcast and an in depth conversation on The Whitney Biennial. We do the full dive here: What are the themes? How is it organized? Is it worth seeing? Is it too cautious? Who are the notable omissions? Why do these omissions matter? Artist discussed: Cy Gavin Rebecca Belmore Guadalupe Rosales Lucy Raven Kandis Williams Raven Chacon Na Mira Alex Da Corte Trinh T. Minh-ha Coco Fusco Dave McKenzie Jacky Connolly Alfredo Jaar WangShui Daniel Joseph Martinez Jason Rhoades Rick Lowe Pao Houa Her Nayland Blake Awilda Sterling-Duprey Matt Connors Leidy Churchman Monica Arreola James Little Ralph Lemon Jane Dickson

How many times have we seen artist-centered communities lose their grass roots identity when they buy property? High profile organizations that have shed their founders vision as they gained visibility such as the New Museum and Meow Wolf serve as cautionary tales. The quality of the work they produce suffers and their poor treatment of employees makes headlines. That's to say nothing of personality-less art complexes like The Shed, which cement the wealth of their funders while meagerly contributing to the city's cultural life. But these types of cultural outcomes are a choice and not an inevitable destiny, a reality made clear in this episode's interview with Flux Factory's Nat Roe. In his role as residency Executive Director, Roe recently secured $5 million from the city to purchase the building the organization has been working out of since 2009. Additionally, the organization will now operate a new satellite location, Flux IV, a the 3000 square foot ground floor gallery space on the ground floor of Gotham Point’s South Tower building. At no point in our discussion did we talk about significant changes that needed to be made to Flux's DNA to make this acquisition happen. Rather we talked about the importance of sound proofing their building so they don't disturb the neighbors. In the midst of LIC, a homogenized tech-enclave for Manhattan commuters, this grass roots artist organization and residency program will now serve as a permanent beacon of creative energy for the community. Can the DCLA support other smaller arts organizations in New York by helping them purchase real estate? Nat Roe gives us the skinny, going full wonk on city policy, while offering a history of Flux Factory and its place in the New York City arts landscape. SHOW LINKS Help Launch Flux Factory's new venue, Flux IV The Western Queens Community Land Trust—artist Jenny Dubnau is a co-chair of the board. NY Times Tribeca Art Galleries, June NY Times Tribeca Art Galleries, October article How many times have we seen artist-centered arts organizations lose their NYC Club Scene debt? New York Times Secret Project Robot NYC Commercial Rent Law

In this episode artist Chloe Bass’s tweet pointing to the hypocrisy of the art world leads to a discussion of labor, the New York art fairs, and unions. We discuss: Max Lankin’s observations for ArtForum on the Armory Fair about how the new digs at the Javits Center improve upon the Piers, which were literally falling into the water. Funny how easy it is to forget that the Javits Center, just two months ago, served as a mass vaccination center, and the year prior a makeshift hospital for COVID victims. Mostly people were just happy to see each other again. Dana Kopel’s piece in the Baffler Magazine, Against Artsploitation, which chronicles the unionization efforts at the New Museum, and the museum executive’s endless gaslighting of employees. The New York Art Fairs. We talk about the art at The Armory Show, The Independent, and Spring Break. The work discussed below: THE ARMORY SHOW Jeffrey Gibson at Tandem PressWendy Redstar at Sargent’s Daughters Tau Lewis at Night GalleryTony Matelli - Maruani Mercier Theresa Chromati at The Kravets Wehby GalleryJennifer Bartlett at Locks GalleryKamrooz Aram at Green . Art . GalleryJose Davilas at Sean KellySara Greenberger Rafferty at Rachel Uffner Susumu Kamijo at Jack HanleyHayley Barker at Shrine Dontae Hayes at Mindy Solomon GalleryMichael Rakowitz at Jane Lombard INDEPENDENT Julian Schnabel at Vito SchnabelSedrick Chisom at New American PaintingJo Nigoghossian at Broadway GalleryErik Parker at Ross+KramerAmy Feldman at Galerie Eva PresenhuberThe Ranch SPRING BREAK Guy Richards Smit Jennifer Catron and Paul Outlaw - curated by Magda Sawon Chapel - curated by M. Charlene Stevens with work by Sophie Kahn and Colette Robbins Outliars, curated by Elisabeth Smolarz, work by Angie Waller Gather Rusted Satellites curated by Amanda Nedham Tristam Lasndwone, Kyle HittmeirerNicholas Cueva Loren Erdrich Willa Wasserman James Razko Tammie Rubin Steve Locke

This week hosts William Powhida and Paddy Johnson sit down with curator, writer, and former museum director Laura Raicovich to discuss her new book Culture Strike: Art and Museums in An Age of Protest. We do a deep dive with her not just on the subjects in the book, but her latest project, The Art and Society Census. Relevant links below. Culture Strike: Art and Museums in An Age of Protest, VERSO The Art and Society Census, HYPERALLERGIC AND THE BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY Deinstutitional Research Team. (A project William Powhida worked on mentioned in the book.) LINK StrikeMoMA LINK The Whitney Staff letter central to the Kanders' protests. HYPERALLERGIC A good policy-based companion for Laura Raicovich's project. THE PEOPLE'S CULTURAL PLAN A non-profit with a board structure worth promoting as a positive example. RECESS Back story on Laura Raicovich's resignation from the Queens Museum of Art- ARTNET NEWS

On this episode of Explain Me we do a deep dive on Non-Fungible Tokens, NFTs, pronounced Nifty, by also N-F-T. Joined by guests Marina Galperina, features editor of Gizmodo, and former curator and writer on digital art, and Amy Whitaker, author and assistant professor of visual arts administration, hosts William Powhida and Paddy Johnson navigate the headlines generating news around this new digital currency, the basic definitions, and the potential and dangers it poses to artists. Timestamped resources 6' 21'' Explain Me's episode Related Utopias: Bitcoin and the Artworld with Kevin McCoy. 7' NFT definitions and the blockchain 13 Do artists need to care? 21' The Guardian features Marina Galperina's Vine Show. 26' Beeple Mania and aesthetics discussion - Liberal Jon McNaughton or early digital art maximalism in the style of Cliff Evans and Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung? 40' NFT platforms and markets. Massimo Franceschet and Sparrow Read's The Inconvenient Truth About Secondary Markets, Part II 43' Legacy Russell tweets about the toxic white male culture dominating NFT conversation. Follows up with a shout out to QTPOCIA+ and female-identified people engaging NFTs. 44' Who is the face of NFTs? Kenny Schachter. His NFT article on Artnet. 47' Kenny Schachter's "Scam Likely" on Nifty Gateway. 51' Alternatives - Casey Reese's Artist-to-artist exchange with Bitmark.com, Feral File. Goes live March 19. Also relevant: Reese's Medium article, Collecting Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction 57' - NFT and blockchain carbon footprint 1 hour 10' Reasons for optimism 1 hour 16' Art pricing and Greg Allen's Facsimile Objects 1 hour 22' Amy Whitaker discusses valuation and commensuration sociological studies Read and Watch Amy Whitaker, A New Way To Pay Artists, TEDXfoggybottom Amy Whitaker and Roman Kraussl, Fractional Equity, Blockchain, and the Future of Creative Work, Management Science, July 2020 Amy Whitaker, Art and Blockchain: A Primer, History, and Taxonomy of Blockchain Use Cases in the Arts, Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts. Summer 2019 Amy Whitaker, Hannah Grannemann, Artists’ Royalties and Performers’ Equity: A Ground-Up Approach to Social Impact Investment in Creative Fields, CMSE Vol 3, no 2, pg 33-51. Memo Atkin, The Unreasonable Ecological Cost of #Cryptoart, Dec 14 2020 Rea McNamara, How Crypto Art Might Offer Artists Increased Autonomy, March 2, 2021

Immersive Van Gogh In this episode of Explain Me, we continue our conversation with Artnet's National Critic Ben Davis as we take stock of 2020. In this episode: We discuss the biases of algorithm sorting Ben Davis coins the term cultural inflation, a term that refers to franchise media properties. We examine the relevance of ART CLUB 2000 the recent subject of Ben Davis' review, Why the New ART CLUB2000 Retrospective Offers Lessons for Today’s Artists That Transcend Pure ’90s Nostalgia We name check Davis' The State of Culture, Part One.

"Immersive Van Gogh" In this episode of Explain Me, we take stock of the year in art with Artnet's National Critic Ben Davis. What happened in the art world in 2020? We ask this knowing that we obviously have not seen a lot of art or attended anything remotely like a normal opening. But, a lot happened this year, even if we experienced it all at a distance. We know that, with the vaccine slowly rolling out now, the art world will return, but what are the implications of the pandemic for the art world this coming fall and beyond? In part one of this episode we discuss: The few upsides of the pandemic. Ben Davis on Phillip Guston Show Postponement Baltimore Museum Deaccessioning, two opposing views. Christopher Knight Nikki Columbus Three Tech Companies Locked in a Battle to Capture Your Attention With the World’s Best Immersive Van Gogh Experience. Brian Boucher, Artnet The Boundless Optimism of BTS, Esquire

Image via: Andy Adams instagram. In this episode of Explain Me we talk to Andy Adams (FlakPhoto on instagram), a culture producer and long time digital director. Andy is the founder of FlakPhoto Projects, an international community of photographers that operates in a parallel path to the one Powhida and Johnson come from—the New York based studio and museum world. Andy, William, and Paddy began working online around the same time—2003-2005, so we start our conversation there. We track through the exuberance and possibility we saw online in the early aughts, the economic collapse of the late aughts, and fraught political environment we’re now navigating. Subjects include: The signature Flak Photo style, the ethics of documentary photography, and the the postponed Guston show at the Tate. References and reading: Instagram: @photographersvote #photographersvote Two Museums Tried to Sell Art. Only One Caught Grief About it. New York Times Guston Can Wait. Nikki Columbus, N+1 Contra-Internet, Zach Blas, e-flux Journal

In this episode of Explain Me, critic and curator Antwaun Sargent joins us to discuss the effects of the pandemic and Alex Greenberger's Zombie Figuration, a confusing essay that appeared earlier this month in ARTnews. In the first half hour we discuss the disparate effects of the pandemic and general politics. Then we move on to art, zombies, race, and why art has limits. BIOGRAPHY Antwaun Sargent is an art critic and a writer who has contributed to The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vice and more, as well as essays to multiple museum publications. His first book, “The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion” (Aperture) is out now. In April he announced a new partnership with Gagosian that will include working on four exhibitions and contributing features to their magazine. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. LISTENER ADVISORY: In this episode, Paddy Johnson occasionally repeats Antwaun Sargent's words when his audio cuts out. This leads to periodic moments when Johnson and Sargent speak at the same time. LINKS First There Was Zombie Formalism, Now There is Zombie Figuration Met Apologies to Glenn Ligon Noah Davis Barkley Hendricks Kehinde Wiley Cinga Samson Peter Saul Alice Neal Jordan Casteel Jordan Casteel at the New Museum EARLY WHITNEY BIENNIAL REVIEWS Paddy Johnson Andrew Russeth Linda Yablonsky Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts

Artist Nayland Blake joins the podcast to discuss the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, mass protests, and the resurgence of COVID as the backdrop for public art and how museums are addressing diversity. Spearheaded in large part by Blake, we discuss all of these issues through the lens of what people need and how art makers, art workers and arts institutions answer that need. We started the conversation with Blake's recent twitter thread on art criticism. "Art criticism is the activity of thinking with and through art objects," they wrote. "If you constantly reach for the same few objects to think with, you stagnate as a critic and simply reinforce your own bias." Other relevant links mentioned in the show: Nayland Blake's website Julie Mehretu's Goldman Saks mural Mark Bradford Social Abstraction What is the Boogaloo movement? Dread Scott's Rebel Reenactment Marblecake Also the Game Gamergate Explainer Support Explain Me by becoming a member on Patreon.

This week on Explain Me, co-hosts William Powhida and Paddy Johnson talk to arts organizers and activists Heather Bhandari and Nikki Columbus about the challenges for mothers during the pandemic, and the challenges for arts workers seeking to make changes to a system that no longer works for them. Of the family-focused topics discussed we take on pandemic screen time for kids (Bhandari describes DinoTrux as terrible for kids, but a necessary evil), what to do if your toddler licks a bodega door, and disrupted schedules that make it impossible to find or look for work and require long and often unusual hours. On the subject of organizing we discuss several projects spearheaded by Bhandari and Columbus respectively designed to pave actionable paths for artists. Finally we discuss Frieze New York, and contrast their dubious charity efforts during the fair to the more collective NADA art fair model that works towards a sustainable model for everyone. Show links below. The Art World Conference Forward Union Art/Work, Heather Bhandari and Jonathan Melber N+1, Free Your Mind, by Claire Bishop and Nikki Columbus Art+Work+Place, Emergency Session I, Veralist Center Art+Work+Place, Emergency Session II, Veralist Center Museum transparency Newsletter (Read about all the layoffs and other bad news that’s happening in the museum world right now—of which there is a ton.) The Model Model: Ethical Actions by Arts Organizations in the time of COVID-19 (Read about the good news and exemplary work by arts organizations.) Obama Commencement Speech #graduatetogether2020 (twitter hashtag) Frieze Art Fair (May 8-15th) NADA Fair (May 20-June 21)

Politics, art, and a general disappointment with how things are going.

Serkan Özkaya's Proletarier Aller Länder (Workers of the World) 1999, Image via Postmaster's Gallery. In this episode of Explain Me, hosts Paddy Johnson and William Powhida talk to Magda Sawon of Postmasters Gallery in New York, and Jonathan Schwartz, the CEO and founder of Atelier4, an arts logistics company based out of New York. The discussion includes stories and conversations you won’t find anywhere else. Schwartz reports that at least one logistics company is currently breaking the law to ship art, and that Fedex trucks are in short supply because they’re being used to transport the dead. Magda describes the challenges for galleries which range from financial burdens to the need to better consider the online art environment. William and Paddy discuss the financial precarity of artists, writers, and educators. As a group we talk about what needs to be done to respond to the crisis and what is being done. We also make the mini announcement that we will be launching a Patreon for Explain Me in the next week or two. More details on that soon! We’re looking at a radical shift in opportunity, so this conversation includes a fair amount of debate. We’re also doing it over zoom, with William on the phone due to an internet connectivity issue. This isn’t the best recording quality we’ve ever produced, but it might be the most important episode. Please tune in. COMING UP: Resources for freelancers and art organizations. What relief is available and how long it will take to get to the people who need it.

Welcome back to Explain Me! In an effort to produce content a little more regularly we're trying something new: no editing. This means a little more baseless speculation, and off the cuff commentary, in return for actual podcasts! Yes! In this episode we discuss news, art, and trends seen at The Armory, Spring Break and The Independent. Highlights include: The Armory News! They're moving to the Javits Center! Speculation about what that means. Adrian Wong with animal spiritual guide Lynn Schuster at Carrie Secrist Gallery Austin Lee at Jeffrey Dietch Kumasi J. Barnett at Ryan Lowell Projects Dominic Chambers at Anna Zorina Gallery Matt Bolinger at Zurcher Hannah Wilke and Cassils at Feldman Gallery Spring Break Gallery Cubed's Nathan Sinai Rayman Emily McElreath and Evan Pepper's show of work by Jeila Gueramian Chambliss Giobbi’s A Room with a View Carlos Rosales-Silva The Independent Galerie Jocelyn Wolff's Miriam Cahn Various Small Fires's Jessie Homer French Andrew Edlin Gallery Colored pencil and pastels

We cover a lot of ground in this episode of Explain Me. That ground looks something like this: The Velvet Buzzsaw is a bad movie. Mary Boone is still awaiting sentencing for falsifying tax documents—a whistleblower could get as much as $300,000 in reward for the tip. Dawn Clements is remembered at Pierogi. Dana Schutz's first show since the controversy over her painting of Emmitt Till at the Whitney Biennial. Chelsea is more woke. W.A.G.E. is asking artists to withhold their art from the Whitney Biennial until the museum adequately address the issue of their board chair selling tear gas used on children at the border. Amazon is reaching out to artists in attempts to buy their support. Listeners who want to organize against this kind of practice should attend the next Artist Studio Affordability Project meeting. Contact the organization for details.

Donna DeSalvo assembles some of Andy Warhol's greatest work for his retrospective at the Whitney Museum, while revelations that Whitney Vice Chair Warren B. Kanders owns a company that sells tear gas used at the border shake museum staff. Soul of a Nation at the Brooklyn Museum looks at the history of political activism, while Jack Waters offers a mix of bag of awe inspiring abject art paired with groan inspiring sculptures and paintings. Jack Whitten at the Metropolitan Museum dazzles, Art and Conspiracy flops, and Amazon is going to drive us all out of our homes. Relevant links below. Andy Warhol at The Whitney Museum Whitney Museum Vice Chairman Owns a Manufacturer Supplying Tear Gas at the Border, Hyperallergic Whitney Museum Staffers Demand Answers, Hyperallergic Soul of a Nation, Art in the Age of Black Power at the Brooklyn Museum John Waters: Indecent Exposure at the Baltimore Museum of Art Jack Whitten at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Closed Dec 2) Everything is Connected: Art and Conspiracy at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Amazon Headquarters Will Come to Long Island City: Curbed Explainer ASAP Pledge Not to Take Crumbs from Amazon

It's been a rough news week. Between Thursday's testimonies of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Kavanaugh's near appointment to the Supreme Court Friday, many of us are exhausted. We would like a win for women. Sometimes the quickest way to achieve that is to do it yourself. As such, this episode of Explain Me celebrates women who have made waves in the world of art and activism, through a series of interviews with four major figures—Mia Pearlman, Jenny Dubnau, Nancy Kleaver, and Mira Schor. In the first half of the show, Mia Pearlman and Jenny Dubnau talk about their work pushing for changes at the city and state level and how being an artist makes that job easier. In the second half, Paddy Johnson and Nancy Kleaver talk about their new public art organization, PARADE, and Mira Schor talks about the history of feminism in art from the 1970's through to today, and her contributions. Stream it. Download it. Listen to it. This one's important.

In this episode we talk with LoVID's Tali Hinkis about the challenges of being a mid-career artist outside of New York. We discuss how to engage a general audience to getting grants and networking. A refreshingly frank talk about what mid-career actually looks like for artists and what it takes to even get there.