Podcast
The Lonely Palette
Hosted by Tamar Avishai · EN
Welcome to The Lonely Palette, the podcast that returns art history to the masses, one painting at a time. Each episode, host Tamar Avishai picks a painting du jour, interviews unsuspecting museum visitors in front of it, and then dives deeply into the object, the movement, the social context, and anything and everything else that will make it as neat to you as it is to her. For more information, visit thelonelypalette.com | Twitter @lonelypalette | Instagram @thelonelypalette.
72episodes
Episodes
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BonusEp. 16: Tamar Avishai interviews Lucy R. Lippard, Art Writer
Dec 29, 202300:45:11Tap to summarizeSince her arrival on the art scene in the 1960s, legendary art writer Lucy Lippard’s work - searing, novelistic, crisp, and endlessly curious - as well as her insights, activism, entrenchment in the art world, and friendships have secured her role as one of the most important minds in art criticism of her generation. Now, at 86 years old, all of the stuff that she’s collected along the way – photographs, drawings, relationships, grandchildren – is the subject of her new memoir, or, actually, what she calls “Stuff (Instead of a Memoir).” She joined me to talk about the book, but also more than 60 years of writing about art in the way that centered life. After all, “art,” she often quotes, “is what makes life more interesting than art.” Art is the artists, the world they inhabit, their shared cultural references, their shared understanding of the art world and art history. Their human experiences rendered in paint. The stuff they leave behind. Music Used: The Blue Dot Sessions, “Lacquer Groove,” “Hardwood Lullaby” Episode Webpage: https://www.thelonelypalette.com/interview/2023/12/20/lucy-lippard-art-writer
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BonusEp. 15: Tamar Avishai interviews Prudence Peiffer, Author and Content Director, MoMA
Oct 13, 202300:55:13Tap to summarizeIn the 1950s and 60s, Coenties Slip—an obscure street on the lower tip of Manhattan overlooking the East River—was home to some of the most iconic artists in history, and who would define American Art during their time there: Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, James Rosenquist, Delphine Seyrig, Lenore Tawney, and Jack Youngerman. As friends and inspirations to one another, these artists created a unique community for unbridled creative expression and experimentation. Prudence Peiffer is the kind of art historian who understands the importance of context and place, and her book, “The Slip: The New York City Street that Changed American Art Forever” provides the kind of rich context and human detail that textbooks could only dream of. She joined me to discuss the history of these artists, why we have such a hard time seeing artists as people, the friction between accessible artists and their inaccessible art, why watching Robert Indiana eat a mushroom for 39 minutes is actually totally beautiful, and what it means to authentically nudge art history towards inclusion. Prudence Peiffer is an art historian, writer, and editor, specializing in modern and contemporary art. She is Director of Content at MoMA, New York. She was a Senior Editor at Artforum magazine from 2012-2017, and Digital Content Director at David Zwirner in 2018. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, New York Review of Books, Artforum, and Bookforum, among other publications. Her book, “The Slip: The New York City Street that Changed American Art Forever” has been longlisted for the National Book Award. See the images: https://bit.ly/3rOM7vE Music used: The Blue Dot Session, “Skyforager” Rufus Wainwright, “11:11” Support the show: www.patreon.com/lonelypalette
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BonusEp. 14: The Lonely Palette Reads Tom Wolfe's The Painted Word
Oct 3, 202300:07:02Tap to summarizeTaking a break from writing about astronauts, Tom Wolfe donned his white suit and strolled to the art museums of New York City, letting the incomprehensible literary works of the movement wash over him like a warm bath of clam broth, and producing what, in the words of art critic Rosalind Krauss, "hit the art world like a really bad, MSG-headache-producing, Chinese lunch." For you, dear listeners, here is the headache-inducing introduction to "The Painted Word," read aloud, as was always intended. This free preview is available to all listeners, but the full chapter, and all future chapters, will be going to $2 (and above) per episode patrons, so pledge that support to find out just what in the heck Wolfe defines as an "apache dance." It's so not what you think it is that it might just be what you think it is. The next chapter will be released on Tuesday, October 17. Don't miss a word, painted or otherwise, by becoming a patron. www.patreon.com/lonelypalette Music used: Glenn Miller, “Tuxedo Junction” The Blue Dot Sessions, "No Smoking," "Mercurial Vision" Our website: www.thelonelypalette.com
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BonusEp. 13: The Lonely Palette Reads Giorgio Vasari on Sandro Botticelli
Sep 12, 202300:21:21Tap to summarizeGiorgio Vasari (1511-74) may have gone down in history as the very first Western art historian, but he is also a messy bench who loves drama, and we are here for it. Listen to his take on Sandro Botticelli from “The Lives of the Artists” (Bondanella trans., 1991), particularly his practical jokes, from which no friend or neighbor escaped unscathed. This is a free edition of The Lonely Palette Reads, a perk that will be going out exclusively to Patreon patrons in the future. To become a patron, go to patreon.com/lonelypalette and sign up at any level of support. Thank you! Got suggestions for other intimidating-until-read-aloud-texts for future episodes of The Lonely Palette Reads? Email the show at tamar@thelonelypalette.com. Music used: Glenn Miller, “Tuxedo Junction” The Blue Dot Sessions, “Belle Anette” Our website: www.thelonelypalette.com Support the show: www.patreon.com/lonelypalette
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Ep. 65 - Sandro Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" (1485-86)
Sep 12, 202300:35:40Tap to summarizeThe neoplatonic ideal of beauty, the girl on the half-shell, the naked chick riding a clam. Her tilted head and fluttery hair are recognized by everyone and their grandma, but no one - experts included - can explain just why in the heck this painting is so iconic. Shell we take on the challenge? See the images: https://bit.ly/3LeIwxu Music used: Django Reinhardt, “Django’s Tiger” Joan Baez, “Diamonds and Rust” The Blue Dot Sessions, “TwoPound,” “Coulis Coulis,” “Delmendra,” “No Smoking,” “Belle Anette,” “Rue Severine,” “Ranch Hand,” “Pastel de Nata,” “Khfett” Lady Gaga, “Venus” Episode sponsor: https://www.artofcrimepodcast.com/ Support the show: www.patreon.com/lonelypalette
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Ep. 64 - Barbara Kruger's "Untitled (Your Body is a Battleground)" (1989)
Aug 4, 202300:30:17Tap to summarizeIn April 1989, Barbara Kruger - an artist, activist, and former magazine layout editor - created a flyer for a pro-choice women’s march in Washington, DC to protest the Supreme Court’s potential overturning of Roe vs. Wade. But this flyer was never meant to be a picket sign. Instead, it has become a timeless artwork all its own: directly addressing any viewer from any era, demanding they confront their own politics, and drawing the battle lines between all the external - and internal - tensions that exist not only within the parameters of the abortion debate, but within women themselves. See the images: https://bit.ly/45wNrSb Music used: Django Reinhardt, “Django’s Tiger” The Blue Dot Sessions, “Thread Indigo,” “Monder,” “Tall Journey,” “Stephi,” “Morning Glare” Helen Reddy, “I Am Woman” (performed at the Mobilize for Women's Lives Rally in Washington in 1989) Support the show: www.patreon.com/lonelypalette Episode sponsors: Jay Handy Financial Services (for artists!) https://www.signalpointinvest.com/team/jay-handy/ Altenew www.altenew.com Discount code: TAMAR10%OFF
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Ep. 63 - James Abbot McNeill Whistler's "Symphony in White No. 1: The White Girl" (1861-62)
Jul 5, 202300:32:40Tap to summarizeWhether for his critics, his friends (...?), or his canvases, the Victorian-era, Gilded-age Aesthetic ex-pat painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler had one motto: float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. See the Images: https://bit.ly/3PMpK3o Music Used: Django Reinhardt, “Django’s Tiger” The Andrews Sisters, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" The Blue Dot Sessions, “Slate Tracker,” “Laser Focus,” “The Griffiths,” “Crumbtown,” “Discovery Harbor,” “Leave the TV On,” “Pickers,” “Caraval, “Lady Marie” Support Hub & Spoke's Independence Fundraiser: www.hubspokeaudio.org/july4
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Ep. 62 - Helen Frankenthaler's "Madame Butterfly" (2000)
Jun 7, 202300:27:08Tap to summarizeSplotches, spills, and stains. They can evoke shapes, moods, energy, even music. Yet no one seemed to appreciate their very beauty with the same intuitive, delicate flair as Helen Frankenthaler, who created something fiercely new "between cocktails and dinner," or, more accurately, between the broad shoulders of a relentlessly masculine movement. Not bad for a saddle-shoed girl a year out of Bennington. See the images: https://bit.ly/3ChhuAE Music used: Django Reinhardt, “Django’s Tiger” The Andrews Sisters, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" The Blue Dot Sessions, “Bedroll,” “A Common Pause,” “Palms Down,” “Desmontes,” “Delamine,” “Greylock,” “Angel Tooth,” “Dear Myrtle” Joe Dassin, “Les Champs-Elysees" Episode sponsor: The Art of Colour: The History of Art in 39 Pigments: https://bit.ly/43Qp1SJ Support the show! www.patreon.com/lonelypalette Register for our Hub & Spoke live show in Woodstock, VT on June 15: https://normanwilliams.org/events/podcasts-a-listening-event/
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BonusEp. 12 - The Lonely Palette presents Rumble Strip
May 26, 202300:16:52Tap to summarizeThe new season of The Lonely Palette is achingly close to starting up on Wednesday, June 7, but in the meantime, this week and next we're giving our feed over to some fellow Hub & Spoke shows that might pique your eardrums. Hub & Spoke, as you know, is our mighty audio collective of proudly independent podcasts. We aim to expand minds, viewpoints, knowledge, understanding. We have zero corporate interests or expectations, which means we are offbeat, unexpected, formidable, and really poor, so please take a listen to our shows and, if you like what we do, join our mailing list and consider supporting the collective: www.hubspokeaudio.org Link to our live event in at the Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock, VT on Thursday, June 15: https://normanwilliams.org/events/podcasts-a-listening-event/ *** Today's episode: "The Museum of Everyday Life" by Rumble Strip The mission of The Museum of Everyday Life is "a heroic, slow-motion cataloguing of the quotidian–a detailed, theatrical expression of gratitude and love for the miniscule and unglamorous experience of daily life in all its forms." The museum's home is in a barn on Route 16 in the Northeast Kingdom. It is Erica Heilman's favorite museum. This is a show featuring the museum's creator, Clare Dolan. This show is co-produced by Erica Heilman and Mark Davis. Episode webpage: https://bit.ly/3oz1CGh Support The Lonely Palette: www.patreon.com/lonelypalette
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BonusEp. 11 - The Lonely Palette presents Out There
May 19, 202300:23:36Tap to summarizeThe new season of The Lonely Palette is achingly close to starting up on Wednesday, June 7, but in the meantime, this week and next we're giving our feed over to some fellow Hub & Spoke shows that might pique your eardrums. Hub & Spoke, as you know, is our mighty audio collective of proudly independent podcasts. We aim to expand minds, viewpoints, knowledge, understanding. We have zero corporate interests or expectations, which means we are offbeat, unexpected, formidable, and really poor, so please take a listen to our shows and, if you like what we do, join our mailing list and consider supporting the collective: www.hubspokeaudio.org Link to our live event in at the Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock, VT on Thursday, June 15: https://normanwilliams.org/events/podcasts-a-listening-event/ *** Today's episode: "Rekindling Hope" by Out There Carolyn McDonald was struggling — hard. The depression had gotten so bad that she couldn’t see a way forward. Then, one day, she went to the beach. Story and sound design by Willow Belden. Script editing by Corinne Ruff. Special thanks to Lori Mortimer for sound-design feedback. Music includes works from StoryBlocks and Blue Dot Sessions. Episode webpage: https://www.outtherepodcast.com/episodes/rekindlinghope Support The Lonely Palette: www.patreon.com/lonelypalette
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