Episodes
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If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably James Bond... Dive into the surreal with Art Dad Doesn't Like, as we dissect Rachel MacLean's deepfake film, 'Duck.' Submerging us in a green-tinted world drenched in mystery and deception, ‘Duck’ presents a reality where subterfuge and suspicion undermine one’s every belief.
MacLean resurrects cinematic icons Sean Connery and Marilyn Monroe, employing deepfake technology as a digital necromancer to summon spectres of the past. But this piece doesn't just look to the past, mimicking the trappings of '60s cinema; it examines the crumbling facades of truth and identity in our digital era.
While 'Duck' prompts us to consider deepfake technology’s societal ripples, it implicitly raises the moral quandaries of repurposing the likenesses of the departed. And in relaying a less existentially threatening anecdote, Dad teaches us that if something looks like a swan, it's probably not a swan… View excerpts from ‘Duck’ here!
Music from Uppbeat.
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This episode, our father-daughter relationship is on the rocks as Dad grapples with Julien Berthier’s work, ‘L’invisible.’ A polystyrene and epoxy resin boulder mounted on a worn-out boat, L’invisible zips along the coast near Marseilles, disrupting serene Mediterranean views. But is it really a feat of engineering as the media claims? Are there hidden messages within this stony façade? And, since we’d be remiss as an art podcast not to talk about Walter Benjamin, does encountering this work online alter its aura? Join us as we navigate the choppy waters of contemporary art! See images here!
Music from Upbeat .
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Missing episodes?
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Playing the guitar in a dirndl, balancing wine glasses on your arms, smoking a cigarette, dressing up in a toilet paper dress – all things you used to be able to do (and maybe still can?) when having your passport photo taken. In this week's episode, we thumb through Namibian-German artist Max Siedentopf's zany portfolio of "could-be" passport pictures. Usually governed by strict regulations and grim standardisations, passport photos are rarely flattering, and normally… normal. But what if, amidst the stoic stares, we could inject a dose of our quirky selves? Do these stiff snapshots truly capture our essence, or do they strip away our unique sparkle just to fit into a government-approved mould? We're unpacking these questions and more, exploring the distinction between identity and identification. So, flash your biggest smile, and join us for this week’s episode! See images here!
Music from Uppbeat.
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If choosing one song to listen to for eternity sounds daunting, fear not—John Cage has you covered with his avant-garde epic, Organ2/ASLSP ('As Slow As Possible'). It's the ultimate "hold my beer" in the music world, stretching a single composition over 639 years. That's right, this tune hopes to outlive us all. Join us as we dive deep into this glacial-paced masterpiece, ponder the apocalypse, and explore the profound depth (or utter boredom?) of silence. See images here!
Music from Uppbeat .
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Ageing autocrats and decrepit dictators take the wheel in this rollicking episode, where we dive into Sun Yuan and Peng Yu's 2007 installation, 'Old People's Home'. Picture this: titans of 20th-century global politics—think Muammar Gaddafi, Yasser Arafat, and Leonid Brezhnev—dozing off in wheelchairs, gripping landmines and whips, while they apathetically bump into each other. This simultaneously comedic and discomforting piece asks: Are our leaders metaphorically asleep at the wheel? What emotions do we grapple with as oppressive icons succumb to age—pity or pleasure? And perhaps, most pressing: is it really safe to ride in bumper cars with your kids? Tune in now!
Images here.
Music from Upbeat.
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Potty training and learning to crawl - two significant events when raising a child... and in art history? This week we discuss the late William Pope, also known as Pope.L. Painstakingly dragging himself along the streets of 1970s New York, and slowly (literally) chewing over the news as presented by the Wall Street Journal while sitting on a precariously situated toilet, Pope.L's work turned a critical eye on abject social classes, economic vulnerability, and human endurance in modern society. In our 50th episode, we discuss social geometry, pilgrimages and how to evade spending time with your child. See images here!
Works discussed:
Pope.L, Times Square Crawl , 1978
Pope.L, Eating the Wall Street Journal, various editions/years
Music from Uppbeat.
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Merry Christmas from Art Dad Doesn't Like! This year we once again exchange artistic gifts, eliciting startlingly different reactions. From undead Welsh Christmas horses to Palestinian protest art, this year's Christmas Special uncovers various facets of the holiday season from around the world. But the key question is, will Dad's gifting of the Krampus artwork from last year be avenged? See images here!
Works discussed:
The Way to Bethlehem, Sliman Mansour, 2021, oil on canvas, 120cm x 120cm. Image from SlimanMansour.com. Bethlehem, 1980s, Sliman Mansour, ink on paper. Image from SlimanMansour.com. Camel of Hardships, 1974, Sliman Mansour, oil on canvas, 70cm x 105cm. Image from SlimanMansour.com. Mural from the Cultural Center of Batahola Norte in Managua, Nicaragua, 1987, Boanerges Cerrato (group). Image from 'Friends of Batahola Volunteers' website. Mari Lwyd, Carisa Swenson, 2022, textiles, wire, Magic Sculpt, wood, faux snow, and acrylic, 16H x 6W inches. Image from Modern Eden Gallery.All images fair use.
Music from #Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/dance-of-the-sugar-plum-fairies
License code: UWHNOPGAVCBSDRIF
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How often do you think about the Roman Empire? It's the question taking over TikTok at the moment, but one that hardly needs to be posed to Dad. This week, we're talking about Čiurlionis Gym, an installation by Lithuanian artist Augustas Serapinas that was presented at this year's Art Basel. How do we gender gyms and academic disciplines? What similarities are there between Ancient Rome and Lizzie's childhood? Is Arnold Schwarzenegger on par with Michelangelo? Find the answers to these questions in this episode! See images here!
Works discussed: Čiurlionis Gym by Augustas Serapinas
Music from Uppbeat.
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'Writhing' (as Dad says) around in a pocket of shrink-wrap, participants in Belgian artist Lawrence Malstaf's 'Shrink!' move from a foetal position to a pose reminiscent of cruxifiction. Focussing on immersive, interactive artworks, Malstaf draws on his work as a scenographer for theatre and dance performances to create unique experiences for his audience - including being vacuum-sealed like a steak. Is this artwork more than a reflection on 'man as meat' - could it be a metaphor for life itself, or our (in)ability to control the conditions we live in? More importantly, will Malstaf's work meet Dad's ever-shrinking expectations for contemporary art? See images here!
Music from Uppbeat
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This episode we dive into art nouveau designer Daisy Makeig-Jones' world of whimsy and magic as we look at the many manifestations of Wedgwood. The creators of a wide range of products, from Josiah Wedgwood's iconic neoclassical jasperware to a Web3 digitisation of the Portland Vase, Wedgwood has consistently drawn inspiration from the past to fuel commercially successful collections. We discuss 'fussy' Edwardian interior design, fairies, and Dad's housesitting tips. See images here!
Works discussed:
Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre Ghostly Wood Covered Malfrey Pot. c. 1920, Daisy Makeig-Jones. Victoria and Albert Museum.
Chromatic Reflections, 2023, Krista Kim. Wedgwood.
Odyssey, 2023, Roger Kilimanjaro. Wedgwood.
Portland Vase, 1790, Wedgwood.
Music from Uppbeat.
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Time to blow out the candles! To celebrate Dad's birthday, this week he takes the reins and presents a mixed pack of artworks created by artists from vastly different schools and time periods (including Dad's infamous bête noire, Picasso). We discuss Dad's secret addiction, the French Revolution, hearing colours and the challenges of modernity. See images here!
Works discussed:
Composition 8, Wassily Kandinsky, 1923
Group X/Altarpiece, Hilma af Klint, 1915
Yellow - Red - Blue, Wassily Kandinsky, 1925
The Guitar Player, Pablo Picasso, 1910
The Old Guitarist, Pablo Picasso, 1903
Self-portrait in a Straw Hat, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1782
Girl in a Straw Hat, Rubens, c. 1625
Seven A.M., Edward Hopper, 1948
Nighthawks, Edward Hopper, 1942
Office in a Small City, Edward Hopper, 1953
Music from Uppbeat.
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Can peeling a potato be a work of art? Planting a tree? Putting roses in bottles in a brutalist gallery space? This week we discuss Michael Sailstorfer's installation 'To the People' at the Penman Foundation in Tehran and the artist's claims that his work harkens back to the inimitable Joseph Beuys' concept of social sculpture. Are Sailstorfer's claims legitimate, or does the emperor simply have no clothes? We discuss Greek mythology, the language of flowers, and Dad's forays into landscaping to reveal the meaning(lessness?) of this work. See images here!
Music from Upbeat; license code: WCBAFRBTLK0C1KMI
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A fractured sphere placed precariously on a porphyry disk, surrounded by spouts of water, 'The Sphere' (or 'Große Kugelkaryatide N.Y.') by renowned German artist Fritz König was the centrepiece of Austen J. Tobin Plaza. With the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center rising as monolithic symbols of the promise of achieving world peace through trade (and of course, American commercialism), The Sphere stood for three decades before falling victim to the 9/11 attacks. The only piece of art to survive the attacks mostly in tact, The Sphere is now located in Liberty Park, overlooking the 9/11 Memorial. In this second life, the Sphere has taken on new meaning as an object of remembrance. But what will Dad make of this weighty sculpture, and what impression (if any) did it make on him when he visited New York. Find out in this episode! See images here!
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Agnes Martin is a titan of 20th century art; her peaceful paintings convey a sense of equilibrium born from mathematical harmony. Her grid paintings, painstakingly created, became world-renowned, while Martin herself retreated to the deserts of New Mexico. Painting "with her back to the world", Martin sought to encapsulate our innermost senses of joy and innocence. But can Dad get around her pale pastel canvases, which nearly fade to plain white when viewed from afar? Find out how far Dad has come in this episode! See images here!
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With diametrically opposed aesthetics, 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' have gone head to head in the box office, and now also on 'Art Dad Doesn't Like!' This week, we pit two artistic representatives of the cinematic sensations against each other: Shōmei Tōmatsu's moving photograph Atom Bomb Damage: Wristwatch Stopped at 11:02, August 9, 1945, Nagasaki (1961) and Catherine Théry's Barbie-doll intervention in David's The Death of Marat. But which artwork will Dad prefer? A haunting artefact from the fallout of the bombing of Nagasaki, or a fantastic plastic reinvention of a classic artwork? Tune into this episode to find out! See images here!
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We're back! After a short break, we're back with a special episode where we delve into political art of a special kind: art made by politicians. From a peanut-farming president, to an art professor prime minister, to the world's most (in)famous art school rejectee, we explore six politicians who have turned to away from canvassing and towards the canvas. See images here!
**We are now switching to a fortnightly format! See you in two weeks!**
Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/jonny-boyle/tres-french
License code: WCBAFRBTLK0C1KMI
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A round table undulates on the backs of 18 headless straw figures as a ball rolls around, approaching but never quite attaching itself to the beleaguered scarecrow-esque creatures. Does that sound like art Dad would like? With hidden political messages and metaphors for social dynamics, could Round Table by South Korean artist Choe U-Ram win Dad over? Listen to this episode to find out, as we talk about kinetic art, presidential scandals and whether Dad could become a dictator. See the artwork here!
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This week we discuss German artist Sebastian Maas, whose contemporary takes on Rubens' Baroque masterpieces seek to interrogate gender and Orientalism. But will Dad think that his recreations of 'The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus' and 'The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt' can really add anything to the works of a great master? Or will Dad criticise Rubens' own skills? Find out in this episode! See images here!
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Smog has long been the enemy of art - seeping into gallery spaces and threatening the masterpieces housed there, the omnipresence of smog even contributed to the National Gallery of London's move from Pall Mall to its current location in Trafalgar Square. But what if art itself could clean up our filthy air? This week we discuss Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde's 'Landscape of the Future' project, and its core element: the smog free ring. Does a cube of condensed smog make for a better gift than a diamond? What smoke-related domestic disasters has Dad caused? Listen to this episode to find out! See images here!
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(Updated audio!) Bismarck is a towering figure in history, but you know what towers over him? A giraffe. This week we discuss the two sculptures at the centre of Julian von Bismarck's - German artist and relative of the inimitable Otto von Bismarck - exhibition at Berlinische Galerie, 'When Platitudes Become Form.' Featuring a giraffe (made using an actual giraffe pelt) and a recreation of a monument to Bismarck (the elder) in Bremen, Julian's works raise questions about the 'scramble for Africa', the concept of the counter-monument, and how to confront the past. But what will Dad think of these sculptures, modelled on children's push puppets? Find out in this episode! See images here.
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