Annie Kevans … I got Annie Kevans on the podcast! I have been smitten with Annie’s dreamy portraits since the first time I saw them way back in 2009. Well, nine years later and here we are {I like to ease into meeting my heroes}. Annie is a British artist who spent her early childhood in France, attended a {super weird} private school in England, lived in Barcelona for awhile, then London again, and NOW she lives in France. Again. Her story is so, so, so good, and I know first-hand because I was lucky enough to write all about it in my new book! We’re going to talk about all of it – from that super weird private school and her passion for women in art history, to Andy Warhol in drag and jumping off cliffs with a kite type of thing on her back. You can listen right up there under that lovely portrait of Lady Gaga (!), or subscribe on iTunes.

First up, Annie’s ‘Boys’ series. Let’s kick things off with Hitler, shall we:

Yep, dictators before they were dictators … dictators when they were sweet, young, rosy-cheeked boys. ps. This was the series that Charles Saatchi bought just as Annie was graduating from art school. THE. WHOLE. SERIES. Yeah.

‘The History of Art’ … sigh. I cannot explain how much I love this series featuring pioneering female artists:

So powerful, so beautiful. We mentioned Edmonia Lewis a few times and she is in there, of course … her story is so inspiring {she’s also the person Annie named in the not-so-speedy speed round as her choice for a dinner companion. I want to come too!} These unstoppable artists seem like a perfect segue into this next tidbit:

Yep, Annie is in my new book, ‘A BIG IMPORTANT ART BOOK – Now With Women’ – and she happens to be the first artist in Chapter 1! I had the honor of writing her story and displaying her gorgeous work. I have also sprinkled bits about historical women throughout the book, and in Annie’s section I just had to include Sofonisba’s story.

Alright, from inspiring women to fabulous male artists … who dressed like women from time to time:

These paintings are from Annie’s ‘Drag’ series, and here is part of her artist statement about this work:

In the ‘Drag’ series, Kevans reveals male art stars comfortably posing as women but confident that their achievements will not be forgotten.  Artists such as Francis Bacon, Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Robert Mapplethorpe and Cecil Beaton all photographed themselves in drag but the question remains: would these artists continue to be so revered had they been born women?

Hm. Excellent question, Annie. Excellent question.

And finally, Annie holding things together in Europe:

Ha! When you find something like this on your guest’s Instagram feed, well, YOU POST IT. Thank you soooo much to Annie for doing this with me, and for also being part of this big important book that is ridiculously important to me. Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and thank YOU for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Sigh. New work by LA based artist Seonna Hong. Seriously, I love everything she does every time she does it! Speaking of which, all of these pieces are part of a new show, titled “Things Will Get Better”… let’s hope so. The show opens TOMORROW NIGHT, October 6 from 6-9pm at Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco.

“This show is about reckoning. I found myself in the last couple years being overwhelmed by what was happening in the world and it forced me to rethink my place in it as a woman, a person of color, a mother, and as a citizen. I looked for inspiration in people around me, their activism, their work, their humanity and I found hope and community in that.”

So smart, so beautiful.

* BOOK TOUR INFO ALERT *  Seonna and I will both be at Hashimoto on Saturday October 20th! Yep, I’ll be there doing a talk, Q&A, and book signing from 2-4pm AND you can get Seonna to sign it too because her beautiful story/work is featured on pages 30 – 35… YAY! Mark your calendars for A BIG IMPORTANT ART BOOK – Now With Women in San Francisco!

Powerful. That word always come up when I write about the work of Iraqi born, US based artist Hayv Kahraman. I had the honor of writing her whole story in my latest book, A BIG IMPORTANT ART BOOK – Now with Women … which just so happens to be hitting shelves, worldwide, today! It is big, important, and filled with stories of unstoppable women – both contemporary and historical. Hayv’s bio and paintings are in Chapter 12 : Look To The Past {p.232 – 237}, as her work is directly influenced by her past personal experiences – fleeing Iraq with her family at the tender age of eleven, for example. Hayv is an extraordinary person and insanely talented artist. In fact, she has an absolutely stunning show hanging right now {install shown above} at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects in Culver City. Here is a taste of what this show explores:

“Silence is Gold” powerfully reveals the important role played by sexuality and violence in claims to asylum and to humanitarian aid; but it also demonstrates that this works differently for different people. Women fleeing from the global South largely need to sexualize and sell themselves to cross borders, or to sell the very real violence they may have experienced [Note 3]. Trafficking victims must be at once innocent and ravaged; they must leverage their violation even as they must be ashamed of it. These women are required to provide the graphic details of their sexual exploitation, in ways that can end up being both horrifying and titillating for those who serve as legal or political adjudicators. ~Dr. Miriam Ticktin on Havy Kahraman’s exhibition “Silence Is Gold” at Susanne Vielmetter, Los Angeles.

Powerful. “Silence is Gold” will be up until October 27th at Susanne Vielmetter, Los Angeles.

I am so, so, so incredibly proud of this book … if you see it in a shop, snap a photo for me {and you know, buy it too!} 

Sure, she used to serve pancakes to unhappy customers, but those days are long gone! Today, Ekaterina Popova is a painter, the founder/editor of Create Magazine, and she’s about to become the host of her own soon-to-launch podcast called Art & Cocktails… yep, it involves drinking with artists. Works for me! The only way I was able to get Kat on my podcast was to agree to be on hers, so we’re interviewing each other today. Since it was only 9am my time, I opted for Baileys in my coffee. Yum! You can listen to all of our dirty laundry right up there under Kat’s dirty laundry, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First, her absolutely beautiful domestic “messes”:

Gasp! Those color palettes, and don’t even get me started on the light in these “everyday” spaces. Speaking of every day… here are just a few of Kat’s daily sketches:

What!? These are just sketches?! FRAME ALL OF THEM and call it a day!!!

Sorry for the outburst. Ok, moving on… to a residency in Iceland:

Sigh, so dreamy. I truly admire Kat for not only her sense of adventure, but the hustle she puts into getting herself to all sorts of fabulous places. Grants, applications, selling work… yep, this woman makes things happen.

Oh yes, and when she’s not painting, or traveling, or both… Kat runs Create Magazine. And it’s FANTASTIC:

Look at her … like a proud mama bear with her baby {if her baby lived in a magazine shop}. I love the calibre of artists she includes in Create, the beautiful design, and I also love how much artists love being included in its pages! Most of the images above are Instagrams taken by the artists featured in the spreads. Yeah, I’d Instagram the hell out of that too! ps. I had to include Ashley Longshore‘s cover … Jesus in Guccis for the win.

And finally – this is the best – little Ekaterina in Russia doing what she was meant to do…

… and a grown-up, about to turn 30 later this year, Kat doing what she is meant to do! Destiny? I believe so. Thanks so much to Kat for doing this double interview with me {and giving me a reason to drink at 9am};  thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and of course, thank you so much for listening. There will be more Art For Your Ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Art & Cocktails Podcast {launching soon!}
2. Kat on Instagram
3. Create Magazine
4. Elspeth Pratt, Artist and Professor
5. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
6. Janna Watson, Episode no.133
7. Bunnie Reiss, Episode no.78
8. Vancouver Mural Festival
9. “A Big Important Art Book … Now with Women” (my new book)
10. Big Important Merch! (mugs, shirts etc)
11. My art site / My art Instagram

Thanks so much to everyone who entered to win this BOSS BOOK! The name I pulled this morning: Francie of fossesayshi.com! Congratulations, Francie… it’s time to be BOSS! And, huge congratulations to Emily and Kathleen on an amazing, successful, and exciting launch week xo

………………..

Oh, yes, yes, YES. Being Boss: Take Control of Your Work and Live Life On Your Own Terms … yep, this is the brand new book by Kathleen Shannon and Emily Thompson. You might know them from their brilliant podcast titled, you guessed it, Being Boss. I have known these amazing, entrepreneurial women for years {we all met at Alt Summit a looooong time ago}, and I could not be more excited for them. Today, on April 10th, their first book hits shelves worldwide!  This book puts all of their podcast episodes, personal insights, and in-the-trenches experience into a tidy {beautifully designed} package. Emily and Kathleen have put everything into this book… they give amazing/easy to follow advice on getting focused on what you want, mapping your goals, and thankfully, they talk a lot about how to stop freaking out about money … and selling yourself without shame! Amen. They also invited me to do a little Q&A on the ins and out of self-doubt and, of course, I said “yes!”

So… guess what? Running Press, the publisher of this lovely book, has given me one copy to give away to one person who’s ready to be BOSS. I’m guessing that’s you! Leave a comment below and I’ll draw one name on Friday April 13th. Good luck! ps. Or… just go buy the book right now! 

This is a peek into “Miscegenated Family Album” by Lorraine O’Grady. She chose 16 diptychs {7 shown here} from 65 image pairs of slides – comparing her sister Devonia, Nefertiti, and their families – that she had projected behind a performance piece she did in 1980. Lorraine retired the performance in 1988, but luckily she allowed the work to live on through this gorgeous album that she assembled in 1994. Amazing. But wait, I can’t stop there… I have to include her insanely inspiring bio too:

Born in Boston in 1934 to West Indian parents, O’Grady came to art late. Mlle Bourgeoise Noire and Nefertiti/Devonia Evangeline in 1980 were her first public art works. After majoring in economics and Spanish literature at Wellesley, she studied in the fiction program of the Iowa Writers Workshop and had several careers: as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. government, a literary and commercial translator with her own agency, and for a time as a rock critic for The Village Voice and Rolling Stone. Ultimately, this broad background contributed to a distanced and critical view of the art world when she entered it and to an unusually eclectic attitude toward art-making. In O’Grady’s work, the idea tends to come first, and then a medium is employed to best execute it. The work’s intellectual content is rigorous and political, but its form is often characterized by heightened beauty and elegance.

To say that I have loved the work of Mando Marie since the moment I started this blog would be spot on … right down to the minute, in fact. Today, February 22nd, marks NINE YEARS since I launched the very first post as “The Jealous Curator”. Nine years? Insane. There were a handful of artists whose work I was obsessed with back then … oh who am I kidding, I still am! One of them was of course, American painter/street artist Mando Marie. I even managed to get her on the podcast not too long ago! Another artist I have always loved? American folk/street artist Margaret Kilgallen … so imagine my delight when I found the piece at the bottom of this post … one of Mando’s girls reading Margaret Kilgallen’s book, “In the Sweet Bye and Bye“. Perfect to mark the anniversary of this beautiful, crazy, artsy ride that I’ve been on for almost a decade. Thank you all so much for coming along with me! Sharing the work of amazing artists from all over the world brings me pure joy – whether it’s through the blog, Instagram, my books, or the podcast. Here’s to the first nine years, and hopefully decades more to come.

I literally have no idea where to start this week. When your guest is a photographer, filmmaker, installation artist, curator, maker, and general renaissance woman it’s hard to find a place to jump in… so we started at the beginning and covered a fraction of the projects that this woman has been involved with. Yep, I’m talking to American artist, curator etc., Faythe Levine. Listen right up there under that very wise photograph, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First, a few of her photographs, as Faythe always documents where life takes her:

Ahhhh, dreamy. Up next, a project that if you haven’t seen, you should … her film, followed by a book of the same title, “Handmade Nation”:

It’s so good, and it really is a like a time capsule from those early maker days when everything DIY exploded! Ok, next amazing project. “Sign Painters”, once again a documentary and book:

Faythe and Sam Macon did such a beautiful job on this film. If you haven’t seen it, see it!

Next, the most recent book Faythe put together… an unpublished play written by her friend Merril Mushroom. The play, and now the book, is titled “Bar Dykes”:

There are so many of Faythe’s projects to cover (and we haven’t even discussed the tip of the iceberg?!), but I didn’t want to miss this… Art vs. Craft, a juried show that she organized and ran for ten years (2003-2013) in Milwaukee:

Don’t you want to jump into that photo and do some art shopping!? Me too. And finally, a few very cool photos to go with Faythe’s very cool story… tattoos and new gold tooth included:

Babe. Thank you so much to Faythe for taking a break from her new 9 to 5 life as Assistant Curator at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center to talk to me; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode; and thank YOU for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Etsy
2. Renegade Craft Fair
3. Faythe on Instagram

I am so excited for you to listen to this episode! It is filled to the brim with hilarious stories, inspiring advice, and of course, a lengthy discussion about pizza. I’m talking to Ohio based artist, illustrator, writer, speaker, podcaster, father, vivid dreamer, Boyz II Men fan club president, and former sandwich artist, Andy J. Miller aka Andy J. Pizza. Listen right up there under the surfer dude, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First up, these are the gorgeous, and totally inspiring, illustrations Andy does for each of his ‘Creative Pep Talk’ podcast episodes:

YES to alllllll of that! Oh, and speaking of creative pep talks, this is Andy’s most recent book filled with beautifully rendered advice from 50 amazing artists:

This is the book that features quotes from Oliver Jeffers, Lisa Congdon and Stefan Sagmeister… jealous? Yes, yes I am. {although Stefan really did kiss me – here’s a link to the proof}

Oh, and look at this! The first book(s) he did with Chronicle. The Indie Rock Coloring Book, and Indie Rock Poster Book:

So fun! And, oh yeah, he also has a day job… here are some of Andy’s gorgeous pieces he’s done for clients:

Ok, he did NOT tell me he’s done work for Nutella … I wonder if he gets a discount? I would have let them pay me in jars of that goodness!

And, obviously, after hearing Andy’s energetic and hilarious voice, you need to see him in action. Here he is in his new found happy place… on stage, talking all things creativity:

So funny! Also, I need that coffee mug to go with all of that Nutella I’m lining up for.

And finally, this was an illustration Andy did for Mental Floss Magazine, but I like to imagine this is what he looks like during one of his crazy, vivid dreams:

That could actually be my dream if that grey thing is in fact a SNAKE!? I cannot express how much I wish there was an illustration of Andy with the guys from Boyz II Men … now that would have made my year! Thank you so much to Andy for being such an open, hilarious, inspiring book; thank you to Saatchi Art for not only supporting this episode, but for supporting the podcast AND my weekly e-newsletter since they both began; and you know it, HUGE thanks to you for listening. I’m taking next week off to be with my little family, but there will be a new episode on the first Saturday in January. Happy Holidays!

Other links:

1. The Thread House (Andy’s wife’s shop)
2. Creative Pep Talk Podcast
3. Andy on Instagram

December 1st calls for a list of art stuff, because that’s all I want this every year! Here are just a few of my favorite things from 2017 … {ps. scroll to the bottom for links}

BAGS: from one of NIAD‘s artists, Sarah Malpass… love! / BOOKS: A Glorious Freedom by Lisa Congdon; Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk by me; If You Can Cut You Can Collage by Hollie Chastain; On the Loom by Maryanne Moodie / ART SUPPLIES: Weaving Starter Kits by Maryanne Moodie; ArtSnacks monthly supply subscription (ps. if you enter ‘thejealouscurator’ you’ll get 10% off at checkout) ; Stand alone supplies from the ArtSnacks shop / CERAMICS: Bowls & more by Mariko Paterson; Mugs by Molly Hatch via Anthropologie; Incense holders by Kinska / ‘RANDOM CRAP’: Tote Bag by Martha Rich; Cat T-Shirt by Martha Rich; Socks by Martha Rich; Bob Ross Board Game {not by Martha Rich}.

And of course, if you’re looking for ART, type “shop” in my search bar and you’ll find the posts with links to artists who have shops. If you want to do a bit of art browsing, I’d suggest visiting Saatchi Art for prints & originals, and Limited by Saatchi Art for limited edition prints….

*Portrait by János Huszti ; Circles by Slavomir Zombek; Abstract by HyunRyoung Kim