Can you imagine photographing icons like Betty White and Prince? Well my podcast guest today doesn’t have to imagine… it’s HER JOB!?! Yep, American photographer Mary Ellen Matthews has been the in-house photographer at Saturday Night Live since 1999. She’s shot some of the most iconic entertainers in the world, but today, Mary Ellen is the one in the spotlight! You can listen to our conversation under that fabulous shot of Betty, or download ART FOR YOUR EAR wherever you get your podcasts.

Alright, first up, a few of my favorite shots that we talked about:

Yep, two Pauls… not to mention Andy Samberg as an olive, and Lizzo being fabulous, as usual!

Now, there were a bazillion shoots I wanted to ask her about, but I knew we were crunched for time. Here are a bunch of beauties that I’ll have to ask her about in person, someday:

How’s that for a lineup of amazingly talented people?! Betty White, Prince, and Chadwick Boseman… I mean, wow. Also, I’ve always wanted to be friends with Tina Fey and Will Ferrell. That’s a reasonable goal, right?

Ok, next… we quickly touched on the fact that Mary Ellen and her team have been creating animated pieces, and videos too! Here are couple featuring Will Forte (as a version of the ‘Sea Captain’), Melissa McCarthy, Donald Glover, and Oscar Isaac:

 

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Fantastic! Now, as I mentioned, we recorded this conversation on a Friday. She had just photographed that week’s host, Benedict Cumberbatch, the day before, and was in the middle of editing/photoshopping when we talked. Obviously the images needed to be ready for Saturday. Well, she got them done… these are some of those photos:

Ahh, Benedict. Any time I hear his name, I can’t control myself and immediately link to this video of him reading a letter from Sol LeWitt to Eva Hesse. “JUST DO.”

Next up, the photos Mary Ellen took of Ashley Longshore at her house in New Orleans:

So. Much. Fun! And finally, I can’t finish this post without showing you some of the photos shot by Edie Baskin. She was the woman who brought Mary Ellen into the world of SNL, and then handed her the reins:

An icon shooting icons… LOVE. Thank you so much to Mary Ellen for taking the time to do this with me; and thanks to you for listening to the episode AND to my preamble about the future of ART FOR YOUR EAR. See you in a couple of weeks for a brand new episode, as we head toward the big 2-3-0. ~ Danielle

Other links:

1. Mary Ellen on Instagram
2. Ashley Longshore / Last time she was on AFYE
3. Amy Sherald on AFYE

You guys, somehow I managed to get American artist Sandy Skoglund on my podcast! I actually learned about Sandy in an art history class waaaay back in the early 90’s, and here we are today, chatting!? We talked for over 2 hours, and every story was a gem. Aside from hearing about how her installation photographs filled with cheese doodles and neon green cats came to be, I also found out that she worked at Disneyland’s SpaceBar in high school, painted baby faces on cakes in Detroit to pay for grad school, and she even did a little go-go dancing to help cover the rent for her New York studio… and that’s just the tip of the fabulous iceberg! Listen right up there under Sandy and her plaster cats, or subscribe to ART FOR YOUR EAR on Apple Podcasts.

First up, let’s go back to one of her first series of photographs… shot in a mobile home in Upstate New York in the summer of 1977:

See, Sandy said she went out and bought dolls. She wasn’t kidding!

Next, “PEAS ON A PLATE”… and more very organized food:

… and, from peas and carrots, one would obviously move onto spoons and hangers:

Ah! Iconic “Sandy Skoglund” pieces… and to find out they were shot in the same tiny apartment turned studio. So. Cool! Speaking of which, a tiny peek at Sandy’s huge portfolio of photographed installations, starting with her green cats, of course:

Yesssss! Plaster cats, clay fish, chewed gum, cheez doodles, and soooo much pop corn.

And finally, this is “The Wedding”. Walls coated in strawberry jam, floor covered in marmalade:

Whoa. That is A LOT of strawberry jam ‘n marmalade. Genius. Thank you so, so much to Sandy for coming on the podcast and sharing so many wonderful stories; thanks to Create Magazine for supporting this episode; and as always, huge thanks to you for listening! There will be a brand new episode of ART FOR YOUR EAR in two weeks.

ps. I HAD to include this… the discarded cat on a stranger’s windowsill! Ah-mazing.

Other links:

1. Sandy’s site
2. Sandy on Instagram
3. Jellybean Performance, 1975
4. Smith College
5. University of Iowa
6. Sorbonne University, Paris
7. Claes Oldenburg, Artist
8. Petah Coyne, Artist
9. Create Magazine / January 30th deadline

You guys, I cannot wait for you to hear today’s episode of ART FOR YOUR EAR! London based Estonian photographer, Sirli Raitma is on the podcast. Sirli spends her time dressing her muse in bizarre fashion, and decorating said muse with fabulous hair and makeup. ps. Her muse is her mother, Eha. Gah! I love this ongoing series so much, but even more, I love how this mother/daughter project came to be. Ooh, and wait till you find out how Sirli became a photographer. This story is a family affair filled to the brim with inspiration. Look and listen right up there under Eha listening to, I assume my podcast (!?), or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

Let’s kick things off in the wilderness… the first place Sirli ventured with her camera:

Deer, fog, foliage, and oh… look at that, an Eha in the wild! Perfect segue into the beginning of the “EHA” series, when the photographs were black and white:

Ah, gorgeous… but clearly, she’s begging to be shot in COLOR! Okay, this post could have had a gazillion photos in it, so here are just a few of my faves that feature the hot pink and bright orange eye shadow we mentioned:

Yes, yes, a thousand times YES! Speaking of which:

Ha! Those photographs are in order of my fave, Sirli’s fave, and the internet’s fave. And look at this fabulous mother and daughter at an art show featuring their creations! Living the dream, ladies.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering if Eha still has legs…

… she does, and they’re fantastic!

Now, I know all of this attention hasn’t gone to Eha’s head (or Sirli’s for that matter), but I just had to include a few ‘soaking it in’ moments:

Wooohoooo! I love all of this more than I can even begin to put into words.

Oh, and then I suddenly remembered how I found Sirli’s work in the first place! I follow an insanely talented artist named Lavely Miller, and she did this painting of Eha:

Yep, the painting took my breath away, and then I started down the rabbit hole that lead me directly to Sirli’s portfolio.

And finally, a couple of casual shots of this creative, hilarious, loving duo:

Cheers, indeed! You two are so inspiring… may this project go on for years and years to come! Thanks so much to Sirli for sharing her story with us; thanks to Storyblocks for supporting yet another episode; and of course, thank YOU for listening. There will be a new episode of ART FOR YOUR EAR in two weeks.

Other links:

1. Sirli’s site
2. Sirli on Instagram
3. Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize
4. Estonian Museum of Photography
5. Storyblocks

Gasp! I want to go to all of these cotton candy places! This is the absolutely dreamy work of Lisbon based artist Teresa Freitas – that’s her in the final photograph – and these are her equally dreamy words about her work:

“The visible secret behind my work lies in how colour can transport us to a subtle change of reality. While the places in my photographs exist, at the same time there is something a little bit “off” about them. We wonder if they are true or if we’re just inside a dream.

I like to play with familiar motifs – palm trees in Palm Springs, a Chinatown street, the architecture of St. Petersburg – and then subvert them into something less tangible and more cinematic. My artistry lies in my composition, yes, but primarily in the conceptual and aesthetic way in which I use colour. You will see both bold and pastel hues in the same image – a visual paradox that our minds aren’t used to and a play on colour that is very interesting to me as an artist. Beyond that paradox is a sense of calm and happiness that continually permeates my work.”

Ahhh, calm and happiness. That works for me. Teresa’s work is available through Subject Matter Art and you can follow her on Instagram at @teresacfreitas.

Who better to have as my guest for the second installment of “PAINT CHIPS” than a junk food loving art consultant! Yes, my good friend Pennylane Shen is back on the podcast, this time with MORE CHEEZ TASTE! We’re eating Cheezies and talking about food themed art that takes our breath away. You can listen right up there under all of that cheesiness, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify.

First up, the entire reason we both showed up to this episode with a bag of Cheez Doodles, “The Cocktail Party” {1992}, by American artist Sandy Skoglund:

Yes, a party covered entirely in REAL cheese doodles! FYI this is showing right now, until September 2021, at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, TX. I’m guessing it no longer smells like fake cheese? Sandy coated all of these doodles in epoxy in 1992… but you never know!

Here are some of the other Sandy Skoglund installations/photographs we talked about… the very timely “Germs Are Everywhere” {1984}, the super creepy “Walking on Eggshells” {1997}, the very famous “Revenge of the Goldfish” {1981}, and the green cats from “Radioactive Cats” {1980}:

Notice how I just sort of snuck the snakes and eggs in the middle of all that so I wouldn’t have to look directly at them for too long?

Alright, we’ve had our salty snack… time for something SWEET:

 

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Okay, it’s not actually sugary icing… it’s oil paint. SO MUCH OIL PAINT. This is the piece I brought to the party today. “Under Heaven” by Xu Zhen. The Instagram video is the one I took while standing in front of this jaw-dropper at Art Miami in 2016. Isn’t it insane!?

And finally, a few throw back photos to when Pennylane and I actually got to eat junk food / talk about art IN PERSON:

Ahhh, good times. I can’t wait until we can do this again. Hopefully Nick the Nalley Chip guy will be there with his truck! Thanks so much to Pennylane for doing this with me… twice {I’m so glad we didn’t eat the cucumber chips the second time around. So. Gross.}  And, of course, thanks to all of YOU for listening… there will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR next weekend.

Other links:

1. Pennylane on Instagram at @dazed.and.confucius
2. Sandy Skoglund, Artist
3. “The Cocktail Party” now on at McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX
4. Xu Zhen, Artist
5. Art Miami
6. Episode no.200 hosted by Petah Coyne
7. The NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH ART Society
8. Co-Loop Podcast Network

That stunning work is titled “Rest In Peace”. It is a life-sized, Baroque-inspired gown… made of PAPER. I know. It’s too much to wrap your head around, which exactly why I knew I had to have it’s creator on the podcast. Haitian born, New York based artist Fabiola Jean-Louis answered alllllll of my questions on today’s episode. So. Many. Questions. In between explaining the ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind her exquisite work, I also found out that she graduated from the same high school as Basquiat, was almost a doctor, and is a mother of five. Yep. You can listen right up there under “Rest in Peace”, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify {and, you know, feel free to leave a lovely review while you’re there!}

First, since I don’t have images from her pre-med days, I’ll go as far back as her Polaroids… which by the way are MAGIC:

Self. Taught. Polaroids {and Photoshop} were how she got her instant gratification, but somewhere along the way her photographs got, well, much less instant! Here are just some of the pieces from “Rewriting History”. Brace yourself, because the level of detail is insane:

Gasp! Paper dresses, dollhouses, props and  yes, those lovely paper shoes! The final composition above is “Marie Antoinette is Dead”, the piece Fabiola talked about regarding the first pair of paper shoes she ever made… see them poking out from under that gorgeous blue paper dress? So much work for the tiniest little glimpse {that’s why I’ve included them on their own as well… they need their moment in the spotlight!}

Alright, and here are the paper gowns from “Rewriting History” when they’re displayed on their own:

I mean, come on. STUN. NING.

Ooh, and some of her latest work… the altar/shrine!

Look at that detail! When her father said “the magic is in the details”, Fabiola was obviously really listening.

And finally, a photo of this artist / rewriter of history / mother of five… plus, a quick “day in the life” video she posted not too long ago:

 

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Sigh. So beautiful. All of it. Also, I want to squeeze her ridiculously cute baby! Thank you so much to Fabiola for taking time out of her busy life to be on the podcast, and thank YOU for listening. Stay tuned on info about the podcast network I’m joining {with Andy J. Pizza}, and for details about joining my new club: “The NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH ART Society”… it’s gonna be good! ~ Danielle xo

Other links:

1. Fabiola on Instagram
2. High School of Fashion Industries
3. Isabella Gardner Museum, Boston
4. “Black Art : In the Absence of Light” {we talked about this new documentary after we stopped recording, but we both love it and think you should go watch it! It’s on HBOMax}

Okay, now that image is exactly how you start a post about an artist who creates “locative collages”! It’s art. On a lily pad. Floating out into a lake!? This can only mean one thing… yes, Angela Gobbens, aka @miss.printed, is on the podcast this week! She’s a Dutch artist who now lives in a little red house in Norway. However, before she started placing tiny people out into the big wide world, she studied politics and didn’t consider herself an artist. Yeah. Listen right up there under that floaty fellow, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and or Spotify.

First up, some of Angela’s “locative” collages that I posted a few weeks ago:

Aren’t they fan-frickin-tastic? Little bits of joy in the most unexpected places.

Now, maybe it’s because it’s snowy and cold in Norway and Canada at the moment, or perhaps it’s the excitement of seeing art battle the elements… either way, I have to show you a few of Angela’s collages IN. THE. SNOW:

Gah! I love those “locative” shots! Those people are so tiny… out there all alone on snowy fence posts, outside Angela’s backdoor, and frozen into puddles. LOVE.

Speaking of LOVE, here’s the Scandinavian Collage Museum in all its glory:

Seriously, I HAVE to make this happen in my tiny town! {I’m working on it and will keep you posted.} And then of course, there are the many other projects Angela has on the go:

Ha! That lil pink slug. Alas, his journey has come to an end, but FEBRULLAGE 2021 is about to start this MONDAY {do it!}, and The Collage Garden is ongoing as well. Hm, I forgot to ask Angela when she sleeps. Next time.

And finally, as promised, after we chatted Angela bundled up and stepped out into the cold Norwegian landscape with a lovely {and about to be very cold} mermaid:

 

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Ahhh, magical! Imagine going for a walk and seeing this little lady lying in the snow? *Sigh* And with that, I will say thank you so much to Angela for sharing her story with me, and thanks to you for listening! There will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR next weekend.

Other links:

1. Angela on Instagram, aka @miss.printed
2. The Scandinavian Collage Museum
3. Februllage Prompts for 2021 {in partnership with Edinburgh Collage Collective}
4. The Collage Garden
5. The Pink Slug {no longer happening, but oh so sweet}
6. Kolaj Magazine

Okay, to be clear, he photographs a lot more than just discarded grocery bags… but I love these images so much I just had to put them all in one post! This the work of London, now NY based, photographer Arch McLeish…

Through photography he blends documenting ‘real world’ with something altogether more dreamlike. Capturing scenes suspended in time and depicting traces of life.

Ahhh, yes. Ethereal trash floating by on a summer breeze. ps. Go follow him on Instagram to see everything he does… you know, besides the plastic bags.

 

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let’s celebrate by taking some art out for a walk around the neighborhood… what?! So magical! Can you imagine coming upon any of these tiny masterpieces out in the wild? This Norway based Dutch artist – who goes by the alias Miss.Printed – is “filling the gap between collage, photography and street art”. Ummm, there is nothing I don’t love about this clever work. May your LIFE be filled with adventure, travel, and lovely art in strange places in 2021.

{Found via Kolaj Magazine}

If you could photograph poetry, I believe it would look a lot like this. Sigh. All of these photographs {that I swore were collages when I scrolled by them on Instagram} are part of an ongoing series titled “Reflection – 2” by Shanghai based artist Ziqian Liu… and yes, that’s her in every image. Ziqian’s personal work begins with self-portraiture because she believes keeping a ‘visual diary’ is the “best way for her to communicate with herself and to get to know herself better”. Here is her full artist statement:

“There are two main themes in her work. The first theme is about the symbiosis between human beings and nature. To some extent, it can be said that human beings and the rest of the natural world is equal, we live in the same world, breathing the same air, mutual tolerance. In her works, she tries to find a state of harmony between human and nature, and full of peace and emotion, because in this state of symbiosis, beauty will be most embodied.

The second theme is about perspective. Things we are familiar with often remain in a fixed image, but she is trying to convey through her work, to look at the same thing from different angles, there will be different findings. This is not only for things, but also for understanding others and our hearts. On the other hand, her deepest desire is for symmetry and perfect order, both in the appearance of things and in the patterns of human interaction, but this is too idealistic, after all, society is not balanced, some imperfections make it real. In her work, the image in the mirror represents the idealized world she wishes to live in, and the integration with the outside is just a reminder to respect and recognize the imbalance in the real world, but also to adhere to the order and principles of our hearts.”

See? Poetic.

{Found via TaxCollection}