In ArtCurious, podcaster and curator Jennifer Dasal reveals illuminating stories about the rarified world of fine art.
When many people think of art, they imagine themselves admiring lovely objects in museums, created by elite artists in a world far removed from daily life. But many works of art and the artists behind them have stories that are fascinating, surprising, sometimes simply unbelievable. During the Cold War, the CIA (through an agency called the Congress for Cultural Freedom) surreptitiously promoted abstract expressionism as the American epitome of individuality and experimentation to challenge socialist realism, the staid official style of art in the Soviet Union. Monet, whom Dasal considered "the most boring painter of my childhood," was actually subversive; along with the rest of the impressionists, he bucked the art establishment and exhibited rejected artwork in the deliciously named Salon de Refusés.
Dasal upends assumptions about what readers think they know about art and artists. Norman Rockwell, known for his sentimental Saturday Evening Post covers, created some of the most important (and grim) paintings during the Civil Rights era. Andy Warhol was a hoarder who created 610 time capsules that contained everything from business contracts to nail clippings. Dasal also considers the unlikely roots of modern art: Georgiana Houghton and Hilma af Klint, two female artists who were inspired by Victorian-era seances and spiritualism.
The art world loves conspiracy theories, and Dasal weighs in on whether or not Vincent van Gogh was murdered, if Walter Sickert was really Jack the Ripper, and if the Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre is the real deal. Informative and fun, ArtCurious is a delightful romp. --Frank Brasile, librarian