Johnny Defeo: Our Living Walls - Episode 11 of The Painting Podcast

Today we journey through historical art movements and into the minds of contemporary creators to discover how being alone can amplify creativity.

We trace the history of people observing the art-making process. From ancient times when communities would gather to watch artisans at work, through the Renaissance workshops, to modern-day live streams and social media platforms like TikTok, we examine how the act of witnessing art creation has evolved.

This episode delves into the fine line between cheesiness, kitsch, and high art. From the pastoral scenes of Gainsborough to the consumer culture critiques of Warhol and the polling experiments of Komar and Melamid, we examine how artists challenge and redefine our notions of taste, authenticity, and artistic value in a constantly evolving cultural landscape.

Digging into how we can create an environment where creativity can flourish, and allow the muse in to create meaningful connections that allow for artistic innovation.

How are we taught to look at art, and why does it get everything wrong? In this episode I look at conventional ways of teaching students to look at art, and offer an alternative that allows for more intuition, experiementation, and a familiarity with the medium.

In this episode I try to come to terms with my hatred of Fragonard, and see if I can appreciate art which I don't necessarily like.

Dissecting the life and work of expressionist painter Egon Schiele

In this episode we look at the life and work of English-Mexican surrealist Leonora Carrington.

Looking at the life and work of German American painter, and educator, Hans Hoffman.

In this episode we delve into the world of Bosch, Van Eyck, Dali, and Magritte. We see what things they have in common, and what things they don’t. .