12. Declassified Unscripted

Today we wrap up Season One of Declassified. Parker and Georgia update you on what's next after graduation, the future of Declassified, & play a little game sharing their art world crushes!  To learn more about Declassified and listen to past episodes visit www.declassified-pod.com & IG @declassified.pod. See you soon!

Today we speak with Dr. Carol Krinsky, Professor of Art History at New York University, in our second Declassified Perspectives conversation - our final episode of the season! Get bona fide answers and advice from Professor Krinsky on Episode 11 of Declassified. About Professor Krinsky: Dr. Carol Krinsky is a Professor of Art History in New York University’s Department of Art History and the Institute of Fine Arts. She received her Ph.D. and a Master’s from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, as well as a B.A. at Smith College, where she studied art and architectural history. Her areas of research include 20th-century architecture and 15th-century painting. Professor Krinsky has earned many awards for her research and books, but also for her teaching including honors from Phi Beta Kappa, Fulbright and the National Endowment for the Arts and a Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award from the College Art Association. She has written several books and in countless publications, which will be listed as further reading on our website. Definitions, links and more resources on www.declassified.com/krinsky & IG @declassified.pod. See you next season!

Today we asked Kavi Gupta, gallerist and founder of Kavi Gupta Gallery: What is a gallery’s function? And have you ever wondered: Who does a gallery serve? How does the hierarchy of needs in a gallery look? Whose voices matter most? What is the day-to-day like at a busy gallery? What responsibilities does a gallery have, to its patrons, artists, and the ecosystem at large? Get bona fide answers and advice from Kavi on Episode 11 of Declassified. About Kavi: Kavi Gupta earned his degree in Art History from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from University of Chicago. He opened his namesake gallery in Chicago in 2000, and since has hosted countless exhibitions and participated in the world’s most esteemed international fairs, including Frieze and Art Basel. He now represents over thirty artists. Kavi Gupta Gallery has earned three highly prestigious International Association of Art Critics Awards (the AICA-USA) in 2011, 2013 and again in 2015. They have expanded, now with several locations in the Midwest and a publishing arm, while maintaining their vision to "seek out and offer a platform to artists whose vitality expands and deepens the cultural conversation, especially if theirs is a voice that has been marginalized." Find Kavi & his gallery on IG: @kavigupta, @kavigupta_ Definitions and more resources on www.declassified.com/gupta & IG @declassified.pod. See you next week!

Today we asked Debi Wisch, marketer, and documentary film producer: How can media, especially documentary filmmaking, expand the impact of art? We talk through the making of her two smash hit films about the art world, The Price of Everything (2018) and The Art of Making It (2021), talk objectivity, storytelling, and representation in the industry. We ask: What is most important, and most challenging to convey about the art world in media? What do people most often miss or get wrong? Whose perspectives are most important to convey in each project? And how did you capture them? Get bona fide answers and stories from Debi on Episode 9 of Declassified. About Debi: Debi Wisch is a marketer and filmmaker best known for her two most recent projects about the art world, The Price of Everything (2018) and The Art of Making It (2021). The Price of Everything follows the careers of several contemporary artists and influential figures in the New York art scene and questions our understanding of art as commodity, art as expression, value, time and, most centrally, art as inspiration. In The Art of Making It, the lens is turned toward emerging artists, who tell the stories of their successes and failures and work to navigate the volatile waters of the art world. The Price of Everything was picked up by HBO before it even premiered at Sundance and earned global distribution and an Emmy nomination. The Art of Making It has been selected to show at dozens of film festivals this year and is garnering awards and great reviews already. Along with producing these films with Wischful Thinking Productions, Debi has had a successful career in marketing at international luxury brands, cultural institutions, art galleries and museums. She has served on the director’s boards at the Cantor Arts Center and Anderson Collection at Stanford University, the Guggenheim Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Lincoln Center Film Society, and the American Jewish Committee. Find Debi & The Art of Making It on IG: @debiwisch, @theartofmakingitfilm Join The Art of Making It NFT community on Lobus, www.lobus.io/theartofmakingit Definitions and more resources on www.declassified-pod.com/wisch & IG @declassified.pod. See you next week!

Today we speak with Phong Bui, famed curator, critic, publisher and the co-founder of the Brooklyn Rail, in our first Declassified Perspectives conversation. We ask him: How do you find and maintain a voice in the art world? What is a “critic” and what is their role in the ecosystem? How do critics, curators and journalists navigate the tension between aesthetic beauty and market value in the current climate (which seems more hyper-focused on price every day)? Should they? Get bona fide answers and stories from Phong on Episode 8 of Declassified. About Phong: Phong Bui is a curator, critic, publisher extraordinaire whose unique and authoritative voice has been making waves in the art world for years. He co-founded the Brooklyn Rail in 2000, now a highly respected forum for presenting ideas about arts, culture, politics, and community. Of the monthly journal, fellow critic Robert Storr said, “So far as the art scene is concerned, the Brooklyn Rail is the murmur of the city in print.” Since 2000, the Rail has expanded to other cities and into the curatorial domain, and so has Phong. He has curated dozens of exhibits with Rail Curatorial Projects, and while serving as Curatorial Advisor at MoMA PS1 from 2007-2010. His shows are relevant and immediate and (quote) “respond specifically to a location, cultural moment” environmental, social or economic condition, and more often than not have some activist edge. Find Phong & the Rail on IG: @phong.h.bui, @brooklynrail Definitions and more resources on www.declassified-pod.com/bui & IG @declassified.pod. See you next week!

Today we asked Dr. Julia Robinson, curator, professor, and director of undergraduate studies at New York University: When and why did we start calling art ‘contemporary’? And have you ever wondered what makes art “modern,” or “abstract,” or “figural,” or “minimalist”? Or how to create, then juggle a career of curating, research and teaching? Get bona fide answers and definitions from Professor Robinson on Episode 7 of Declassified. About Professor Robinson: Professor Robinson is the Director of Undergraduate Studies and an Associate Professor of Art History at New York University’s Department of Art History. She earned her B.A. from the University of Sydney in Australia and later went on to earn her master's and Ph.D. from Princeton University in the Department of Art and Archeology. Professor Robinson's areas of interest fall within but are not limited to the realm of contemporary art from the 1960s to the present. She is focused specifically on score and language-based artistic strategies as well as performance (and ‘performativity’) from Fluxus to present day. In addition to being a professor at NYU, Professor Robinson has had a notable career in curation, writing, and speaking, and sits on several committees and boards. Some of Professor Robinson’s professional highlights include the 2020 publication of “A Desire for the Readymade: Duchamp’s Emergency in Favor of Twice” in the Modernism/Modernity journal, her 2017-18 service as consulting scholar for the Donal Judd retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and her 2009 curation of “The Anarchy of Silence: John Cage & Experimental Art” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona. Definitions more resources on www.declassified-pod.com/episodes/robinson & IG @declassified.pod. See you next week!

Today we asked Elizabeth Smith, art historian and executive director of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation: Why does an artist’s legacy matter? And have you ever wondered: What kinds of scholarly jobs exist in the art world beyond academia and curation? How (and why) are artists’ works and belongings managed after their death? How do artist foundations work? What did Helen Frankenthaler want for her work, during and after her lifetime? Get bona fide answers and advice from Elizabeth + behind the scenes of the Frankenthaler Foundation on Episode 6 of Declassified. About Elizabeth: Elizabeth Smith is an accomplished art historian, curator and the present (and first) executive director of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, which means she gets to work with and among Georgia’s personal favorite portfolio of paintings in the world every single day. Since the beginning of her tenure at HFF, she has helped place countless works in museums and esteemed private collections, giving Helen’s paintings wings over a decade after her death. She also allocates the vast resources of Helen Frankenthaler’s philanthropic foundation in the form of grants, educational programs and publications. Elizabeth received her undergraduate degree from Barnard and her Masters in Art History from Columbia. She worked as a curator, before becoming a visiting professor at USC, and while teaching in the Public Art Studies program continuing her work as a curator. She has published several books and countless award-winning articles on art and architecture, her specialty being post-war American art. Along with written work, she has put together countless exhibitions as curator at LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago’s MCA and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Find HFF on IG: @helenfrankenthalerfoundation Definitions and more resources on www.declassified-pod.com/episodes/smith & IG @declassified.pod. See you next week!

This week we asked Erick Calderon, founder of ArtBlocks.io: How do NFTs fit into the art world? And have you ever wondered: What exactly is an NFT? What is generative art? How has this alternate mode of expression and investment interacted with the more longstanding institutions and traditions of the art world? What opportunities for inclusion and diversity do they create in the space? Get bona fide answers and advice from Erick on Episode 5 of Declassified. About Erick: Erick Calderon is a leader in the exploding field of digital art and NFTs and the founder of ArtBlocks.io, a decentralized marketplace for generative art. Under a year since its founding in 2020, Art Blocks has become one of the most respected, reliable, and cutting edge marketplaces of its kind. Business is booming - an ArtNews article reported that on August 23, Art Blocks had a peak selling day where $69 million in transactions occurred. In a series of smart moves, Art Blocks has settled into its role as an accessible, inclusive, reasonable platform for exchange. Erick and his team have fostered a healthy and strong community of buyers, sellers, and artists who share the same vision and continue to innovate and launch projects that bring people of all backgrounds and interests into this rapidly evolving space. Find ArtBlocks.io on IG: @artblocks_io Definitions and more resources on www.declassified-pod.com/episodes/calderon & IG @declassified.pod. See you next week!

This week we asked Emma Webster, contemporary artist: What is it like to be an artist today? And have you ever wondered: What kinds of opportunities exist for artists today that didn’t five years ago? And what responsibility comes with this, if any? What kinds of pressures do the up-and-coming artists of 2022 feel? How does an artist interface with the market? Their clients? Trends and demand? Must they? Get bona fide answers and advice (+special insight on her practice) from Emma on Episode 4 of Declassified. About Emma: Emma is an artist whose works explore landscape, lighting systems, theatrics and nature in a completely individual and revolutionary way. She uses technology like VR imaging to bring her imagined worlds to life, making her own laws of physics and light that she then paints with her characteristically rich color palettes. She’s had a wonderfully busy 2021 with a smash hit solo show in New York City at Alexander Berggruen and another last Winter at Stems Gallery in Brussels. She has taken part in several residency programs and published a book in 2021 titled Lonescape: Green, Painting, & Mourning Reality. Emma received her BA in Art Practice from Stanford and her MFA from Yale, and she currently lives and works in LA. Find her on IG: @emma_webstah Definitions and more resources on www.declassified-pod.com/episodes/webster & IG @declassified.pod. See you next week!

Today we asked Naima J. Keith, VP of Education and Public Programs at LACMA: How can art educate? And have you ever wondered: How do museums fit into our cultural ecosystem? What purpose do they serve for community members? What purpose should they serve? And what is at stake? Who works in each department of a museum? What is each role’s set of responsibilities? What kinds of strategies do curators & museum educators employ to facilitate education through art? How do these approaches differ? Get bona fide answers and advice from Naima on Episode 2 of Declassified. About Naima: Naima currently works as the Vice President of Education and Public Programs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Before LACMA, Naima worked as Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the California African American Museum in LA and received the David C. Driskell Prize in 2017 for her contributions to the field of African American Art History. Naima also worked for several years as a curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Naima has written extensively for publications like Art Forum, Art News and worked as co-artistic director for this year’s installment of the Prospect New Orleans triennal. She received her Bachelor's degree from Spelman College and her Masters from UCLA, both in Art History. Find her on IG: @naimajoy Definitions and more resources on www.declassified-pod.com/episodes/keith & IG @declassified.pod. See you next week!