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PODCAST

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages

Who Arted is art history and art education for everyone. While most art history podcasts focus on the traditional "fine art" we see in museums around the world, Who ARTed celebrates art in all of its forms and in terms anyone can understand. Each episode tells the story of a different artist and artwork including the traditional big names like Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol along with lesser-known artists working in such diverse media as video game design, dance, the culinary arts,

arts visual arts

All Episodes

21:47

Bridget Riley | Movement in Squares

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/27

Bridget Riley, born in London in 1931, is a prominent figure in the Op Art movement. Early life experiences, including wartime evacuation to Cornwall and exposure to nature's patterns, influenced her artistic sensibilities. Her style evolved with influences from Seurat, Pollock, and Balla. Riley's breakthrough came in the 1960s with black and white geometric paintings like "Fall" and "Current," which created illusions of movement and depth. Her work gained international recognition through

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12:41

Frida Kahlo | The Two Fridas

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/26

Frida Kahlo was a painter in the early 20th century associated with the Surrealist movement. While she had some moderate success as a painter during her lifetime, her fame grew in the decades after her passing. Today she is among the most popular figures in art history. She is best known for her self-portraits that give viewers a sense of her pain but more importantly, her strength.Arts Madness 2025 Season 11 is all about my Arts Madness Tournament. Once again, I hope you will weigh in on your

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8:23

Auguste Rodin | The Burghers of Calais

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/25

Today's mini-episode is about Auguste Rodin and his sculpture of The Burghers of Calais. The story behind the piece is an inspiring tale that defines courage. During the Hundred Years' War, the English had the city of Calais surrounded. As the days went on and the French army was unable to break the siege, the townspeople were forced to begin negotiating terms of surrender. They were told the town would be spared if 6 burghers (a burgher was a title, so these were the town leaders) would sacrifice

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7:19

The Aztec Sun Stone or The Calendar Stone

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/24

The Aztec Sun Stone, also known as the Calendar Stone, is a large, round stone carving that represents Aztec mythology and cosmology. It depicts the five consecutive worlds of the sun, with the date 13 Reed marking the start of the fifth and final sun. It was created in the 15th century and is about 3 and a half meters wide, almost a meter thick, and weighs 25 tons. Learn more about the history and symbolism of this famous Aztec piece. Arts Madness 2025 Season 11 is all about my Arts Madness

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10:20

Jean-Michel Basquiat | Horn Players

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/23

Jean-Michel Basquiat has created some of the most highly valued American paintings ever to go on auction. Basquiat sought to remake art history in his image, and I would say he was successful. His triptych, Horn Players, is one of the artworks required for the AP Art History curriculum studied by American high school students. In the middle of February 1981, a group exhibition opened at P.S.1 in New York. The show featured over a hundred different artists from the underground art scene. There were

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8:41

The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead | The Judgment...

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/22

This mini episode is about The Book of the Dead, a collection of funerary texts from ancient Egypt. To better understand the collection as well as the culture and mythology behind these works, I looked a little bit at the page showing the judgment of Hunefer, a high-ranking scribe and priest.Arts Madness 2025 Season 11 is all about my Arts Madness Tournament. Once again, I hope you will weigh in on your favorite artists/artworks as we go from 64 down to 1. For this year’s tournament, I put 32

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8:35

Claude Monet | The Gare Saint Lazare

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/21

Claude Monet loved his garden and made about 250 paintings of water lilies. He and his Impressionist contemporaries were focused on color, light, and how our eyes perceive the world, but I would say technology was also central to the development. In his paintings of the train station, The Gare Saint Lazare, Monet gives us a glimpse of iron and glass station filled with the smoke of the steam engines. One critic wrote, “Unfortunately thick smoke escaping from the canvas prevented our seeing the six

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19:11

Saloua Raouda Choucair | Interform

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/20

Saloua Raouda Choucair was a pioneer of abstract art born in Beirut in 1916. Despite initial discouragement, she pursued her passion for art, studying in Paris and developing a unique style that blended Western modernism with Islamic artistic traditions. Her work, characterized by geometric forms and a sense of dynamic movement, explored the underlying structures of existence and the concept of infinity. Choucair's art was often met with confusion and misunderstanding, and she faced numerous

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10:15

Johannes Vermeer | Woman Holding a Balance

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/19

Johannes Vermeer created stunning works and he is widely celebrated as one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age. This painting, Woman Holding a Balance is a work intended to encourage temperance and moderation being mindful that divine judgment is looming in the end. Related episodes: The Unbelievable Story of Han van Meegeren Jan van Eyck | The Arnolfini Portrait Arts Madness 2025 Season 11 is all about my Arts Madness Tournament. Once again, I hope you will weigh in on your favorite

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7:41

The Moai of Rapa Nui

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/18

Today's mini episode is about the Moai statues of Rapa Nui, commonly referred to as Easter Island. The purpose of the Moai remains a mystery, but one theory suggests they represented ancestors and were placed facing inland to watch over villages. Despite their size and detail, many Moai were damaged by natural events and human activity. The remaining Moai are a testament to the Rapa Nui people's skill and creativity, and they continue to inspire awe and wonder. Arts Madness 2025 Season 11 is all

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11:12

Meret Oppenheim | Object (Luncheon in Fur)

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/17

In 1936, Meret Oppenheim sat down in a cafe with Pablo Picasso and Dora Maar. Picasso took note of Oppenheim's bracelet and commented that anything could be wrapped in fur. Meret replied "even this tea cup" and thus found inspiration for one of the greatest Surrealist sculptures of all time. Other episodes for to explore: Meret Oppenheim | Object (full episode featuring Janet Taylor from The Art of Education University) Marcel Duchamp Pablo Picasso Art Smart: Surrealism Arts Madness

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12:47

Frank Gehry | Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/16

Modernists said, “form follows function” focusing on how people will use a space, but Gehry focuses on how people will react to the space. His goal is to inspire, to make them feel. He talks about the challenge of creating feeling with inert materials. He says it is the movement that brings out a feeling.With his design for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, rather than simply designing a building to house a collection of some of the world’s most beautiful and inspiring art, Gehry made the

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15:22

Caravaggio | The Calling of Saint Matthew

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/15

Michelangelo Merisi, born in 1571 amidst the darkness of the plague, would come to be known not by his christened name but by the name of his birthplace – Caravaggio. Orphaned young, the specter of loss would forever paint itself onto the canvas of his life. Yet, from this darkness, a genius of light and shadow would emerge, revolutionizing the art world with his raw and dramatic style. While controversial in some circles, this mix of gritty realism and the divine was exactly what the Catholic

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11:45

Katsushika Hokusai | The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/14

Katsushika Hokusai is best known for The Great Wave off Kanagawa, part of his series of 36 Views of Mount Fuji. His family was in the mirror business, but Hokusai showed a proclivity for art starting at a young age. When he was 14 he started apprenticing as a wood carver. He spent 4 years carving wood blocks to use as stamps for printmaking. He then went on to study under artists to produce his own designs. His first prints were of actors from the Kabuki theater in 1779. Some years later, he would

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20:29

Ansel Adams | Monolith, the Face of Half Dome

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/13

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was an iconic American photographer renowned for his dramatic black and white landscapes, particularly of Yosemite National Park. His distinctive style, characterized by sharp focus, expansive tonal range, and masterful composition, was shaped by his early passion for music, his deep connection with nature, and his innovative approach to photography. Adams co-founded Group f/64, advocating for "straight photography," and developed the Zone System, a precise technique for

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16:53

The Alexander Mosaic in the House of Faun, Pompeii

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/12

The Alexander Mosaic, also known as the Battle of Issus Mosaic, is a masterpiece of ancient Roman artistry that continues to captivate viewers with its detailed depiction of a pivotal moment in history. Unearthed in the House of the Faun in Pompeii, this intricate mosaic offers a glimpse into the military prowess, political ambition, and cultural exchange of the ancient world. The mosaic captures the dramatic clash between Alexander the Great of Macedon and Darius III of Persia in the Battle of

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6:11

Shiva Nataraja |Shiva as Lord of the Dance

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/11

In this depiction of Shiva we see the natural rhythms to everything in the cosmos. Birth and death, creation and destruction are simply phases all things will go through. In this bronze work from 11th century India during the Chola period, we see Shiva in a dancing pose. He is surrounded by a ring of flames. Fire is an interesting force as it can be tremendously destructive and dangerous, but simultaneously if it is handled properly, fire can provide warmth and light. As the flames dance, they

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9:38

Diego Velazquez | Las Meninas

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/10

Diego Velazques was one of the most significant painters of Spain's Golden Age in the 17th century. He was a master of both portraiture and genre painting, Las Meninas is a sort of mix of both. We see people who seem rather formally dressed by today’s standards, but the subject is also, it was a peak behind the curtain of royal life. Withing the work, the first focal point would be the little girl, the infanta margarita, daughter of the king and queen of spain. She is dramatically lit from the side

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10:36

Henri Matisse | Goldfish

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/09

Henri Matisse was born in Northern France on December 31, 1869. His father was a successful grain merchant. In 1887, Henri was well on his way to a successful, respectable career when he went to Paris. He was going to study law, and was working in that arena for a while then at age 20, he had appendicitis. His mom gave him a paint set so he could have something to do while he recovered, and he decided to become an artist.Links: Katsushika Hokusai Vincent van Gogh Henri de Toulouse Lautrec JMW

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11:02

Emily Kame Kngwarreye | Earth's Creation

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages ·

2025/01/08

Emily Kame Kngwarreye was born around 1910, a time when the Aboriginal people were not considered full citizens in their own country. Earth’s Creation is an absolutely massive painting about 9 feet tall and 20 feet wide. She painted it in 1994 when she was around 84 years old. Most biographies will say that she only painted for the last 8 years of her life, but really, she was only painting for Western audiences for that period. She spent her life learning, practicing, and creating in line with the

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