Art Dad Doesn't Like

Jan Brueghel the Elder, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Hendrick van Steenwyck, and Hieronymous Bosch; it's not uncommon for all these masters, all closely connected, to be mentioned in the same breath. But what about Raqib Shaw? This week, we explore how Shaw - born in Calcutta and now based in London - is connected to these Flemish and Dutch painters of the 16th century. We chat about being as ri...

To celebrate Mother's Day in Australia on Sunday, this week we have a very special guest... Dad and Lizzie compete to win Mum's affection by convincing her that we have presented her with the best art she doesn't like. From sinister(?) spiders by Louise Bourgeois to a plague-ridden medieval fresco, join us as we celebrate Veronica with some choice artworks. See images here !

Joseph Marr makes lickable sugar sculptures, but are they likeable ? This week we talk about sugar! From Renaissance Italy to Berghain today, what makes sugar sculptures special? What will Dad make of these highly Instagrammable creations? And most importantly, does he know the key to getting into Berghain? See images here ! And find us on Instagram @artdadpod . - Music from Uppbeat (free for Crea...

A small child sits in her bedroom with a hyper-realistic sloth and a peacock: Is this a nightmare or a pyjama party with welcome guests? This week we're discussing the weird (and according to Dad, not so wonderful) visual world of Australian artist Patricia Piccinini. From a eulogy for a deep sea fish, to a pig-based organ farm, to an orangutan posing in the style of a Mother and child, Piccin...

From Kandinsky cats to surrealist dreamscapes, this week we celebrate half a year of Art Dad Doesn't Like with an AI art special! We collaborate with AI to create images riffing off art history to test each other's knowledge and taste. See images on our Instagram @artdadpod !

A Roman warship, a tiger, a futuristic scarecrow and (worst of all) references to Dalí   - will this week's artwork prove too much for Dad? This week we dig deeply into Indian artist Prabhakar Pachpute's work Unfolding of the Remains-II which was on display at the 2022 Venice Biennale. The real test for the work, however, is whether Dad would display it on his walls. See images here ! Chec...

Oleg Kulik is known for provoking art world debates - from stopping traffic during performances, to biting a man when he was pretending to be a dog, the Ukraine-born artist loves to push boundaries. He's certainly in the dog house in the eyes of the Russian state, which deemed his recent sculpture The Big Mother a mockery of The Motherland Calls , a statue commemorating the Battle of Stalingra...

Houston, Dad has a problem! This week we’re going to the moon with Jeff Koons, as we discuss his Moon Phases project. From metal balloon animals to collaborations with NASA, Koons has never shied away from the spotlight, but is this foray into space exploration a reflection on humanity, or on the artist himself? See images here !   Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/jonn...

Could your rental lease be a piece of art? This week we discuss Mao Tongqiang's Leaseholds (2016), an installation of 500 Chinese land title deeds from the Qing Dynasty to the 1970s. Bureaucratic, and yet emotive, these documents represent the many manifestations of China's land policies across time. But will Dad accept administrative documents as art? Listen now! See images here !   Music...

This week we discuss an eerie, ear-y artwork: Australian performance artist Stelarc’s Third Ear. From experimental mice to cyborgs, we discuss how Stelarc’s work explores the technological and evolutionary limits of the human body. See images here ! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/jonny-boyle/tres-french License code: WCBAFRBTLK0C1KMI

In honour of International Women's Day, this week we are talking about Carolee Schneemann's Meat Joy! A flurry of fish, meat, paint and bodies, Meat Joy is a key work by this iconic feminist artist. Bursting with the spirit of the sixties, Meat Joy is meant to be a celebration of flesh as material but was and remains a controversial work. Despite featuring meat, it doesn't look like this work will...

The steaks (that’s right) are high this week as we talk about one of Dad’s favourite topics: meat. Starting with Rembrandt’s Slaughtered Ox, we dig into four beefy artworks to see if we can overcome Dad’s distaste for modern art. We cover Soutine (the typical starving artist), (Francis) Bacon, and the prettiest carcasses you’ve ever seen. See images here ! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):...

Would you drink from a fur-lined teacup? Or does it sound like the stuff of nightmares? This week we take a look at Meret Oppenheim’s surrealist piece, Breakfast in Fur : a teacup, saucer and spoon cloaked in the fur of a Chinese gazelle. To uncover the history behind this object, we discuss the usual suspects (Freud, Picasso), being chased by lions and how to keep your lungs healthy. See images h...

Waxy cannonballs, art that makes itself, and the world’s 'blackest' black material: This week we are discussing the work of Anish Kapoor! We cover the difficulties of firing a cannon, how architectural space can affect a work of art, and spiteful contractual clauses. See images here !  Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/jonny-boyle/tres-french License code: WCBAFRBT...

Is the pen mightier than the sword? Is the typewriter mightier than the AK-47? This week we’re discussing Ravi Amar Zupa’s sculpture, Underwood MTSMG-US . Shots are fired as we discuss freedom of speech, Nerf gun battles, sculptural forms, and Kalashnikov’s regrets. See images here ! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/jonny-boyle/tres-french License code: WCBAFRBTLK0C1KM...

Did you have a Neopet? If you’ve only just remembered it now, it’s likely you haven’t fed it since 2005, and it may be too late to visit it. This week we are examining Bunny Rogers’ Techo Statue (2021), which pays homage to our cute, digital friends of the early 2000s. We discuss why this statue might be both nostalgia-inducing and creepy, we discuss basilisks, Tamagotchis and gothic sculpture. Se...

January 26 in Australia is Invasion Day – the date on which in 1788 the First Fleet landed. This date is officially ‘Australia Day’, but there is a growing campaign to change the date of Australia’s national day. This week, we are discussing Hey Bros by Ian Waldron, a work which engages directly with issues of Indigenous sovereignty, appropriation, and British colonialism. Exploring these issues,...

Are you feeling sleepy? This week we're feeling dreamy as we delve into the pre-Raphaelites. This week's work is Hans Op de Beeck’s sculpture, My bed a raft, the room the sea, and then I laughed some gloom in me.  Evoking John Everett Millais’ Ophelia , this work is rich in art historical and literary symbolism. Of course, some of the references that Dad finds – to The Matrix and Elvis – may...

This week we exercise our gift of the gab as we discuss a spooky Irish egg, superstitions and the worst gift to buy a child. Our artwork this week is Seán Hannan’s LUCK (2022) – a cursed egg currently installed at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Tune in to find out if we can overcome Dad’s fears of contemporary art and curses in one fell swoop. See images here ! Music from Uppbeat (free for Cre...

This week, Dad is outraged that fog can be considered an artwork! We discuss “Foggy Wake in a Desert: An Ecosphere”, more commonly known as the Fog Sculpture, created by Fujiko Nakaya. We chat about unintentional art experiences, avoiding leopards at the Botanical Gardens, and misty metaphors in Apocalypse Now . See images here ! - Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/jonn...

Frothy pastels, lush grottos and decadent décor: that’s right, this week we are talking about the Rococo! Flora Yukhnovich’s ebullient works overflow with the spirit of the 18th century, bringing the visual language of the Rococo into the modern day. We discuss frolicking aristocrats, Mean Girls and millennial pink before Dad offers some suggestions about how to ring in the new year. See images he...

This week we look at a true artistic freak in the (Excel) sheets, Oleksiy Sai! Dad peers down from his ivory tower into the world of professional services as we discuss how the very worst part of the Microsoft Office suite can be used for something creative (other than creative accounting)! Alongside Sai's work, we discuss creepy vegetable face portraits from the Renaissance, and luminous stained...

What do tennis whites have to do with Zimbabwean politics? Why is Dr Harris scared of sculptures? And what does he have in common with Leonardo di Caprio? This episode, hidden connections abound as we discuss Zimbabwean artist Tawanda Takura’s Hymn for the Unjust . See images of the work here ! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/jonny-boyle/tres-french License code: WCBA...

This episode we talk about getting drunk in Sicily, Shakespeare and fantastical lies, all in the pursuit of understanding Damien Hirst’s Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable . Dad reveals his past as a gentleman archaeologist as we examine the bizarre objects in Hirst’s 2017 exhibition, and consider whether Lizzie actually likes this particular work of contemporary art. See photos here ! M...

This episode we discuss an empty exhibition space! For an episode about nothing, there is a lot to talk about, as we address Maria Eichhorn’s Relocating a Structure at the German Pavilion of the Venice Biennale. Dad critiques what he says looks like a construction site, and offers thoughts on everything from fascists to the art of writing thank-you notes. See images of Relocating a Structure here...