Pass/Fail/Incomplete

Well, folks, it’s that time again. What time? Election time! And if you’re like us, you’re feeling pretty tense about it, trying to suppress that sinking feeling and wondering what you can do. Join Oliver and Peter as we regroup with a timely political episode to discuss the presidential election and some pragmatic solutions and strategies in the weeks before November 5th. We talk to Megan Matson...

Well, what a difference a decade makes! Does it make one wiser? More insightful? More curious about the world? Perhaps. And, for all these reasons as well as those that defy reason itself, we decided to relaunch our podcast, Pass/Fail/Incomplete. Join our intrepid omni-curious hosts, Oliver Wasow and Peter Rostovsky as they talk with "experts" from the arts and other passion-driven professions in...

Well folks you asked for it. PFI is back just after the holidays and in time for Valentine’s Day. Double the fun, double the guests and 2/3rds the sound quality –because we’re on the road, and well, we’re still figuring things out. Join us for this very special holiday/Valentine’s Day ‘couples segment’ with none other than artist Nina Katchadourian and her partner, publisher of Cabinet magazine, S...

If, while resting on a summer afternoon, you follow with your eyes a mountain range on the horizon or a branch which casts its shadow over you, you might wonder: Hey how does photography get curated in major museums? Or maybe, what is the proper way to peal a banana? Well, wonder no more, but go down the rabbit hole with this photography in the age of social media discussion featuring none other t...

Interested in Performance Art, the secret life of characters and art that doesn’t reveal itself as art? Well you’re in luck. Join us for this special ‘secret’ podcast as we sit down with none other than artist, writer, David Levine who talks to us about his life as a lonely teenager growing up in New York, his family’s close ties to Rothko, authenticity in the digital age and all things Performanc...

PFI is more than just the visual arts, folks, and today’s theme is fiction. For this episode, we sit down with the brilliant Lebanese-American writer Rabih Alameddine, a man with more prestigious award nominations than Susan Lucci and a past almost certainly as interesting. Rabih shares stories from his much travelled international childhood and expounds on his creative endeavors which run the gam...

Ok painting nerds, we’ve got what you’ve been waiting for. The theme of this episode is Painting as we sit down with the Iranian-born painter, Kamrooz Aram. Kamrooz talks to us about his youthful bad boy days, growing up in Iran, his passion for music and the pivotal differences between abstraction, ornament and décor. Join us for this thoughtful and engaging conversation as we delve into the myst...

Join us for this very belated but engaging episode, where our guest is Mark Alice Durant: photographer, performance artist, musician, blogger and founder of the photography website Saint Lucy. We talk to Mark about the changing role of photography in an increasingly digital world and what it means to have meaningful encounters with images in a world overloaded with images. Oliver waxes poetically,...

Prepare to be charmed, but also to cringe a little. The theme of this episode is “delicate negotiation”; sub-theme: “Jews,” and also “light within the darkness.” Did we also mention that this is a very belated Christmas episode? For this special PFI, our guest is artist, film-maker, Alix Lambert. Alix talks to us about her various projects that include the “Mark of Cain” (a documentary filmed insi...

Critique may be a tired and especially urgent term these days. It’s also the theme of this episode (with anxiety as the sub-theme). Our special guest is the scurrilous artist-provocateur, William Powhida, who for many years made it his business to critique the business of the art world. We’ll talk to Bill about his past as well as his concerns and efforts to reform the financial asymmetries and da...

Identity Crisis is the theme and adult acne the leitmotif of this episode featuring painter, writer and co-editor of Paper Monument, Dushko Petrovich. Dushko talks to us about his search for his identity from Toledo Ohio to Serbia, while Peter reluctantly shares some family details as well. Tune in on this conversation where painting, writing, humor and sports are all topics of discussion. As a bo...

The theme of this episode is crossovers and the task of straddling diverse audiences. For this complex and thorny subject, we are joined by none other than Sara Reisman, independent curator and Director of the New York City Percent for Art Program. Sara talks to us about the delicate negotiation involved in commissioning public art for the city, her childhood and utopian upbringing, and last but n...

Join us for episode two–the meta-episode–with New York Times critic and former Bowery Electric band member, Martha Schwendener. Martha talks to us about politics, growing up in Michigan, Occupy, the travails of criticism and her journey out of, and back into the academy. Since it’s the meta-episode, it packs plenty of surprises and artistic flourishes. And yes, there are special guests. (Recorded...

Listen to our inaugural episode with artist, Matthew Weinstein, where we discuss Matthew’s upbringing, interest in craft, foray into Hollywood, and of course, singing fish. Plus, Peter and Oliver learn about each other, the WSVA studio, and the fine art of bantering. (Recorded on 9/24/14) For more on Matthew’s work, see: http://www.matthewweinstein.com/ Season 1 Produced by Oliver Wasow and Peter...