Pictorial

This week we're diving into the history of Playbill design, with diversions along the way into Pantone codes, gradients, and minimalist graphic design.

Not only does Quinn have no idea what NFTs are, she doesn't understand blockchain or cryptocurrency... at all. Today Betty's giving them a crash course on what Non-Fungible Tokens are, and what they have to do with someone setting a Banksy painting on fire and then selling it for $380,000.

Quinn found a book about internet art published in 2004, and she's really excited about it. Today we're talking about what defined the early net.art movement, and artists like jodi.org and Olia Lialina who pushed the boundaries of what online art could be in 1995.

This week, we're taking one step deeper into the study of abstract art by examining Piet Mondrian. What historical events, religious beliefs, and settings influenced him to develop his famous style of primary color blocks and black lines?

We've talked before about some abstract artists we like: but why is abstract art valued as fine art at all? We take a look at the patterns behind how abstract artists develop their unique styles and the deceptive complexity of their work.

Quinn and Betty dive into the life and work of Elisabetta Sirani, a groundbreaking Italian Baroque painter. Along the way, they discover that they will be dying soon due to lack of marriage, so that's exciting!

Betty and Quinn talk about the art exhibit they visited when they first met, Marta Minujín's Menusunda Reloaded, as well as other experiential art pieces. _This episode was supposed to come out last week, which is why we reference it being the "last episode of 2020." Oops!_

We take a look at the work of contemporary multidisciplinary artist Hank Willis Thomas, especially his massive collaborative political art project For Freedoms.

To celebrate our one year anniversary(!!), we talk about the photography movement Pictorialism.

After the recent vote to change Mississippi's flag, we take a look at the principles of flag design and how we would rank various American and Canadian flags.

After briefly acknowledging the 2020 election, we talk about some fascinating campaign posters throughout American history and explore the development of the iconic Obama "Hope" poster.

As a follow-up to our last episode, we talk about some contemporary Indigenous artists, including Carl Beam and Dyani White Hawk.

We dive into a (very) brief history of Indigenous people in the United States and Canada in order to place contemporary Indigenous artists in context.

Quinn loves to talk about art that can be sent through the mail, and Betty has seen an exhibit about this at the Art Gallery of Ontario, so this just might be the quintessential Pictorial topic. We also look at some major markers in the history of mail as an art movement.

Betty and Quinn talk about the goals of museum architecture and share their favorite examples of creative buildings.

What do art museums look like during COVID-19? Quinn and Betty discuss their recent visits to art museums in their respective cities, the new safety measures in place, and some general tips on how to engage with art.

In the conclusion to a two-part series, Betty and Quinn look into the curator Chaédria LaBouvier and the racism she experienced at the Guggenheim.

In 2019, Chaédria LaBouvier curated the exhibit "Basquiat’s “Defacement”: The Untold Story" at the Guggenheim, centered around Basquiat's response to the 1983 murder of Michael Stewart. In part one of a two-part series, Quinn and Betty focus on Basquiat's work and how his art was presented in the exhibit.

Betty and Quinn dive into the Canadian art icon William Kurelek: his upbringing in a Ukrainian immigrant family, the mental illness that affected his life and art, and why he represents a part of Canada.

Ponders from the Accession podcast joins Quinn and Betty to talk all things art and design in Animal Crossing: Redd, the museum, custom clothes, and why we love this pastel world so much. Quinn shares some design short-cuts, Ponders explains the hopeful metaphor they've found in the game, and Betty is thoroughly convinced she needs to buy a Switch.

Powerful art museums are full of art and artifacts stolen from all over the world. Betty and Quinn examine some of the most famous stolen pieces of art that reside in the British Museum, looking at how they were looted and why the British Museum continues to hold them despite calls for repatriation.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were an iconic, revolutionary, and troubled couple. Quinn and Betty dig into their history as a couple, Kahlo's visceral art depicting her experience, and their ongoing legacy.

Betty and Quinn discuss the famously anonymous graffiti artist Banksy. Is he overrated? Hypocritical? Brilliantly subversive? They puzzle out their thoughts on his complicated public image by examining several prominent events, including Dismaland and the 2018 shredding of one of his paintings.

Quinn and Betty talk to The Art Assignment's Sarah Urist Green about about her new book, "You Are an Artist: Assignments to Spark Creation." Along the way they discuss about why art history matters, translating contemporary artwork into accessible assignments, and how to get people out of their own heads and into the creative process.

Why do we like abstract squares so much? Betty and Quinn attempt to answer that question by examining color field painting and examples of rectangles throughout modern art history.