Why'd They Put That In A Museum?

In this final episode of Season 2,  hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss their ongoing topic, “Why did they put that in a museum?” by focusing on an artist who is frequently the subject of this question: Jackson Pollock. They examine his masterpiece 'One: Number 31, 1950' which can be found in New York's Museum of Modern Art. They talk about Pollocks techniques and the community...

Is bigger better when it comes to art? That’s one of the questions that Sarah Lees and Beth Bacon ponder in their discussion of the life and work of Louise Bourgeois. In this episode of Why'd They Put That in a Museum? , hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees focus on the sculpture Maman , an enormous metal sculpture of a spider. Bourgeois was in her 70s and 80’s when she increased the scale of her...

This is the second episode of a two-part discussion of the Why'd They Put That In A Museum podcast. Beth Bacon, Sarah Lees, and guest speaker Christina Burke discuss a painting by Lakota artist Steven Standing Bear. The artwork is a large-scale painting of the Battle of the Greasy Grass, which is also known as Little Bighorn, or the Custer Battle of June 25th, 1876. (In the first part of this...

In this first episode of a two-part discussion, Beth Bacon, Sarah Lees, and guest speaker Christina Burke, discuss a painting by Lakota artist Steven Standing Bear. The artwork is a large-scale painting of the Battle of the Greasy Grass, which is also known as Little Bighorn, or the Custer Battle of June 25th, 1876. Standing Bear was a participant in this battle as a teenager. He became a fine art...

In this episode of the podcast Why'd They Put That in a Museum, hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees talk about the various elements that enhance the experience of visiting a museum. Museum cafés, movies, and lectures—and even the gift shops! How important are the museum’s offerings around and beyond the exhibits? They highlight themed food recipes inspired by artworks, café designs matching museu...

This episode of “Why They Put That in the Museum,”  is the second part of a 2-part series about the international sensation Yayoi Kusama. (Please see "Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirror Rooms, Part 1," season 2 episode 5 to listen to the first part.) Hosts Sarah Lees and Beth Bacon discuss Yayoi Kusama’s path from being a largely ignored activist artist in her early career to becoming a globa...

Yayoi Kusama is known as one of the most well-known living artists… that is, today she is well known. This is the first part of a 2-part episode that focuses on Kusama;s Infinity Mirror Rooms, particularly 'Infinity Mirror Room—The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away' located at The Broad Museum in Los Angeles.  Today Kusama’s vibrant and playful interactive works seem to be “everywher...

Rembrandt is known  for telling dramatic stories with his art. He often paints his figures in intriguing moods and guises. In his self-portrait, Artist In His Studio, Rembrandt does both, creating a moody, enigmatic story in a very small frame. The main subject in this small painting is the back of an enormous easel. Standing further away is the artist, Rembrandt himself, with brushes in his hands...

The sculpture Bicycle Wheel by Marcel Duchamp is playfully irreverent and deceptively simple. It’s just a rim and a stool. But the concepts behind it are lot more complicated. In the century since it was created, it has become significantly influential in the world of contemporary art. In this episode of Why’d They Put That In A Museum , Sarah Lees and Beth Bacon take the 'Bicycle Wheel'...

The Scream by Edvard Munch is among the world's most recognizable artworks. But how much do you really know about this image of a wavy figure with a scull-like face and wide open mouth? Sarah Lees and Beth Bacon discuss this painting in their podcast, "Why'd They Put That In A Museum." For one thing, The Scream cannot be called " one" of the most recognizable artworks...

In the first episode of season two of Why’d They Put That in a Museum, host Sarah Lees speaks with Beth Bacon about an exhibit of works by contemporary artist Crystal Z. Campbell. Through most of this podcast, Beth is recording while walking around the exhibit at the St. Louis Art Museum. They discuss and array of Campbell's works, including collage-like artworks featuring manila paper, glass...

In this episode of "Why They Put That in a Museum," Beth Bacon, an author and avid museum goer, joins Sarah Lees, a museum curator and researcher, to explore the origins, history, and purposes of museums. They discuss ancient Greek philosophical institutions, the Renaissance patronage of Lorenzo de Medici, and the concept of cabinets of curiosities in the 1600s. They talk about the found...

In this episode of “Why Did They Put That in a Museum?” hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss the photographs of a little known photographer, Lusha Nelson. Nelson’s photos were found in a yard sale. Why’d they put them in a museum? These were not just any old thrifted finds. First, they are stunningly beautiful. Plus, Nelson's photographs include portraits of icons and luminaries like Jesse...

In this episode of 'Why They Put That in a Museum,' hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss the unusual story of Vivian Meier, an unknown nanny whose extraordinary street photography was discovered by chance in an unclaimed storage locker. They discuss the unique and enigmatic nature of her photographs and the very unusual way her body of work came to be known. In fact, none of Meier’s p...

In this episode of 'Why They Put That in a Museum,' hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss a rare 1846 daguerreotype of Dolley Madison recently acquired by National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. Dolley Madison was the wife of the fourth U.S. President, James Madison. What is a daguerreotype? To answer that question, they do a quick overview of early photography and some of the inve...

Beth Bacon visits Richard Serra's 'Joe' and talks with Sarah Lees about her experience while walking around this large steel sculpture. In this episode of 'Why They Put That in a Museum,' Beth and Sarah wrestle with the opposing thoughts and feelings that arise when encountering this enormous steel sculpture located at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis, Missouri. B...

In this episode of Why They Put That in a Museum , Sarah Lees and Beth Bacon discuss a stoneware jar made by Dave The Potter, a skilled enslaved potter from South Carolina. They discuss the inscription on the jar, which is a lighthearted description (dare we say roast?) of people in the town. They also explore other aspects of the jar, such as the clay it was made from, the history of its creation...

In this episode of 'Why'd They Put That in a Museum?' hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss how Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, the Mona Lisa, ended up in the Louvre (hint—it was brought to the Louvre before the Louvre was a museum!). They also talk about the time the Mona Lisa was stolen from the museum and Picasso was accused of the robbery. Beth asks Sarah why art cur...

Sarah Lees, a museum curator, and Beth Bacon, an art enthusiast, co-host a podcast called 'Why Do They Put That in a Museum?' In this episode, talk about the cage crinoline, an undergarment from Victorian England that's currently in London's Victoria and Albert Museum. It's basically the hoop inside the hoop skirts that were popular in the 1860's. No one knows who mad...

In this episode of 'Why'd They Put That in a Museum,' hosts Sarah Lees, a museum curator and researcher, and Beth Bacon, an avid museum goer and children's book author, discuss Faith Ringgold's 'Tar Beach,' which is a part of her 'Woman on a Bridge' series. This colorful work defies categorization. It blends painting, quilting, and storytelling. It’s an...

In this episode of 'Why They Put That in a Museum,' hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees delve into the history and cultural significance of Vincent van Gogh's 'Self Portrait with a Bandaged Ear.' They explore what makes the painting so moving, talk about Van Gogh's life and mental state during its creation, and the pivotal role played by the unsung woman who worked to get...