Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages

The Bay was painted in 1963 as Frankenthaler had refined her soak and stain process. While Mountains and Sea was made with diluted oil paints, The Bay is acrylic on unprimed canvas. She had found that using acrylics gave her greater control over the viscosity or how fluid the paint was. As I look at The Bay, the title indicates a landscape and the brightness, the organic shapes of blue and green give me a sense of a Bay, but it feels like it is more about a happy, contented sort of tone. There is movement, but it seems gentle like sitting out on a boat drifting in calm waters. The Bay represents a different sort of take on Abstract Expressionism. While many followed Jackson Pollock’s and Willem de Kooning’s aggressive and agsty style, Helen Frankenthaler’s color fields are more gentle and at peace. Her work was a breath of fresh air showing that painting could reduce art to fundamental elements in line with esoteric modernist philosophy and still be beautiful and joyous.  Related episodes: ⁠Jackson Pollock⁠ ⁠Diego Rivera This is an encore presentation. Every January/February, I release daily episodes to refresh everyone's memory on the 64 artists and artworks that will be included in my Arts Madness Tournament held in March. While most of these daily episodes will be reruns, I will continue publishing new episodes on Mondays.  Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From humble beginnings in Recife, Brazil, to international acclaim in Miami, Florida, Romero Britto has redefined the boundaries of contemporary pop art. Born in 1963, Britto developed a signature style known as Neo-pop Cubism, blending the fractured geometric perspectives of Picasso with the vibrant, saturated color palettes of Matisse. His career launched into the stratosphere in 1989 following a collaboration with Absolut Vodka, placing him in the company of icons like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. Beyond the gallery, Britto has democratized art through extensive licensing and philanthropy, serving on the boards of organizations like Best Buddies International. A closer look at his 2004 work, Mona Cat, reveals how his optimistic, bold aesthetic playfully reinterprets art history, transforming Da Vinci’s masterpiece into a colorful, accessible symbol of joy. Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 challenges throughout her career. However, she remained committed to her vision and continued to create art that pushed boundaries. Late in her life, she finally received the recognition she deserved, with a major retrospective at the Tate Modern in 2013 solidifying her place in the history of modern art. This is an encore presentation. Every January/February, I release daily episodes to refresh everyone's memory on the 64 artists and artworks that will be included in my Arts Madness Tournament held in March. While most of these daily episodes will be reruns, I will continue publishing new episodes on Mondays.  Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ibrahim El-Salahi is a pivotal figure in Sudanese and African modernism. Born in 1930 in Omdurman, Sudan, El-salahi's artistic journey began with the study of calligraphy under his father. After formal art training in Khartoum and at London's Slade School of Fine Art, he developed a unique visual language that blended Western modernist styles like Cubism and Surrealism with his Islamic and African heritage. This innovative approach, which often incorporated calligraphic forms and earthy tones inspired by the Sudanese landscape, was central to the modernist art movement known as the Khartoum School. His wrongful imprisonment in 1975 profoundly influenced his work, leading to the creation of his "Prison Notebook." His significant contributions to the art world are highlighted by his 2013 retrospective at the Tate Modern, the first for an African artist, and the acquisition of his monumental work, "The Genealogies of Trees," by New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The Inevitable is a large-scale black and white work, created during a period of personal grief and political turmoil in Sudan. The piece showcases his signature style, combining the fractured forms of Cubism, the dreamlike qualities of Surrealism, and the expressive lines of Arabic calligraphy to create a dense, chaotic, and emotionally charged composition. The Inevitable stands as a testament to El-salahi's ability to transform personal and national trauma into a universal statement on the enduring resilience of the human spirit. This is an encore presentation. Every January/February, I release daily episodes to refresh everyone's memory on the 64 artists and artworks that will be included in my Arts Madness Tournament held in March. While most of these daily episodes will be reruns, I will continue publishing new episodes on Mondays.  Check out my other podcasts ⁠ Fun Facts Daily⁠⁠ | Art Smart⁠ |⁠ Rainbow Puppy Science Lab⁠ Who ARTed is an⁠ Airwave Media⁠ Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: ⁠[email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal, 1887-1985) was a prominent Russian-French modern artist whose life spanned nearly a century of dramatic historical change. Originating from a Hasidic Jewish community near Vitebsk, Russian Empire (now Belarus), Chagall pursued art studies in St. Petersburg before immersing himself in the Paris art scene from 1911-1914. There, he absorbed influences from Cubism and Fauvism, blending them with his unique heritage of Russian folklore and personal memories to forge his signature dreamlike style. Trapped in Russia by World War I, he married his muse, Bella Rosenfeld, and briefly served as Commissar of Arts in Vitebsk after the Revolution. Chagall later returned to Paris, only to flee Nazi persecution during World War II, finding refuge in the United States where Bella tragically died. Returning to France after the war, he married Valentina "Vava" Brodsky and embarked on a prolific late career, expanding into ceramics, sculpture, and notably, magnificent stained glass works, continuing to create until his death at 97. This is an encore presentation. Every January/February, I release daily episodes to refresh everyone's memory on the 64 artists and artworks that will be included in my Arts Madness Tournament held in March. While most of these daily episodes will be reruns, I will continue publishing new episodes on Mondays.  Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices