State Of The Art

Welcome to a world of explosive color and convoluted bodies, where pleasure-seekers come adorned with halos and bodies are shamelessly explored and shared. This is the art of Uncle Reezy aka Marissa Kelling. In this episode, guest host MegZany speaks with self-taught artist, Kelling who goes by Uncle Reezy on Instagram. Reezy's drawings unabashedly depict individuals and groups engaged in various acts of pleasure from playfully making out to masturbation and threesomes. Together, they discuss toeing the line between sex positivity and objectification, the inspiration behind Reezy's work, and how Reezy came to champion sexuality in her illustrations. Follow her @Uncle.Reezy

MegZany kicks-off her month-long exploration of sex positivity with Amanda Micallef, co-founder and president of Arsenic, a media group focused on embracing sexuality and empowering women in the industry. Together, they discuss Arsenic's mission, how they're championing sexuality, the affects social media has had on the movement, and the backlash sex positivity faces amongst both men and women. **Things to Note** The name "Billy" comes up in this conversation, referencing Billy Hawkins, co-founder at Arsenic. -About Amanda Micallef- Amanda Micallef was inspired to co-found Arsenic because of her strong sex-positive feminism beliefs. Arsenic began as a community of female models where Amanda put the editorial power in the hands of the women themselves. Arsenic, since expanded into music, fine art, events, television, and beyond. Before founding Arsenic, Amanda spent 12 years as a producer of over 20 films, music video, and commercial productions, where she was responsible for all aspects of projects from inception through distribution.  You can learn more about Arsenic here Or Follow them: On IG @Arsenic @ArsenicGallery @ArsenicAudio On Snap @ArsenicTV https://www.weareelemental.co/

This month we welcome guest host, MegZany who will be taking our mobile recording studio for a fierce ride bringing you a fantastic lineup of women artist's embracing sex positivity at the core of their work. Before we drop her first episode this Thursday (March 7, 2019), Andrew picks Meg's brain about her work & the direction of this month's theme.

State of the Art host, Andrew Herman, returns to the podcast to unpack February 2019's theme, "The Black Creative," explored and produced by guest host, Tre Borden. Together they discuss inclusivity on platforms, how we (SOTA) and others can improve our approach and expand that dialogue, Tre's takeaways and the moments he found most resonant in the interviews, and how each artist brought a different perspective and served as a reminder that, yes, these are all black experiences but they're all uniquely individual. Tre also shares how he became involved in the arts and the conversations he aims to inspire through his projections. Thank you Tre for being our very first guest host on State of the Art Podcast. Guest hosting is a new project we're exploring on SOTA in 2019 as part of our initiative to be more inclusive, bring on diverse voices better suited to discuss certain topics, and to build community. If you are interested in guest hosting or have a theme suggestion, please comment on our Instagram @StateoftheArt.

In this episode of The Black Creative, Tre speaks with multidisciplinary artist, Martin Alexander Spratlen Etem about his experiences growing up as a mixed-race person, his journey into embracing his full-name and his identity, his creative practice, and how he has navigated the fine art world. -About Martin Alexander Spratlen Etem- Martin Etem is a multidisciplinary artist using drawing, painting, and sculpture to survey modern society’s ideologies and sociology. Influenced by past experiences and imagination, Etem recontextualizes art history to create a visual language that embodies both a world view and personal narrative by calling attention to race, gender, value, and beauty. Learn more at https://mase-studio.tumblr.com/ Or Follow him @Mase_Studio

In this episode, Tre Borden speaks with artist, Leila Weefur, whose discussion of black identity is at the center of her work and who is helping to build collectives and spaces in the Bay Area. Together, Tre and Leila ruminate on the complexities of black identity, how it is defined, for whom and by whom. This episode also dives into the double edged sword that is Black History month, and discusses Leila’s upcoming solo-show, Between Beauty & Horror, opening Friday, February 15, 2019 at Aggregate Space Gallery in Oakland. **Things to Note** ~22-27:30 - When discussing institutional representation and minoritarian artists, Leila Weefur quotes Gelare Khoshgozaran  Referenced Spaces & Literature:Wolfman BooksBetti Ono GallerySpirithaus GalleryThe Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman -About Leila Weefur- Leila Weefur (She/They/He) is an artist, writer, and curator who lives and works in Oakland, CA. She received her MFA from Mills College. Weefur tackles the complexities of phenomenological Blackness through video, installation, printmaking, and lecture-performances. Using materials and visual gestures to access the tactile memory, she explores the abject, the sensual and the nuances found in the social interactions and language with which our bodies have to negotiate space. She is a recipient of the Hung Liu award, the Murphy & Cadogan award, and the Walter & Elise Haas Creative Work Fund. Weefur has worked with local and national institutions including SFMOMA, Southern Exposure, The Wattis, and Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and Smack Mellon in Brooklyn, New York. Weefur is the Audio/Video, Editor In Chief at Art Practical and a member of The Black Aesthetic. Learn more about Leila Weefur by visiting www.leilaweefur.com or Follow her @SpikeLeila

Guest host, Tre Borden, launches his four part series, The Black Creative, with artist Jessa Ciel. Together they discuss Jessa's definition of an artist, what a black artist’ role is in society, what it was like for Jessa to navigate Cranbrook, her experience of making art post MFA, and how her identity factors into her response to our current social and political moment. The Black Creative theme aims to offer a glimpse into the art world from the viewpoint of a black person and offer some commentary on inclusivity and how one tries to navigate space as a black artist. -About Jessa Ciel- Jessa Ciel is a video and still artist, filmmaker, and creative director. Ciel is the creator/host of new podcast: Black Art School Graduates. She was the creative director and curator of the 10-week projection installation BEACON: Sacramento. Ciel has shown artwork at the Cranbrook Museum in Bloomfield Hills, MI; the Crocker Museum in Sacramento, CA; and a number of galleries on the West and East Coasts. Her art works to  trigger empathy in relation to womanhood, charged racial relations in America, land, and personal grief. She often incorporates text, audio, video, photography, and installation to create a mixed-media "setting." Ciel is also a filmmaker who directed the short film, "Like Home" in 2018, and worked on the Oscar-nominated film LadyBird. She has an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BA from Cal State LA. You can learn more about Jessa Ciel at www.iamciel.com or follow her @ArtisCiel

Andrew Herman introduces this month's theme and special guest host, Tre Borden.

Continuing our exploration into the world of "Selfie Palaces," in this episode we speak with Albie Hueston, Creative Director behind Refinery29's hugely popular installation, 29Rooms. 29Rooms first emerged in 2015 as an immersive story-telling experience intended to spark conversations addressing current events with the aim of disrupting pop-culture. As one of the original immersive art experiences--around long before The Museum of Ice Cream--we ask Albie how 29Rooms is different from other "selfie palaces" and whether or not this label has affected the way the Refinery29 team approaches the curation of these experiences. We also discuss:the artists and creatives responsible for bringing 29Rooms to lifethe roll social media plays in these experiences29Rooms latest roll-out of "cellphone free" zonesand where he sees the future of art experiences headed

Untitled Panel: Viewing Art in the Digital Age Panelists: Lynn Hersman Leeson (artist), Dorothy Santos (artist & educator), and Erica Gangsei (SFMOMA) As technology continues to evolve and permeate nearly every aspect of human life, it’s only natural that our markets and culture evolve alongside it, ushering in new concepts and questions. The art world, arguably moving at a slower pace than other markets, is a delicate ecosystem grappling with what the digital age means for the arts, from redefining what art is and how viewers consume it, to who and how one profits from it. Join panelists for a lively discussion on how technology has affected the way we experience contemporary art and what this means for the future of art making and collecting.

Museums, galleries, exhibitions, and art venues at large are catering more and more to the rise of social media and being “insta-worthy.” In fact, in 2017, participants in a study by Culture Track said they would much rather be entertained than educated, and that the majority prefer social interactions, as opposed to quiet reflection, when attending cultural events like exhibitions. This month we speak with the minds behind some of the most noteworthy, grammable exhibitions, museums and venues. One such space is OneDome, an interactive arts & entertainment venue in San Francisco. Bay Area residents may be familiar with OneDome’s “The Unreal Garden” or “LMNL,” two of their mixed-media experiences using adaptive technology to create immersive and engaging worlds for visitors to explore. “The Unreal Garden” uses mixed-reality to create a surreal world overrun by lush vegetation, merging physical space, sound, projection mapping, and augmented reality. To fully experience “The Unreal Garden”, visitors must wear AR headsets; however these goggles do not impede with seeing others and interacting with fellow explorers. This allows visitors to share in the experience in real time, something OneDome prides itself on as shifting the “me” to the “we”. OneDome’s family-friendly “LMNL” is their newest exhibition offering 14 rooms of digital art which respond to and transform as visitors move through the space, allowing patrons to become a part of the artwork itself. Experiential venues like OneDome are one of several spaces bundled into the category of “selfie palaces” by the media. Today, as part of our investigation into these new venues, we speak with Leila Amirsadeghi, Chief Marketing Officer at Onedome about:The rise of experiential venues and their place in the art worldThe fine line between arts and entertainmentThe audience OneDome is catering toThe role of social mediaAnd how or why experiential venues are helping or hindering the art world

As we approach the end of the year, SOTA host, Andrew Herman, reflects on his favorite episodes from the podcast's first year in production. Today, we revisit Andrew's first episode as a host on State of the Art featuring Erica Gangsei, head of Interpretive Media at SFMOMA. ----- In a city where the tension between artists and techies is palpable, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has pushed exhibitions, programs and projects that bridge the two spheres, like their inventive video series ARTIST CRIBS, their seamless museum app, and their experimental PlaySFMOMA initiative. Erica Gangsei, head of Interpretive Media at SFMOMA and a working artist in her own right, shares her thoughts on tech's place in the museum and the "art world" at large. -About Erica Gangsei- As Head of Interpretive Media at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Erica Gangsei leads a team of multimedia storytellers to create award winning digital resources such as audio tours, video interviews with artists, in-museum interpretive gallery spaces, games, and the podcast Raw Material. As a multidisciplinary artist, she is heavily involved in the Bay Area arts community, and has volunteered her time for organizations such as the Lab, Root Division, Headlands Center for the Arts and Adobe Books. Erica also has a passionate interest in games, and is the founder of the museum's PlaySFMOMA initiative, which presents pop-up arcades, game jams, lectures, workshops, and a game designer-in-residence series. She studied Philosophy and Fine Arts and Amherst College and Sculpture at the San Francisco Art Institute. Follow Erica @ericagangsei Tweet her @ericagangsei

As we approach the end of the year, SOTA host, Andrew Herman, reflects on his favorite episodes from the podcast's first year in production. Today, we revisit Andrew's first appearance on State of the Art as a guest. In 2014, Andrew Herman co-founded the mobile app French Girls. As the name of the app may reveal, Andrew doesn’t take himself too seriously; but he is serious about the app’s ability to introduce users to art appreciation and original art. In this episode, you'll hear SOTA founder and former host, Ethan Appleby, speak with Andrew about the process of making the French Girls app, the path to purchasing art, the cultural shifts needed to make art as popular as music, and Andrew's philosophy of not taking art "too seriously".  -About Andrew Herman- Andrew Herman is co-founder of the mobile app French Girls. Now located in San Francisco, Andrew was a mechanical engineer by training from Scranton, Pennsylvania. He grew up an avid guitar enthusiast and closet art fan. In 2014, he launched Easyl, a marketplace for original art which then transpired into French girls, an app that enables users to discover and create digital art inspired by photos from the community. He is now responsible for technical oversight of the app. Find Andrew on Twitter and Instagram.   -About French Girls- Inspired by the famous Titanic line, “draw me like one of your French girls,” French Girls is a mobile app that allows anybody to transform their selfie into an original work of art. Heralded as the next Snapchat, French Girls allows users to commission artists to create works of art based on the photos they upload, and provides a unique introduction art appreciation and to the world of original art.  Draw like a French Girl at their website and on the App Store

As we approach the end of the year, SOTA host, Andrew Herman, reflects on his favorite episodes from the podcast's first year in production. In this episode, we revisit our very first panel, originally recorded live from the podcast stage at SXSW on March 15, 2018. Our panelists included Erica Gangsei, head of Interpretive Media @SFMoma, Nahema Mehta, Co-Founder and CEO of Absolut Art, and (now, current SOTA host) Andrew Herman, founder of French Girls & MiniCanvas. Our panelists got on like three peas in a pod and tackled some of the major questions we try to answer here at State of the Art. Like, how has technology democratized the art world? Has has the maturation of the art ecosystem changed the experience of buying art? And what's more important, sexy work, or un-sexy work? -About Erica Gangsei- Erica Gangsei, is Manager of Interpretive Media in the Education department at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She researches, writes and co-produces educational multimedia materials such as audio tours, artist video interviews, podcasts, kiosk-based and online interactive features, and onsite educational spaces. Most recently, she curated ArtGameLab, an exhibition at SFMOMA of crowd-sourced game prototypes. Her professional research interests include crowd-sourced and assignment-based artwork, alternate reality games, institutional critique, and avant-garde culture as an engine of broader social and political change. She is also a sculptor, performer, conceptual artist and stop-motion animator, and have exhibited widely in the Bay Area and nationally. She is active in the Bay Area independent art community and recently concluded a term as co-President of Board of Directors of the Lab, an interdisciplinary experimental non-profit art space in San Francisco’s Mission district. I studied Philosophy and Fine Arts at Amherst College and Sculpture at the San Francisco Art Institute. -About Nahema Mehta- As cofounder and CEO of Absolut Art, Nahema spends every day bridging the gap between artists creating and people collecting by refining art buying through patented design. As a philanthropist, she work with passionate humans to empower over 100,000 young girls through education and healthcare.  She's lived and worked across 4 continents and benefited from an interdisciplinary career path, having worked for Chief Justice Roberts, Merrill Lynch, and Sotheby’s before founding and exiting her own startup, Art Remba.  She shares learnings along the way at conferences like Fast Company's 2017 Most Creative Minds and Innovate46 at the NASDAQ. -About Andrew Herman- Andrew Herman is co-founder of the mobile app French Girls. Now located in San Francisco, Andrew was a mechanical engineer by training from Scranton, Pennsylvania. He grew up an avid guitar enthusiast and closet art fan. In 2014, he launched Easyl, a marketplace for original art which then transpired into French girls, an app that enables users to discover and create digital art inspired by photos from the community. He is now responsible for technical oversight of the app. Find Andrew on Twitter and Instagram.  

State of the Art officially turns 1 today! As we approach the end of the year, current SOTA host, Andrew Herman, reflects on his favorite episodes from the podcast's first year of production. In this episode, we revisit our very first interview with Matty Mo, aka "The Most Famous Artist"