Bad at Sports
Bad At Sports is a weekly podcast about contemporary art. Founded in 2005, badatsports.com focuses on presenting the practices of artists, curators, critics, dealers, various other arts professionals through an online audio format.
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Bad at Sports Episode: 920 Tony Lewis
11/19/2025
Bad at Sports Episode: 920 Tony Lewis
Recorded live at the CAB6 × MCA Tailgate This episode was recorded as part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB6) activation on the plaza of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, where Bad at Sports staged a series of open-air interviews, community dialogues, and tailgate-style broadcasts. Artists, architects, students, and the public intersected in a shared social space designed for porous conversation. Episode 920 features Tony Lewis, whose practice has shaped Chicago’s contemporary drawing discourse for more than a decade. In this conversation, Tony Lewis joins Bad at Sports for an unscripted outdoor interview on the MCA plaza during the Architecture Biennial. The discussion moves fluidly between Lewis’s formative years in Chicago, the evolution of his drawing practice, his relationship to language systems (notably shorthand), and the material intelligence behind works that incorporate rubber bands, graphite, or constraint mechanisms. Lewis reflects on mentorship, studio discipline, the importance of failure and patience, and the way drawing becomes a long-term conversation with materials. He speaks candidly about the Chicago art ecosystem, the emotional dimensions of his practice, and the shifting sense of scale and intimacy in his recent work — including his Louis Bag series and large graphite constructions. The episode captures an artist thinking in real time about endurance, attention, vulnerability, and artistic friendship. · Drawing as a full-body practice: constraint, tension, rubber bands, architecture of line. · Language + shorthand: transcription, coded systems, linguistic compression. · Chicago as a site of artistic maturation: community, humility, seriousness. · Material intelligence: graphite as dust, weight, pressure, residue. · Patience and endurance: long timelines for developing works. · Professional evolution: moving from iconic early works to quieter, more intimate forms. · Artistic friendship and trust: collaboration, studio visits, long-running dialogues. · Shorthand Drawings / Gregg Shorthand–based works · Rubber band constructions & torn-grid drawings · Graphite floor drawings / powder dispersion works · Louis Bag series · Wall-based large graphite sheets under tension NAMES DROP-ed · Tony Lewis - https://massimodecarlo.com/artists/tony-lewis · Kevin Beasley (referenced indirectly in relation to material practice) - https://caseykaplangallery.com/artists/beasley/ · Nate Young - https://www.moniquemeloche.com/artists/36-nate-young/works/ · Theaster Gates - https://www.theastergates.com/ · Michelle Grabner - https://www.michellegrabner.com/ · Kerry James Marshall - https://jackshainman.com/artists/kerry_james_marshall · William Pope.L - https://www.miandn.com/artists/pope-l · Rodney McMillian - https://vielmetter.com/artists/rodney-mcmillian/ · Amanda Williams - https://awstudioart.com/home.html · Rashid Johnson - https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/2830-rashid-johnson/ · Charles Gaines - https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/21845-charles-gaines/ · Torkwase Dyson - https://www.torkwasedyson.com/ · Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) - https://mcachicago.org/ · Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) - https://chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org/ · Shane Campbell Gallery - https://www.shanecampbellgallery.com/ · School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) - Image Sarah Hudson
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Bad at Sports Episode 919: Kohler, Throckmorton, and Grabner
10/13/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 919: Kohler, Throckmorton, and Grabner
This week, Bad at Sports hits the road and heads north to Sheboygan and Kohler, Wisconsin — where art, industry, and community collide. We drop into the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) and the Kohler Arts/Industry Residency program to see how a small Midwestern town sustains one of the most ambitious intersections of art and manufacturing in the country. Michelle Grabner and Jodi Throckmorton. From toilets to terracotta, brass casting to bathroom design, Kohler has been quietly incubating radical artistic practice for decades, embedding artists in its factories while JMKAC builds a civic platform for art environments, vernacular traditions, and contemporary experimentation. We talk with artists, administrators, and community members about what makes this ecosystem work — and why Sheboygan might just be the weirdest, most wonderful art town in America. John Michael Kohler Arts Center Kohler Arts/Industry Residency Kohler Co. Name-Drop Jodi Throckmorton - https://curatorsintl.org/about/collaborators/7932-jodi-throckmorton Michelle Grabner - https://www.michellegrabner.com/ John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) — https://www.jmkac.org/ Kohler Arts/Industry Residency — https://www.jmkac.org/arts-industry/ Kohler Co. — https://www.kohlercompany.com/ Art Preserve (JMKAC’s satellite museum) — https://www.jmkac.org/art-preserve/ Arts/Industry Alumni (sampled in conversation): Beth Lipman — https://www.bethlipman.com/ | Ann Agee — https://www.annageestudio.com/ Jeffrey Clancy — https://jeffreyclancy.com/home.html Ashwini Bhat — https://www.jmkac.org/exhibition/ashwini-bhat-reverberating-self/ Pao Houa — https://www.jmkac.org/exhibition/pao-houa-her-the-imaginative-landscape/ Lily Cox-Richard — https://www.jmkac.org/exhibition/water-sprouts-and-remains-an-unfolding/ Sheboygan community — https://www.townofsheboyganwi.gov/
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Bad at Sports Episode 918: Amanda Ross-Ho
10/09/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 918: Amanda Ross-Ho
This week we sit down with Amanda Ross-Ho, whose large-scale sculptures, staged environments, and uncanny translations of domestic and studio life have made her a vital presence in contemporary art. Recorded in Chicago around her latest exhibition, the conversation spans everything from monumental t-shirts to the politics of labor, and from the intimacy of the studio to the spectacle of the art fair. Ross-Ho reflects on how she mines personal and collective archives, the humor and seriousness in her work, and the ways she uses scale to destabilize the familiar. We also talk about teaching, generational shifts in art-making, and what it means to sustain a practice over the long haul. Listen & Follow Amanda Ross-Ho - https://hammer.ucla.edu/made-la-2025/amanda-ross-ho Name-Drop Amanda Ross-Ho — https://www.miandn.com/artists/amanda-ross-ho | Mitchell-Innes & Nash (Gallery) — https://www.miandn.com | Cherry and Martin (Gallery) — https://www.artforum.com/news/los-angeless-cherry-and-martin-gallery-closes-237707/ MoCA Cleveland — https://www.mocacleveland.org/ | Whitney Biennial — https://whitney.org/exhibitions/the-biennial | Art Basel — https://www.artbasel.com/?lang=en | Frieze Art Fair — https://www.frieze.com/fairs/frieze-london | Los Angeles art scene / UCLA — https://www.arts.ucla.edu | EXPO CHICAGO - Chicago Architectural Biennial 6 -
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Bad at Sports Episode 917: Two Palms and Alex Slattery
10/06/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 917: Two Palms and Alex Slattery
This week, we print big or go home. Bad at Sports cast their eyes to New York from the safe confines of the Chicago Architectural Biennial booth at EXPO 2025 to talk with the legendary Two Palms studio in the guise of Alex Slattery. If you’ve ever stood slack-jawed in front of a monoprint the size of a small car or a woodblock cut so large it needed its own logistics plan, chances are Two Palms was behind it. Since the 1990s, David Lasry and company have been redefining what printmaking can be—working with artists like Carroll Dunham, Elizabeth Peyton, Mel Bochner, Cecily Brown, Terry Winters, Chris Ofili, Dana Schutz, Richard Prince, Chuck Close, Jeff Koons, and yes, even channeling the ghost of Andy Warhol. From delicate gestures to total madness with ink and paper, the studio’s collaborations are as unpredictable as they are radical. We talk risk, scale, failure, and discovery—the alchemy of artist–printer collaborations that make Two Palms a force in contemporary art. Along the way we wander through stories of impossible woodblocks, ink disasters turned into triumphs, and why printmaking might just be the most punk medium of them all. So pour a glass, sharpen your barens, and get ready to nerd out about the future of prints. Two Palms Name-Drop Carroll Dunham — https://www.presenhuber.com/artists/carroll-dunham#tab:slideshow Elizabeth Peyton — https://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/elizabeth-peyton Mel Bochner — http://www.melbochner.net/ Cecily Brown — https://gagosian.com/artists/cecily-brown/ Terry Winters —https://www.terrywinters.org/ Chris Ofili — https://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/chris-ofili/survey Dana Schutz — https://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/dana-schutz Richard Prince — http://www.richardprince.com/ Chuck Close — https://www.pacegallery.com/artists/chuck-close/ Jeff Koons — https://www.jeffkoons.com/ Two Palms — https://www.twopalms.us/ Marilyn Minter — https://www.twopalms.us/featured-works/marilyn-minter Stanley Whitney — https://www.twopalms.us/featured-works/stanley-whitney Ana Benaroya — https://www.twopalms.us/featured-works/ana-benaroya David Paul Lasry — Alex Slattery — EXPO CHICAGO - Chicago Architectural Biennial 6 - Institutions that love these prints: Whitney Museum of American Art — https://whitney.org/ MoMA — https://www.moma.org/ The Met — https://www.metmuseum.org/
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Bad at Sports Episode 916: Alex Ross and two fan boys
09/26/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 916: Alex Ross and two fan boys
Duncan MacKenzie and Ryan Peter Miller drive up to the Dunn Museum in Libertyville, IL to talk with legendary comics painter Alex Ross. Known for Marvels, Kingdom Come, and decades of redefining superhero realism, Ross reflects on his career trajectory, his education at the American Academy of Art, his influences (from Neal Adams to Dave McKean), his early breaks with Now Comics and Leo Burnett storyboarding, and his transition into large-scale mural projects for Marvel and DC. The conversation ranges from comics history, realism in superhero depictions, variant cover economics, the physicality of superheroes, to America’s appetite for dystopian narratives versus a return to the “pure Superman.” Ross is candid, funny, and deeply reflective about the comics medium, painting, and storytelling. Name-Drop List Artists & Writers Alex Ross — | Neal Adams – George Pérez – Jack Kirby – Dave McKean – Neil Gaiman — | Chris Ware – Jim Lee — Todd McFarlane — Erik Larsen — John Tobias (Mortal Kombat) – Tim Bradstreet — Frank Casey (Ross’s Superman model) – chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/ Institutions & Companies Dunn Museum (Libertyville, IL) — Marvel Comics — | DC Comics — | American Academy of Art (Chicago) — Leo Burnett (advertising) – Now Comics (Chicago, defunct) Eclipse Comics (defunct) FASA (publisher of Shadowrun, BattleTech) – Mortal Kombat franchise — Pop Culture References Kingdom Come (DC) – Marvels (Marvel) – Shadowrun RPG – Vampire: The Masquerade (White Wolf) – The Boys (Amazon Prime) – Invincible (Image Comics / Amazon) – Peacemaker (HBO) – Brightburn (film) – Image: John Weinstein
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Bad at Sports Episode 915 – Kenny Schachter and Bianca Bova: From Autodidact to Art World Outsider
09/20/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 915 – Kenny Schachter and Bianca Bova: From Autodidact to Art World Outsider
In Part Two of our late-night conversation, Bad at Sports digs deeper into the remarkable trajectory of Kenny Schachter. From law school dropout to autodidact philosopher, from Sotheby’s bidder to artist and teacher, Schachter traces the unlikely path that brought him into the heart of the art world — a place he insists remains strangely conservative despite all its pretenses of progress. The discussion moves between personal history and systemic critique. Schachter recounts the role of art in surviving trauma, loss, and addiction, and why surrounding himself with works by others has been both solace and education. He reflects on the stubborn conservatism of the market, celebrity crossovers from Johnny Depp to Julian Schnabel, and the tension between wanting freedom and the systems that resist it. For Schachter, art is both a lifeline and a way to comment on the world’s chaos — a practice rooted in generosity, curiosity, and contradiction. This episode captures him at his most reflective and most biting, moving from humor to vulnerability and back again. Highlights • Schachter’s first encounters with Twombly, Rauschenberg, and Frankenthaler at the National Gallery. • The shock of Andy Warhol’s estate sale in 1988. • Dealer-to-dealer hustling as an unlikely entry into art. • Why “there are no rules” is his best definition of being an artist. • The paradox of an art world that markets rebellion but runs on tradition. Names Dropped Andy Warhol I.M. Pei, https://www.pcf-p.com/about/i-m-pei/ Chase Manhattan Bank, https://www.jpmorganchase.com/about/art-collection Christie’s, https://www.christies.com/en Sotheby’s, https://www.sothebys.com/en/ Phillips Auction House, https://www.phillips.com/ Patrick Drahi, https://www.artnews.com/art-collectors/top-200-profiles/patrick-drahi/ Leonard Lauder, https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/leonard-lauder-sothebys-klimt-matisse-1234751922/ The Pritzker family, https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/pritzker-art-collection-sothebys-breuer-1234751864/ Elaine Wynn, https://www.christies.com/en/events/the-collection-of-elaine-wynn Wyatt Kline, https://unframed.lacma.org/2014/01/28/contemporary-friends-acquire-ten-new-works-by-artists-from-around-the-world Alex Burns, Felix Reuter (Ryder), https://felixreuter.bandcamp.com/ Guerrilla Girls, https://www.guerrillagirls.com/ Old Friends Gallery, https://www.oldfriendsgallery.com/ David Letterman, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Letterman The Suburban, http://www.thesuburban.org/
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Bad at Sports Episode 914 – Kenny Schachter: Chickens, Auctions, and Foundries (Part 1)
09/19/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 914 – Kenny Schachter: Chickens, Auctions, and Foundries (Part 1)
This week on Bad at Sports, Duncan MacKenzie and Ryan Peter Miller find themselves in Chicago with curator Bianca Bova and the indefatigable Kenny Schachter — artist, writer, teacher, collector, and provocateur. What begins as a conversation about Schachter’s exhibition at Old Friends Gallery — featuring chicken-assisted artworks and bronze casts forged in Slovenia — quickly expands into a meditation on the art world itself. Schachter reflects on his collaborations, his obsession with foundries, and his refusal to keep resources secret. The group debates the zero-sum mentality of the art market, why artists sabotage themselves, and how absurd projects (sometimes with actual chickens) can be the most serious acts of art-making. Equal parts candid and comedic, the conversation cuts across auctions, art fairs, and the everyday realities of teaching. Expect reflections on generosity vs. gatekeeping, the fragility of the art system, and what it means to make art that is more conceptual than commercial. Highlights • Chickens as collaborators and muses. • The foundry in Slovenia that casts Rudolf Stingel’s panels. • Why keeping fabricators secret is a sign of weakness. • Auctions as democratizing, even anarchic, art spaces. • The necessity of art in a divided and compassion-starved world. Names Dropped Kenny Scharf, https://kennyscharf.com/ Kenny Schachter, https://www.kennyschachter.art/ Bianca Bova, https://www.biancabovagallery.com/ Billy Connolly, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Connolly Rudolf Stingel, https://gagosian.com/artists/rudolf-stingel/ Tobias Rehberger, https://pedrocera.com/artists/tobias-rehberger Paul Thek, https://whitney.org/exhibitions/paul-thek Giacometti, https://www.moma.org/artists/2141-alberto-giacometti Jerry Saltz, https://nymag.com/author/jerry-saltz/ Cy Twombly, https://cytwombly.org/ Jasper Johns, https://whitney.org/artists/653 Robert Rauschenberg, https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/ Joan Mitchell, https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/joan-mitchell Helen Frankenthaler, https://gagosian.com/artists/helen-frankenthaler/ Georgia O’Keeffe, https://www.okeeffemuseum.org/ Andy Warhol, https://www.warhol.org/ Joseph Beuys, https://walkerart.org/collections/artists/joseph-beuys Sigmar Polke, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/sigmar-polke-2213 John Cage, https://www.johncage.org/ Devendra Banhart, https://devendrabanhart.com/ Brad Pitt, https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/09/19/brad-pitt-debuts-his-sculptures-in-finland Cindy Sherman, https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/cindy-sherman/ Robert Longo, https://www.robertlongo.com/ Julian Schnabel, https://www.julianschnabel.com/ Old Friends Gallery, https://www.oldfriendsgallery.com/
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Bad at Sports Episode 913: Shannon R. Stratton and Ox-Bow
09/15/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 913: Shannon R. Stratton and Ox-Bow
This week, Bad at Sports reconnects with one of Chicago’s most beloved curators and cultural instigators Ox-Bow School of Art’s Executive Director, Shannon Stratton. From founding Threewalls to serving as Chief Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York, Stratton’s career is a masterclass in weaving together artists, audiences, and institutions. We talk about building spaces for experimental practices, sustaining feminist and craft-centered discourse, and what it means to return to Chicago after reshaping the curatorial conversation nationally. Stratton dives into the ethics of hospitality, the politics of craft, and why sometimes the most radical thing you can do is set the table. Recorded live at EXPO 2025 in the loving space provided by the Chicago Architectural Biennial 2025 Photo by Dominique Muñoz @domo23 Name-Drop Shannon R. Stratton - Threewalls — Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) — Haystack Mountain School of Crafts — MCA Chicago — Textile Society of America —/ The Center for Craft — / Naomi Beckwith (curator) — Julia Bryan-Wilson (art historian) — Jenni Sorkin (art historian) — EXPO CHICAGO - Chicago Architectural Biennial 6 -
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Bad at Sports Episode 912: Ben Davis
08/28/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 912: Ben Davis
This week Bad at Sports goes full meta, talking about talking about art. We sit down with Ben Davis, National Art Critic for Artnet News and author of 9.5 Theses on Art and Class, to unpack the state of art criticism in 2025. Davis has been one of the sharpest voices charting the relationship between culture, economics, and media—at once insider, outsider, and always keeping his mom in mind. From the collapse of traditional publishing to the weird vacuum left by social media, Davis doesn’t just describe the cracks in the system—he names them, theorizes them, and points to where something new might emerge. We talk ZIRP (zero-interest-rate phenomena), the rise of click-driven media, what AI means for art, and why communities matter more than markets. Listen & Follow Ben Davis on Artnet News - https://www.benadavis.com/ Name-Drop Artnet News — news.artnet.com Brooklyn Rail — AI / ChatGPT — Neil Young — Slayer — Image care of...
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Bad at Sports Episode 911: Edra Soto and Dan Sullivan
08/26/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 911: Edra Soto and Dan Sullivan
Recorded live from the Chicago Architectural Biennial’s booth at EXPO Chicago, Bad at Sports tailgates with artist Edra Soto and designer Dan Sullivan—Chicago’s unofficial art-world power couple. Soto unpacks her first solo art fair booth at Engage Projects, where monoblock plastic chairs, airbrushed T-shirts, and Puerto Rican vernacular architecture collide with memory, loss, and celebration. Sullivan, founder of Navillus Woodworks, riffs on craft, Ikea hacks, and the business of making high-end furniture while moonlighting as Soto’s collaborator and fabricator. "Dan helps." What starts as a playful conversation about paparazzi, beer coolers, and chairs spirals into a meditation on grief, Puerto Rican cultural identity, and the design politics of everyday objects. Along the way, we hit Bad Bunny, the Bear restaurant, euphemisms around death, Catholic ritual, and the French (yes, the French). We close out with music talk—Sullivan on his bands Nadnavillus and Arriver—and a standing invitation for Bad at Sports to share the stage. Death, dying, lawn chairs, and punk rock. Welcome to EXPO. Artists & Designers Edra Soto Instagram: @edrasoto Dan Sullivan / Navillus Woodworks Instagram: @navillus_woodworks Ryan Peter Miller Instagram: @ryanpetermiller Miguel Aguilar (Kane One) Instagram: @kane_one_ Susan Gomes George Ortiz Instagram: @georgeortizphotography Bad Bunny Instagram: @badbunnypr Institutions / Venues / Events Engage Projects Instagram: @engageprojects Chicago Architecture Biennial Instagram: @chicagoarchitecturebiennial EXPO Chicago Instagram: @expochicago WBEZ Instagram: @wbezchicago 105.5 FM Lumpen Radio (WLPN‑LP) Instagram: @lumpenradio The Franklin (project space) Instagram: @thefranklinoutdoor (site-run by Edra Soto & Dan Sullivan) The Bear restaurant (Sullivan furniture) This refers to the TV show The Bear on FX, Art Basel Instagram: @artbasel The Armory Show Instagram: @thearmoryshow NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance) Instagram: @newartdealers Color Factory Instagram: @colorfactoryco Electrical Audio (recording studio) Instagram: @electricalaudio Tenement Museum (NYC) Instagram: @thetenementmuseum Cultural Figures & References Yolanda, Lucetta, Anita (Puerto Rican celebs) Gilberto Santa Rosa Lil’ Kim, Lil’ Romeo, Neil Young, Slayer, Jeff Koons Bands & Music Navilus (Dan Sullivan’s project) Arriver (art-metal band) image courtesy of Engage Projects
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Bad at Sports Episode 910: CAB 6 – Dirk Denison, David Salkin, and Jennifer Armetta
08/01/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 910: CAB 6 – Dirk Denison, David Salkin, and Jennifer Armetta
In this lively and insightful episode, Bad at Sports hosts a roundtable conversation with Dirk Denison (Founding Board Member of the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB)), David Salkin (Designer, Curator, and Board Husband), and Jennifer Armetta (Executive Director of the CAB). Together, they reflect on the impact and legacy of the Chicago Architecture Biennial and its shifting forms of experimentation, urbanism, and civic engagement. The episode explores the curatorial frameworks of CAB, the roles of education and public space, and how architecture becomes a lens through which cities reimagine themselves. Names Dropped: - Dirk Denison - https://www.dirkdenisonarchitects.com/ - David Salkin - https://www.davidsalkin.com/ - Jennifer Armetta - https://www.engage-projects.com/ - Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) - https://chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org/ - Venice Architecture Biennial - https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2025 - CAB 5: This is a Rehearsal - https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/exhibitions/dress-rehearsal-chicago-architecture-biennial-2023 - CAB 6: Shift - https://chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org/ - Chicago Architecture Center - https://www.architecture.org/ - Graham Foundation - http://www.grahamfoundation.org/ - Studio Gang - https://studiogang.com/ - MASS Design Group - https://massdesigngroup.org/ - Jeanne Gang - https://studiogang.com/people/jeanne-gang/ - Open House Chicago - https://www.architecture.org/open-house-chicago/about – Burnham - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Burnham – Frank Llyod Wright - https://flwright.org/ – the ID at IIT - https://id.iit.edu/ – Mies - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe – Louis Sullivian - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Sullivan - Professor Landis - https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1239455 - Rahm Emmanuel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel
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Bad at Sports Episode 909: Paul Pfeiffer
07/16/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 909: Paul Pfeiffer
We meet Paul Pfeiffer inside his retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago to talk about ghosts, spectacle, and the metaphysics of sports. Known for erasing athletes from footage and turning stadiums into stages of worship, Pfeiffer opens up about boxing as performance, the haunted loop of fandom, and building media rituals in the Philippines. Also: parrots, Deion Sanders, lip sync monks, and the death of the moment. Names dropped: Deion Sanders - Manny Pacquiao - The Bible (yes, the text) - Tom Gunning - Joshua Oppenheimer - DJ Spooky (Paul Miller) - Gina Osterloh - Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago - Biennale of Sydney - Contemporary Art Gallery Vancouver -
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Bad at Sports Episode 908: Rachel Adams and the Bemis Art Center
07/09/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 908: Rachel Adams and the Bemis Art Center
We sit down with curator Rachel Adams to talk about institutional evolution, artists as infrastructure, and how curatorial practice shifts between museums and biennials. Rachel reflects on working with artists like Cauleen Smith, Liz Magic Laser, and Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, the power of slow curation, and why she’s drawn to hybrid spaces that defy the market. Along the way: phantom titles, artist contracts, Minneapolis moments, and a manifesto in a box of ice cream bars. Cauleen Smith Liz Magic Laser Beatriz Santiago Muñoz lima.art Candice Hopkins Nato Thompson Christina Vassallo Sarah Schultz Alison Hearst Andrea Andersson Franklin Sirmans Mary Jane Jacob https://never-the-same.org/interviews/mary-jane-jacob/ Independent Curators International (ICI) image: Asad Raza, Orientation, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Field Studio.
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Bad at Sports Episode 907: A Hubris of Irish Curators
07/02/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 907: A Hubris of Irish Curators
We sit down with a delegation of Irish curators—Michele Horrigan (Askeaton Contemporary Arts), Michael Hill (Temple Bar Gallery + Studios), and Mark O’Gorman (The Complex)—to unpack what it means to build artist-centered institutions on an island without a commercial art market. From weather-worn banana warehouses to smoke-machine-filled nightclubs, these curators share space-making tactics, post-colonial entanglements, and the challenges of caring for artists without selling to collectors. They’re in Chicago for EXPO and bringing the heat—with nothing but friendship, found neon, and deeply site-responsive shows. Also: fluorescent hands, oak horns, grant hustle, and Duchampian office doors Names Dropped: Liliane Puthod – Áine Mac Giolla Bhríde (A.Mac) – https://www.motherstankstation.com/artist/aine-mac-giolla-bhride/ Devin Mays – Haynes Riley / Good Weather – Becky Nahom (ICA) – https://curatorsintl.org/about/collaborators/23122-becky-nahom Stephanie Smith – https://curatorsintl.org/about/collaborators/4391-stephanie-smith Kate Sierzputowski – Amanda Rice – Frank Wasser – Bryony Dunne – Olga Balema – Hannah Hoffman Gallery – Bridget Donahue Gallery – John Latham / Flat Time House – Brian O'Doherty – https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/12/arts/brian-odoherty-dead.html Tom Friedman – Duchamp (Marcel) – The Smiths (band) – Website/IG Handles (if available or mentioned): · / · / · / · /
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Bad at Sports Episode 906: Jaqueline Cedar & Josh Dihle
06/06/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 906: Jaqueline Cedar & Josh Dihle
Live from Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Chicago In this intimate, laughter-filled episode recorded live at Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Duncan and Ryan sit down with artists Jaqueline Cedar and Josh Dihle on the occasion of their concurrent solo exhibitions. The conversation traverses everything from Duchampian bathroom jokes to model train nostalgia, parenthood, masculinity, and why drawing still matters. We dig deep into Cedar's intimate, narrative-rich figure paintings and Dihle’s large, toy-like sculptural paintings, both brimming with color, play, and strange tenderness. Along the way, we explore the value of humor, discomfort, labor, scale, and why both artists moonlight as gallerists—Cedar with the roving Good Naked Gallery and Dihle with events at Color Club and The Sugar Hole ice cream shop. It’s a heartfelt meditation on art, joy, burnout, and why we keep making. Name Drop List & Related Links Jaqueline Cedar | Good Naked Gallery – Josh Dihle | Color Club – | Andrew Rafacz Gallery | Artists & References:
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Bad at Sports Episode 905: The REAL Joey Orr!
05/29/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 905: The REAL Joey Orr!
Live from the tailgate lounge at Chicago Architectural Biennial 6's booth at Expo Chicago, Duncan and Ryan welcome Joey Orr, the newly appointed Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the MCA Chicago. In this densely brilliant and surprisingly hilarious conversation, Orr discusses what it means to steer a contemporary art institution in an era of deep social complexity, political polarization, and shifting museum ethics. We cover everything from the social life of objects to the lore of performance documentation, and even pitch a game show based on the varied memories of Chris Burden’s early MCA performance. Orr reflects on social practice, audience authorship, and why curators are public servants—not VIPs. We get deep into what it means to be a meat sack in space, how to radicalize museum engagement, and why reenactments may just be the key to future institutional magic. This is art talk that grinds, gropes, and glows in the dark. No hot dogs, just conceptual fireworks. Joey Orr – Deputy Director and Chief Curator at MCA Chicago IG: @joeyorr13 Bio: Chris Burden – Performance artist Wiki: John Cage – Composer and performance artist Wiki: Resource: Dick Higgins – Intermedia artist and Fluxus co-founder Wiki: Alison Knowles – Fluxus artist IG: Wiki: Mary Jane Jacob – Curator of public art and socially engaged practice Wiki: Bio: SAIC Faculty Page Pablo Helguera – Artist and educator working in socially engaged art IG: Website: Book: Education for Socially Engaged Art Diana Taylor – Performance theorist; author of The Archive and the Repertoire Profile: NYU Performance Studies Book Info: Duke University Press Naomi Beckwith – Curator, formerly at MCA and Guggenheim IG: Article: MCA Chicago (Museum of Contemporary Art) Website: IG: School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) Website: IG: High Museum of Art (Atlanta) Website: IG: The Louvre Website: IG: Queens Museum Website: IG: Fluxus – Movement reference MoMA: Fluxus Overview - .
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Bad at Sports Episode 904: Caitlin McGurk and Brian Baynes
05/23/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 904: Caitlin McGurk and Brian Baynes
Broadcast live from Rice University (yes, in Houston), this episode of Bad at Sports brings together the curator of comics and cartoon art at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, Caitlin McGurk, and the Richmond-based zine publisher and comics obsessive behind Bubbles Fanzine, Brian Baynes. We dive deep into McGurk’s new book a biography and art book reclaiming one of the first women to work for The New Yorker. McGurk details her decade-long research process, Shermund’s punk rock lifestyle in the 1920s, and the bittersweet reclamation of her uncredited legacy. In the second half, we sit down with Brian Baynes, who champions comics culture from the DIY trenches. He shares his mission behind Bubbles, how it draws on punk zine culture, why it stays in print forever, and how he's preserving overlooked voices from India to local comic shops. From feminist cartoon history to cassette-label archaeology and typewriter ribbon obsession, this one’s a love letter to the weird, wonderful, and un-archived margins of visual culture. Names Dropped: – Curator at Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, author of Tell Me a Story Where the Bad Girl Wins – Publisher of Bubbles zine – Indie comics fanzine – Early New Yorker cartoonist and subject of McGurk’s book – Underground cartoonist who created Granny McGurk – Home of Shermund’s work in the 1920s–40s – The New Yorker’s founding art director – Founding editor of The New Yorker – Where Shermund studied (now San Francisco Art Institute, recently closed) – Shermund’s California alma mater – Syndicated Shermund’s comic strip – Long-running punk zine – Chicago-based punk zine, aesthetic cousin of Bad at Sports – Musician and cartoonist interviewed in Bubbles – Language philosopher referenced by Baynes – Cartoonist behind The Hidden Islands – Likely creator of Stories from Zoo (not named directly, based on context) – At Ohio State University, world’s largest cartoon archive – NYT’s obituary project
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Bad at Sports Episode 903: Jake Nickell & Lance Curran of Threadless
05/12/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 903: Jake Nickell & Lance Curran of Threadless
This week on Bad at Sports, Duncan MacKenzie and Ryan Peter Miller cruise their way into a murder mansion fever dream with Jake Nickell and Lance Curran, two of the minds behind Threadless—the Chicago-based t-shirt empire that helped invent crowdsourced artwear before we’d marketed terms like “creator economy” or “drop ship.” What begins as a nostalgia trip (setting the stage for how the business developed through DIY screenprinting and forum culture) quickly becomes a deep dive into ethics, art careers, AI disruption, licensing chaos, and why having your work sold in Hot Topic definitely still counts as making it. We unpack: The founding of Threadless on a secret art/code forum Shifting from screen printing to digital on-demand Working with artists, bands, and comic book creators Parody vs. IP theft (and WTF the DMCA is) Building safety and anti-hate moderation into a global platform Why Chicago still rules And why Punch Nazis continues to be a top seller Along the way, we also discuss vending machines, Karl Marx, Cheetos, the Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference, and what happens when art school turns into a startup. And, importantly, how capitalism can be leveraged using Foucauldian power for artists—rather than for their subjugation. Jake Nickell is the founder of , and a pioneer in crowdsourced design and artist-first merchandise models. He started Threadless in 2000 while still in art school. Lance Curran is the VIP Accounts Director at Threadless, a longtime champion of artist partnerships, muralist collaborations, and weird comic book projects. He joined the company in 2005 and once described the warehouse as “the Foot Clan layer from Ninja Turtles.” Names Dropped:
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Episode 902: David Schilter and Pedro Vieira de Moura
05/08/2025
Episode 902: David Schilter and Pedro Vieira de Moura
Recorded live at the Comics Without Borders / Sans Frontières gathering at Rice University, this episode dives deep into international comics publishing, aesthetic risk-taking, and how underground networks drive a truly global comics culture. David Schilter, publisher and editor of Latvia’s acclaimed kuš! comics, joins us alongside Pedro Vieira de Moura, Portuguese critic, writer, and co-founder of the bookstore/gallery Mundo Fantasma. We talk about how a small-format anthology changed Latvian comics forever, why RAW magazine changed Pedro's life, and how comics have always been a place for outsiders to find their people. It’s about pornographic comics, lipstick in mirrors, misnumbered anthologies, institutional resistance, aesthetic weirdness, bookstores as public educators, and why no one in Latvia is publishing Maus. Guest Links: kuš! comics (David Schilter): Pedro Vieira de Moura: Mundo Fantasma (Porto bookstore/gallery): Names Dropped: Art Spiegelman – Creator of Maus, influence on RAW magazine: Barbara Shermund – queer comics history: Basil Wolverton – Iconic MAD magazine illustrator: Charles Burns – Known for Black Hole and RAW magazine: Gary Panter – RAW magazine artist, punk comics icon: Al Jaffee – Fold-in master at MAD Magazine: Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli – Daredevil and Batman: Year One: Moebius – Legendary French comics artist: Neil Adams, George Pérez, Jim Lee – Scott McCloud – Author of Understanding Comics: Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro – Early Portuguese cartoonist and comic pioneer David B. – French cartoonist and co-founder of L’Association: Adrian Tomine – Acclaimed alternative cartoonist: Marjane Satrapi – Creator of Persepolis: Brian Baynes – Publisher of Bubbles Zine:
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Episode 901: Florencia Rodriguez and CAB 6
04/24/2025
Episode 901: Florencia Rodriguez and CAB 6
In this episode, we sit down with architect, editor, and curator Florencia Rodriguez, Artistic Director of the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) 6. We dig into the ideas shaping this year’s edition—titled “Shift: Architecture in Times of Radical Change”—and her approach to curating a biennial that centers transformation, public space, and critical imagination. Rodriguez reflects on her journey from Buenos Aires to Chicago, the founding of PLOT and SOILED, and her evolving relationship to criticism as both practice and provocation. We explore how writing and curating can act as architectural tools, shaping not only discourse but the environments we inhabit. We also soft-launch Bad at Sports’ partnership with CAB 6—an evolving audio collaboration that will track the biennial’s voices, urgencies, and ideas throughout the year. Mentioned in this episode: Florencia Rodriguez –
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Bad at Sports Episode 900: Robert Pruitt
04/21/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 900: Robert Pruitt
Recorded live at Comics Sans Frontières, Houston For our milestone 900th episode, we headed to Houston and sat down with the brilliant Robert Pruitt, live at the Cats Conference: Comics Sans Frontières—a gathering of artists, thinkers, and cultural workers reshaping the future of comics, narrative, and speculative visual worlds. Live at a bar after the second conference day. So, this is never going to make it to the radio. Cuss-y MacCusserson shows up and healthy arguments occur. Pruitt, known for his richly layered drawings and deep engagement with Black cultural production, walks us through the politics of representation, the influence of comics and sci-fi on his work, and the shifting cultural landscape of the Gulf Coast. We talk materials, mythology, the beauty of inconsistency, and what it means to make work that traffics in both critique and care. Let’s take a moment to reflect on what it means to reach 900 episodes of Bad at Sports—and what’s next for us in the ever-evolving, ever-weird world of contemporary art discourse. Nah. Let’s do it later this week at EXPO Chicago. Mentioned in this episode: Bad at Sports: The Center of Discourse (link coming soon!)
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Bad at Sports Episode 899: Jessica Snow & Liga Spunde
04/11/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 899: Jessica Snow & Liga Spunde
Gremlins, Borders, and Recipes for Resistance This week we’re joined by Jessica Snow and Liga Spunde, two artists navigating the world through comics, street theater, and occasionally letterpress and photoshop. Jessica Snow walks us through her wide-ranging practice—from illustration and letterpress to building massive puppets and organizing street performances to attempting to confronting the entangled realities of border politics, ecological collapse, and resistance. Her work with Kitchen Table Press and collaborative projects like Recipes of Resistance blend protest and performance into shared, tangible experiences that challenge the quiet violence of contemporary life. Meanwhile, Liga Spunde brings us deep into a psychological terrain. Working with a unique computer-generated drawing style, Liga explores the emotional weight of the traumas of contemporary life—from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the various ways we experienced the pandemic to the existential task of making a 6 page comic. Her work resists tidy narratives, instead making room for ambiguity, emotional excess, fragile and detailed humor, and a specific fascination with Gremlins. This episode was recorded as part of Chris Sperandio’s Comics Without Borders (but say it in French) event at Rice University—an international gathering of artists, publishers, and thinkers reframing what comics can do in turbulent times. (More here: Comics Without Borders.) We cover a lot of ground—Latvia’s premier comic publisher, post-crisis psychology, DIY print culture, and why strange books and big puppets might still save us all. This is Bad at Sports at its finest: loose, live, urgent and embedded, and full of strange joy. Links & Projects Mentioned: Jessica Snow: Kitchen Table Press: Recipes of Resistance: Liga Spunde: kuš! komikss: Comics Without Borders @ Rice University: Christopher Sperandio:
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Bad at Sports Episode 898: Wafaa Bilal and Bana Kattan
04/01/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 898: Wafaa Bilal and Bana Kattan
This week. Dana’s back? She and Duncan sit down with artist Wafaa Bilal and curator Bana Kattan to discuss Bilal’s powerful and deeply personal mid-career retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Known for his provocative, often participatory works that grapple with war, trauma, displacement, and surveillance, Bilal has long made the body both a site of resistance and a vessel of memory. We talk through key moments in Bilal’s practice—from early performance pieces like Domestic Tension to newer, installation-based works—and reflect on how his work has shifted, expanded, and endured over the past two decades. Kattan, who curated the exhibition, shares insights into the retrospective’s structure and the challenges of contextualizing work that refuses easy categorization. While reminiscing, Duncan and Wafaa also talk through what it means to make art as a form of witnessing, how museums hold space for pain and politics, and why Bilal still believes in the power of beauty… (Spoiler: Duncan isn’t sure, but Bana and Dana side with Wafaa.) Links & References: Wafaa Bilal's website: MCA Chicago Exhibition Info: Bana Kattan bio & curatorial work: Domestic Tension (aka “Shoot an Iraqi” project): Book: Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life, and Resistance Under the Gun (co-authored with Kari Lydersen) – @wafaabilal on Instagram @mcachicago on Instagram
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Bad at Sports Episode 897: Architecture, Documentaries, and Changing Minds with Kyle Bergman and Ashley Lukasik
03/26/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 897: Architecture, Documentaries, and Changing Minds with Kyle Bergman and Ashley Lukasik
In this episode, we talk Architectural Doucmentaries, Graphic Design, the cross over of the art and design audiences, and whether or not social practice could be a job: Kyle Bergman, is the mastermind behind the Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF), takes us through the wild ride of showcasing global architectural stories and films. He shares the festival’s international charm and its role in making architecture the star of the show. Ashley Lukasik, filmmaker and Principal of Murmur Ring, joins us to talk about The New Bauhaus documentary (Maholy’s got swag) and the work she’s producing at Murmur Ring. They’re out to change the minds of makers and using social practice and design thinking strategies on the practioneers and the designers. Links and Resources: Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF): ADFF’s global tour of must-see design docs. () Chicago Architecture Center (CAC): The CAC is where the architectural magic happens. () Murmur Ring: Ashley Lukasik’s team is all about immersive experiences that challenge what it means to be human in a digital age. () 'The New Bauhaus' Documentary: Get the lowdown on the Bauhaus movement and why it’s still cooler than you might think. ()
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Bad at Sports Episode 896: Beth Hetland and Kyle O'Connell
03/13/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 896: Beth Hetland and Kyle O'Connell
In the final episode recorded live from Stitch and Staple: The Artist Book Fair, we’re thrilled to sit down with two incredible comic creators, Beth Hetland and Kyle O'Connell. This conversation dives deep into the world of comics and graphic narratives, with Hetland and O'Connell offering insights into their creative collaborations and shared comic interests. Beth Hetland, known for her heartfelt and intricate autobiographical comics, discusses the power of graphic novels to explore memory, identity, and storytelling. She and Kyle O’Connell also shed light on how their collaboration allows them to push the boundaries of traditional comic narratives, creating work that resonates on both emotional and humorous levels. In a fun aside, Duncan revisits the origin story of how Ryan joined Bad at Sports. Initially approaching artist Jennifer Mills to be a co-host, Duncan found himself "thrown under the bus" when Mills suggested Ryan instead—and the rest is podcast history! The dynamic duo share their complicated vacation-sharing arrangement and how Jennifer, hilariously, isn’t speaking to either of them anymore. In this episode, everyone embraces the playful, witty energy that makes comics such an accessible and engaging medium. We reflect on what comics can uniquely access within the world of art, and how the medium functions as a powerful tool for both personal expression and social commentary. Plus, in true Bad at Sports style, there’s plenty of humor, banter, and storytelling along the way. We’re airing this episode just as Duncan and Ryan gear up for their next adventure—heading to Houston for the Comics Sans Frontières: An International Graphic Narrative Conference at Rice University. Be sure to catch the conversation before they hit the road! Links and Mentions: Beth Hetland's Kyle O’Connell's Stitch and Staple: The Artist Book Fair Comics Sans Frontières at Rice University Bad at Sports live from Houston Upcoming! Jennifer Mills'
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Bad at Sports Episode 895: Emma Bergman
03/06/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 895: Emma Bergman
In this episode, Bad at Sports welcomes artist, writer, and thinker to discuss a range of fascinating topics that blend the personal, the theoretical, and the speculative. We delve into Emma's ideas about utopian conviction and how they intersect with the looming specter of the coming apocalypse, and the games we can play with what is becoming our practical nightmare. From philosophical musings to creative solutions, we explore how different utopian ideologies might intersect and prepare (or fail to prepare) us for the crisis of our future. also enters the conversation, as we examine how modern and historical approaches to assessing character and behavior might offer insights—or generate traps—for individuals navigating this new world order and Berman runs the boys of though her system and we learn if they are ready. We also explore the concept of , digging into how institutional structures shape our experience and sense of agency in the world, and how to creatively play within these constraints and out side them can establish new paths forward. Throughout this conversation, we playfully touch on ways to solve the future—how art, culture, and speculative thinking offer new ways of envisioning what lies ahead, and how individuals can act within systems and system collapse. Join us for a thought-provoking episode filled with visionary ideas, humor, and practical philosophical discussions. Live for the 21C Chicago!
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Bad at Sports Episode 894: Hoof Print Press & Immaterial Publications
03/04/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 894: Hoof Print Press & Immaterial Publications
In this episode, Bad at Sports dives into the world of independent publishing, printmaking, and the intersections of art, academia, and production with two innovative presses pushing the boundaries of their respective fields. , based in Pilsen, Chicago, is not just a print shop, but a thriving print publisher that explores multiple media, including ceramics. Known for their dynamic exhibition series, they bring a unique perspective on the art of printmaking, combining tradition with modern experimentation. We talk about how they balance the fine art of print with the hands-on craft of ceramics and what it means to operate as both creators and curators in the community-driven Pilsen neighborhood. - Gabe Hoare on mic. Next, we’re joined by , a quasi-academic press that’s redefining the possibilities of academic publishing. Immaterial tests the limits of what it means to produce knowledge and content outside the conventional capitalist distribution and production models. They explore nontraditional forms of publishing that challenge the boundaries between art and academia. In this conversation, we dive into how their radical approach to publishing engages with academia, art practices, and the broader cultural conversation around knowledge production. Phillip Kalantzis-Cope on mic. Together, we discuss how both presses navigate the evolving worlds of independent publishing and art production, and how their work is changing the ways we think about community, art, and knowledge distribution. Tune in for an insightful episode that explores the intersection of artistic practices, publishing, and the role of independent presses in today’s creative and academic landscapes. Live from 21C Chicago!
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Bad at Sports Episode 893: Cecilia Beaven
02/19/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 893: Cecilia Beaven
In this episode, we sit down with Cecilia Beaven, a dynamic Mexican-born artist, muralist, and illustrator whose work bridges the worlds of fine art and public spaces. Beaven's pieces have graced both urban environments and galleries, transforming her surroundings with a unique blend of surrealism, humor, and critical commentary. Her work explores themes of myth, identity, and the fantastical, reflecting on the human experience through vibrant, intricate visual narratives. Recently, Beaven has been making waves with exhibitions at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago and the Hyde Park Art Center. These shows highlight her ability to combine intricate storytelling with visual spectacle, drawing viewers into her vibrant, often surreal world. Beyond gallery spaces, Beaven's public art projects have continued to expand, with large-scale murals that engage communities and address themes of identity, history, and the urban environment. We discuss her process, influences, and the challenges of creating art that resonates across cultural contexts. Tune in to hear about her experiences painting murals, collaborating with communities, and navigating the international art scene. Beaven also delves into her ongoing projects and the role of storytelling in her artistic practice. https://www.ceciliabeaven.com/
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Bad at Sports Episode 892: Process Process and Bench Press
02/13/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 892: Process Process and Bench Press
Strap in, print nerds, because this week we’re coming to you live from the wild and inky trenches of the Staple and Stitch Artist Book Fair at 21C Chicago! First up, we’ve got Angee Lennard and Jessica Cochran from Process Process Print Publishers—the dynamic duo that’s doing god's work by helping artists get their process-based, experimental prints out into the world (or at least onto some beautiful paper). These two are the real deal: no pretentious art-speak, just raw, creative energy making print magic happen. Then, just when you thought the paper party couldn’t get any better, Madeleine Aguilar from Bench Press Publications joins us to lay down some serious knowledge about the Chicago art book scene. Bench Press is the indie press you want to be in the know about—they’re cranking limited-run artist books that’ll make you want to throw all your digital content in the trash. We recorded this maudlin crew, so enjoy the ambient sounds of over-caffeinated art students and print enthusiasts buzzing around, plus a few awkward microphone mishaps. It’s all part of the charm! Episode Highlights: Angie and Jessica talk about the blood, sweat, and squeegees behind Process Process Print Publishers—and why the process is as important as the product. Bench Press Publications: indie publishing that’s both scrappy and impossibly cool. Madeleine breaks down the beauty of small-batch, collectible art books and why limited edition is more than just a buzzword. The absolute chaos and joy of recording this episode at Staple and Stitch in the heart of the art scene at 21C Chicago. (Spoiler: You’ll want to be there next year.) Process Process Print Publishers: Bench Press Publications: Staple and Stitch Artist Book Fair:
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Bad at Sports Episode 891: Dawit L. Petros & Onur Öztürk - Prospetto a Mare
02/04/2025
Bad at Sports Episode 891: Dawit L. Petros & Onur Öztürk - Prospetto a Mare
Live from the wild, eclectic, art-riddled halls of Stitch and Staple at the illustrious 21C hotel, we’re diving into the deep blue—conceptually, at least—with this episode. We chat with the incredibly thoughtful Dawit L. Petros and Art History powerhouse Onur Öztürk about their work in the exhibition Prospetto a Mare at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP). What’s it about? Well, think: migration, colonial histories, and the ever-shifting geopolitical sea. No big deal, right? Petros’ breathtaking, multi-layered visual narratives bring the past and present of migration into view, while Öztürk’s sharp, historically-grounded insights connect the dots across time and space. Together, they turn the exhibition into a thought-provoking journey across borders—geographical, historical, and artistic. Also, we recorded this episode at 21C’s luxurious digs, so enjoy the ambiance of clinking glasses and gallery buzz in the background. Join us as we unpack how art and history collide in one of the most important conversations about displacement and identity today. Links & Mentions: Dawit L. Petros: Onur Öztürk: Prospetto a Mare Exhibition at MoCP: Stitch and Staple at 21C Hotel: Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP):
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