The Sculptor's Funeral

The Sculptor's Funeral is the only podcast dedicated to figurative sculptors living and working today. Art history, tech talk, news, and interviews for the figurative sculptor working in the Western European tradition of figurative sculpture, along with a social media forum and listener mail/questions/comments make this podcast required listening for any sculptor who knows the Fine Arts aren't dead, they just smell a little funny.

Episode 90 - The Mystery of Messerschmidt 11/22/2022

Episode 90 - The Mystery of Messerschmidt Meet one of the most enigmatic and anachronistic sculptors in history - Franz Messerschmidt. His work looks modern, but that's a few centuries off the mark! He's not what you would expect from a sculptor from the Rococo period... So what gives? Why were these strange heads made? Learn the startling answer here. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/25095759

Episode 89 - Anna Hyatt Huntington and Brookgreen Garden 07/23/2022

Episode 89 - Anna Hyatt Huntington and Brookgreen Garden Huntington was a prolific American sculptor in the early 20th century, but her greatest legacy may be the extensive and unique sculpture park she built, the first of its kind in the United States. Listen here to learn about the past and future of Brookgreen Garden; with interviews with Bryan Rapp and Robin Salmon. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/23834705

Episode 88 - Greco-Roman Wrestling 09/19/2021

Episode 88 - Greco-Roman Wrestling The Venus De Milo, the Torso Belvedere, The Winged Victory, The Laocoon - some of the most famous Antique sculpture in the world. Strange that we know so little about who made them and why! So what makes them so famous? Find out the unexpected reasons here. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/20522696

Episode 87 - The Colossus of Rhodes 01/30/2021

Episode 87 - The Colossus of Rhodes It's often hyperbole to describe something as 'colossal' - but when you're talking about the statue for which the word 'colossal' was coined, you get a pass. Learn what there is to know about how and why the Colossus of Rhodes was built, and how it rightly earned its place as one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the original Bucket List. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/17749724

Episode 86 - Quiz Show Finals 12/26/2020

Episode 86 - Quiz Show Finals The Sculptor's Funeral Podcast is finishing off this strange and terrible year with the final round of the quiz show! Listen to Lubov, David, and Liz test their knowledge of the history of sculpture, in their quest to attain the coveted Sculptor's Funeral coffee mug. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/17329631

Episode 85 - Quiz Show, Round Three 09/06/2020

Episode 85 - Quiz Show, Round Three Listen to CJ, Mark, and Lubov go head to head in Round Three of the Sculptor's Funeral Quiz Show! /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/15902864

Episode 84 - Quiz Show, Round Two 06/04/2020

Episode 84 - Quiz Show, Round Two Listen to Rony, Alison, and David go head to head in Round Two of the Sculptor's Funeral Quiz Show! /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/14697884

Episode 83 -Quiz Show! Round One 05/16/2020

Episode 83 -Quiz Show! Round One Three avid listeners of the Sculptor's Funeral Podcast match wits and test their knowledge of art history! Round one, with Bruce, Liz, and Ali. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/14444831

Episode 82 - The Road to Hellenism, Part II 03/28/2020

Episode 82 - The Road to Hellenism, Part II Praxiteles and Lysippos - the two giants of 4th century Greece, and they are both covered in this episode. Learn what happened to the first classical nude female statue! Learn why eight heads are better than seven! And does Alexander succeed in Making Attica Great Again? Find out here. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/13737836

Episode 81 - The Road To Hellenism, Part One 01/26/2020

Episode 81 - The Road To Hellenism, Part One If 'Classic' derives from the Greek word for 'Best', then what comes after the time of Classical Athens? Something not as good for Athens, of course. But despite the fall of the world's first democracy, the arts in Athens and all of Greece continued and even flourished. In the first of this two-part episode, we'll cover the sculptors Alkamenes, Kresilas, and Skopas. In the second part, look out for Lysippos and Praxiteles. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/12887099

Episode 80 - Polykleitos 11/10/2019

Episode 80 - Polykleitos In this episode. Jason discusses the sculpture of Polykleitos and the ideas behind them. One of the most celebrated sculptors in history, Polykleitos devised a new formula for the creation of figurative sculpture, known as the Kanon, which set the standard for generations of Greek sculptors following in this giant's wake. Want to be a Classicist in sculpture? The Kanon of Polykleitos is Classicism 101. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/11975159

Episode 79 - The Parthenon 03/10/2019

Episode 79 - The Parthenon In this follow-up on the episode concerning the Greek sculptor Phidias, we take a look at the sculptural program of Greece's most famous structure, the Parthenon: why they were made, what they meant then, and why they have remained relevant - and even controversial - right up to our own day. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/8945213

Episode 78 - The Golden Age 12/29/2018

Episode 78 - The Golden Age Vision, talent, will, and money - the perfect combination for a Golden Age in sculpture. It's only happened a small handful of times, and it happened first in 5th Century BC Greece. In the first of a series of episodes covering this period, Jason discusses well-known landmarks of Classical Greece such as the Riace Bronzes, the Discus Thrower, and the life and work of the greatest of Old Masters - Phidias. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/8069888

Episode 77 - The Rise of Athens 11/30/2018

Episode 77 - The Rise of Athens What did it take to move Greek culture forward into the Classical period from the Archaic? Just a few victorious battles against impossible odds, unexpected and fantastic wealth, military and political genius, and... - oh yeah, the complete destruction of Athens. Learn how luck, will, disasters, and mayhem strong enough to wipe the archaic smile off any Greek's face kickstarted the greatest era of Greek civilization. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/7750922

Episode 76 - Naissance 11/04/2018

Episode 76 - Naissance Renaissance means 'Rebirth'. But we don't hear much about the original 'Naissance' in Ancient Greece that gave birth to what we call Classical sculpture. When were the first lifesized bronze figures cast? What were the first civic public monuments? Who invented Contrapposto? Find out here. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/7426787

Episode 75 - Why Greece? 09/29/2018

Episode 75 - Why Greece? In the first of a new series of Sculptor's Funeral episodes focusing on the ancient Greeks, Jason looks at the fundamental question underlying the nature of the entire Western European Tradition of sculpture - Why Greece? Why did it all start there, and why do artists throughout history keep returning there -and not Egypt or Persia or another artistic tradition? It's actually a question with a straightforward answer - Nature. But the origins and motives behind this simple answer are more complex. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/7106065

Episode 74 - The Shrine of Democracy 06/02/2018

Episode 74 - The Shrine of Democracy Gutzon Borglum's masterpiece, the Mount Rushmore National Monument... Overblown tourist attraction, or a sculpture for the Ages? Listen to the unlikely story of its creation, and you might decide that somehow it's both. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/6661557

Episode 73 - Gutzon Borglum, The One Man War 02/19/2018

Episode 73 - Gutzon Borglum, The One Man War Who is Gutzon Borglum, you ask? How strange that the sculptor of the Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota is practically unknown, even in the United States. In the first of this two-part episode, we look at the life and work of the man, before he met the mountain. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/6275547

Episode 72 - Confederate Statues and the Power pf Propaganda 01/14/2018

Episode 72 - Confederate Statues and the Power pf Propaganda This episode of the Sculptor's Funeral examines the controversy surrounding the removal of statues from public spaces around the United States. Why are statues commemorating the losing side of a civil war more prevalent than those commemorating the victors of other wars? What is the message they were designed to send - and who sent the message? Jason examines this fascinating case study in public art as propaganda. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/6138186

Episode 71 - The Lincoln Memorial 05/23/2017

Episode 71 - The Lincoln Memorial Daniel Chester French's greatest work is arguably the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. but where does 'greatness' in art come from? Is it given to the artwork by its creator, or is it, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder? /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/5381103

Episode 70 - Daniel Chester French 04/19/2017

Episode 70 - Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French is mostly remembered for sculpting the colossal Lincoln on the National Mall in Washington DC, but equally, he was America's master of memorials in the late 19th century. From the Minuteman to the Melvin Memorial, he produced works which helped promote the city beautiful movement far beyond the nation's capital. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/5278981

Episode 69 - The World's Fair and the City Beautiful 02/15/2017

Episode 69 - The World's Fair and the City Beautiful Is it Paris? Versailles? Venice? ...Chicago, actually! The stunning cityscape you see in the image was known as the White City, a dreamlike place which existed for a few short years before disappearing - but its legacy lives on in cities and towns all over the United States, part of a phenomenon known as the City Beautiful Movement. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/5087573

Episode 68 - Mother of Exiles 01/18/2017

Episode 68 - Mother of Exiles "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me..." ...The American ideals which the Statue of Liberty represents are hard to trump... /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/5003243

Episode 67 - Interview with Michael Defeo 12/16/2016

Episode 67 - Interview with Michael Defeo In this interview, Jason talks with Michael Defeo, a sculptor who has developed dozens of characters for animated features like Ice Age and Despicable Me, using every tool at his disposal, from clay to Zbrush and beyond. But what is 'digital' sculpting? Is it 'really' sculpting? How does it work? Mike and Jason discuss these questions and more. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/4918193

Episode 66 - Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Part Two 12/03/2016

Episode 66 - Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Part Two In the second half of this two-part episode, we discuss several works by Saint-Gaudens; monuments that in the hands of lesser sculptors would have been standard, run-of-the-mill statues. But in the hands of a genius, commonplaces become masterpieces. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/4882826

Episode 65 - Augustus Saint-Gaudens Part One 11/15/2016

Episode 65 - Augustus Saint-Gaudens Part One To tell the story the story of the career of Augustus Saint-Gaudens is to tell the story of American sculpture in the late 19th century. In the first of this two-part biography, we discuss the beginnings of his remarkable career, his unique achievements in low relief, and more. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/4833398

Episode 64 - Robert Bodem 11/01/2016

Episode 64 - Robert Bodem One of the most influential instructors in figurative sculpture today, Robert Bodem has been the Director of Sculpture at the Florence Academy of Art since FAA started to offer sculpture in the 1990's. If you have ever wondered just what it is they do at the Florence Academy sculpture department, this interview is for you. Rob talks about his teaching curriculum and methodology, as well as his own work and influences. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/4788755

Episode 63 - Harriet Hosmer 10/16/2016

Episode 63 - Harriet Hosmer Harriet Hosmer was known in her day as a 'Lady Sculptor', an 'Emancipated Woman', and as a leading member of 'The White Marmorean Flock'. What all the meant was that she was a successful, independent sculptor at a time when such a career path was hardly open to women. And today, she is barely known at all... In this episode, find out why her work and life is worth remembering. /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/4746712

Romanticism Redux 05/01/2016

Romanticism Redux Host Jason Arkles bids you all a Romantic Adieu (Don't worry, /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/4332606

Episode 61 - Hiram Powers 04/24/2016

Episode 61 - Hiram Powers The first American sculptor to achieve international fame, Hiram Powers, did so with a statue which was as controversial for its anti-slavery sentiment as it was for its (gasp!) nudity. We know that America eventually overcame the scourge of slavery; but how did 19th century America deal with the scourge of the nude in art? /episode/index/show/thesculptorsfuneral/id/4315352

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