Critical Mass for the Visual Arts: Recent Episodes
None
Critical Mass for the Visual Arts is a nonprofit, self-formed visual arts collaborative dedicated to promoting, enhancing and initiating contemporary visual art in the St. Louis region.
Ep. 69- Katherine Poole-Jones
Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Katherine Poole-Jones.
Katherine Poole-Jones is Associate Professor of Art History at SIUE, specializing in early modern Italy. She teaches both halves of the introductory survey course in art history, as well as upper level courses on the Italian Renaissance, the Northern Renaissance, the Baroque period, Islamic art and architecture, and the public monument in Renaissance and Baroque Italy. She also team-teaches an Interdisciplinary Studies course on the history of museums and is very active in the Women’s Studies Department at SIUE, frequently giving lectures to support the program, and also teaching two of her most popular courses, Women in Art and Women in Renaissance and Baroque Italy, as cross-listed offerings.
Professor Poole-Jones received a Fulbright Fellowship to Italy in 2005-2006 to complete the research the resulted in her dissertation, The Medici Grand Dukes and the Art of Conquest: Ruling Identity and the Formation of a Tuscan Empire, 1537-1609, and she has published several essays on the Medici family and their use of patronage as propaganda. She also has presented her research widely, including at the Renaissance Society of America conference and the College Art Association conference, as well as maintains a strong relationship with the St. Louis Art Museum where she has presented numerous gallery talks as well as the Women’s History Month lecture in 2014. Her current research project, “Civic Identity and Ideology: The Public Monuments of Forest Park, St. Louis, 1876-1917,” investigates the public monuments of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century St. Louis and the role they played in shaping collective memory and disseminating a potent civic identity for the city in the years after the Civil War. She received her Ph.D. in art history from Rutgers University (2007) and an M.A., also in art history, from American University (2002).
5 Questions is a program by Critical Mass for the Visual Arts – a nonprofit, self-formed visual arts collaborative dedicated to promoting, enhancing and initiating contemporary visual art in the St. Louis region.
With Katherine Poole-Jones and Joe Kohlburn
Editor – Sarah Hammond
Producer – Brett Williams
Ep. 68 Jessica Mannisi
Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld. This episode we’re talking with Jessica Mannisi.
Jessica is a St. Louis-based curator, arts consultant, and art historian with 20 years of experience in the museum and gallery field. She’s devoted to supporting regional arts, and has worked closely with award-winning artists and organizations to elevate the local arts community. She has led the art & exhibitions programming at the Foundry Art Centre since 2020. A jack-of-all-trades in galleries and museums, her primary roles are curator of the Foundry’s 3600sqft Main Galleries of rotating exhibitions and organizer of the Foundry’s large-scale art events and programs, including the annual Block Party, the Grand Hall Mural Project, and the Foundry’s First Friday Series. After earning her graduate degree in Museum Studies from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Jessica was the assistant curator/registrar of the William & Florence Schmidt Art Center at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, Illinois. She followed this 8-year tenure as the assistant curator of visual art for the Angad Arts Hotel in St. Louis’ Grand Center, curating the permanent collection and the Hotel’s inaugural exhibition year. Prior to joining the Foundry, Jessica was an independent consultant and the curatorial director of Houska Gallery in the Central West End, St. Louis.
5 Questions is a program by Critical Mass for the Visual Arts – a nonprofit, self-formed visual arts collaborative dedicated to promoting, enhancing and initiating contemporary visual art in the St. Louis region.
With Jessica Mannisi and Joe Kohlburn
Editor – Sarah Hammond
Producer – Brett Williams
Ep. 67- Jodi Kolpakov
Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Jodi Kolpakov.
Jodi is a multi-disciplinary artist, educator, and foodie based in St. Louis. She graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design from Washington University in 2018, and completed her MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture this past year. Jodi is interested in midwestern americana, soviet aesthetics, and other compelling narratives around place, time, and culture. Her work includes zines, animation, caricature and a wide range of media infused with a playful sense of humor.
5 Questions is a program by Critical Mass for the Visual Arts – a nonprofit, self-formed visual arts collaborative dedicated to promoting, enhancing and initiating contemporary visual art in the St. Louis region.
With Jodi Kolpakov and Joe Kohlburn
Editor – Sarah Hammond
Producer – Brett Williams
Ep. 66.- Myrina Otey-Myton
Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Myrina ‘Renaissance’ Otey-Myton.
Myrina is a fashion, portrait and event photographer born and raised in St. Louis, MO. She is a wife, mother of 5 (soon to be 6), daughter, aunt, sister, and community collaboratHER. She graduated from UMSL in 2018 with a B.A. in Psychology, Workplace Science. As a native to St. Louis, her love and adoration for people of color has inspired her to learn more. Through her journey she has become fascinated with the constant evolution of black people, from our intelligence, fashion, art and natural state as expressive beings to all that we’ve overcome. Myrina first picked up a camera as a young girl learning from her father, Michael D. Otey Sr. After losing her job in 2016, she picked it up again and began freelancing. In May 2020, she opened up her first photography studio, Renaissance TJS Studios where she captures mostly women of color, encouraging them to tap into their confidence and beauty in front of her lens. Myrina’s studio is an all inclusive experience with makeup, wardrobe styling, creative direction and hype conversation. She has recently photographed Vice President Kamala Harris, and is currently on tour with Janelle Monáe.
With Myrina ‘Renaissance’ Otey-Myton and Joe Kohlburn
Editor – Sarah Hammond
Producer – Brett Williams
Ep. 65- Mee Jey `Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Mee Jey. Mee Jey is a multidisciplinary Indian artist concerned […]
Ep. 64- Melon Press Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Melon Press’ Sophia Malone and Dan Madrigal! MelonPress is a […]
Ep. 63- Occupy Vacancy (Brianna McIntyre and André Fuqua)
Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld. This episode we’re talking with Occupy Vacancy’s Brianna McIntyre and André Fuqua!
André Fuqua and Brianna McIntyre are creative professionals who are passionate about reviving the Northside and keeping the spirit of St. Louis alive. As Black artists with roots in St. Louis city and county, they are passionate about fellow natives returning home to contribute back to the city that raised them. Both artists attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and bonded over their deep ties to St. Louis. Each of their creative practices converges at the intersection of art, design, and architecture. The synergy of their combined practices, within the scope of Occupy Vacancy, promotes collaboration between art, design, engineering, community engagement, and neighborhood development.It is their hope that through this artistic intervention, they can inspire the natives who stayed, those who left, and individuals from afar to fall in love with St. Louis and celebrate the beauty of the city. Occupy Vacancyuses city-owned lots to install public art with the aim to acknowledge the collective loss of St. Louis’s neighborhoods
5 Questions is a program by Critical Mass for the Visual Arts – a nonprofit, self-formed visual arts collaborative dedicated to promoting, enhancing and initiating contemporary visual art in the St. Louis region.
Pick it up on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts
Or at criticalmassart.org/fivequestions, on twitter @criticalmassSTL, and IG @criticalmassart
Occupy Vacancy at https://www.occupyvacancy.com/rite-of-location
With Brianna McIntyre and André Fuqua and Joe Kohlburn
Editor – Sarah Hammond
Producer – Brett Williams
Ep. 62- Troy Sherman (Midwest Art Quarterly)Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Midwest Art Quarterly’s Troy Sherman!
Troy Sherman is a sort of recent transplant to the Midwest. Since moving here two years ago, he’s been writing art criticism pseudonymously, but as of the most recent number of the Midwest Art Quarterly has given up the nomme de plume. He started this glorified zine in hopes of injecting serious discourse about the visual arts into the St. Louis milieu. Considering some of the ire and irony with which the first issue was met, he hopes that it’s working. He wrote the whole first issue himself but has been joined for the second one by some fresh faces. He hopes that the Midwest Art Quarterly will continue to be of interest and to grow.
- Are you an Art Writer or an Art Critic?
- What role does actual criticism play as opposed to simply descriptive or discursive writing?
- Isn’t this to some extent rooted in the idea of art as a commodity or experience that must be given a certain number of stars, or compared favorably or unfavorably to other work that has been commercially successful? What of care?
- What do you want for St. Louis and its people?
- What do you wish someone would ask you about your work?
- What are you building towards?
5 Questions is a program by Critical Mass for the Visual Arts – a nonprofit, self-formed visual arts collaborative dedicated to promoting, enhancing and initiating contemporary visual art in the St. Louis region.
Pick it up on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts
Or at criticalmassart.org/fivequestions, on twitter @criticalmassSTL, and IG @criticalmassart
Find Troy and Midwest Art Quarterly @midwestartsquarterly
With Troy and Joe Kohlburn
Editor – Sarah Hammond
Producer – Brett Williams
Ep. 61- Tim Portlock
Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Tim Portlock!
Tim Portlock’s current work combines special effects software and the visual conventions of 19th-century American painting to creatively simulate contemporary cityscapes. In recent years, his large format print images have depicted imagined landscapes populated with the empty buildings that surround his home in Philadelphia as well as developments in post-boom and bust Las Vegas. Other work utilizes large outdoor video projections onto buildings, creating temporary public art that incorporates new media and the visual language of murals while engaging with architecture and city space. He received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. His exhibitions include SPRING/BREAK Art Show, PULSE New York, Broadstone Studios in Dublin as part of Photo Ireland (2012); the Tate Modern as a member of the artist collective Vox Populi (2011); Christie’s London, represented by Philagrafika (2012); the International Guerrilla Video Festival in Dublin (2009);This is Not a Gateway, a group exhibition of outdoor video projections in London (2009). He has also exhibited at the 404 Festival in Argentina and Italy, ISEA Japan, and Ars Electronica, Austria
Welcome
- Why art? Why create?
- Where should your work live, where does it live?
- What do you want for St. Louis and its people?
- What do you wish someone would ask you about your work?
- What are you building towards?5 Questions is a program by Critical Mass for the Visual Arts – a nonprofit, self-formed visual arts collaborative dedicated to promoting, enhancing and initiating contemporary visual art in the St. Louis region.
Or at criticalmassart.org/fivequestions, on twitter @criticalmassSTL, and IG @criticalmassart
With Tim Portlock and Joe Kohlburn
Editor – Sarah Hammond
Producer – Brett Williams
Ep. 60- Synthesis
Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld. This episode we’re doing a little something different. Brett, Sarah and I chat about our takeaways from almost six years of interviewing artists in STL.
5 Questions is a program by Critical Mass for the Visual Arts – a nonprofit, self-formed visual arts collaborative dedicated to promoting, enhancing and initiating contemporary visual art in the St. Louis region.
Or at criticalmassart.org/fivequestions, on twitter @criticalmassSTL, and IG @criticalmassart
With Sarah Hammond, Brett Williams, and Joe Kohlburn
Editor – Sarah Hammond
Producer – Brett Williams
Ep. 59- Emily Elhoffer Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld. This episode we’re talking with Emily Elhoffer. Emily Elhoffer is an interdisciplinary artist whose […]
Ep. 58 – Lyndsey Scott Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Lyndsey Scott! Lyndsey is an artist singer, community builder, […]
Ep. 57- cool WIP Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Nick Schleicher and Marina May of cool WIP Podcast. Cool […]
Ep. 56- Gretchen Wagner Gretchen L. Wagner is a curator, art historian, and writer based in St. Louis. She has completed projects featuring modern and contemporary art at institutions internationally, including the St. Louis Art Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Pulitzer Arts Foundation, WIELS Centre d’Art Contemporain, Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, International Print Center […]
Ep. 55- Cunst Gallery Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Cunst Gallery. Cunst Gallery is a house in Marine Villa, […]
Ep. 54 – Shawn Burkard Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Shawn Burkard. Shawn received his BFA from Webster University, […]
Ep 53. Jordan McGirk Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Jordan McGirk! Jordan McGirk received his BFA in Studio Art […]
Ep. 52- Amanda Verbeck Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Amanda Verbeck! Micro and macro, universal and personal, large and […]
Ep. 51- Adrian Aquilino Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Adrian Aquilino. Adrian Aquilino is an artist exploring the formal […]
Ep. 50- MK Stallings Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with MK Stallings. MK Stallings is a poet, educator, and community […]
Ep. 49- Roseann Weiss Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld. This episode we’re talking with Roseann Weiss. Roseann has over 30 years of experience […]
Ep. 48- Aeron Bergman and Alejandra Salinas Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Aeron Bergman and Alejandra Salinas . Bergman […]
Ep. 47- Evan and Stacey Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Evan and Stacey. Evan and Stacey are a collaborative […]
Ep. 46- Chloe West Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Chloe West. Chloe West is a visual artist born in […]
Ep 45- Simiya Sudduth Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Simiya Sudduth. Simiya is a mother, visual artist, spiritual and […]
Ep 44- Terry Suhre
Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode: Terry Suhre.
Suhre holds a B.F.A. in Painting from the University of Illinois- Urbana/ Champaign (1976) and a M.F.A. in Painting (1980) from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Terry Suhre was the Director of Gallery210 for 25 years, and was Research Professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Prior to Suhre’s appointment at UMSL in 1996, he was director for five years at the Catherine Smith Gallery at Appalachian State University, Boone North Carolina, where in addition to the curatorial, administrative and teaching duties he oversaw the visual arts component of An Appalachian Summer. Suhre began his career at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield where he worked from 1980-1990. Since 1983 he has organized and curated over 125 exhibitions. In addition to his university teaching and gallery responsibilities Suhre serves on several community arts boards and is active as a guest curator and juror. Terry is responsible for incredible shows including Damon Davis’ Negrophillia, as well as shows by Basil Kincaid, Jess. T Dugan, and the gallery’s annual Exposure series, which provides a showcase for emerging artists in the St. Louis Area.
Curator Questions:
- What is the curator’s place in the artworld? How has that changed since you started?
- How much do you think curators and writers should be involved in shaping an artist’s vision?
- What is your particular viewpoint, if you can distill it? Why is it vital?
- What are your top priorities or concerns as a curator?
- What are your parting words of wisdom/ parting shots to the St. Louis Artworld?
5 Questions is a program by Critical Mass for the Visual Arts – a nonprofit, self-formed visual arts collaborative dedicated to promoting, enhancing and initiating contemporary visual art in the St. Louis region.
Pick it up on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts
Or at criticalmassart.org/fivequestions, on twitter @criticalmassSTL, and IG @criticalmassart
With Terry Suhre, and Joe Kohlburn
Editor – Sarah Hammond
Producer – Brett Williams
Ep 43- Asma Kazmi
Welcome listeners to 5 Questions: A Critical Mass for the Visual Arts Podcast in which we ask 5 questions of our interviewees aimed at positioning and contextualizing their respective bodies of work within the St. Louis artworld.This episode we’re talking with Asma Kazmi.
Asma Kazmi is a research-based artist who combines virtual and material objects to explore simultaneity — a tug of more than one time and place. Her work involves long term engagement with cities, architecture, plants, animals, stones, and other matter to locate vestiges of relations forged by the legacies of colonialism and post-colonial contexts. Combining visual and textual detritus from western and non-western historical manuscripts, photographs, archival material, fragments of locations, and mixing them with her own fabulations, Kazmi tells intertwining stories about Islam, Muslim culture, complex trade routes, global flows of people and commodities, labor, colonial and indigenous knowledge systems, and interspecies entanglements. Kazmi was born in Quetta, a city in Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan. She works between the US, India, Pakistan, China, Europe, and the Middle East to create installations that are legible in various cultural contexts. Kazmi is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Art Practice and the Berkeley Center for New Media at UC Berkeley. Previously, she was permanent faculty and co-program director of the Art Program at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.
5 Questions is a program by Critical Mass for the Visual Arts – a nonprofit, self-formed visual arts collaborative dedicated to promoting, enhancing and initiating contemporary visual art in the St. Louis region.
Pick it up on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts
Or at criticalmassart.org/fivequestions, on twitter @criticalmassSTL, and IG @criticalmassart
With Asma Kazmi and Joe Kohlburn
Editor – Sarah Hammond
Producer – Brett Williams
Local Artist Roundtable 2021 (MAPS and Critical Mass for the Visual Arts)
Video:
Audio:
Midwest Artist Project Services (MAPS) and Critical Mass for the Visual Arts partnered to present this virtual local artist roundtable on Thursday, May 20 at 6:00 pm. The conversation centered on the impact of the pandemic on artists and reimagining creative life after. It asked the following questions:
How have artists adapted their practices?
What are valuable resources?
How do artists think creatively about the future, especially reimagining systems?
It is our sincere hope this is a meaningful opportunity to share stories and ideas, connect, and deeply reflect.
Moderator
Vanity Gee
Panelists
Jayvn Solomon
Simya Sudduth
Rachel Youn
Poet
Sahara Sista SOLS
Participant Info:
Vanity Gee—writer, musician, cultural producer, mother—@vanitykgee (IG)
Rachel Youn- @rachelyoun (IG)
Simiya Sudduth- @sagemoondoula and @tha_muthaship (IG), http://www.sagemoondoula.com, and http://spiritscapes.life
Jayvn Solomon- @jayvnize (IG), @StLoutopia (Twitter)
Sahara Sista S.O.L.S – @sistasols (IG)
Artist Recommendations
Dominic Chambers
Jordan Weber
Mad Keys
Michael Eric Dyson
Domestika