Humor and the Abject Podcast: Recent Episodes
Sean J Patrick Carney
Humor and the Abject is a podcast about contemporary art and comedy hosted by Sean J Patrick Carney.
It’s slime time. In 2022, artists Christopher Michlig and Oliver Payne released, respectively, the book File Under: Slime and the film A Brief History of Slime. At the time, each was completely unaware of the other’s slime-related research. On this episode, they join to discuss peak slime culture of the 1980s and 90s, the recent resurgence of slime through YouTube and TikTok, California as a cultural funnel and filter, and the Goop lifestyle. The outro music is “Mind Fulla Slime” by Mean Jeans. /// Purchase Michlig’s book through Hat & Beard Press here: https://hatandbeard.com/products/file-under-slime-by-christopher-michlig /// View Payne’s video here: https://vimeo.com/684376655 ///
Filmmaker and artist Adam Khalil joins the podcast to talk collaboration, nonlinear time, irony’s extant potential, and the aesthetics of Indigenous cinema. Among Khalil’s many film projects are Nosferasta: First Bite (2021), Empty Metal (2018), and INAATE/SE/ (2016). Khalil is a co-founder of the public secret society New Red Order, which you can get involved with by dialing 1 (888) NEW-RED1. If you’re in Michigan, Khalil will be screening films and speaking at a variety of events as part of GVSU’s Arts Celebration this month. See the full calendar here: https://tinyurl.com/khalilgvsu
New York writer Elvia Wilk joins to discuss her recent collection of essays on ecologies, “Death By Landscape” (Soft Skull Press, 2022). Using an accessible approach she calls “fan-nonfiction,” Wilk’s latest book catalouges and considers a diverse group of writers, while ruminating on plant-becoming, slow apocalypses, mysticism, LARPing, trauma, the New Weird, consent, and black holes. The outro music is “Planta” by Soda Stereo.
Purchase “Death By Landscape,” as well as Wilk’s 2019 debut novel “Oval,” through Soft Skull Press:
https://softskull.com/authors/elvia-wilk/
A science fiction set in the back of beyond, along a stretch of Interstate 80 in Northern Utah’s desolate Great Salt Lake Desert, where for decades the United States military has clandestinely tested its most volatile chemical, biological, and explosive weapons. Here, amidst blinding salt flats and far-flung mountain ranges, one local gig worker unwittingly crosses a top secret threshold, stumbling upon an alarming experiment that upsets the very foundations of our temporal reality.
Originally published by Do Not Research: https://donotresearch.net/
Pre-Order the physical book, scheduled May 2022, with original drawings by Thomas J Gamble: https://humorandtheabject.com/store/backslasher
A science fiction set in the back of beyond, along a stretch of Interstate 80 in Northern Utah’s desolate Great Salt Lake Desert, where for decades the United States military has clandestinely tested its most volatile chemical, biological, and explosive weapons. Here, amidst blinding salt flats and far-flung mountain ranges, one local gig worker unwittingly crosses a top secret threshold, stumbling upon an alarming experiment that upsets the very foundations of our temporal reality.
Originally published by Do Not Research: https://donotresearch.net/
Pre-Order the physical book, scheduled May 2022, with original drawings by Thomas J Gamble: https://humorandtheabject.com/store/backslasher
Humor and the Abject has a special treat for all you screedlers out there: an interview with Japanther co-founder Ian Vanek. He’s about to release “Puppy Dog Ice Cream,” a new book all about Japanther’s 13-year run, published by Outlandish Press. We talked about buzzing, vibing, and dancing; Brooklyn DIY in the mid-00s; one-man motorcycle/sampler tours; the rainy charm of the Pacific Northwest; blissing the fuck out; playing a show in a castle with Penny Rimbaud of Crass (who bit them); how to make your band a sculpture, and a whole lot more. The outro music is Ian’s current band HOWARDIAN, reworking a Genesis classic.
Pre-order your copy of “Puppy Dog Ice Cream” today: https://www.outlandish.press/store/p/puppy-dog-ice-cream-the-story-of-japanther
Ohhhhhhhhhhh, babyyyyyyyy. It’s the lucky thirteenth episode of the DSA Podcast, starring your pals Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe. To celebrate, the power trio ripped into some of the most important topics of the day including Jeff Bezos delivering packages to the moon, raccoon roommates, fighting a cat, Alec Baldwin sightings, and more. The outro music is “True Romance” by Tiger Army.
New York writer Charlie Markbreiter (@BerlantBro) has written about contemporary art, humor, and edgelordism for The New Inquiry, Artforum, Baffler, Momus, and Garage, among others. On this week’s episode, we talked about their interest in comedy and humorlessness; a recent interview they conducted with scholar Lauren Berlant; why the NYMPHOWARS podcast subverts right wing and liberal expectations; gimmickry, social justice, and being annoying; and the impotent self-destruction of Jackass. The outro music is “Delete Yourself!” by Atari Teenage Riot.
Read Charlie’s interview with Lauren Berlant here: https://thenewinquiry.com/cant-take-a-joke/
Read Charlie’s article on NYMPHOWARS here: https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/vbaz9d/nymphowars-podcast
Janet40 is the Mexico City-based curatorial and production platform of Patricia Siller and Luis Nava. They’ve been in Austin for the last month as part of the Unlisted Projects residency program at the Museum of Human Achievement. While in town, they’ve been working on prototyping and fabricating objects for artists Canek Zapata (Mexico City) and Hannah Dubbe (Austin). We got the chance to get together in their studio at MoHA and talk about their current projects; the Janet40 origin story; having day jobs; turning URL content into IRL objects; capitalism; love; how to make rice glow in the dark; aliens; the nature of collaboration; and the totally nuts amount of upcoming projects they’ve already got in the works. The outro music is “It’s a Fine Day” by Opus III.
View their project archive here: https://janet40.com/
It’s my big birthday week, babies. To celebrate, I caught up with an old friend, artist Beth Campbell from New York. She was visiting Austin this past week to unveil a new public art project as part of the Landmarks collection at the University of Texas. I got to see Beth do a great conversation with philosopher Timothy Morton, who also wrote a nice essay about her work available via the link below. During our own conversation, Beth and I discussed the arc of her practice over the last 20 years, which has won her a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Pollack-Krasner Grant, and has seen her work presented in venues including the Whitney, the Drawing Room in London, MoMA PS1, and tons of other places. We talk mirrors, audience expectations, the difference between installation and sculpture, emotional time travel, and a whole lot more. The outro music is “Mythmaster” by Lightning Bolt.
Read Timothy Morton’s essay, and learn more about Beth’s Landmarks project, here:
https://landmarks.utexas.edu/artwork/spontaneous-futures-possible-past
Azikiwe is finally back from his travels all around North America, so it’s time for another installment of everybody’s favorite podcast within the podcast, the DSA Podcast (Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe). With the remake of “Pet Sematary” dropping this week, we thought it only appropriate to do a comprehensive review of the original film that is now 30 years old. We also learn a lot about different types of domestic pet breeds! Fuck it all, baby! The outro music is “Pet Sematary” by Ramones.
New York writer Mike Pepi makes his debut on the Humor and the Abject podcast to talk about the important topics currently ripping up your mind: the smooth jazz rock of Steely Dan; parvenus; the Mueller Report; restaurant lighting design; why museums are failing to confront platform capitalism; how many times one can legally donate to Bernie; that classic libertarian love of street art; the twisted history of Huntington, New York; picks for Vice President; restaurant drama across Manhattan; and, of course, neoliberalism. The outro music is “Black Cow” by Steely Dan.
March is apparently Toronto month, because we’ve got artist Bridget Moser joining this week. Bridget is currently an artist-in-residence in Cleveland at SPACES, where she’s got a solo exhibition of brand new work, generated in-residence, opening up next month. Over the course of this episode, we got to talk about many important topics including: the slow death of mall culture; how ugly Toronto is; the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; reading Adbusters and making political art in college; why painting is so boring; learning performance art by just doing one thing for a really long time; prop comedy; obsessively rehearsing; accounting for time and tech; organizing a performance by color or other compositional tools; why everything in a gallery sounds like shit; and the lovely work of festival staff. The outro music is “Kids” by PUP.
Toronto artists Amy Lam and Jon McCurley have been collaborating for 13 years as Life of a Craphead. On this week’s episode, we talked about their current exhibition, “Entertaining Every Second,” which has toured throughout Canada to its current site of Montreal; self-organizing a 30-show live even series called Doored; why cutting your teeth on stage makes you a better sculptor; the glaring problems with Ken Burns’ “Vietnam” documentary; King Edward VII; whether or not people in Toronto live in bars; and so much more. The outro music is “Ontario” by Neil Young.
It’s episode 100 of the Humor and the Abject podcast! To celebrate this unholy milestone, we brought back our very first guest ever: Darcie Wilder. THIS IS NOT JUST A DSA PODCAST WITHOUT AZIKIWE. Over the course of this latest conversation, Darcie and I discussed her weekly conceptual newsletter, “sentences”; the Elizabeth Holmes Theranos scandal; the nuances of reporting for jury duty; that time Mayor de Blasio killed a groundhog and tried to cover it up; and we play a brand new game called Better Take Than Never. Throughout the episode, you’ll hear cameos from multiple previous Humor and the Abject guests. The outro music is a total travesty by alumnus Daniel J Glendening.
Buy Darcie’s book here:
https://store.nytyrant.com/products/literally-show-me-a-healthy-person-by-darcie-wilder
Subscribe to the “sentences” newsletter here:
https://tinyletter.com/darcie
Support Humor and the Abject on Patreon here:
https://www.patreon.com/humorandtheabject
Western Mass artist Emma Kohlmann was visiting Austin for a printmaking residency at the University of Texas last week, and was kind enough to drop by to record an episode. We talked about zines and doing book fairs; bakeries and why sourdough is printmaking; liberal arts colleges; Scooby Doo; flirting with anti-civ tendencies; punk festivals; assuming you can’t be an artist; our siblings; the 2007 Toyota Prius; walking everywhere; what is wrong with parents today; and even more. The outro music is “Time to Stand” by Deep Wound.
Check out Emma’s work here: http://ekohlmann.com/
As part of fabled collective Paper Rad, artist Jacob Ciocci co-produced animations, video collages, and HTML works that have had a profound influence on almost every artist working with technology today—whether they realize it or not. On this week’s episode, Jacob joins from his new home of Chicago to discuss fatherhood; his early days as a student at Oberlin College with Cory Arcangel and Paul B Davis; the genesis of Paper Rad with his sister, artist Jessica Ciocci, and Ben Jones; the aesthetic break between Paper Rad and postinternet art; his beguiling experience encountering Fort Thunder in Providence; the craft beer craze and artifical scarcity; being scared of watching brain-rotting cartoons; his longtime musical collaboration, Extreme Animals, with David Wightman; being so uncool that it becomes cool; a recent teaching gig in animation; and the devastating pain of archiving your work. The outro music is “SURFING/SUFFERING” by Extreme Animals. Additional Extreme Animals tracks play throughout the episode.
Want to hear more Extreme Animals? Buy a digital download of their movie, "The Urgency," here:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/theurgency
Performance artist Jordan Wayne Long moved to Los Angeles in 2013 with his collaborator Matt Glass. Over the last six years, they’ve written, directed, and produced multiple film projects and taken home numerous Emmys as HCT.Media. On this week’s episode, Jordan joins first to talk about shipping himself in a crate across the country, tackling PTSD through performance, the complications of audience participation, knowing why you’re doing what you’re doing, and getting knocked off a horse. Following a short break filled with fun facts about Richard Brautigan, Matt joins the episode to talk about HCT.Media’s ambitious history of DIY filmmaking and what’s in store for the future. The outro music is a song called “Football” by Jordan and Matt.
Check out the trailer to their first feature narrative, “Squirrel,” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2bySkOp58
Comedian Lorelei Ramirez returns to the podcast to talk about why founding—and sustaining—their monthly show NOT DEAD YET was important; the behind-the-scenes process of producing an 11-minute infomercial epic called “Pervert Everything” for Adult Swim; collaborating to identify resources for community organizing through the event series Incite Action (and how you can get involved); curating a new video series at Syndicated in Bushwick; the podcast “A Woman’s Smile” with Patti Harrison; and when acting sucks. The outro song is “Cologne” by Trans Am.
LOS ANGELES — Get tickets to “Alive! (For Now)” here:
2/09 @ The Ruby: https://therubyla.com/events/lorelei-ramirez/
2/10 @ Lyric Hyperion: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lorelei-ramirez-alive-for-now-tickets-55254306117
CHICAGO — Get tickets to “Alive! (For Now)” here:
3/18 @ The Hideout: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lorelei-ramirez-alive-for-now-tickets-54432922336
With partial federal government shutdown over, the Humor and the Abject furlough comes to an end. We’re kicking off 2019 with the 11th episode of the podcast within the podcast, the DSA Podcast, which stands for Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe. Get yourself into the groove of reopened national parks, a funded TSA, and federal I-9 work verifications courtesy of a conversation blossoming with 2019 predictions, Stephen King lore, the hottest Ja Rule takes, over-participation in contemporary art exhibitions, and getting kicked out of bars. The outro music is “Am I Evil?” by Extreme Animals.
Humor and the Abject is taking a little holiday break, but to celebrate the end of 2018, it’s episode 10 of the podcast within the podcast, The DSA Podcast (Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe). On this Christmas-themed episode, the comrades discuss their holiday plans, recent encounters with cinema, a super obscure book about Jesus that Darice has, screaming tips, the upcoming season of True Detective, and they even do a little bit of radio theater for your listening pleasure. The outro song is “Silver Bells” by Twisted Sister. See you in 2019.
New York poet Peter BD is about to release a new mixtape, “Milk & Henny,” a follow-up to his 2018 book of the same name from Inpatient Press. Peter and I connected to talk about accidentally channeling Jack Handy, his broad animal care skills, the “Milk & Henny” origin story, writing in Gmail drafts, studying biology, JC Chasez, inadvertently becoming an alt-lit darling, collaborating with musicians and other writers, writing stories about people and emailing them to them, actually liking “The Corrections,” tall people, our first cars, and The Narrows. He also participated in a new game, and even let me leak a couple of his new tracks. The outro song is “Reading Rainbow” from his forthcoming mixtape.
Buy the "Milk & Henny" book here: https://inpatientpress.bigcartel.com/product/milk-henny-by-peter-bd
Dena Winter, FKA May Waver, is an artist and production designer known for her audiovisual explorations of intimacy, environment, memory, and selfhood in the so-called digital age. She joins Humor and the Abject this week from the frozen tundras of her home in St. Paul, MN to talk about the advent of her online alter ego May Waver, the value of tenderness in art and life, self and ego, perceptions of authenticity, working in set design for stage and the big screen including a new movie she’s part of called “American Tender,” life in the Twin Cities, and more. Halfway through the episode, you’ll hear the Custom Sound Collage for November’s Patreon Lottery winner, Jacob W. For a chance to win your own, support Humor and the Abject on Patreon. The outro music is “Mall of America” by Desaparecidos.
Are you feeling experimental? I am. On this week’s episode, I’m trying out something that I hope to do more of in the future: writers reading their work. To break the ice, I’ve opted to offer myself up as the sacrificial lamb and read two pieces of my own. The first, “Jalipaz Kirkham: In Profile,” is something I wrote for the release event of poet Peter BD’s book “Milk & Henny” last spring. The second is a very, very stupid piece of erotic fiction about Westworld titled “Have We Met Before?” that I read at a comedy night called Into the Woods, organized by Ari Richter, this past summer. If you just want to hear one or the other in the future, these are the timestamps:
04:40 — “Jalipaz Kirkham: In Profile” 20:57 — “Have We Met Before?”
The outro music is “Fiction” by Joni Mitchell. I’m currently open to requests for writers I’ve had on the podcast that you’d like to hear read their work and get the Humor and the Abject audio environment treatment.
Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe are back for another podcast-within-the-podcast, and this time they’re talking about cheese—and animals! The outro music is “Cheese Roll Call” from Pinky and the Brain.
Photographer Matthew Leifheit’s most recent body of work, “Fire Island Night,” is on view at Deli Gallery in Brooklyn through December 2nd. He joined Humor and the Abject this week to talk about his independent photo journal MATTE, trying to maintain a practice while juggling multiple adjunct teaching gigs, the importance of building trust and allowing for coincidence in photography, his years as photo editor at VICE, a three-month stint on Fire Island in the pursuit of his latest project, looking to the future while archiving the past, still working with film, generational shifts in queer communities, and more. We’re occasionally joined by his dog, Debbie Harry. The outro music is “Raw Deal” by Judas Priest.
View documentation from Matthew’s “Fire Island Night” here: https://www.matthewleifheit.com/fire-island-night/
Joshua Citarella has a phenomenal new book out, "UNTITLED (Post-Left Politigram)," that you can read an excerpt from via his website linked below. It’s a collection of his research, writing, and artwork over several years related to accelerated political identities in adolescent online culture. He joins from his efficiency living unit in New York City this week to talk about his involvement with historically notorious Tumblr art collective the Jogging, accidental audiences, the not-yet-readymades he designed with Brad Troemel for Etsy under the banner of Ultraviolet Production House, startling overlaps between rightwing doomsday preppers and rooftop gardening Pinterest libs, freelance purgatory, Deftones, not getting an MFA, the byzantine philosophies of politically-radical Instagram posters, reading “Ishmael” once, and photography. The outro music is “Hearts Frozen Solid, Thawed Once More By The Spring Of Rage, Despair And Hopelessness” by AFI. About halfway through the episode, you’ll hear the first Custom Sound Collage from October’s subscriber lottery, made for OK Fox and Lucia Love of the Art and Labor podcast. If you’d like a chance to win one of your own, back Humor and the Abject on Patreon for just $3/mo.
Get excerpts from Joshua Citarella’s new book here: http://joshuacitarella.com/_pdf/Politigram_Post-left_2018_short.pdf
Fresh off her solo exhibition, “Utopia Without You” at Williamson | Knight in Portland, OR, artist Tabitha Nikolai linked up with me to talk Nightcore, earnest rites of suburban occult, post-cataclysmic world-building, junk food asteroids, crust punk elves in the Pacific Northwest, a general malaise with liberalism and prescriptive visibility, isolation and the gamer's den, her fictitious corporation called Dynamic Horizons Limited, upgrade culture, planned and perceived obsolescence, cosplay and D&D, performative allyship in art institutions and gallery spaces, and growing up in Utah. The outro music is Don McClean’s “The Flight of Dragons (Nightcore Remix).”
Humor and the Abject just migrated over from Drip to Patreon. Subscribe today for just $3/mo:
https://www.patreon.com/humorandtheabject
Check out Tabitha’s website here:
https://tabithanikolai.com/
See images from “Utopia Without You” here:
https://www.williamsonknight.com/tabitha-nikolai/
New York comedian and artist Alex Schmidt has a solo exhibition, “Group Fail Pony Play,” on view through October 28th at Leslie-Lohman Museum. We connected this week to talk about her Midwest roots, loving queer culture enough to satirize it, why they don’t make movies about Chicago anymore, what constitutes an actual family reunion, how breaking a horse is a metaphor for dom/sub relationships, creating IRL spaces for queer connections of all stripes from love to skillshares, her band Las Thumbelinas, pop-up dyke bars, teaching improv to diverse communities, and the upcoming event she’s co-organizing at Leslie-Lohman with Black + Pink on Thursday, October 25th. The outro music is “Willie” by Las Thumbelinas.
Learn more about the October 25th event, and RSVP, here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-pink-orientation-and-pen-pal-matching-tickets-50081283467
Philly comic Kyle Harris visited Austin recently for a gig at Altercation Comedy Fest. He kindly made time to join me in the kitchen for an historic meeting of the minds that examines his dislike of not only his chosen art form, but also the city that he calls home. We chatted about sleep paralysis, Good Good Comedy (the only good thing in Philly, according to him), mayonnaise versus Miracle Whip, his sketch group Darlings, the tourism industry, honky tonks, his Boston origin story, his lady’s-man uncle, food cuckolding, The Flintstones live-action film, and hypothetical sculpture. The outro song is “Voicemails” by Yung K.
Support Humor and the Abject for a chance to win an original, personalized sound collage at: http://d.rip/humorandthebject
The DSA Podcast is back and bicoastal! If you count the Gulf of Mexico as one of the two coasts, that is. Your trusted hosts—Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe—are back after a brief hiatus to bring you all the hottest takes on things that have almost no impact on your everyday life. And it’s the introduction of a brand new game never before played on the pod. The outro music is “Jumpers” by Sleater-Kinney.
Austin writer and director Yen Tan released a powerful film this year, “1985.” It tells the story of Adrian, a young man living through the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York who returns home for the holidays to his conservative Texas family. Yen dropped by the kitchen to talk about the development and production of the film, telling every day stories poetically, being an independent filmmaker in Austin, his previous feature projects, and his incredible graphic design work for other directors. The outro music is “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” by U2 from the “Batman Forever” soundtrack. Find out where you can see “1985” on the film’s website:
http://1985thefilm.com/
It’s time for some sound art. Don’t read below unless you’ve actually listened to this entire thing. LOL.
02:00 - AFI - Miss Murder 05:15 - Gorilaz - Feel Good Inc 08:55 - Oasis - Wonderwall 13:00 - Misfits - Hybrid Moments 14:34 - At the Drive-In - One Armed Scissor 18:17 - The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps 23:03 - HIM - Right Here in My Arms 26:49 - 311 - Beautiful Disaster 30:45 - Nirvana - Lake of Fire 33:08 - Green Day - Welcome to Paradise 36:49 - NOFX - Linoleum 38:49 - Weezer - Say It Ain’t So 43:00 - Dio - Holy Diver 47:43 - Blur - Song 2 49:42 - Better Than Ezra - Good 52:47 - Black Sabbath - Paranoid 55:30 - Maroon 5 - Harder to Breathe 58:21 - Ellie Goulding - Lights 61:35 - Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal 65:00 - Fastball - The Way
Los Angeles comedian and non-fine-dining guru Danny Palumbo, a Prodigal Son of Austin, returned to town this weekend for a couple of headlining dates at the Velveeta Room. He dropped by Humor and the Abject to talk about his new food podcast Meatball Party, living in Los Angeles, cooking across a spectrum of kitchens, high concept online food pranks, that time he appeared on America’s Got Talent, his brother who I still think doesn’t exist, 9/11 in Texas, toxic masculinity in grill culture, Ratatouille, poetic ways of stealing from your boss, shucking oysters, and more. The outro song is “Le Festin” by Camille from the Ratatouille soundtrack.
See Danny’s upcoming dates around the US here:
http://www.palumbros.com/new-page/
Check out his fake restaurant concepts here:
http://lilbuco.com/ http://www.abbrevsrestaurant.com/ http://cucinaconfusion.com/
Photographer Oliver Leach, notorious as BAKOON on Twitter, joins Humor and the Abject over Skype this week all the way from San Francisco. We talked about his love of horror, rent-controlled apartments, his weird photographic processes, teratoma twins, Texas beef, circumventing the gallery system and selling directly to his audience on Twitter, prank phone calls, a bunch of comic books and movies I’ve never heard of, bullying the bullies on the alt-right, and even more photography. Make sure to follow Oliver on Twitter, and check out his reasonably-priced artwork at http://oliverleach.com/. The outro song is “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” by Fantômas.
Happy Art and Labor Day! On this week’s episode, I connected with artists and art workers OK Fox and Lucia Love, hosts of the excellent podcast Art and Labor out of New York. We talked about shitty jobs in the art world, what led them to launch the podcast, the value of art in revolutionary thinking, not being an authority but still participating, why Kandinsky might be kind of neat, the paradoxes of the MFA, trying to live below your means as a practical economic safety measure, the difficulty of labor organizing in art world jobs, and so much more. Special thanks to their producer, Joey, for running the boards on their end. The outro music is the Art and Labor theme song, “Man! Let’s Have Fun” by Icy Spicy Leoncie.
Support Art and Labor on Drip here: https://d.rip/art-and-labor
Seven is God’s number, and the seventh episode of the DSA Podcasts is positively divine. This time around, Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe have another pointless conversation, this time regarding Hawaii’s Big Island, bogs, the Hamptons, wedding DJs, people who get fired from their jobs because of social media, Bernard Sanders, The Wing, regional museums, container vendor Storables, the Vietnam War, how House ripped off Becker, and Tinder. The outro song is “Harrison Bergeron” by Snapcase.
Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly is gearing up to celebrate the band’s 20th (!!!) anniversary. He joined me in the kitchen this week to talk about Thursday’s origin story, some of his fondest memories from their two-decade career, the anonymous supergroup United Nations, a year of drama involving Lostprophets and Martin Shkreli, approaching age 40, and a whole lot more. The outro music is “No Sympathy for a Sinking Ship” by United Nations. Also, I’m moving to Austin this week. LOL.
Mothmen! Yetis! Chupacabras! Oh My! Artist Laura Bernstein drops by this week to talk about alternative genetics, cryptids, imagined future beings, circus aesthetics, the paradox of zoos, growing up in the Bronx, materiality and texture, funky wool, recent exhibitions at the Anytime Dept. in Cincinnati and NURTUREart in Brooklyn, and what’s gonna happen when the plumbing infrastructure eventually collapses. The outro song is “The Legend” by Tim Cook.
Recorded inside of one of Richard Serra’s Torqued Ellipses at Dia:Beacon, comedian Ana Fabrega is back in her second appearance on Humor and the Abject. Earlier on the day this was recorded, Ana was a visiting artist for the teens I teach at the museum, performing a live comedy set for them and then helping them workshop one-act plays they’ve been writing. Ana and I talked about the big news that HBO has ordered a season of her new show, "Los Espookys," co-created with Fred Armisen and Julio Torres. We also discussed her season writing for "The Chris Gethard Show," why she’s been more selective in where she performs live, and surf music’s obsession with being spooky. Also on this episode, it’s the return of audio food review series The Savage Table with Alex Savage (@focra), wherein he reviews a ham sandwich that he ate over a year ago in Italy. The background music in my speaking intro is “Conquistador” by Guantanamo Baywatch, and the outro song is “Barbacoa,” also by Guantanamo Baywatch.
Journalist Adrian Chen has covered the darkest corners of internet culture for years. He’s been a staff writer at the New Yorker and Gawker, and has bylines in practically every publication and on every platform you’ve ever heard of. On this week’s episode, he stops by to discuss his early writing on the Silk Road and the dark web, his sociological research into trolling and its complicated relationship to comedy, the depths of Reddit and 4chan, getting doxxed, the great Gawker Hack of 2010, his upcoming book project, moving to Los Angeles, and his recent lengthy profile of controversial IRL streamer Ice Poseidon for the New Yorker. The outro music is “Scuffed Walk” by Tracksuit Andy, Ice Poseidon, Ebz, Sam Pepper and Kiedom.
I think that Christin Bailey is the funniest person on all of Twitter. She joined me over Skype this week from sunny San Diego to talk about her recent visit to Europe, her outrageous astrology column, the Animaniacs, why The Departed is the most complicated piece of cinema in the 21st century, her family bonds, and more. The outro music is “Bells of Dublin/Christmas Eve” by the Chieftains.
Matt Christman of Chapo Trap House drops by this week to talk about his humble Midwest origin story, what gets him riled up most, the unending quest to post, whether political satire is dead, the millennial move towards socialist politics, why sophistication is stupid, and his morbid predictions about the supposedly imminent Blue Wave. The outro music is “I Love My Shirt” by Donovan.
Buy The Chapo Guide to Revolution here:
http://chapotraphouse.com/book/
Get tickets to the release event at The Strand in NYC here:
https://www.strandbooks.com/event/chapo-trap-house
You’re probably already following Jenson Leonard on Instagram. He’s Cory in the Abyss, the hilarious and pointed poet, digital artist, and meme producer. Jenson dropped by the kitchen this week to talk about antiblackness in meme culture, the ways in which vernacular is appropriated for material capital, building layers and layers of comedy into his work, the tragedy of the comments section, studying creative writing at Pratt, why he wouldn’t want to be Robin Williams, and a whole lot more. Shout out to the dude Andrew Shuta for introducing us. Artist and writer manuel arturo abreu did a really, really great interview with Jenson for AQNB a while back which we talked about on the episode, and was instrumental in helping me to form my questions for the podcast this week. Give it a read and share:
http://www.aqnb.com/2017/12/12/still-i-shitpost-cory-in-the-abyss-on-a-communism-of-the-visual-antiblackness-in-the-meme-o-sphere-with-manuel-arturo-abreu/
The outro music is “Summer Holidays vs. Punk Routine” by the Refused.
Artist Lex Brown makes videos, drawings, sculptures, and performances that mix science fiction with a healthy dose of dark humor. Recently, she and Aaron Fowler collaborated on a performance work called “C.E.” that debuted at the New Museum. After getting the chance to see it, I just had to invite her over for a conversation! Lex dropped by to talk about her writing process, her fascination with cartoons and slapstick, the types of science fictions she wants to put into the world, the mystery of power, the end of the fucking world, having cool parents who actually love and support you, collaboration, and much more. You can catch one of Lex’s videos in the group show “Elastic Behavior” curated by Memory Foam at Java Project in Greenpoint that opens up on July 7th:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1051927431621697/
Ross Simonini’s debut novel, “The Book of Formation,” is a fascinating exploration of the cult of personality in an age where mass media has replaced traditional spirituality. But Ross isn’t just a writer, he’s also an accomplished visual artist, a musician, and a gifted interviewer. And his novel, appropriately, is told almost entirely through the format of interview transcripts. Splitting his time between Northern California and New York City, he stopped by the kitchen this week to talk about the book. We also discussed his literary influences, his experimental teaching, how the music he produces owes a lot to a fascination with writers and mythology, our collective nostalgia for the golden age of cults, “digressive” sitcoms, the art of the interview, and his somewhat-but-not-entirely useless study of astrophysics. The outro music is “Bad Past Gone Away” by Ross’s band, NewVillager.
Happy Knife Month, screedlers! On this episode of the DSA Podcast, Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe got together to talk about their shared love of knives, and further covered topics as diverse as parental sex, what’s in the fucking news, why Thomas J Gamble is a style icon, Mystic River, the greatest breakups of 2013, astrological signs, True Detective, Eminem’s sobriety, Darcie’s recent hangout with the Greenpoint police, Cartman impressions, and brrrrrup-a-ting-wah! The outro music is “Carpe Diem” by Nerve Agents.
Providence-based artist and activist Sheida Soleimani was recently in town for her solo exhibition “Medium of Exchange” at the CUE Foundation. She stopped by the kitchen to talk about how this recent body of work uses comedy and queer identities to critique the relationship between oil production in the east and military industrialism in the west. We also gabbed about multiple other things like teaching, writing screenplays, Flat Earthers, why arts administrators suck, the Creation Museum, baby boomers, death threats from Iran, why military people are such fucking nerds, the graphic design of OPEC.org, some of her all-star students, her family’s history of political radicalism, and more. The outro song is “Weave & Unravel” by Tilt.
Sheida’s show is up at the CUE Foundation in New York through July 14th: http://cueartfoundation.org/sheida-soleimani
Hollywood Handbook’s best co-host, Hayes Davenport, happened to be in New York recently on a trip back from Italy and stopped by the kitchen. First of all, I’m SORRY about the scrappy audio quality. I explain what happened in the intro. ANYWAYS, this was a really fun and informative episode. Hayes and I talked about the origins of Hollywood Handbook and why certain guests have trouble on it, his new local politics show the LA Podcast with Scott Frazier, writing for Danny McBride and Jody Hill, the impossibility of ethical consumption under late capitalism, being a YIMBY vs a NIMBY vs a PHIMBY, whether or not dunking on libs by rose emoji Twitter accounts is an effective route to social revolution, problematic policing of the homeless population in Los Angeles, and being a realist about socioeconomic compromise. The outro music is “Ouroboros” by the Mars Volta. Scope below for links to the books that Hayes recommended on the episode.
“Down, Out, and Under Arrest” by Forrest Stuart: http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo23530208.html
“The Color of Law” by Richard Rothstein: https://www.epi.org/publication/the-color-of-law-a-forgotten-history-of-how-our-government-segregated-america/
“The Edge Becomes the Center” by DW Gibson: https://www.dwgibson.net/book/the-edge-becomes-the-center/
Writer Erin Schwartz drops by the kitchen this week to talk about her new gig as assistant editor at VICE imprint Garage. We also talked about why the Jersey Shore reboot is a Greek tragedy, the nonfiction publication she co-produces called Natasha, writing about culture using a lateral but rigorous approach, class appropriation in high fashion, the nuanced layers in the lyrical playground that is Limp Bizkit’s catalogue, her favorite contemporary writers, the current existential crisis in journalism, why writing fiction is terrifying, vanity plates, and New Jersey in general. The outro song is “Stokin’ the Neighbors” by Lagwagon.
Check out Erin's work for Garage here: https://garage.vice.com/en_us/contributor/erin-schwartz
We've UNLOCKED the latest episode of The DSA Podcast (Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe), the podcast within the podcast, usually only available to our Drip subscribers. On this very public episode, we discussed Darcie's new dog psychic, explored the lyricism of the Mars Volta and At the Drive-in, learned about what Azikiwe's been eating, and staged a heated debate on the politics surrounding parental leave. To hear all other DSA episodes, subscribe on Drip! The outro music is the first four minutes of the thirty-two minute Mars Volta song "Cassandra Gemini." LMAO.
Live from their exhibition “Everything Speaks” at Geary Contemporary in New York City, artists Kristen Jensen and Ben Dowell join Humor and the Abject for a fun conversation on making art for non-art audiences, gravity, growing up in flyover states, studio techniques, intuitive color, caricature in material choices, skepticism, and the price of pants. “Everything Speaks” is on view through Saturday, May 19th. Check out documentation here:
http://www.geary.nyc/exhibitions/everything-speaks
The outro music is “Heliotrope” by At the Drive-in.
The Philadelphia Tapes Part II: Alex Da Corte. It was a real treat during my trip to Philly to have the opportunity to swing by Alex Da Corte’s studio and record an episode. He’s one of the sweetest and hardworking artists out there. On this episode, we talked about fear, his intense love of books, the time he stalked his family in New Jersey as Michael Myers from “Halloween,” his recent solo exhibition called “C-A-T Spells Murder” at Karma in NYC, what it’s like to be penpals with painter Sam McKinniss, collaboration as a matter-of-fact, the history of the “Easternsports” exhibition he produced with Jayson Musson at ICA Philadelphia, directing a Dev Hynes music video-turned-Gap-ad, making art without knowing what you’re doing or even what it’s about, why video art is so difficult, and why every single thing that he makes is really just a bong. The outro music is “Familiar Patterns” by Toronto punk band PUP.
Artist James Allister Sprang is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. On a recent weekend trip down to Philadelphia, I had the privilege of catching up with James on the very day that he completed his MFA at the University of Pennsylvania. Moments after his final critique, we popped into a small room on campus and recorded this interview. James and I discussed the birth and evolution of his performance persona GAZR, the politics of sampling and appropriation, his interest in language as material, tricksters, the exploitable failings of voice recognition technology, concrete in the literal and metaphorical senses, his history with poetry, and hot take music jokes that might be a decade late. The outro music is “Midnight Service at the Mütter Museum” by Murder City Devils.
Chris Oh is a painter’s painter. He loves wiggling a brush around on a canvas and has been weirding people out in New York for years with his photorealistic and psychedelic paintings. On this week’s episode, Chris dropped by the kitchen to talk about his recent solo exhibition at Sargent’s Daughters, his fascination with science fiction book covers, working on found materials, a love of the Dutch old masters, wrestling with making funny work, childhood terrors, mythologies, and the time he and his brother were driving a van and then it exploded. Chris told me on the episode that you could still order his book “CODEX” from Heavy Time Books in Australia, but their website says it’s sold out. LOL. I don’t know… maybe email them and see if they have an extra copy lying around? Here is the link: https://www.heavytime.com/collections/all/products/chris-oh-codex
The outro song is “Running Out of Time” by Dead Moon.
Skyping in from her studio at the University of Texas at Austin, artist Ariel Jackson is my guest this week. She produces sculpture, video, performance, and installation works that are research-driven critiques of United States history and culture. On this week’s episode, we talked about science fiction and Afrofuturism, games, intuition and color, complications in comedy and her “Dave Chappelle” moment, accessing and synthesizing information versus emotion, her recent studio projects that engage the politics of education and the history of African American farming, intersectionality, a 2017 artist residency she did in Senegal, cooking, and her new obsession with Topo Chico since relocating to Austin.
RSVP to the Live Humor and the Abject event at Kickstarter here: https://t.co/h2qpwQOxdH
To celebrate my big birthday, artistic and curatorial duo Loney Abrams and Johnny Stanish stopped by and talked about the history of their alternative exhibition platform, Hotel Art. We discussed the project’s formation, its various nontraditional installations, the recent construction of a shed-as-gallery in their backyard, finding primary audiences online, working with established and emerging artists, whether or not experimental physical gallery spaces have any future in New York, and the value of advocating for a presentation model that can be practiced by practically anyone regardless of their geographical location. We also caught up on their recent collaborative studio projects that are engaging ideas about genetic modifications in humans and the complicated future that these scientific breakthroughs present to the public. I made them play a new game called “What is the Critical Question This Sculpture is Posing?” and they were like okay at it, but rudely pointed out that these were just jokes I came up with that were too long to tweet.
RSVP to the free, live DSA Podcast (Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe) on April 26th at Kickstarter here:
https://t.co/h2qpwQOxdH
From his bed in sunny Los Angeles, CA, comedian Yusef Roach joins Humor and the Abject to talk KoЯn, a recent visit to Idaho, libertarianism, the comedy scene in his former home of Austin, making friends without a car in LA, why New York is falling apart, getting rich so he can have babies, the phenomenon of leftist Twitter personalities, whether or not Brandon Boyd from Incubus is black, competitive cooking television, MoviePass, the endearing tolerance of Juggalos, hanging out with noise musicians, and quitting standup comedy.
Artist Carly Mark caught early attention for painting grotesque and comical renderings of Haribo brand gummy bear packaging. But she’s never been content just being known for a single approach to working, and in the last several years has branched out into elaborate sculpture, immersive installations, chaotic video pieces, and has quietly pursued acting, film production, modeling, writing, and publishing. She stopped by this week to discuss her new short horror film “Know Nothing,” as well as being from Michigan, developing a career longevity plan, her interest in camp and kitsch aesthetics, whether MoviePass is good or bad, the joy of prosthetics, comedy’s dwindling appeal as artistic approach in the age of Trump, being interdisciplinary as a matter-of-fact, internet art nostalgia, a new film that she co-wrote and stars in called “Puppet” that’s directed by her pal Adam Levett, and allowing herself to take the next two years off from exhibiting art to work on her own new feature-length film. Carly art directed the new cover of King Kong magazine which will be available in print on April 14th at tasteful periodicals retailers.
Ebony L Haynes is a writer, curator, and currently the director of both Martos Gallery and Shoot the Lobster. Despite the wicked ass Nor’Easter, she made the trek to my kitchen to sit down and talk about her life and work. We discussed the “Invisible Man” exhibition with which she re-launched Martos Gallery last year, perceptions of what constitutes “Black art,” being from Canada, Freud’s mouth, the work of artist Jessica Vaughn, whether or not selling out is still a thing, the failings of cultural capital, and why it’s important for her to help artists make money. We’re sponsored this week by any and all apps tangentially related to art.
If you’d like to read the review I wrote about Jessica Vaughn’s “Receipt of a Form” at Martos Gallery last fall, you can do so here:
https://www.humorandtheabject.com/blog/2017/12/7/review-jessica-vaughn-reciept-of-a-form
One of my younger sisters, Quinn, is a first grade teacher in a Denver public school. With the March for Our Lives events happening in 800+ cities around the country this Saturday to protest our nation’s lack of action when it comes to protecting our schools from gun violence, I spoke with her over Skype to get a little first-person perspective. Quinn has been an educator for eight years, having worked in her current classroom for four. We talked about the active shooter emergency drills she has to lead six year-olds through, the gross way that the concept of guns in schools has been politicized, her reasons for marching on Saturday in Denver, and what it’s like to work in an industry where people, especially children, are regularly murdered en masse. It’s a little more serious than you’re probably used to here on Humor and the Abject, but it’s an important conversation. Thanks for giving Quinn a chance to have her voice heard.
Some of you will recognize Leo Fitzpatrick from Kids, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, Doomsdays, and The Wire. Others know him as a fixture in New York’s art world, having run the experimental project space Home Alone 2 Gallery in the Lower East Side with Nate Lowman and Hanna Liden for several years before settling into his current role at Marlborough in Chelsea. As part of the NADA New York Art Fair this year, Humor and the Abject hosted a live episode on-site and invited Leo out to discuss his unique history. We talked about skate videos, Alex Jones, working with artists from older generations including his decades-long friendship with Larry Clark, why the artist is always right, the time Roger Ebert said he wanted to punch him in the face, parenting, his early obsession with Uncle Floyd’s public access show in New Jersey, why he doesn’t watch his own movies, his diet of bad TV, his favorite acting role ever on Adult Swim that nobody saw, and then I get really upset that he’s never seen Drinking Out of Cups. The outro song is XTC’s “Making Plans for Nigel.” Special thanks to Andrea Merkx and Zack Tornaben from NADA.
Curator Kerry Doran has been researching and writing about internet-based art practices for years. She is currently the Director at Postmasters Gallery in New York. On episode 50 of the podcast, she stopped by to discuss the paradoxical techno-utopianism in early internet art, her recent article “Re: Contextualizing the Cyborg” for Open Space, whether or not digital tools can be emancipatory, running in Ridgewood, accidental audiences, the overspecialization of coding, skepticism versus cynicism, her transition to selling art and why it’s important for the artists she works with, writing about contemporary art history, and more. We’re sponsored this week by the ability to eat cheese in physical gallery spaces. The outro music is “Dark Steering” by Squarepusher.
Read Kerry's latest piece for Open Space here: https://openspace.sfmoma.org/2018/02/re-contextualizing-the-cyborg/
What a treat we’ve got for you this week, screedlers. One of the funniest people that Brooklyn has to offer, Peter Smith, stopped by the kitchen to discuss their life and work. We chatted about their recent run at Carolines on Broadway, Alfred Hitchcock and horror, cabaret, big reveals, opening a glass tea house and eventually making Montana gay as fuck, the complicated character of Nancy Grace, their role on Turner Masters Memory Hospital, art history, their collaborations like The Bongo Hour with comedian and photographer Sandy Honig, the Keeping Up With the Katdashians musical, and much more. Catch the next Bongo Hour this Wednesday, March 7th at the Slipper Room in New York. You can purchase tickets here:
http://ticketf.ly/2H3IFAg
On Sunday, I hopped the Long Island Rail Road bound for East Hampton to visit artist David Kennedy Cutler at “Off Season,” his ambitious exhibition-in-progress with Halsey McKay that’s broadcasting his efforts 24/7 via live stream. We smoked some beers, ate pizza at a place called Sam’s, toured around the space, and we recorded a bonus episode of the podcast right inside the installation. I also stayed the night and was sufficiently creeped out by the four convincing clones he’s made of himself to populate the show. On this episode, we talked about artifice, artistic labor, the socioeconomic issues that “Off Season” addresses, whether or not Joseph Beuys borrowed liberally from Charlie Chaplin’s “Gold Rush,” the complicated history of the Hamptons, his recent solo show “1:1” at Derek Eller last summer, the Uncanny Valley, and stumbling into horror by attempting approximation. Then, David gave me a little audio tour of the show. To see a live feed of what he’s describing, visit Halsey McKay’s website here:
http://www.halseymckay.com/
And, if you’re curious, read my review of “1:1” at Derek Eller from this past summer:
https://www.humorandtheabject.com/blog/2017/6/21/david-kennedy-cutler-1-to-1
You know her on Twitter as @lifecreep, but IRL she’s artist Andrea McGinty. Our friendship goes back several years, and a text-based interview I did with Andrea was one of the very first posts on the Humor and the Abject blog. She stopped by the kitchen this week to talk about material choices and comedy in her sculptures, why getting dunked on by teens is the most devastating of all dunks, the absolute joys of cooking at home in Queens and new dishes she’s been perfecting, her recent two-person exhibition with Ben Dowell at Holiday Forever in Jackson Hole, acting as an occasional curator, the history of sofas, how everyone walks in LA and New York is way too spread out, true crime podcasts, her celebrity cat Larry, the current show she’s in called “Home Edition” at Essex Flowers, and an upcoming pop-up show she’s doing with Museum Gallery at 45 Stewart Ave in Bushwick on March 10th. Also, I made her play a new game segment for the podcast called “Canonization or Erasure” and I personally think she did great. We’re sponsored this week by the nasty slaps of a bass guitar, Bank of Ages, and the humble, nourishing whir of a humidifier.
For the full episode, subscribe to Humor and the Abject on Drip: http://d.rip/humorandtheabject
It’s another Drip subscriber-exclusive episode of Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe talking a full hour of total shit. In this episode, we managed to cover a wide variety of topics included the ridiculous haunted house documentary “Haunters: The Art of the Scare,” long rides on Greyhound and the resulting bus butt, Azikiwe’s recent jaunt to Mexico City for the Material Art Fair, ancient astronaut theory, Fergie’s “Star Spangled Banner” performance, donating to Wikipedia while drunk, mail order mattresses, Sean’s unique relationship between the movie “The Cell” and getting cuckolded, street magic, not fucking to Thin Lizzy, whether or not daddy would like some sausages, how to talk at the urinal, Darcie not having to wait in line for the women’s room because she was at a Lighting Bolt show, and so much more. We’re sponsored this week by the San Diego Tribune, Leonardo DiCaprio, Spin Doctors mixtapes, and the hidden track from AFI’s “Black Sails in the Sunset” album.
One of Miami’s finest daughters, artist and filmmaker Jillian Mayer, currently has a solo exhibition called “Post Posture” up at Postmasters Gallery here in New York through March 31st. In the middle of her chaotic schedule in town this week, we managed to schedule some time to sit down and catch up. I’ve know Jillian for five years now and think the world of her as both an artist and a friend. We discussed her “Slumpies” sculptures currently on view, the Singularity, taking psychedelics at amusement parks, doomsday prepping and whether the rich will survive the end times, her involvement with the nonprofit Borscht Corp film collective, speaking tangentially, making tech-based art that’s actually emotional, and a whole lot more. We’re sponsored this week by angry college art history professors who take to YouTube to whine that people don’t carve shit out of marble any longer, how your attitude influences the way your life might go if you’re a cowboy or a filmmaker, Kentucky Fried Chicken’s Dunked Wings, sex as an innovation, and how gracefully the Futurist Manifesto has aged. The outro song is "Mega Mega Upload," a total fucking banger from Jillian's #Postmodem film.
You may know Midwest micro-celebrity Thomas J Gamble as the author of the INFINITE HESH comics for Humor and the Abject. Or, you may know him more casually online as Twee Jay, Erie’s absolute boy. Either way, he was in New York this past weekend for his show at Interstate Projects and I dragged him into the kitchen for a conversation. I love Thomas so much that it makes me want to get him really angry. Does that make sense? Well, despite my best efforts to rile him up, he maintained his thoughtfulness and cool the entire time. We talked about uncanny perceptions of time, his new paintings, Rust Belt ennui and being an artist outside of major art cities, Tom Brady vs Tom Hardy, good books, sinking ships, whether it’s “Leviathan” or “a leviathan,” the trappings of making political art, Daniel Day Lewis, Superman’s death, that rhythm between horrific political events and pop culture aesthetics, how punks and hippies are the same people with the same logos, his early exposure to radical leftist politics, Little Dicky Spencer and the alt-right’s impotent rage, and why Italians love saying “Cincinnati.” We’re sponsored this week by Blue Takeron and when Thomas J died in “My Girl” because he went back to find Vada’s mood ring in the forest and was subsequently murdered by a swarm of wild ass bees.
Artist Andrew Kuo, AKA earlboykins on Instagram and Twitter, drops by Humor and the Abject this week for a very special bonus episode. We talked about Kuo’s early exposure to Fort Thunder as a student at RISD, how wild and elegant color is, My Chemical Romance making good on their promises as a band, the lineage of emo, the best time of day to paint, getting into self-publishing, the new Obama portrait, anxiety and jokes, literally biting your tongue, how Peter Halley has made the same painting for decades and why that’s the one of the most audacious radical painting moves out there, Kuo’s band HEX MESSAGE, why Bart Simpson is still on every single thing in the zine tent at the New York Art Book Fair, Jeremy Lin and bootleg merch beef, Kuo’s two-person exhibition “It Gets Beta” with Scott Reeder in 2015, avoiding knuckleheads so you can enjoy watching sports, being the last generation who for some reason is still afraid of selling out, his own roundball podcast Cookies, and embracing the simulation. We received generous sponsorship this week from getting dunked on by Patrick Chewing.
Behind every good podcast is a great podcast studio manager. Here at Humor and the Abject, I’m fortunate as all hell to work every week with my own studio manager, Staffonly, to bring you conversations with some of my favorite artists, comedians, writers, and filmmakers. She does all the heavy lifting by making the sound collages and editing conversations, and she also provides a nice contextual introduction every week. For months, I’ve been getting literally hundreds of emails from people asking who exactly Staffonly is, where she came from, and what happened when she was abducted last year by those dick-worshipping scorpions. So this week, I’m proud to bring you all a very special--and long overdue--episode of Humor and the Abject. My guest this week is the one, the only, Staffonly.
Artist, stand-up comedian, and occasional curator Jennifer Sullivan is my guest this week. We talked about the show she put together last summer called “Cosmic Joke” at Safe Gallery, channeling Julian Schnabel, contexts for stand-up comedy, why legal weed is strangling Denver’s artist community, balancing real life and studio residencies, early Saturday Night Live, why performance art could stand to be a little more entertaining, going off-script, quitting vices, and tons of other stuff. You can catch Jennifer performing at friend-of-the-podcast Jennifer Vanilla’s live show this week on Tuesday, February 6th at the Windjammer in Ridgewood alongside Natalie Casagran Lopez, Teeny Lieberson, Sam Regal, Jen Goma, plus a video from Peter Smith. Also -- pick up a copy of this month’s Art in America for a new feature I wrote called “The Practical Precariat” featuring Jaimie Warren, Brontez Purnell, Jillian Mayer, and comedian Chris Gethard, and come out to a live panel about the piece on Monday, February 12th at Neuehouse in New York.
This spring, Kendra Jayne Patrick is opening up a new gallery called Harrison. She and I were both previously involved--at different times--with the artist-run gallery Essex Flowers, and I had always been super thrilled with the programming that she led there. She stopped by this week to talk about the current pop-up show Harrison programmed at Bortolami, the next steps in her program as she opens her physical space, why being a gallerist and a curator are distinct roles, getting into the New York art scene after attending law school, the ironic parallels between going to law school and pursuing an MFA, and much more. Also, some fucking car alarm went off multiple times while we were recording, but Kendra was a total champ about it. We’re sponsored this week by generous cash gifts from young Keanu Reeves and old Ted Kaczynski.
Musician, performance artist, professional muse, and self-described “Culturally-Absorbent Prototype” Jennifer Vanilla is my guest this week. Following her mildly frustrating Instagram live post trying to find parking in Bushwick, she managed to locate my apartment and, subsequently, my kitchen studio. We had a great discussion about her monthly show JVL@B (Jennifer Vanilla Live at the Bar) at the Windjammer in Ridgewood, the interesting relationship she has with dance music edits, why shipping to Canada is such an outrageous pain in the ass, why I love and miss the brooding falls and winters of the Pacific Northwest, whether feeling “special” is important, the role of the producer, scandals surrounding the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, the Jennifer Vanilla aesthetic, and distinctly ‘90s humor. We also shared the end of a Toblerone and she showed off some of her commercial voice acting skills.
Subscribe to Humor and the Abject on Drip: https://d.rip/humorandtheabject
In another exclusive episode for our Drip subscribers, Darcie Wilder and Azikiwe Mohammed dropped by to talk about the stupid amount of media that each of us has been consuming now that it’s winter. We learned that Azikiwe once had a treehouse, that Darcie spent her entire freshman year of undergrad without speaking to her dorm roommate, Sean’s history with DVDs of the Notre Dame Marching Band, our favorite and our most-despised karaoke jams, the occult origins of the television program “House,” which mainstream sitcoms are better than okay, why UCB moving onto Darcie’s block means that improv is (actually) all around, and why everyone is the Unabomber.
Skyping in from the Windy City this week is comedian and illustrator Sarah Sherman AKA Sarah Squirm. We talked about her outrageous monthly show HELLTRAP NIGHTMARE, why being gross rules, how Chicago is a unique city for comedy, feeling guilty all the time while constantly seeking approval, the improv bro uniform, why noise music is hilarious, the changing landscape of contemporary comedy, the origin story of Screedler, and our mutual unhealthy obsession--and close encounters--with the men of Jackass. If you’re in Chicago, make sure to check out the HELLTRAP NIGHTMARE x Wham City show on January 18th, plus Sarah Squirm headlining the Empty Bottle on February 12th, AND a show with upcoming Humor and the Abject podcast guest Jennifer Vanilla on February 20th. New Yorkers: HELLTRAP NIGHTMARE will be in Brooklyn on April 20th (nice). If you don’t already know the outro song, I’m not sure that I can help you.
For the first episode of 2018, I had the privilege of interviewing the absolutely fabulous performance artist Alexandra Tatarsky. If you haven’t seen her live, I honestly don’t know what the fuck you are doing with your life. Alex sat down in the kitchen to discuss her early comedic influences, her monstrous 2017 touring performance piece “Americana Psychobabble,” studying the intricate art of clowning and miming, creating uncomfortable spaces for audiences and herself (and why that’s a good thing), institutional critique, and much more. We’re sponsored this week by how insufferable Scotland is, how unreal Stephen Miller’s voice and hairline are, guano, restaurant closures, and how god damn cold it is in New York. The outro song is “Proud to Be” by D.F.L.
2017 is finally over, and to celebrate I had musician Zain Alam come over for the final Humor and the Abject podcast of the year. Zain is the mind behind the brilliant musical project Humeysha, which Noisey describes as “a marvelously mellow kind of psych-pop, clean and sparkly like a diamond baguette, dappled with Bollywood-toned lilts.” We talked about the band and its unique visual identity, how his time in India changed his life, odd time signatures, the South Asian diaspora, his faith in Islam, attending Harvard, musical inclination skipping a generation, racial profiling, and new music. We’re sponsored exclusively this exclusively by Minions. Buy Humeysha’s first album on Bandcamp, baby.
Merry Christmas from Colorado, my good bitches. Andy Kaufman Award-winning comedian Brett Davis stopped by this week to discuss his public access show “The Special Without Brett Davis,” as well as creating a world with hundreds of characters, recent beef with character actor Michael Rapaport, large scale collaborations, kicking off a career in comedy by opening for punk bands, ruining Tinder dates, his new podcast about laundry, and much more. We’re sponsored this week by Christmas, Colorado, and the fact that my sisters are like permanently on weed gummies. Could you imagine being as categorically uncool as Gavin McInnes?
Artist Sara Greenberger Rafferty paid a visit to my kitchen this week to talk about her recent traveling survey “Gloves Off,” as well as childhood pranks, context and timing, television shows like “Mr. Robot” and “Nathan for You,” dissecting mainstream comedy, the influence of syndicated sitcoms on her Midwest sense of humor, making work that’s about being alienated without it being alienating, and her two-volume book project “Women Aren’t Funny” that we put out through Social Malpractice Publishing. This week’s episode is sponsored by holiday video messages from your family, cashiers who steal from their idiot bosses, Mark Cuban’s obvious erectile dysfunction, and the sinking of the bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior on 10th November, 1975.
TEASER: Full episode available to Drip subscribers... Friends of the podcast Darcie Wilder and Azikiwe Mohammed came by this week to record the first of an ongoing, Drip-exclusive project: The DSA Podcast. I assigned watching “Jim & Andy” to everyone and we talked about it a little bit but mostly focused on people sucking dick while their man plays 2K, that time Fugazi covered “Red Red Wine” live, a steampunk event that Azikiwe attended, white rap music of the early aughts, getting addicted to nose spray, the millennial whoop, Darcie’s new tattoo, Holocaust documentaries, how tiny James Lipton is, and a whole lot more. This episode is 100% sponsored by the lovely subscribers to our respective Drip profiles. Join, or die.
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Following “People Pie Pool,” his ridiculous extravaganza for Performa, artist Brian Belott drops by my kitchen to talk about the finest aspects of the fine arts. We discussed his obsession with collecting children’s art and the legacy of early childhood educator Rhoda Kellogg, slapstick comedy, lighting his head on fire dozens of times despite understandable protests from his mother, why Dada artists would hate Dada art, the Marx Brothers, the People Pie Pool performance, cacophony, calamity, and collaboration, having your mom as your own teacher, and much more. We’re sponsored this week by a new rock supergroup featuring members of the Stooges and fronted by the one and only Morrissey, a steam-powered alternative to Bitcoin called Dirigiblecoin, and a generous donation from mining mogul George Hearst from “Deadwood.” The outro song is “Tell the Truth” by Mizz.
Comedian and self-described “aspiring actress” Ruby McCollister is my guest this week. We covered a ton of ground including the true meaning of “glam” comedy, what exactly is up with Joshua Tree, growing up backstage in a Los Angeles theater, being an only child, the humble origins of the Blue Man Group, having your teen aspirations documented on film, existential Uber conversations, discovering that comedy is her true medium, supportive peer networks, and the terror of taking direction. We’re sponsored this week by anarcho-capitalism, parking lot fees, bluegrass values, and the band that Dustin Yellin used to be in before he decided to become an artist. Shout out to our new subscribers on Drip!
The absolutely hilarious comedian Mitra Jouhari (@tweetrajouhari) stopped by the studio this week. An accomplished writer and actor, she also moonlights as ⅓ of the group Three Busy Debras and co-hosts the monthly It’s A Guy Thing at Union Hall with Patti Harrison and Catherine Cohen. We talked about getting her start in the New York comedy scene, the value of vulgarity, staging a ridiculous Three Busy Debras production at the famed Carnegie Hall, the upcoming It’s A Guy Thing holiday spectacular, why comedians should be free to express their politics, the terror of receiving packages in New York, creating supportive performance atmospheres, collaboration, the Midwest, and lots of other very important things. This week’s episode is brought to you by the wonderful people who support Humor and the Abject on Drip, as well as the concept of time and the allure of danger. The outro song is “Am I Evil?” by Extreme Animals.
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In 2017 alone, artist Andrew Ross has had three solo exhibitions between New York and Milan. To say he’s prolific would be an understatement. He stopped by the studio this week to talk about his most recent exhibition, “Iceman Returns” at American Medium in Chelsea, and we also discussed science fiction and horror, corporeal tragedy, slapstick, what qualifies an event, ethically questionable ideas, leaving audiences hanging, and what he’s got in store this year. Besides our lovely founding subscribers on Drip, this week we’re sponsored by things that are objectively not that bad, but are insufferable because of the people who like them.
One of my dangdest friends, Chloe Wise, came by the studio this week. She and I got to talk about her recent solo exhibition in Paris (France, not Texas), whether being Canadian automatically makes you funny, trying out new mediums, her new kitten named Pluto Chicken Nugget Wise, the politics of dairy, Ubering to incredible pizza in Philly, food in general, sculptural carbohydrates, and a terrible joke I tried to tell to the man who owns my local wine store. We’re sponsored this week by bootleg ranch dressing hacks, impostor designer handbags, clowning on The Creators Project, and partying LOL.
Orlando Estrada, who just wrapped up a month-long fellowship in Seoul, South Korea, is my guest this week. On this episode, we talked about mysticism, his extended family of spiritual mediums, psychedelics, camp, his nightlife performance series Incarnata Social Club, paranormal research, and I got the run-down on his unique experience living abroad in September. We’re sponsored this week by the Milkshake Duck, a new bar snack called Drinkaroos, and Matthew Arnold’s classic poem “Dover Beach.”
Bonus mini episode! Jason Powell, lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for Guantanamo Baywatch took some time out of his busy tour schedule to catch up with me. We’ve known each other for almost a decade, and I was there when he drunkenly came up with the ridiculous idea for his band. We spoke about their current tour, new album, stealing drugs from fraternity houses in Boston, his old conceptual punk band PISS and their bad luck-filled mini-tour of Iceland, why Las Vegas rules but sucks, French audiences, and much more. We recorded in a bar before their live show last night, but at least the bartender had a cool playlist on in the background.
Columbus, Ohio’s finest, Brett Payne and Bryan Quinby from Street Fight Radio, joined me this week for the first-ever live Humor and the Abject podcast. We covered many of their favorite topics: shitty bosses, stealing from shitty bosses, the Midwest, doing drugs, anarchism, and why Republicans and Democrats will always suck. But we dug a little deeper as well, unearthing the Street Fight Radio origin story and the roots of their individual senses of humor that led to becoming “anarcho-comedians.” It also turns out that--wait for it--they kind of love New York. Special thanks to comedians Ana Fabrega and Julio Torres for opening up the show, to Taylor Moore for running sound and bartending, and to Throne Watches for hosting us. This week’s episode is sponsored by the United States Military, the D.A.R.E. program, and your fucking boss.
Artist, writer, curator, and gallerist Eileen Isagon Skyers is our guest this week. We spoke about her signature approach to experimental video art, what Florida is all about, her research on internet art and web interface histories, travel, contemporary modes of viewing, her new project with Eva and Franco Mattes, the co-founding of BedStuy gallery HOUSING, community engagement, the future of screens, why Stranger Things is good and Black Mirror is bad, hologram friends who advocate for brands, and so much more. This week’s episode is sponsored by the City of Tampa, trains, and Hungry Howie’s pizza. There was an event going on in the background at Kickstarter while we were recording, which is why you can hear all of those ghouls way low in the mix. LOL.
Alix Pearlstein is known for her unique video projects and perplexing installation work. She dropped by the studio this week to talk about working with professional actors for her pieces, her recent solo exhibition at On Stellar Rays, complicating traditional notions of the viewer’s gaze, watching bad TV, not buying video equipment, and her constantly-shifting relationship with the genre of performance art. Episode twenty-two is made possible by generous sponsorship from manifestos, bong rips, knife-wielding toddlers, mysterious dipping sauces, and undercover detectives rising from the dead to infiltrate motorcycle gangs engaged in the narcotics trade. We hope to see you on Sunday, October 22nd for the free live show with Street Fight Radio in Brooklyn!
Artist Molly Soda, one of the most recognizable names in internet-based practices, joins Humor and the Abject this week. We gabbed about growing up online, selfie feminism in hindsight, her recent solo exhibitions at 315 Gallery in Brooklyn and Annka Kultys Gallery in London, perceptions of sincerity and honesty in her work, isolation, aesthetic and interface evolutions in social media, how we actively present ourselves for internet audiences, and shitposting. We’re sponsored this week by wooden logs and liberal-presenting media people who participate in email chains with Milo Yiannopoulos. Make sure to come out to the live Humor and the Abject event with Street Fight Radio on Sunday, October 22nd at Throne Watches in Bushwick. Check the blog for details.
It’s officially the spookiest time of year, and to celebrate I hopped on Skype with Los Angeles-based poet Mira Gonzalez. She’s the author of the books “i will never be beautiful enough to make us beautiful together,” published by Sorry House, and “Selected Tweets,” a collaboration with Tao Lin. We talked about The Babadook, alt-lit, sexism in the literary industry, Twitter-as-writing, mental health, poetry, healing through humor, unlearning grammar, and weed. This week’s episode is sponsored by the fact that Bret Easton Ellis has no idea what autumn is. I hope you fuckers like AFI. LMAO.
Portland-based artist Daniel J Glendening joins the podcast this week to talk about his new science fiction novel, “The Gardener, The Visionary, and The Traveller,” out now through Small Editions. We discussed hauntings, astral projection and remote viewing, interstellar methods of communication, site memory, California-as-metaphor, and his interdisciplinary art practice that incorporates sculpture, performance, video, writing, printmaking, and installation. Daniel is part of a two-person exhibition, “the barometric pressure is all over the place,” with Laura Bernstein of Brooklyn opening Friday, September 29th at Anytime Dept. in Cincinnati, OH. This week’s episode is sponsored by the Devil’s Lettuce, Katy Perry Instrumentals, GlueTube, and the Hot Lake Hotel. The outro music is "Dead to Me" by the band Daniel’s little brother drums for, Kim and the Created out of Los Angeles.
Sincerest apologies for the delayed podcast this week! The Juggalo March on Washington had me busy all weekend. But the episode you’re getting is extra fantastic and extra long, featuring Pastiche Lumumba. Pastiche is a Brooklyn-based visual artist, curator, co-founder of the LOW Museum in Atlanta, educator, DJ, meme maker/philosopher, and one of the most articulate folks around. We chatted about studio practices, masculinity, sports, oppression, Atlanta, senses of humor, and--of course--memes! We could have kept going for hours, so I’ve invited Pastiche back to do a part two soon as to discuss satire in contemporary art and comedy, and who should quit using it. Pastiche's Instagram is currently @wokeback_mountain, and you should follow it quickly because the name changes hilariously and pointedly every couple of weeks.
In 2014, filmmaker Scott Cummings temporarily relocated back to his hometown of Buffalo, NY and befriended the local Juggalo Community. Over several months, he collaborated with them to produce an experimental portrait film, "Buffalo Juggalos," which won the Grand Jury Prize for Live Action Short at the 2014 AFI Fest. Leading up to my own visit to the Juggalo March on Washington this weekend, I invited Cummings to stop by, recount his story of collaborating with his Juggalo friends, and talk about a couple of new movie projects he’s got in the works including an experimental portrait of the Church of Satan. This week’s bonus episode is sponsored by lots of different genres of clowns. If you’re at the march this weekend, let me know!
The co-creators of the certifiably insane Turner Masters Memory Hospital podcast, Catherine Cohen and Steven Markow, came by the studio to talk about this new epic miniseries produced by the Forever Dog network. We also chatted about ghost stories, having lovers, people from our high schools who later became kind of famous, Catherine’s new show coming up at UCB, whether or not Steven and I should become closer friends, how to really wow people during an audition, and whether or not we’ve ever actually seen improv. This week’s episode is sponsored by Malcolm in the Middle, and local nightly news consumer report-style stories specifically targeting the restaurant chain T.G.I. Friday’s. The outro song is from an inimitable video by Miami-based artist Jillian Mayer, who is a fucking national treasure.
The prince of prints, Paul John, joins the Humor and the Abject podcast this week. We discussed his imprint, Endless Editions, as well as growing up as a first-generation American, competitive running, the Risograph bubble, urgency in contemporary art, how much I hate Sonic Youth, why soccer goalies can be out of shape, squatting, and never wanting to visit Boston. This week’s episode isn’t sponsored by anybody because Staffonly has suddenly decided that she’s a socialist and wouldn’t let us have any advertisers. Also, we recorded outside the studio, so the audio sounds like we recorded outside the studio. I think you can probably handle it though.
Los Angeles-based writer Amelia Gray has a brand new novel out on FSG, “Isadora.” During a recent trip to New York to visit the set of the new Emma Stone and Jonah Hill Netflix series “Maniac,” for which she was a writer, she dropped by the studio. We talked about writing, making lists of gross stuff, reading Amazon reviews of your own work, her hometown of Tucson, the economy of one-liner comedy, and how writers should choose their studio spaces. This week’s episode is sponsored by Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, Buffalo Wild Wings, and both my and Gray’s alma mater, Arizona State University.
Legendary performance, installation, and video artist Michael Smith, the mind behind the everyman character “Mike” and the terrible toddler Baby Ikki, joins for the latest episode of the Humor and the Abject podcast. We discussed whether or not a Midwest sense of humor exists, his pilgrimage to Burning Man in 2008 for a collaboration with Mike Kelley, having the same name as multiple other people, and whether or not a review I wrote of his 2015 solo show at Greene Naftali completely missed the mark. Today’s episode is sponsored by Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing and a brand new theme park for the wealthy elite, Midwestworld.
Comedian Liza Dye knows a thing or two about perspective. On this week’s episode, we talked about surviving near death experiences, spirituality, exposing Beyoncé, why Los Angeles is better than New York, the desert of news regarding Celesbians in 2017, and armchair astrology. Episode twelve of the Humor and the Abject podcast is exclusively sponsored by Alex Jones.
DING DONG! It’s Humor and the Abject calling! This week, one of the extremely funny hosts of the Las Culturistas podcast, Bowen Yang, stops by the studio to sit on the other side of the mic. Bowen is a comedian, actor, and producer who is one of the minds behind the shows Live on Broadgay and Lake Homo High. We talked about his podcast, fostering more diverse representation in comedy by doing the damn thing yourself, the genesis of “I Don’t Think So, Honey!”, how crunchy Colorado truly is, and beating jokes to death online. Episode 11 is sponsored by Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged,” John McCain’s mortal fate, Kraft Cheese’s multiple innovative dairy products, and the world’s most-reviled hockey mom.
Programmer, publisher, and poet Rachel Hyman, AKA @COMETHRUGIRL, was in town from Chicago and set aside some time to stop by the studio. We talked about early weird Twitter, her Banango Street publishing label, necessary breaks from creative endeavors, her rescue Shiba Inu named Kenny, collaborative digital poetry projects, scary podcasts, and more. Today’s episode is brought to you by Seattle, LSD, and Applegate Farms natural hot dogs.
Lorelei Ramirez and Tynan DeLong aren't just comedians, actors, writers, and directors, they're also a danged band. On this week's episode, they shared some of their new tracks in a Humor and the Abject super exclusive. We talked about the importance of panel discussions, paying your dues in comedy, their moms, and That Thing You Do. Episode 9 is sponsored by Hardee's, season two of Fargo, and "Robbing Peter to pay Paul."
Self-described "Relational Stalinist" Michael Portnoy is on the podcast this week talking about his ludicrous interactive game installations, cutting his teeth in New York's '90s alt-comedy scene, why understanding one's body is crucial for performance, and how to effectively muddy the distinctions between theater, dance, contemporary art, and standup comedy. We're sponsored today by Anheuser-Busch's discontinued pale lager Bud Dry, the single 1994-95 season of ABC's hit teen drama "My So-Called Life", and Andrés Muschietti's forthcoming film adaptation of Stephen King's 1986 clown porn novel "It."
I spoke with Los Angeles' finest daughter: comedian, artist, and animator Casey Jane Ellison. She told me about going to art school at SAIC, how she managed to host Touching the Art for the Ovation Network, living a V-Files lifestyle, and how everyone is a conceptual artist. This week's episode is sponsored by Tillamook Cheese and David Zwirner Gallery.
Eric Allan Schwartau and Steven Phillips-Horst of Talk Hole fame join Humor and the Abject this week to talk about their themed monthly comedy nights, skewering the art world, and the intersection of copywriting and design. Darcie Wilder co-hosts. This episode is sponsored by Traverse City, MI, and that scene in The Outsiders when Ponyboy recites a fucking Robert Frost poem to Johnny.
Artist Azikiwe Mohammed stops by Humor and the Abject to talk about his current solo exhibition at Long Gallery in Harlem, his Jimmy's Thrift of New Davonhaime project, the Northern Lights, 9/11, seeing the Donald Trump + Tony Robbins motivational tour at the Javitz Center as a kid, No Child Left Behind, Animaniacs, and why Bard College sucks. Darcie Wilder joins as co-host. This week's episode is sponsored by Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Ben Affleck's 2010 Boston crime thriller The Town. Sorry about all the clipping audio. I didn't know how fucking loudly everyone was going to be laughing the whole time and we don't have an engineer.
Erin Markey joins Humor and the Abject to talk about performance art, why Domino's Pizza is bad politically, joining Christian youth groups, joining LGBTQ youth groups, killing boners, and the gayest day of her life. It's also the debut of a new culinary podcast within the podcast, the Savage Table with Alex Savage. Today's episode is sponsored by Ross Perot's 1992 presidential campaign, Blue Takeron, and Alex Savage's personal Twitter account, @focra.
One of Brooklyn's finest comics, Ana Fabrega, joins the podcast to talk about her unorthodox approach to standup comedy, her new writing gig, why the scene in New York is changing for the better, and revealing absolutely nothing about her as an actual person to the audience. We're sponsored today by Wage Theft, Jimmy John's, Mira Gonzalez's Twitter account, Zoe Dubno's YouTube channel, and either a cooking ingredients delivery startup or a streaming television service.
The Humor and the Abject podcast is back this week with comedians Jaboukie Young-White and Amy Zimmer. One episode two, we talked about Jaboukie donning a Borat thong in the new film Rough Night, Amy's thoughts on Tampa, and why creating alternative spaces for comedy is a political act. Also, we discovered that Kickstarter is haunted.