When is a house not a home? For one thing, when it's an impenetrable concrete block. This week, we discuss an artwork that was both celebrated as winner of the Turner prize, and derided as the worst of British art: Rachel Whiteread's 'House'. Standing for only 11 weeks before it was demolished, Whiteread's work raises questions about memory, urban development and socio-economic status. Or... it's just a "lump of concrete," in the words of the man who knocked it down. We ponder abandoning art, burning money and taking on the establishment to determine whether Dad is on the side of the Turner prize or the K-Foundation. See images here!

(TW // SA) In a strong, dynamic pose, his jacket fluttering in the wind, Jacob Zuma is depicted as a prototypical, unassailable and vigorous leader... until you look down. South African artist Brett Murray's The Spear makes a mockery of the (now former) South African President, stripping him of his pants and the vestiges of his dignity. Zuma was a controversial President, beset by corruption charges (one of which would eventually lead to his resignation from the presidency) and scandal. He launched multiple defamation suits, complaining that the media was plotting to take him down - of course, one of those suits targeted Murray. This week, we discuss South African politics, showers, and Lenin living forever. See images here!

"Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to; Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you": This week, we're discussing the Battle of Waterloo, the subject of ABBA's 1974 Eurovision hit! While ABBA may be responsible for introducing Waterloo to many of us, they're not the first artists to use the battle as creative material. Between 1981 and 1983, John Brack depicted the battle on canvas in his appropriately named artwork, "The Battle". This week we confront Dad with Brack's slightly comic, historically accurate (sort of), and unexpected approach to history painting. Will Dad accept Brack's replacement of dashing officers with pens and pencils? And how has the genre of history painting adapted to the modern era? Find out in this episode! See images here!

Still life normally conjures images of vases lushly filled with flowers and bowls of fruit, or famous artworks from the Golden Age of Dutch art in the 1500s and 1600s. But could a Big Mac and a COVID test also be worthy of immortalisation on canvas? Still life painting wallowed at the bottom of the hierarchy of genres established by the  French Académie de peinture et de sculpture. With his love of academia, it's no wonder that Dad also puts paintings of commonplace, inanimate objects at the bottom of his own hierarchy. But could the contemporary still life paintings of Noah Verrier change his mind? See images here!

'Strictly nothing else' is a common refrain when writing shopping lists or trying to faithfully and frugally follow them in the supermarket. This week, Dad and Lizzie discuss Australian ceramicist Kenny Pittock's '52 ceramic replicas of shipping lists found while working in a Melbourne supermarket' (2022). The work, currently on show at the NGV, leaves nothing to the imagination in its title, but provides plenty for us to ponder in its contents. From multilingualism, to family dynamics, to discriminating between types of bread, Pittock's abandoned shopping lists furnish us with intriguing snapshots into the lives of others. But will their mundanity lead Dad to discard them along with his own scribbled out grocery lists? See images here!

Jan Brueghel the Elder, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Hendrick van Steenwyck, and Hieronymous Bosch; it's not uncommon for all these masters, all closely connected, to be mentioned in the same breath. But what about Raqib Shaw? This week, we explore how Shaw - born in Calcutta and now based in London - is connected to these Flemish and Dutch painters of the 16th century. We chat about being as rich as Croesus, and the power of intensely rich iconography. See images ⁠here⁠!

To celebrate Mother's Day in Australia on Sunday, this week we have a very special guest... Dad and Lizzie compete to win Mum's affection by convincing her that we have presented her with the best art she doesn't like. From sinister(?) spiders by Louise Bourgeois to a plague-ridden medieval fresco, join us as we celebrate Veronica with some choice artworks. See images here!

Joseph Marr makes lickable sugar sculptures, but are they likeable? This week we talk about sugar! From Renaissance Italy to Berghain today, what makes sugar sculptures special? What will Dad make of these highly Instagrammable creations? And most importantly, does he know the key to getting into Berghain? See images here! And find us on Instagram @artdadpod.

-

Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/jonny-boyle/tres-french

License code: WCBAFRBTLK0C1KMI

A small child sits in her bedroom with a hyper-realistic sloth and a peacock: Is this a nightmare or a pyjama party with welcome guests? This week we're discussing the weird (and according to Dad, not so wonderful) visual world of Australian artist Patricia Piccinini. From a eulogy for a deep sea fish, to a pig-based organ farm, to an orangutan posing in the style of a Mother and child, Piccininis works offer up a wealth of material for analysis. But will Dad see the works as witty or worrisome? See images here!

From Kandinsky cats to surrealist dreamscapes, this week we celebrate half a year of Art Dad Doesn't Like with an AI art special! We collaborate with AI to create images riffing off art history to test each other's knowledge and taste. See images on our Instagram @artdadpod!