A conversation with the artist Shepard Fairey. He is an artist, activist, street art pioneer and founder of the OBEY clothing line, but may be best known for his 2008 HOPE poster that served as the grassroots campaign imagery for Barack Obama’s first presidential election. Urban streets have long been the home of Fairey’s counter-culture images. The word “OBEY” paired with a stylized depiction of Andre the Giant has been an iconic calling card for the artist whose work is now invited to be painted on city walls and shown in contemporary museums.

https://obeygiant.com/

https://www.dallascontemporary.org/shepard-fairey

https://obeyclothing.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_%22Hope%22_poster

A discussion with the team that has collaborated to bring the “Life in Our Minds” generative NFT project to life. The project extends the work artist collective Random International has done around flocking simulations through a collaboration with digital artist and art director Danil Krivoruchko. The project features NFTs which evolve dynamically based on a number of data points, including those taken from the owner’s crypto wallet. The individual flocks then combine to create a giant “Mother Flock” whose starling-like swarming appearance will be viewable to a wider audience both online and in person. Joining me for the conversation is Random International Co-Founder Hannes Koch, artist Danil Krivoruchko, Snark.Art Co-Founder Andy Alekhin and Head of Pace Verso Ariel Hudes.

https://og.art/collections/liom/

https://www.random-international.com/

https://myshli.com/

https://www.pacegallery.com/pace-verso/

A conversation with artist Emma Webster. Webster uses virtual reality, collage and 3D modeling software to create invented landscapes that she then paints in oil. These unique, large-scale landscapes provoke wonder and spark curiosity. In August, Webster’s work was the subject of the inaugural show at Perrotin’s newest exhibit space in Seoul, South Korea.

https://www.emmawebster.com/

https://www.perrotin.com/artists/emma__webster/1194#news

https://www.instagram.com/emma_webstah/

A conversation with Monument Lab Director and Co-Founder Paul Farber. Monument Lab is an organization of artists and curators that have spent more than a decade working to research, document and aid in conversations about the tens of thousands of monuments across our nation. The organization wants to ensure that inherited monuments accurately reflect the past and that future monuments (in whatever shape they take) are in conversation with the communities in which they reside.

https://monumentlab.com/

https://www.instagram.com/monument_lab/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/monument-lab/id1437302452

A discussion with the iconic artist Shirin Neshat. Neshat has spent more than three decades making films, videos and photography that challenge viewers to consider topics of humanity, oppression, gender roles and faith within the complex social and political framework of Iran. In the conversation, we discuss her origins in Iran, her life in exile, how her work has evolved and her perspectives on the recent uprising in her homeland following the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the regime’s morality police.

https://www.instagram.com/shirin__neshat/?hl=en

https://www.gladstonegallery.com/artist/shirin-neshat/

https://www.thebroad.org/art/shirin-neshat

A conversation with artist Anj Smith. Smith makes finely crafted and highly detailed paintings that beg the viewer to stop, look closely and contemplate what they find. She often finds inspiration in literature and poetry and her works ask questions about an unseen world that might be just beyond our perception. I spoke to Anj on the eve of her latest show “Where the Mountain Hare has Lain” which opened on September 15 at The Perimeter artist space in London.

https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/2825-anj-smith/

https://www.theperimeter.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/a.n.j.smith/?hl=en

A conversation with artist John Gerrard. The Irish-born artist has spent more than twenty years using the latest in technology to create virtual worlds. Unlike video art, Gerrard’s work is generated from a custom computer program while viewing and no two viewing experiences are ever the same. The content of his work typically asks the viewer to deeply consider the attributes and consequences of the environment they are viewing.

https://www.pacegallery.com/artists/john-gerrard/

https://www.instagram.com/johngerrard.inst/?hl=en

A discussion with artist Tavares Strachan. The Bahamian-born Strachan creates ambitious projects that intersect technology, politics and untold history. His work takes on many forms, but always challenges the viewer to question the validity of predetermined limits and narratives about accomplishments from the past. Working at the nexus of art and technology has led to his art being launched into orbit, as well as board seats at both the Rhode Island School of Design and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

https://isolatedlabs.com/

https://www.mariangoodman.com/artists/tavares-strachan/

A conversation with artist, author and television arts commentator Matthew Collings. Matthew has been a fixture in the British arts media for more than thirty years while maintaining an active art practice. He creates sublime, large-scale abstract paintings as part of his partnership with his wife Emma Biggs. And over the course of the last three years, Matthew has produced thousands of popular drawings of unseen art history and imagined collaborations. In the conversation, we discuss his journey, the nature of artists, the state of the art world, his paintings, his drawings and his being the subject of an international manhunt.

https://www.instagram.com/matthew.collings_/

http://emmabiggsandmatthewcollings.net/

A discussion with artist Edgar Arceneuax. Edgar works in the fields of drawing, sculpture, installation, performance, and video; often exploring connections between historical events and present-day truths, as well as the roles of family, memory and race. His work is thoughtful, personal and powerful and can be found in the collections of institutions like MoMA, the Whitney, the Hammer and LACMA.

https://www.instagram.com/edgar_three/

http://studioedgararceneaux.com/