Artalogue

Welcome to Season 2 of the Artalogue!
Our first 4 episodes this June will be focusing on Queer creatives in the arts.

Fashion can be a powerful tool for expressing queer identities and challenging societal norms. Eleanor Medhurst is a dress historian who specialises in lesbian fashion history and is here to chat all things lesbian fashion in art and culture! We chat about the significance of clothing to the lesbian identity as seen in historical works of lesbian art.  Eleanor uncovers the historical significance of symbols like violets and lavender, tracing their roots to the poetry of Sappho and their resurgence in early 20th-century Paris. In fashion as well as art history, these symbols have long communicated lesbian identities and solidarity among women.

Eleanor shares insights from her upcoming book, "Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion" set to release on June 1st, 2024. She reveals intriguing findings about trans lesbians in interwar Berlin and the vibrant cultural scene supported by archival lesbian magazines from the 1920s and 30s. Eleanor also offers valuable advice for budding historians, emphasising the importance of passion, peer connections, and leveraging social media for academic networking. Don't miss this fascinating blend of art, fashion, and history through a queer lens. Happy Pride!!!

Read more on the Dressing Dykes Blog 
Order Eleanor's Book "Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion"

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"I think of humor as being a sleight of hand, like a magic trick. I think of it as being a way of talking about the thing you really want to talk about by not talking about it at all. I'm very interested in the way that people use humour and the way that humour is often used as a vehicle for telling the truth." - Roxana Halls

On today's episode, I chat with award-winning British painter Roxana Halls. Roxana's art explores how laughter can be an antidote to the opprobrium women face everyday, making it an excellent topic for International Women's Day.

The invaluable advice Roxana offers throughout the show underscores the importance of valuing your unique voice and starting with whatever you have, no matter how humble. Halls details her journey as a young artist who struggled to make ends meet after leaving home and pursuing her passion.  As a self-taught artist, Roxanna opens up about the difficult decisions she's made, like choosing art supplies over basic necessities, and how she crafted her own artistic education against all odds. Her determination and resilience are inspiring and a testament to the power of passion.

Roxana's Instagram
Roxana's Website 

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MadameFraankie’s work is centred around recontextualizing the day to day documentation of black life. She is drawn to highlighting the various ways Black people hold space and occupy their time. Within her work she attempts to capture micro-communal moments, gestures of love, and curiosity. MadameFraankie’s work draws comparison of these documented themes against the social and ethical norms within American Culture as a means to reshape black narration and photographic storytelling.

She attributes the  reshaping of her understanding of community and artistry to the arts and music scene in Memphis, specifically working with Tone Memphis . Having recently exhibited with the space during Miami Art Week 2023,  MadameFraankie is excited for her work to take on a larger scale in both size and subject matter during her residency with Crosstown Arts. She explains how aspects of her identity like being both Black and Southern impacts how she thinks about and creates art. We learn about her upbringing in the military and how moving around the world produced a longing for aspects of identity and a sense of home that she now conjures in her photographs. Living in Memphis, MadameFraankie turns her camera towards the mundane aspects of Black life, championing the joy and tenderness in her community. 

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Ashley Brooke (b.2003), A.K.A SpookyRatt, is an emerging mixed media artist based in Fort Worth, Texas, whose goal is to connect others through their work, whether it’s through a photo or splattered on a canvas. Spookyratt is known for their chaotic/abstract work, their spine chilling monsters and their stimulating grungy photographs, which leave viewers feeling a mix of uncanny emotions that they can't quite describe. In episode 9, we discuss authenticity, believing in yourself and creating work that stands for itself. As a young artist, Brooke is beginning to navigate an art world that has changed rapidly within their own lifetime. In addition to creating works of art, the artist creates stop motion videos showcasing a grungy and surreal process.

SpookyRatt's website
SpookyRatt's Instagram 

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Tammy Salzl, a Canadian multimedia marvel with a flair for storytelling, joins us for episode 8 of the Artalogue! Tammy tracks her journey from reading her brother's comic book stash as a child to her latest solo show at the Vernon Public Art Gallery.  Salzl walks us through her evolution from drawing to her current award-winning, multimedia approach. Through installation, film, painting and sculpting, Salzl's latest body of work burrows inside of you like a beautiful parasite.

Salzl's work teeters between beautiful and beastly, often prompting the viewer to draw their own line between these supposed polarities. Her art, steeped in folklore and camp aesthetics, serves as a mirror reflecting the human condition and the rawness of life. Beale quizzes Salzl on the origins of the  her favourite work by the artist, “The Compromise” (2011), a piece inspired by environmental impacts on male fertility and the choices we are faced with in an imagined future dystopia.  We explore how folklore and myths often expose our deepest fears and desires, and how Salzl translates this into her work.

Follow Tammy on Instagram
Tammy's Website 

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Bev Pike is a Winnipeg artist known for gigantic immersive paintings of architectural utopias. She bases her current series on eccentric three hundred year-old subterranean grottos in England. Pike shows her work in major public art galleries across Canada, most recently at the Dunlop Art Gallery (Regina), Museum London (London), and St. Mary’s University Art Gallery (Halifax). She is the recipient of many major grants from the Canada Council, Manitoba Arts Council and Winnipeg Arts Council. Pike also creates humorous, provocative and feminist Agony Aunt columns in artist books that are in international special collections such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate Modern, University of Bristol and others in England, Canada, Iceland and the USA. She has been a guest speaker from coast to coast and in England. Finally, as a long-time community activist, Pike writes evidence-based satire for the Winnipeg Free Press, CBC, MSN, etc.

In this episode, Bev Pike tells us more about the importance of taking up space.  From the scale of her paintings to her satirical writing, Pike's strong convictions as a Feminist means she's not afraid to make herself, or her work, stand out. Additionally, Pike gives some valuable advice for artists regarding grant writing in Canada.

View more of Bev's work. 

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Let's talk about debt, baby! What does it mean to take on thousands of dollars in debt as an artist?

This week's conversation with performance artist Caitlin Mary Margarett Sørensdatter explores how the Midwest's transformed prairie landscapes serves as a canvas for CMM's work, spotlighting the cultural and ecological shifts that urge us to rethink our relationship with a changing world.

Our conversation takes a turn to the all-too-familiar struggle with student debt, a reality that many in the creative fields take on to pursue our dreams. Caitlin opens up about her experiences navigating student finance as a teenager at the University of Northern Iowa, where the pursuit of an arts degree came with a heavy price tag. We delve into how that debt is affecting her today as well as  Caitlin's honest account of the systemic barriers to low income students within the American education system. The episode reaches its crescendo as we dissect the artistic growth within the demanding environment of an MFA program, and whether going to university is necessary to become an artist.

Follow Caitlin on Instagram: @caitlin_mary_margarett
Check out Caitlin's website: https://www.caitlinmarymargarett.com/

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Step into the visual world of Laila Annmarie Stevens, a Black queer photographer based in Brooklyn whose lens captures tender portraits  of the people around her.  We unpack how growing up in Queens and internet culture shaped the intimate narratives she now crafts with her camera, from the early days of experimenting with a flip phone to her current photography practice encompassing both digital and analog approaches.  With major publications showcasing her work and a recently expanded  "Clayton Sisterhood Project" that aims to uplift Black women's stories, Stevens is just getting started.

Follow Laila on Instagram: @lailaannmarie
Check out Laila's website: https://www.lailaannmarie.com/

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 Kyle Scheurman paints more than just landscapes; his art illustrates the urgency of our changing climate and the need for its conservation. Madison's conversation with the artist and dedicated activist focuses on the precarious situation of British Columbia's old growth forests—a tale of both beauty and betrayal.

Kyle's narrative-driven, highly saturated paintings challenge us to see beyond his style and to grapple with the environmental reality they reveal upon closer inspection. Delving into the complex legacy of Canadian landscape painting, we draw connections between the celebrated works of the Group of Seven and Emily Carr, and the contemporary role of art and art history in environmental discourse.  We discuss the how the government is addressing the situation, the tireless efforts of forest protectors, and the stark realities of ongoing deforestation in Canada. How can art address these problems, and can art be a solution to them? Kyle shares his journey as an artist who not only pictures the natural world but fights for its future.

Kyle's Instagram
Kyle's Website
View Kyle's available work through Bau-Xi Gallery 

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Ever wondered how an artist’s cognitive makeup shapes their creative journey? Get ready for a captivating exploration into the world of Kara Theart, a rising Birmingham artist whose large-scale ink pen drawings blur the lines between human forms and landscapes. Theart explores how neurodivergence has not only influenced her artwork, but also added a unique vibrancy to her artistic expression. A recurring theme in her work is her personal relationship with the female form, a subject she speaks on with raw authenticity. We also delve into the story behind her viral sculpture, "My Dear Buck," and how the attention it has garnered has impacted her personally and professionally.

Enter Kara's world as she navigates a new benchmarks of success  for a young, emerging artist. Cara’s journey is filled with passion, perseverance, and the occasional hardship. Her love for creating is contagious, and her words of advice are a must-hear for young artists navigating a changing art world with new demands for a digital presence. She encourages emerging creatives to channel their emotions into their work, and to diversify their artistic mediums. As a bonus, Cara tells us more about with the details of her upcoming exhibition at Wavelength Space in Chattanooga. Be sure to follow her on Instagram (@karathe.art) to keep up with her latest work. 

Connect with the Artalogue: 

Madison Beale, Host

Be a guest on The Artalogue Podcast