What do you have to do to get kicked out of a museum, like, forever ever?

Meet Ki Smith, a gallery owner and NYC lifer who was slapped with a lifetime ban from the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2016. Along with his brother Sei and their art collective Base 12, Ki coordinated a guerrilla exhibition in the Whitney. The paintings hung in the museum stairwell, flanked by sweeping views of the Hudson River, for nearly an hour. The heist made the brothers cult celebrities overnight.

In the Smith family, art is a way of life. Ki's mom, Sono Kuwayama, is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose career has spanned animation, painting, and film. In the same way Ki breaks down artistic spaces to make them more inclusive and accessible, Sono eschews conventional materials and sources the components of her art exclusively by hand, whether that's spinning yarn or foraging for berries or tracing the lineage of the sheep who bore wool to the Himalayas. Folks, tear up the rule book, the dance floor, the entry tickets, it's episode 40!

Sono Kuwayama, whose works include installation, painting, sculpture, video and writing, lives and works in New York City. She is increasingly interested in interdisciplinary work and while traveling globally for her work, has looked towards “language” to inform her art. In some cases this has been an exploration of indigenous languages and their relationships to place or the language of objects in a given location, the language of the landscape as well as internal and external landscapes.

Ki Smith is a native New Yorker and the owner/founder of Ki Smith Gallery in the Lower East Side. He began working in local art galleries at the age of 16 and, at 21, co-founded Apostrophe NYC, which gained recognition for its innovative pop-up exhibitions at venues such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, MoMA PS1, and NYC subway stations.

Filmed at Juneshine's lovely kombucha taproom in downtown Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Kick it at the bar and take on the incoming summer heat with a yummy fermented beverage!

An important announcement: Subsequently, we'll begin publishing episodes every 2 weeks in order to keep serving up the realest high quality content!

Instagram & TikTok: @bartalkseries

https://www.patreon.com/bartalkseries/

You can find Sono @sonokuwayama

You can find Ki @kismithgallery

Intro Song: "Brooklyn" by Glass Vaults

(00:00) Teaser

(00:30) Intro

(00:44) Galleries in the Pandemic

(03:39) The Story of Art Without Men

(04:53) Creating Space for Artists

(08:46) The Myth of the "Body of Work"

(10:33) How Do You Show Art Without Space?

(12:30) Feedback for Mom

(13:41) Luke Ivy Price

(15:59) Sono's Journey

(19:47) Art as Propaganda

(24:52) From the First Cave Painting

(29:03) The Three Careers

(33:16) En Route to India

(36:12) The West Elm Dumpster

(38:49) Shout-Outs

“I had a client who hates having his feet touched. So I did bondage on his feet. I tied him down. Apparently he likes to escape. I tied him down. He did not escape. I bound his toes. Then I put socks on him, but only halfway. And then I blasted AC on his feet and left the room. He did not enjoy that.”

Meet Mistress Vicki and Miss Orion, two pro dommes who spend their nights in dungeons of their own design, pressing nine-inch heels into the necks of Manhattan’s elite and bringing their fantasies of torture and submission to life. Prospective clients, who are asked to fill out intake forms, might mistake the latex-friendly premises for a wayward doctor’s office, were it not for the whips on the wall. Would-be buyers, beware. Leather will be stretched, garters will be snapped, pocketbooks will be emptied. Entry into these rarefied rooms does not come cheap.

Miss Orion is a professional dominatrix, stripper, and goddess based in NYC. She has been profiled by both Rolling Stone and the New York Times. You can find her writing and videos on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and OnlyFans.

Mistress Vicki is a professional dominatrix, educator, and designer based in Brooklyn, NY. She specializes in fashion fetishes, all things sharp, and invasive forms of play.

Filmed at the beautiful brick & mortar taproom of TALEA Beer, a female-founded brewery with locations in Williamsburg and Cobble Hill. Their delicious brews—“easy-drinking beers,” in the words of the NYT, “perhaps to replace that glass of rosé”—combine high quality ingredients with low bitterness and fruit-forward flavors.

https://www.taleabeer.com/

Instagram & TikTok: @bartalkseries

https://www.patreon.com/bartalkseries/

You can find Miss Orion @TheMissOrion

You can find Vicki @ victorythinyc

Intro Song: "Brooklyn" by Glass Vaults

(00:00) Teaser

(00:26) Intro

(00:41) TikTok Funerals

(03:56) Curious Moms

(06:28) The Accidental Orgy

(07:43) Being a Domme vs. Being a Normal Person

(09:01) Getting Banned from Hinge

(12:45) Saying I Love You

(16:39) People Who Want to Be Stabbed

(20:18) The Glimmer of a Tricep

(21:06) A Night in the Dungeon

(23:47) Stripping

(26:00) Latex Lifestyle

(33:22) I'm Doing the Lord's Work

(38:23) The Murderous Peanut Dust

(41:44) Shout-Outs

What’s it like to bring your fists to a knife fight?

Meet Ro and Clint, two mixed martial arts experts who make their living teaching others how to master their fear and step into the ring. That is, when they’re not putting ‘em up themselves. Clint hasn’t lost a fight in ten years.

But it’s not all blood and uppercuts. Both Ro and Clint understand, on a very personal level, that at the heart of self-defense lies de-escalation. Last summer, when he saw a man inexplicably attack an elderly construction worker on SoHo’s Prince Street, Ro leapt into action. Using Jiu Jitsu’s Seatbelt maneuver, he safely pinned down the assailant—who wasn’t harmed—until police arrived. He quickly became a neighborhood hero.

Clint, for his part, got his start tumbling in bars during his time in the US Air Force, where he served as an airplane mechanic. When his friend cajoled him into signing up for an official MMA match in Oregon, he nearly walked out the exit before stepping into the cage. Since those first butterflies fifteen years ago, Clint has gone pro. But you’ll still find him in his trusty Crocs, kicking a$$ and taking names in the back of 18-wheelers in the Bronx’s underground fight scene.

Ro Malabanan is an actor, boxing coach, martial arts trainer, and Jiu Jitsu black belt under the legend Marcelo Garcia.

Clint Patterson is a pro MMA fighter and martial arts instructor. He grew up wrestling and moving timber in the lumberyards of Oregon, and went on to serve in the US Air Force.

You can follow Ro @rotheshow

You can follow Clint @ninja.clint

Filmed at the rustic Tasting Room of Van Brunt Stillhouse, a "Farm Distillery" in the heart of Red Hook Brooklyn. They pride themselves in sourcing organically grown corn, wheat and rye from a single farm near Ithaca. https://www.vanbruntstillhouse.com/

Instagram & TikTok: @bartalkseries

https://www.patreon.com/bartalkseries/

Intro Song: "Brooklyn" by Glass Vaults

(00:00) Teaser

(00:25) Intro

(00:40) From Bar Fights to Pro Fighting

(04:45) First MMA Fight, So Nervous

(07:39) Cotton Mouth

(08:16) Ro's Reason to Fight at 9yo

(10:16) I used to get my ass kicked around here

(11:01) Three of my friends got slashed in the face

(11:32) Clint's Knife Fight, Getting 150'ed

(18:17) Maybe we just be friends?

(19:11) My Father's Balisong Knife

(20:16) Ro's Viral Hero Moment on Prince and Broadway

(27:06) Dress to Impress

(28:53) Talking Shit Sells in MMA

(30:58) Kicking with Crocs on

(31:51) I wore Ninja Turtle gear to my fights

(32:41) Clint's Underground Fights in the Bronx

(35:39) Favorite Underground Fight, Like Out of a Movie

(38:33) He Can't Keep That Up!

“It started like all good ideas do. Like, we were at a bar. And we were talking about sex. We were talking about losing our virginity, or what it’s like to be a person who wants to lose their virginity.”

“Simply not being able to give it away fast enough.”

“Losing my virginity was like walking into a rake and then like, bam, it smacks you in the face, and then you walk into another rake, and then bam, it smacks you in the face.”

“What’s the rake?”

Meet Noah and Samie, two artists whose bubbly, big-hearted friendship can light up a night out on the town, whether it’s a rollicking tiki bar on the Vegas strip or the Manhattan skyline at sunset. They first met in Seattle, their former hometown, where they collaborated to create the esteemed Six Pack Series — a creative intersection for community and up-and-coming artists — at the Washington Ensemble Theatre. Whether it’s learning to embrace your uninhibited alter ego, testifying in front of the U.S. Senate, or fending off a band of murderous robbers from a town on the frontier, they’ve got more than a few stories to share. It may seem dark out there, folks, but here looking out over the East River it’s the highest of noons. Here’s to episode 37!

Noah is an ordinary eccentric and one of the co-creators of Six Pack Series, along with Samie. He’s permissive, unfashionable, commercialist. Like so many, he’s not judgmental, he has a potbelly, and he sells stuff for a living.

Samie is an artist, writer, and notorious fast talker. She is the co-creator of some of Seattle's favorite art parties, including Six Pack Series and GUSH. Samie attended Cornish College of the Arts, and is currently a Content Strategist at Blue State in Brooklyn, New York.

#ShoutYourAbortion

And behind them: a stunning view of the city and the sparkling Bar Blondeau at the top of the Wythe Hotel!

Instagram & TikTok: @bartalkseries

https://www.patreon.com/bartalkseries/

You can follow Samie @sub_samiche

You can follow Noah @no_wahhh

(00:00) Teaser

(00:31) Intro

(00:46) The Don Draper / Peggy Olson Dynamic

(01:25) I Couldn’t Have Lost It Fast Enough

(06:42) Your Wit Astounds Me

(09:39) A Gentlemen of Verona and his Golf Clubs

(12:04) Who is Samie Smash?

(15:04) A Pleasure-Seeking Missile

(15:31) And We Got Kicked Out of the Tiki Bar

(18:24) No Mommy and Daddy in Vegas

(20:08) I Gamble with My Life, Not My Money

(23:26) The Most You’ve Ever Stolen

(26:04) High Noon // Samie Stands Alone

(31:36) We’re Sounding Very Libertarian, I’m Nervous

(33:37) Noah Stands Alone

(34:48) Pets That Live Forever

(38:34) Books, Not Butts

"The biggest issue is that she wants to possess me. I don't want to... I just don't want to be possessed."

Meet Ben and Trena, two longtime friends who met doing sex-ed performances and workshops for CUNY's Creative Arts Team. Their lives have since diverged: when he isn't making moves, Ben teaches film at Brooklyn College, and Trena is a licensed social worker for the NYC Department of Education. Twenty years later, their friendship remains rock-solid, and their bar talkin' is as real as it gets. That's right, it's witching hour at the Richardson bar, and the people are trading stories of the heart—love lost, love regained, love set free... The ride we're all on, the ride we won't forget.

Ben is a television producer, filmmaker, and playwright. He wrote for the Netflix series Grand Army and produced the HBO series Betty. Ben has developed television for BET, Channel 4, Lionsgate Entertainment, and Warner Bros. His most recent feature film, Allswell, won Best Screenplay at Tribeca Film Festival, 2022. His previous film, 11:55, with Julia Stiles and John Leguizamo, premiered on Showtime. Ben was a producer for the Sundance award-winning documentary The Wolfpack. He currently teaches at Brooklyn College.

Trena is a high school social worker for the NYC Department of Education. She was born and raised in the South Bronx, where she now works and resides. Tough, kind, and brilliant, Trena wowed us with her sense of humor, integrity, and passion for social justice. She obtained her bachelor degree in Black Studies from SUNY New Paltz and her graduate degree in Social Work from CUNY Lehman. When she's not at school taking care of the next generation, she enjoys spending time with her close friends Amanda, Stella, and Samantha.

Instagram & TikTok: @bartalkseries

https://www.patreon.com/bartalkseries/

Intro Song: "Brooklyn" by Glass Vaults

(00:00) Teaser

(00:25) Intro

(00:40) In My Family, Years Go By

(05:01) The Luddites

(06:28) My Tolerance is, Like, Negative

(09:24) Being Someone Else on the Apps

(11:45) What People Really Want is a Social Worker

(15:15) Meeting Amanda

(22:45) The Cut-off

(24:35) How Does that Happen and No One Gets Killed?

(27:41) Open Relationships: Off-Ramp or Ideal?

(28:41) Chosen, Each and Every Time

“Recently I did a Zoom bris. The whole time… I was like, Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.”

“So my sister’s second kid… She had a little boy. We had a bris… And it’s a raining morning, at my sister’s house, and the mohel, it’s called—the mohel is the person that comes in and does the snipping.”

“Ok, got it.”

“The guy comes in without a thumb. He’s missing a thumb!”

Meet Dave and Shea, two former neighbors who joined forces with the rest of their apartment building on Hicks Street to make it through the pandemic. And while they’ve since moved on from neighbor status, their beautiful friendship and good humor has remained intact. An auspicious trip to Tel Aviv, a circumcision that overcame all the odds, a wedding on the waters of the East River… And just maybe the biggest reveal we've ever seen on camera! Join Dave and Shea as they remember the good times and cherish the ones to come. We can’t think of a better recipe for a bar talk. Folks, it’s episode 35!

Dave is the Head of Culinary Production & Operations at Food Network, where he’s worked for the last 18 years. He oversees an amazing team of culinary experts who works on all culinary content relating to linear and digital productions, recipe development, and Food Network Magazine. Dave also runs Food Network Kitchen and oversees studio operations at GHQ.

Shea is a Senior Program Strategist at the United Nations. Born in a sunny, sleepy surf town in Southern California, Shea moved into 47- Hicks St, where she met Dave. During the pandemic, she got to know her neighbors well as they podded up and partied in the backyard, playing ping-pong and poker. They all quickly became close friends, coming in and out of each others apartments dorm-style. She graduated from Harvard Grad School in 2019.

Follow Dave @dmechlowicz

Follow Shea @shea_ohill

Instagram & TikTok: @bartalkseries

https://www.patreon.com/bartalkseries/

Intro Song: "Brooklyn" by Glass Vaults

(00:00) Teaser

(00:30) Intro

(00:45) I Miss This Neighborhood

(04:54) Holy Sh*t, Are You Serious?

(09:31) Baby Fever

(12:04) The Jewelers of Tel Aviv

(14:08) A Hole Crisis

(16:38) Patch Adams

(18:27) Someone with a Very Bad Shot

(20:21) Ciao House

(21:56) The UN & The Food Network

(25:08) Passover Brisket

(27:45) The Zoom Bris

(29:50) The Last of All My Friends

(33:20) George's Great Life

(35:04) How Did You Propose?

(38:54) A Waterfront Wedding

(41:48) Shout-Outs

“Really I’m just directing this tool that’s in front of me. I’m telling it exactly what to do. And that’s why I say photography is very therapeutic... You’re not thinking about, like, your mortgage that’s due.”

“It all drops to the back.”

Meet Gary and Deb, two photographers who view their art not just as therapy but also a powerful tool of community and social progress. After meeting one another documenting the Black Lives Matter protests the summer of 2020, the two have since become close friends. Join them for a wide-ranging conversation about AI prompts, police presence, analog versus digital, running and dance, as well as the complexities of protest photography, from personal safety to the importance of characterizing a historic event in an honest way. Folks, it’s episode 35, and the name of the game is … Zoom!

Gary Dean Clarke is an Information Technology professional and photojournalist. During the height of the pandemic, he actively photographed many of the Black Lives Matter and Anti-Asian Hate marches, rallies, and community events. His work has appeared in Mother Jones, the Museum of the City of New York, the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, Runners World Magazine, BuzzFeed, The Dr. Oz Show, Vice, LX News, and other media outlets. Gary currently photographs the running community in New York City.

Deb Fong is a New York City-based health communications executive, API ERG leader, and photographer, whose work celebrates humanity, community, and culture. Her imagery has been featured in International Center of Photography and Women Street Photographers exhibitions. She is a Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery/Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2022 Semifinalist, American Photography OPEN 2022 Competition Finalist, 2022 New York Photography Awards Silver Winner, and Siena International Photo Awards 2023 Finalist. Deb’s work has been published in Harper’s Bazaar, #ICPConcerned: Global Images for Global Crisis, and Aperture's Revolution Is Love: A Year of Black Trans Liberation.

Follow Gary @garydeanclarke

Follow Deb @deb_fong_photography

Instagram & TikTok: @bartalkseries

https://www.patreon.com/bartalkseries/

(00:00) Teaser

(00:24) Intro

(00:39) Photographing the BLM Protests

(04:57) Saying More than Just Beauty

(07:14) Every Has a Camera Now

(10:40) Photography as Therapy

(12:25) The Art of Captions

(14:23) Photos in the World of AI

(20:33) So Are You Ever Gonna Do This Full-time, Gary?

(24:41) Gravity Does Weird Things to the Body

(25:33) Dancing with Deb

(29:26) The Spontaneous Moments

(31:55) Focus is Over-rated

(34:06) I Feel the Most Authentically Who I Am

(35:45) Keith Lamar

(38:26) Elevating AAPI Artists

(40:51) A Reminder for Future Generations

(41:42) Shout-outs

Did you know you can go blind making moonshine? Ever wonder why it’s called a Hemingway Daiquiri? What’s the best condiment and why is it mustard?

Meet Benjamin and Raymond, a sommelier and restauranteur who have spent their careers serving up some of the best food and drink in the world. Both veterans of the elite Manhattan food scene, the two have known each other so long they can’t quite remember how they met. But when it comes to cuisine—whether it’s Raymond’s first Chartreuse in Tucson, a flipped Citroën in the Rhone Valley, or working dinner service in a 3-Michelin star kitchen—their memories are razor sharp. Folks, it’s episode 33, and we’re kicking it at the chefs’ table.

Raymond Trinh is the co-owner of Sixty Three Clinton, a Michelin-star restaurant serving elevated, seasonal American fare with global influences on the Lower East Side. Born to Vietnamese refugees, Raymond grew up in Santa Barbara before moving to Lake Havasu, Arizona at the age of seven. The family’s convenience store provided Raymond with the beginnings of a career in hospitality and after graduating high school, Raymond was accepted to his local culinary school and began to formally explore a career in food. In February 2012, Ray moved to New York City to work alongside his friend Sam Clonts in the kitchen of three Michelin-starred restaurant, Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare.

Benjamin de Hoog is a wine expert and certified sommelier. He is currently sales manager at Massanois, an NYC-based wine and spirits distributor, and previously served as Chief Somm at Jean-Georges on Central Park West and Lead Bartender at three-Michelin star Scandinavian paradise Aquavit.

Follow Raymond @raymondetrinh @63_clinton

Follow Benjamin @benjamin.dehoagie

Instagram & TikTok: @bartalkseries

https://www.patreon.com/bartalkseries/

(00:00) Teaser

(00:44) Intro

(00:59) "You, Get in There"

(05:19) Hidden Valley Ranch Ice Cream

(06:29) Hello, Chartreuse

(09:30) To the House of Moussé

(11:35) Pigs, Blankets, and Cool Ranch

(15:42) My Vermouth Years

(17:06) Playing Pétanque in Cote d'Azur

(18:41) $35,000 of Wine

(22:28) Are You a Lifer?

(28:20) Hemingway's Daiquiri

(33:29) The Malört in My Bathroom

(35:02) Appalachian Fernet ... Fire Emojis Across the Board

(36:58) Drinking Coffee After You Brush Your Teeth

(41:27) Shout-Outs

Meet Nick and Ivana, two up-and-coming musicians who perform under the name Hard Heaven. A few years ago, after bonding over a mutual love for karaoke, love poetry, and 90s alt rock, the two became close companions and, at the encouragement of their mutual friend Stanley, a local pharmacist and DJ, started making music. When Stanley passed in late 2021, his loss left a deep impression; for a brief while, Nick and Ivana found it difficult to get back into songwriting. After taking time to grieve, they decided that the best way to honor their friend's legacy was to keep going, and to give life to the vision he helped inspire.

Follow Ivana on IG @ivanapencheff

Follow Nick on IG @olsway

Join the team on Patreon for a bevy of sweet perks, chill vibes, and more! All contributions are hugely appreciated. Help us spread the good word the Richardson bar has to offer.

https://www.patreon.com/bartalkseries/ https://www.instagram.com/bartalkbk/

Intro Song: "Brooklyn" by Glass Vaults

(00:00) Teaser

(00:36) Intro

(00:52) Capitalist Doom & The Art of Not Being Loud

(02:58) Band Practice

(03:42) A Bottomless Pit in All of Us

(04:48) Affirmations, Alignment

(06:47) Stanley's Moonshine & The Celestial Gift of Life

(10:41) The Secret is to Have Fun

(12:34) The Three Colours Trilogy

(13:52) God in a Small City

(16:33) Platonic Love / Are We Gonna Kiss?

(19:35) Triggered by Sameness

(24:43) The World Doesn't Need to See Your Zara Haul

(25:25) Life Flashing Before Our Eyes

(26:19) Anne Sexton on Shrooms