Glasstire

In this episode I interview Soledad Arias, an artist in New York who works as a medical interpreter. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Soledad has lived in NYC for almost 20 years. Being bilingual, her life, artwork, and (luckily) her job revolve around language. She is interested in exploring the human condition through the medium of speech.

At a time when words seem to be thrown around blindly, accelerated by the speed of social media, Arias reminds us of the importance of empathy, practicing emotional listening, and that meaning and specificity still matter.

In our latest Art Dirt podcast, Rainey Knudson speaks with Houston artist David McGee, who is the subject of two exhibitions in Houston this fall, at Texas Gallery and the Houston Museum of African American Culture.

"Listen, Donald Trump should be the president of Sharknado."

Rainey Knudson and Christina Rees discuss the week's art news: the return of the Texas Biennial, the Guggenheim's decision to pull controversial videos from a new show, and the death of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner (that's Lauren Hutton in her bunny outfit from the 1960s).

In the aftermath and psychic static of Hurricane Harvey, Peter Lucas brings us this special 2-hour radio show featuring a ton of Houston music and catching up with a handful of Houston musicians and DJs along the way. Blues, r&b, soul, jazz, funk, folk, psychedelic rock, punk, and more. May this homespun broadcast help you feel, deal, and replace the sheetrock of your soul.

Rainey Knudson and Christina Rees discuss the response to Rainey's article about painted electrical boxes as public art.

This episode is about Cathy Fairbanks, an artist living and working in LA who truly sees herself as having a dual career as a nurse.

She primarily identifies with working in sculpture, specifically ceramics. But her work doesn’t really look like your traditional ceramics - they kind of morph into wonky yet delicate assemblages with materials like paper mache.

You can find out more about her work at http://catherinefairbanks.net.

Christina Rees and Rainey Knudson discuss the week's news.

Christina Rees and Rainey Knudson discuss the week's art news.

"One of the protest signs said 'When Did Blasphemy Become Art?' and I just had to have a chuckle."

This is Tommy Gregory, an artist living in Houston, TX. And, probably like everyone listening, he’s had his share of good and bad jobs over the years.

After getting his MFA from UT San Antonio, he landed a job at the City as their Public Art Specialist. He then moved to Houston to be the Project Manager for Public Art at the Houston Arts Alliance. Currently he’s the public art program curator and interim director at the Houston Airport Systems.

Throughout all these jobs, he has kept up his career as an artist and also curated dozens of exhibitions across the state and this is Not A Hobby.

photo by Grady Carter.

Christina Rees and Rainey Knudson discuss the recent spate of removals of Confederate statues, and last week's dismantling of a Sam Durant outdoor sculpture at the Walker Art Center.

Image of Robert E. Lee statue removal by Matthew Hinton, via the New Orleans Advocate: http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_40dccfac-3c91-11e7-8121-83e3757dd400.html