The Carla Podcast

Listen along to our very first audio book of Carla issue #22. Each individual article can be accessed on our new Carla Audio Books feed. Read the full issue and access photos and more at contemporaryartreview.la/print

Abstraction as Resistance — Reclaiming Identity Through Strategies of Refusal  — The Labor of Performance — Relating Audience and Performer — The Politics of Rest — Saying No

Nikita Gale is an L.A.-based multi-media artist working in sound, sculpture, and video. In 2018, Gale made a solo show about changing her name—a form of reclaiming her own identity away from a patriarchal lineage. This refusal in many ways sets the stage for Gale’s multi-disciplinary practice, as she explores what it means to insist on self-autonomy and abstraction as a method for refusal—a means of presenting her subject matter to the viewer on her own terms.

In our hour-long conversation Gale and Zappas talk about how ideas of chosen identity, abstraction, refusal and rest can act as powerful mechanisms in artwork, as well as in protest and dissent. In 2018, Gale made a solo show about changing her name—a form of reclaiming of her own identity away from a patriarchal lineage. This refusal in many ways sets the stage for Gale’s multi-disciplinary practice, as she explores what it means to insist on self-autonomy and abstraction—a means of presenting her subject matter to the viewer on her own terms. We talk through the relationships between audience and performer, and how those play out in recent works by Gale: “Audiencing” and “Private Dancer.”

Abstraction as Resistance — Reclaiming Identity Through Strategies of Refusal  — The Labor of Performance — Relating Audience and Performer — The Politics of Rest — Saying No

Nikita Gale is an L.A.-based multi-media artist working in sound, sculpture, and video. In 2018, Gale made a solo show about changing her name—a form of reclaiming her own identity away from a patriarchal lineage. This refusal in many ways sets the stage for Gale’s multi-disciplinary practice, as she explores what it means to insist on self-autonomy and abstraction as a method for refusal—a means of presenting her subject matter to the viewer on her own terms. 

In our hour-long conversation Gale and Zappas talk about how ideas of chosen identity, abstraction, refusal and rest can act as powerful mechanisms in artwork, as well as in protest and dissent. In 2018, Gale made a solo show about changing her name—a form of reclaiming of her own identity away from a patriarchal lineage. This refusal in many ways sets the stage for Gale’s multi-disciplinary practice, as she explores what it means to insist on self-autonomy and abstraction—a means of presenting her subject matter to the viewer on her own terms. We talk through the relationships between audience and performer, and how those play out in recent works by Gale: "Audiencing" and "Private Dancer."

Host: Lindsay Preston Zappas

Learning within Institutions — Building Spaces for Community — Redefining Centers, Structures, and Bureaucracies — Connectivity within Digital Adaptations — Radical Everyday Practice — Living, Breathing Values

Sarah Williams is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Center for Creative Work (WCCW). In this episode, Zappas & Williams discuss the seeds in Williams’ trajectory that grew into WCCW, a space that nourishes and adapts to the needs of its creative feminist communities. As they speak on a range of topics, from day-to-day practices to the larger workings of power and resistance, Zappas and Williams muse on what it means for an organization to be attentive, nimble, and ultimately radical within artistic and social ecosystems. How can strategies of collectivity and horizontality be implemented to create a more liberatory and inclusive pathway forward?

Even before the pandemic began in March, WCCW was in a transition — having outgrown its space, they were considering moving to a larger building. The pandemic halted those plans, and also provided a slew of other puzzles to work through. Zappas and Williams discuss how space-making can happen in the digital sphere, and how the digital offers the potential for new connections.

The Carla podcast is produced by Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles and Lindsay Preston Zappas with production assistance on this episode by CJ Salapare and engineering by PJ Shahamat. Our theme music is by Joel P West. Thank you to our episode sponsors: The Equality Mural Project and The Hammer Museum.

Learning within Institutions — Building Spaces for Community — Redefining Centers, Structures, and Bureaucracies — Connectivity within Digital Adaptations — Radical Everyday Practice — Living, Breathing Values

Sarah Williams is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Center for Creative Work (WCCW). In this episode, Zappas & Williams discuss the seeds in Williams’ trajectory that grew into WCCW, a space that nourishes and adapts to the needs of its creative feminist communities. As they speak on a range of topics, from day-to-day practices to the larger workings of power and resistance, Zappas and Williams muse on what it means for an organization to be attentive, nimble, and ultimately radical within artistic and social ecosystems. How can strategies of collectivity and horizontality be implemented to create a more liberatory and inclusive pathway forward?

Even before the pandemic began in March, WCCW was in a transition — having outgrown its space, they were considering moving to a larger building. The pandemic halted those plans, and also provided a slew of other puzzles to work through. Zappas and Williams discuss how space-making can happen in the digital sphere, and how the digital offers the potential for new connections. 

Hosted by Lindsay Preston Zappas

Remembering John Baldessari: artist, friend, teacher, and mentor — Leslie Jones, Meg Cranston, Fay Ray, Amanda McGough, and Norm Laich reflect on the life and legacy of the celebrated Los Angeles artist 

This special episode of the Carla podcast is dedicated to remembering John Baldessari, who passed away on January 2nd at the age of 88, leaving behind a massive void in the L.A. art community and beyond.

You’ll hear from five people who knew John—former assistants, students, friends, and colleagues—as they reflect on not only his artistic contributions, but his impact as a dedicated teacher, friend, and mentor.

Thanks to LACMA, you’ll also hear from Baldessari himself via an interview taped during his 2010 retrospective, Pure Beauty.

John Baldessari lived a life that was indivisible from his practice as an artist and exhibited great care for his community of students and peers. He conducted his practice with generosity, humor, and deep curiosity that will be long remembered by those who had the pleasure to work with and know him, as well as by the countless who have been impacted by the work of the celebrated artist.

The Carla podcast is produced by Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles and Lindsay Preston Zappas, edited by Jenna Kagel, and engineered by PJ Shahamat. Our theme music is by Joel P West. Other music in this episode included tracks by Ibeke Shakedown, Lobo Loco, Ari Di Niro, Scott Holmes, and Joel P West. Thank you to LACMA, Amanda McGough, Meg Cranston, Leslie Jones, Norm Laich, and Fay Ray.

Remembering John Baldessari: artist, friend, teacher, and mentor — Hear reflections from Leslie Jones, Meg Cranston, Fay Ray, Amanda McGough, and Norm Laich on the life & legacy of the celebrated Los Angeles artist 

This special episode of the Carla podcast is dedicated to remembering John Baldessari, who passed away on January 2nd, 2020 at the age of 88, leaving behind a massive void in the L.A. art community and beyond.

You’ll hear from five people who knew John—former assistants, students, friends, and colleagues—as they reflect on not only his artistic contributions, but his impact as a dedicated teacher, friend, and mentor. 

Thanks to LACMA, you’ll also hear from John Baldessari himself via an interview taped during his 2010 retrospective, Pure Beauty.

John Baldessari lived a life that was indivisible from his practice as an artist and exhibited great care for his community of students and peers. He conducted his practice with generosity, humor, and deep curiosity that will be long remembered by those who had the pleasure to work with and know him, as well as by the countless who have been impacted by the work of the celebrated artist.

The Carla podcast is produced by Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles and Lindsay Preston Zappas, edited by Jenna Kagel, and engineered by PJ Shahamat. Our theme music is by Joel P West. Other music in this episode included tracks by Ibeke Shakedown, Lobo Loco, Ari Di Niro, Scott Holmes, and Joel P West. Thank you to LACMA, Amanda McGough, Meg Cranston, Leslie Jones, Norm Laich, and Fay Ray.

Growing up in L.A. — Rock Photography and Photographing Michael Jackson — Feeling Split Between Commercial Work and Art — The Colonized Mind — Finding Balance Between Mind and Body — Make Rules Break Rules

Hosted by Lindsay Preston Zappas

Todd Gray joins Lindsay for an hour long conversation surrounding his work and the influences that life experiences have had on his approach to thinking and making. Gray’s meticulous photographs are framed and then stacked on top of each other, so certain areas are strategically concealed. Some of his works contain images of Michael Jackson among his other subjects of European gardens and scenes shot in Africa. As a teen, Gray started taking photos at rock concerts, and for a stint became a successful music photographer, working with The Rolling Stones, and doing album art for Jackson Five, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder. He later became Michael Jackson’s personal photographer, and amassed a huge archive of images. Alongside all this, Gray received his MFA from CalArts in 1989 where he studied under photographer Allan Sekula and focused primarily ideas of mental colonialism. These ideas first started around his well-known subject, Michael Jackson, until Gray realized that his own mind had been colonized by his western upbringing and education. Todd and I talk about the split between a western logical thinking, and a more African bodily and intuitive way of thinking—and how much of his practice is an effort to reconcile the two.

Gray's exhibition, Euclidean Gris Gris, is on view at Pomona College Museum of Art through May 17, 2019. 

Growing up in L.A. — Rock Photography and Photographing Michael Jackson — Feeling Split Between Commercial Work and Art — The Colonized Mind — Finding Balance Between Mind and Body — Make Rules Break Rules

Todd Gray joins Lindsay for an hour-long conversation surrounding his work and the influences that life experiences have had on his approach to thinking and making. Gray’s meticulous photographs are framed and then stacked on top of each other, so certain areas are strategically concealed. Some of his works contain images of Michael Jackson among his other subjects of European gardens and scenes shot in Africa. As a teen, Gray started taking photos at rock concerts, and for a stint became a successful music photographer, working with The Rolling Stones, and doing album art for Jackson Five, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder. He later became Michael Jackson’s personal photographer and amassed a huge archive of images. Alongside all this, Gray received his MFA from CalArts in 1989 where he studied under photographer Allan Sekula and focused primarily on ideas of mental colonialism. These ideas first started around his well-known subject, Michael Jackson, until Gray realized that his own mind had been colonized by his western upbringing and education. Todd and I talk about the split between a western logical thinking, and a more African bodily and intuitive way of thinking—and how much of his practice is an effort to reconcile the two.

Gray’s exhibition, Euclidean Gris Gris, is on view at Pomona College Museum of Art through May 17, 2019.

How identity has shaped Pittman’s work—Being a Painter in the Pictures Generation—Working Politically While Not Being Defined as a “Political Artist”—Thoughts on the Younger Generation of Artists—On Boredom—Leaving Work Open for the Viewer

This episode, host Lindsay Preston Zappas is joined by painter Lari Pittman that was recorded just days before Pittman’s retrospective opened at the Hammer Museum in LA. They discuss personal experiences that have deeply influenced his work, and talk about what it was like to delve into painting and decoration in the ’70s—a time when painting was, as Pittman says, “dilapidated.” Pittman now teaches painting at UCLA, and in this conversation, he talks about the impact that working with younger artists has had on him. He also delves into his early experiences growing up in Colombia, the impact that his identity has had on his work, and the way in which his work has found a dialogue with a new generation of contemporary painters.