Art History Happy Hour

The Revolutionary Language of the Black Square


Listen Later

Back in February 2015, we discussed the history of 19th century French political satire in response to the tragedy of the mass shooting at the offices of the satirical publication Charlie Hebdo. In the wake of the insurrection at the Capitol in January 2020, our minds turned once again to the relationship between politics and the visual arts. This time around, we thought we would extend our conversation into the early 20th century, focusing on the Russian painter Kasimir Malevich and "Suprematism," which he developed in the heady years leading up to the Russian Revolution.


While Malevich's iconic "Black Square" paintings can seem like a radical break with the past, in this episode, we look at the trajectory of his career to understand how they emerged out of the context of early 20th century Russian and European avant-gardes. We conclude by discussing how a non-representational painting can still "represent" political ideals, and also touch on recent scholarship that revealed the painting's origins in anti-Black racism.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Art History Happy HourBy Art History Happy Hour

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

145 ratings


More shows like Art History Happy Hour

View all
TED Talks Daily by TED

TED Talks Daily

11,256 Listeners

Talking History with Patrick Geoghegan by Newstalk

Talking History with Patrick Geoghegan

53 Listeners

You Must Remember This by Karina Longworth

You Must Remember This

13,967 Listeners

Learning English Vocabulary by BBC Radio

Learning English Vocabulary

529 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,399 Listeners

The Week in Art by The Art Newspaper

The Week in Art

201 Listeners

The Great Women Artists by Katy Hessel

The Great Women Artists

525 Listeners

The Art Angle by Artnet News

The Art Angle

314 Listeners

Jo's Art History Podcast by Jo McLaughlin

Jo's Art History Podcast

13 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,319 Listeners

The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

The Mel Robbins Podcast

20,986 Listeners

Art History 101 by Oana Rinaldi

Art History 101

13 Listeners