Woodmere Diving Board Podcast

On this episode, we’re diving into the masterful work of the late Philadelphia artist, Larry Day. He was known as “The Dean of Philadelphia Painters” and was very much the “Art-Historian Artist.” Day lived from 1921 – 1998 and spent most of his life in Cheltenham Township just outside of Philadelphia.

Woodmere has been an avid collector of Day’s work, and is thrilled to be presenting "Body Language: The Art of Larry Day." It’s a unique multi-part exhibition that Woodmere is organizing together with University of the Arts and Arcadia University.

We’ll be spending this episode hearing from Ruth Fine and David Bindman. Without Ruth, we never could have put this exhibition together. Ruth was married to Larry Day and enjoyed an extraordinary career as a curator at the National Gallery of Art. And David Bindman, a longtime friend of Ruth and Larry’s, and took on the role as guest curator of this amazing exhibition.

Welcome to Diving Board. A show about artists, the art they create and the wide range of social and cultural ideas they explore.

On this episode, we’re going to dive into the work of artist and poet Roland Ayers, and our latest exhibition of his work called Calligraphy of Dreams.

Syd Carpenter and Steve Donegan discuss La Cresta, the earth sculpture that the artists have been cultivating over the last year on the grounds at Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia. This is a work of art about the earth itself and the history of the land on which Woodmere stands.

A group of painters, architects, dancers, and composers came together in 1955 to participate in Group '55, which was dedicated to exploring the new language of abstraction across the sectors of the arts and sharing these ideas with the public. This episode accompanies three exhibitions, Sam Feinstein: Immersive Abstraction, Group '55 and Midcentury Abstraction in Philadelphia, and Sam Feinstein: The Early Years, at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, all on view through January 24, 2021. Artists in midcentury Philadelphia sought spirituality and meaning in abstraction, and we learn more about this legacy in the arts from Barbara Wolanin, the guest curator of Woodmere's shows, Patricia Stark Feinstein, the widow of Sam Feinstein, who was the leader of Group '55, and Bill Scott, a painter who lives and works in Philadelphia today. To learn more about the exhibitions, visit: woodmereartmuseum.org/experience/exhibitions/group55

Host and Museum Director, Bill Valerio, discusses the concept behind the Afrocentric Jazz and Fashion Show — how it’s taking place in the context of the pandemic and our current need to examine the roots and manifestations of racial injustice. The inspiration for this event is Woodmere's exhibition, Africa in the Arts of Philadelphia, on view at Woodmere through September 7, 2020. Guests include Warren Oree, leader of the Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble and co-founder of Lifeline Music Coalition, and fashion designer Julia Turner Lowe.

This episode of Diving Board launches a new direction for the podcast, revisiting conversations about art, race, and social justice with Ursula Rucker, Jerry Pinkney, Suzanne Burgess, James Morton, Syd Carpenter, and Karen Warrington. The new series is called Diving Board 2020 and we will be asking those speakers we have already heard from, "what has changed and what is different? How do we move forward together? And, "What is the role of an art museum?" We will also be engaging with new voices.

Gilbert Lewis (born 1945) is a leading figurative painter in Philadelphia known for his sensitive and thoughtful portrayals of the gay male experience during a time when self-identity and expression required particular courage. Interviews in this episode span close relationships with Lewis throughout his career, including painter, Jody Pinto; model, Tony Rullo; former art dealer and gallerist, Noël Butcher Hanley; and former partner and caretaker, Eric Rymshaw. Woodmere Art Museum's exhibition, Gilbert Lewis: Many Faces, Many Figures, is on view July 18 through October 25, 2020, and is presented in tandem with exhibitions at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, William Way LGBT Community Center, and Kapp Kapp Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A journey in Africa and Philadelphia: A conversation with artist Barbara Bullock. This episode is part of a series created for “Africa in the Arts of Philadelphia: Bullock, Searles, and Twins Seven-Seven,” an exhibition on view at Woodmere Art Museum from February 8 through May 17, 2020. Woodmere, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to the telling the story of the art and artists of the region.

Twins Seven-Seven and Material Culture: A conversation with George Jevremović. This episode is part of a series created for “Africa in the Arts of Philadelphia: Bullock, Searles, and Twins Seven-Seven,” an exhibition on view at Woodmere Art Museum from February 8 through May 17, 2020. Woodmere, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to telling the story of the art and artists of the region.

Dance and Art: A conversation with Karen Warrington, lead dancer in the Ile-Ife Afro-American Dance Ensemble. This episode is part of a series created for “Africa in the Arts of Philadelphia: Bullock, Searles, and Twins Seven-Seven,” an exhibition on view at Woodmere Art Museum from February 8 through May 17, 2020. Woodmere, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to telling the story of the art and artists of the region.