Hannah Cohen is a poet and editor based in Virginia. I recently picked up a copy of Hannah's new chapbook Bad Anatomy and the way that the poems encompass both vulnerability and strength really struck me, as did the self-deprecating perspective. In our conversation, Hannah and I talked about Bad Anatomy, about emotional truth in poetry, as well as her work as co-editor of the online poetry magazine Cotton Xenomorph. Then in the second segment we discussed the challenges of working as an artist with a day job, especially a day job that isn't in academia.
(Conversation recorded May 15, 2018.)
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Alanna Airitam is a portrait photographer based in San Diego, CA. In her series "The Golden Age," Alanna makes portraits of African Americans in the style of the Dutch Realism Golden Age of painting, images full of grace and beauty representing black people in a fine art context, a context from which they are all too often excluded. In our conversation we talked about that series, as well as her "Being Heard" project, which began as a response to seeing how different marginalized women were being excluded from the mainstream activist narrative. Then for the second segment, Alanna and I had a wide-ranging conversation about the roots of social injustice in our society.
(Conversation recorded April 10, 2018.)
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Andy Burgess is a multidisciplinary artist based in Tucson, AZ. Known for his paintings of mid-century and modernist paintings, Andy's wide-ranging practice also encompasses collage, printmaking, and photography, and more recently he has become a publisher, having started his own photobook publishing company, Dark Spring Press. In our conversation Andy and I talked about his approach to painting as a form of visual problem-solving, about finding an authentic path in the art world, and about learning to make beautiful photobooks. Then for the second segment, Andy chose nostalgia as his topic.
(Conversation recorded March 30, 2018.)
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Morgan DeLuna is a photographic artist based in Southern California. In her Phenotype series, Morgan uses self-portraiture to explore her diverse genetic heritage. In our conversation we talked about that series, and the question that both of us have heard so many times: "What are you?" We also discussed her Extrospection photographs, a series of abstract bodyscapes documenting the topography of her physical existence over time. For the second segment, we talked about social media and its effects on human interaction and on the medium of photography.
(Conversation recorded March 13, 2018)
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Devin Kelly is a poet and teacher based in New York, NY. Devin's latest book of poems, In This Quiet Church of Night, I Say Amen was a recent favorite of mine, an elegiac, contemplative book about family, love, and the ways in which life is more about the search than the finding. In our conversation, we talked about Devin's book as well as several of his essays, and Devin also read his poem "Elegy For the Long Drive." Then in the second segment, Devin chose whales as his topic.
(Conversation recorded February 8, 2018.)
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Ty Franck is a writer based in Albuquerque, NM. Along with Daniel Abraham, Ty is the author of the bestselling science fiction series The Expanse. In our conversation, Ty and I talked about The Expanse, how it got started, and the process by which he and Daniel write the series. Then in the second segment, Ty asked the question: "Who owns the stuff in space?"
(Conversation recorded February 6, 2018.)
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Brenda Biondo is a fine art photographer based in Colorado. Brenda's work focuses on three distinct areas: constructed abstractions centered on atmospheric color and light; conservation and land-based issues; and the way cultural artifacts move from the past into the present. In this conversation we talked about her documentation of American playgrounds, her background in journalism, her interest in land use and conservation, and her love of abstraction and modernist paintings. In the second segment, we talked about portfolio review events and how invaluable an opportunity they are for photographers.
(Conversation recorded January 4, 2018.)
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Justyna Badach is a photographic artist based in Philadelphia, PA. Justyna's work examines the iconography of the masculine history of art in relation to her work as a female artist. In this episode we discussed several of her photographic series, including her Untitled Film Stills, Bachelor Portraits, and Land of Epic Battles series, how she uses her work to insert herself into spaces from which women have historically been excluded, and how she interrogates and challenges conventional notions of masculinity. The for the second segment we had a wide-ranging conversation, starting with the connection between writing and images, then moving to the importance of empathy, the roots of American anxiety, and how the current insistence on art having a social practice resembles propaganda mechanisms in totalitarian regimes.
(Conversation recorded December 21, 2017.)
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Linda Alterwitz is a photographic artist based in Las Vegas, NV. Linda's work brings science and technology together with art to make some visually striking and very human images. In this episode we talked about her creative process, including how she first became interested in using medical imagery to make art. Then for the second segment, Linda chose balance as her topic.
(Conversation recorded December 5, 2017.)
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Lisa M. Robinson is a fine art photographer based in Tucson, AZ. Lisa's conceptual landscape photography has been hugely influential to me as an artist, so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to talk with her for the show. In our conversation we talked about her artistic process, the conceptual underpinnings of her new Chronos and Terrestra series, and why her work has meant so much to me. Then in the second section, we talked about the place of contemplative art in today's chaotic political environment.
(Conversation recorded December 14, 2017.)
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Chris Engman is a fine art photographer based in Los Angeles. I first encountered Chris's work when he gave an artist lecture at the Medium Festival of Photography a few years ago, and his work just blew my mind. Chris's work focuses on the nature of photography and human perception, and he uses his meticulously constructed photographs to explore themes of time, impermanence, and memory. We had a great conversation about his work and process, and about the meditative nature of driving.
(Conversation recorded November 30, 2017.)
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Daniel Gonçalves is a portrait, editorial, and commercial photographer based in Los Angeles. I met Daniel at this year's Medium Festival of Photography, where he was participating in the portfolio reviews and showing work from his "Second Amendment Cowboy" series. We had a great conversation for this episode about his work exploring American gun culture and his fascination with Americana. For the second segment, we talked about the idea of home.
(Conversation recorded November 21, 2017.)
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Courtney Balestier is a writer and the host of WMFA, a podcast where writers talk writing. I've been a fan of WMFA for several months now so I was very excited to collaborate with Courtney on this episode, which will be released jointly on both shows. In our conversation we took a behind-the-scenes look at both of our shows, diving into our interviewing processes and why each of us started our podcasts. We also talked about the creative projects we've been working on recently, and our shared fascination with place and identity.
(Conversation recorded November 29, 2017.)
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Eleonora Ronconi is a photographer originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, now a resident of the Bay Area. I first saw Eleonora's work via the Six Shooters project have followed her work ever since. Most recently I was pleased to see her work again at this year's Medium Festival of Photography, where she was showing her series "Serás Mis Ojos," a beautiful body of work about memory and family. In this episode we talked about that series as well as her other work, how photography allowed her to find her voice, and where she finds inspiration.
(Conversation recorded November 17, 2017.)
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Sarah Gailey's two recent novellas, River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow, were a huge amount of fun for me as a fan of both Westerns and speculative fiction. Our conversation covered both of those books, her serialized novelette The Fisher of Bones, as well as her Hugo-nominated column at Tor.com about the women of Harry Potter. In the second segment, Sarah talked to me about Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg.
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Mari Ness is a speculative fiction writer and poet based in central Florida. I was recently turned on to Mari's work by a mutual acquaintance of ours, and I really enjoyed digging through her short stories and poetry. In our conversation we talked about her new book Through Immortal Shadows Singing, her experience working in the speculative poetry genre, and what she loves about revising fairy tales. For the second segment, Mari chose Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery as her topic.
(Conversation recorded September 12, 2017.)
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Alexander Chee is the author of two novels, Edinburgh and The Queen of the Night. I read the latter of the two last year and it was one of my favorite books of the year. I was pleased to get a chance to talk with Alexander about that book, as well as his essay "How to Write an Autobiographical Novel," which will be included in his forthcoming collection of the same name. In our wide-ranging conversation we also talked about the work of Joan Didion, as well as a surprising influence on the structure of The Queen of the Night. For the second segment, Alexander chose our current political moment as his topic, as well as Ta-Nehisi Coates' recent essay "The First White President."
(Conversation recorded September 9, 2017.)
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Maggie Smith is a poet living and working in Bexley, Ohio. In 2016 Maggie's poem "Good Bones" became a viral hit—it's since been translated into nearly a dozen languages and was named by PRI as "the official poem of 2016." That poem is now the title poem of her latest collection, a book that I found deeply moving. I was pleased to talk with Maggie about her new book and her writing process. Then for the second segment we talked about the idea of place, and raising our kids in a different century from the one we grew up in.
(Conversation recorded August 2, 2017.)
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Celeste Ng is a writer based in Cambridge, MA. Celeste's first novel, 2014's Everything I Never Told You, is, without exaggeration, one of the most important books of my life. When I read it in 2016, it gave me my first real glimpse at what representation in fiction could mean, and it was revelatory. Celeste's newest novel, which was just released this week, is called Little Fires Everywhere, and I was thrilled to get the chance to talk with her about it. In our conversation we talked about both books, about the importance of representation in media and culture, our shared obsession with Hamilton, and about Celeste's fascination with family roles. For the second segment, Celeste talked about how she got over her phobia of octopuses.
(Conversation recorded July 27, 2017.)
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Kevin Miyazaki is an editorial and fine art photographer based in Milwaukee, WI. I've been a fan of Kevin's for some time now, both for his own work as well as his work highlighting and supporting the photographic community. We had a great conversation about his work and process, particularly about his use of image pairings and how effectively his photographs suggest a narrative, but with a sense of mystery as well. We also talked a lot about our common experiences as Japanese-Americans, and how our family histories inform our loves and our work. For the second segment, Kevin chose aging and ageism in creativity as his topic.
(Conversation recorded August 3, 2017.)
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Rizzhel Mae Javier is a photographer and installation artist based in San Diego, CA. I first met Rizzhel when we were both participating in the portfolio reviews at the Medium Festival a few years ago, and her stop-motion, flipbook-style pieces immediately caught my attention. More recently, Rizzhel was named one of the 2017 emerging artists by the SD Art Prize for her "Unmentionables" project, creating new art out of old mementos. We had a great conversation for the show about her artistic process, what she loves about making mistakes, and her experience as a teacher. For the second segment, Rizzhel chose the Philippines as her topic.
(Conversation recorded July 26, 2017.)
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Jennifer DeCarlo is the director of jdc Fine Art, which was one of my favorite galleries in San Diego. Today, Jennifer splits time between San Diego and Chicago, and still works constantly championing the artists she represents. I've appreciated Jennifer's insight and eye for years, so I was pleased to have a chance to sit down and talk with her. We talked about her background and how she came to start her own gallery, how she views her role as a gallerist, and also her experiences as a portfolio reviewer. For the second segment, Jennifer chose art collecting as her topic.
(Conversation recorded June 22, 2017.)
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As a photographer, scott b davis is known for his stunning, shadowy platinum prints, which you really have to see in person to get the full effect. He's also the founder and executive director of the Medium Festival of Photography, which is not only one of my favorite events of the entire year, but also directly contributed to the genesis of this very podcast. In our conversation, scott and I discussed his work, what drew him to the platinum process, and how discovery plays a central role in his art and artmaking. In the second segment, scott chose Mexico as his topic, a place that's geographically close to us here in San Diego, even if it sometimes feels psychologically far away.
(Conversation recorded June 6, 2017.)
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Susan Rosenberg Jones is a photographer based in New York City. I've been a fan of Susan's for several years, starting with her series "Second Time Around," about her experience of being a newlywed in her 60's. We had a great conversation about that series as well as her series "Building 1," about the community in her apartment building. For the second segment, Susan and I talked about Neal Rantoul's article in PetaPixel, "A Disturbing Trend in Photography."
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Photographer Jess T. Dugan is one of my favorite contemporary portrait artists, whose work explores issues of gender, sexuality, identity, and community. Jess's 2015 book Every Breath We Drew is a favorite of mine, and I was pleased to be able to discuss that book with her, as well as her recent series To Survive On This Shore, photographs and interviews with transgender and gender non-conforming people over the age of fifty. We had a great conversation about her artistic process, how she approaches making a portrait, and how her tools inform her work. For the second segment, Jess chose "golden hour" as her subject, the time just before sunset when the light is both striking and rapidly changing.
(Conversation recorded May 8, 2017)
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