Episode #34: Rivals- Pollock vs. de Kooning (Season 3, Episode 3)

This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus. Get a FREE month of unlimited access to over 9,000 lectures presented by engaging, award-winning experts on everything from art to physics, interior design and world languages. Sign up today at thegreatcoursesplus.com/ART. 

This episode receives additional support from Reynolda House Museum of American Art, where you can find one of the nation's most highly regarded collections of American art on view in a unique domestic setting - the restored 1917 mansion of R. J. and Katharine Reynolds surrounded by beautiful gardens and peaceful walking trails. You can browse Reynolda's art and decorative arts collections and see what's coming next at their website,  reynoldahouse.org.

The art world is a man’s world- or, at least, it used to be entirely one. This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who is a longtime listener of the ArtCurious Podcast, because we’ve touched multiple times on the difficulties that have faced women who have sought careers as artists.  Now, thankfully, in the age of #metoo, the male-heaviness of the art world is changing a bit, as it is in other facets of society. But turning back the clock to any other era in history, and the reality is that it was totally a man’s game. And the absolute manliness of it all was compounded intensely in one particular time and place: post-war America, where it was all about brusque machismo, the biggest innovations, and the biggest splash. It was a measuring contest like none other, and two larger-than-life characters were at the center of it all.

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Episode Credits

Production and Editing by Kaboonki. Theme music by Alex Davis.  Social media assistance by Emily Crockett. Additional research and writing for this episode by Stephanie Pryor.

ArtCurious is sponsored by Anchorlight, an interdisciplinary creative space, founded with the intent of fostering artists, designers, and craftspeople at varying stages of their development. Home to artist studios, residency opportunities, and exhibition space Anchorlight encourages mentorship and the cross-pollination of skills among creatives in the Triangle.

Additional music credits

"The Walk" by Dee Yan-Key is licensed under BY-NC-SA 4.0; "Catching Glitter" by Split Phase is licensed under BY-NC-SA 3.0 US; "Aquasigns" by Tagirijus  is licensed under BY-NC-SA 4.0; "You know why" by Loyalty Freak Music is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal License; "Tethered" by Nctrnm  is licensed under BY 4.0. Based on a work at https://soundcloud.com/nctrnm/; "Dancing on the Seafloor (KieLoKaz ID 110)" by KieLoBot  is licensed under BY-NC-ND 4.0; "Attempt 7" by Jared C. Balogh is licensed under BY-NC-SA 3.0

Ad music: "Ground Cayenne" by The Good Lawdz is licensed under BY-SA 3.0 

Links and further resources

The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art, Sebastian Smee

The New York Times: "Ruth Kligman, Muse and Artist, Dies at 80"

Jackson Pollock: An American Saga, Steven Naifeh and Gregory Smith

De Kooning: A Retrospective, John Elderfield

Willem de Kooning and his wife, Elaine, photograph by Hans Namuth, 1952.

Jackson Pollock and his wife, Lee Krasner, photograph by Hans Namuth, 1950.

Willem de Kooning, Excavation, 1950

Jackson Pollock, Stenographic Figure, c. 1942

Willem de Kooning, Woman I, 1950-1952

Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), 1950

Jackson Pollock painting on panes of glass, Hans Namuth documentary stills, 1950.

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