Seeing Is Forgetting with Jason Bailer Losh

Leah speaks about her book Vanishing Twins and the process of writing the memoir. We discuss connections through shared experience, identifying gender roles, and the process of discovering individual identity while having a successful relationship with your partner. "How does a young couple make room for their individual desires, their evolving selfhoods, and their artistic ambitions while building a life together?"

In one of the most in-depth conversations detailing an artist’s studio practice I've recorded to date, Ethan and I discuss both the methods and mindset that go into developing a complete body of artwork.

Andrianna speaks in-depth about her writing and curatorial practice. We discuss the lack of representation of marginalized groups and individuals within art history; and rethinking curatorial narratives around artists and producers. And the importance of community and conversation within the art world.

Amir and I discuss how issues of identity manifest in his painting and daily life, his family's immigration into the United States from Iran, as well as running a successful studio and surviving as an artist.

Dave and I discuss issues of appropriation in art, making ends meet as a full time artist, support systems artists build to survive the ups and downs of the art market, living with addiction and achieving sobriety.

Jason speaks about his childhood and adolescence leading him into the world of graffiti and art. We discuss the importance of community, aspects of commodity within the art world, and how the value systems of our society have the potential to disenfranchise artists.

Anna speaks about the various directions her practice has taken over the last twenty years, understanding her place within the work, and realizing that her goal wasn't just to show in a gallery space or an art fair. We talk about the influence that peers and mentors can have on an artist as one's career extends over a period of time.

Waraire and I discuss how perseverance, family and friends have helped him build a business. We also speak to the role fashion plays in helping individuals represent themselves and attain their goals in life.

Michael and I discuss music, the Midwest, and his path to opening and closing a gallery in Los Angeles. He goes into detail about the highs and lows of running a gallery as well as why he decided to eventually close the space.

Lauren speaks about the five years of running Public Fiction as an exhibition space in Los Angeles, as well as the on-going print publication of the same name; her collaborations with institutions, curators, and artists; and what it means for the exhibition to be treated as a medium.

B. Wurtz speaks about his life as an artist growing up in California and moving to New York in the 1980's. We discuss the relationship of his artwork to pop art, surrealism, and conceptual art as well as how to understand when a piece is complete. After having his first institutional retrospective in Europe he shares how he's preparing for his first U.S. museum retrospective at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

Adrienne and I speak about her role as a television producer and how she navigates the business. We talk about family and finding a place between work and happiness, and making difficult choices that have long term effects.

Luis talks about his past work in theater and discusses his current role as a partner and executive producer at Butcher Bird Studios focusing on film and television. The final part of our conversation is entirely devoted to the medium of Virtual Reality and how it plays a role in media today as well as art.

Karl discusses issues of creating narratives and dialogues between the personal and social aspects of life, challenging the expectations of an audience, and how he navigates the business side of the art world.

Christina speaks about life as a stand-up comedian after coming from the art world, parallels between writing for comedy and writing for art, and how good comedic material provides flexibility so the audience can engage.

Janet speaks about the living archive of the Martha Graham Dance Company and its evolving legacy, keeping new classics relevant for a contemporary audience, and engaging a new generation in collaboration.

This special five part series has been commissioned by Flag Art Foundation for their exhibition "The Times". The exhibition uses The New York Times as its point of departure and features over 80 artists, artist duos, and collectives who use the "paper of record" to address and reframe issues that impact our everyday lives. These interviews are with current and former editors and writers who speak about their experiences working for The New York Times, including David Colman, contributing writer, 'Style Section'; Andrea Kannapell, Briefings editor; Randy Kennedy, writer, 'Arts section'; Michael Owen, Editor of the News Desk; and Rick Rojas, writer, 'Metro Section.'

This special five part series has been commissioned by Flag Art Foundation for their exhibition "The Times". The exhibition uses The New York Times as its point of departure and features over 80 artists, artist duos, and collectives who use the "paper of record" to address and reframe issues that impact our everyday lives. These interviews are with current and former editors and writers who speak about their experiences working for The New York Times, including David Colman, contributing writer, 'Style Section'; Andrea Kannapell, Briefings editor; Randy Kennedy, writer, 'Arts section'; Michael Owen, Editor of the News Desk; and Rick Rojas, writer, 'Metro Section.'

This special five part series has been commissioned by Flag Art Foundation for their exhibition "The Times". The exhibition uses The New York Times as its point of departure and features over 80 artists, artist duos, and collectives who use the "paper of record" to address and reframe issues that impact our everyday lives. These interviews are with current and former editors and writers who speak about their experiences working for The New York Times, including David Colman, contributing writer, 'Style Section'; Andrea Kannapell, Briefings editor; Randy Kennedy, writer, 'Arts section'; Michael Owen, Editor of the News Desk; and Rick Rojas, writer, 'Metro Section.'

This special five part series has been commissioned by Flag Art Foundation for their exhibition "The Times". The exhibition uses The New York Times as its point of departure and features over 80 artists, artist duos, and collectives who use the "paper of record" to address and reframe issues that impact our everyday lives. These interviews are with current and former editors and writers who speak about their experiences working for The New York Times, including David Colman, contributing writer, 'Style Section'; Andrea Kannapell, Briefings editor; Randy Kennedy, writer, 'Arts section'; Michael Owen, Editor of the News Desk; and Rick Rojas, writer, 'Metro Section.'

This special five part series has been commissioned by Flag Art Foundation for their exhibition "The Times". The exhibition uses The New York Times as its point of departure and features over 80 artists, artist duos, and collectives who use the "paper of record" to address and reframe issues that impact our everyday lives. These interviews are with current and former editors and writers who speak about their experiences working for The New York Times, including David Colman, contributing writer, 'Style Section'; Andrea Kannapell, Briefings editor; Randy Kennedy, writer, 'Arts section'; Michael Owen, Editor of the News Desk; and Rick Rojas, writer, 'Metro Section.'

Mohammed speaks about opening the Institute of Arab & Islamic Art(IAIA) and the important role it plays in helping to foster conversation and understanding between cultures. We speak about social responsibility to affect change and breaking stereotypes, as well as the need for collaboration with the intent of helping to shape the future.

Emily speaks to her role as a Curatorial assistant at MOMA, and her work on the Robert Rauschenberg retrospective Among Friends. We also discuss the work of Eleanor Anton and the exhibition Multiple Occupancy: Eleanor Antin's "Selves", curated by Emily in 2013.

Soo speaks about her life as an artist and educator, the lack of equivalency in teaching standards, the role art schools in Los Angeles play in creating community, and the pressures artists deal with in producing work for commercial spaces.

Lazaros discusses avoiding the dogmatic nature of religion, cults and religious movements, origins of faith speaking to society, magic, and Mormonism.

Emily and I discuss what makes a finished performance piece, what aspects of performance art can be problematic for a viewer, supporting yourself as an artist, and why she takes issue with the notion of absolute truth.

Diana C. Betancourt is a Los Angeles-born curator based in Mumbai who has been working across South Asia since 2010. She is the Artistic Director of the Samdani Art Foundation in Dhaka and the Chief Curator of the Dhaka Art Summit. We speak about her entrance into the art world, the influence of arts within South Asia, and the important role of expanding artistic relationships inside and outside of the region.

Adam, Timo, and Thomas discuss the logistics of opening a gallery, how the gallery programming reflects their studio practices, and the difficult choices that are made for their own artistic endeavors.

John discusses how he creates questions within his artwork for the viewer, when his sculpture informs his paintings, and asks the question of why what we make matters beyond the art world.

Ragen talks about the friction between text and sculpture, commitment to ones craft, and the perception and realities of an artists life.

Jake speaks about his studio practice and the role of fear in the modern psyche, his mistrust of corporate media, manifest destiny, and his love for the city of Los Angeles.

Khalil speaks about racism in the art world, his life as an artist and poet, microaggressions within society, and creating opportunity for people of color within the arts.

LA based artist duo Chris Adler and Ali Edmark are the co-directors and curators behind the collaborative exhibition space VACANCY. Chris discusses the balancing act of maintaining an art practice and running a gallery, having a full time job to pay the bills, and his relationship with Ali, his partner in life and work.

Claire delves into the focus of her dissertation, collage and narrative in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s, and its relationship to contemporary art, as well as her work as a curator and writer. As an accomplished musician, she regularly performs throughout Los Angeles, and we discuss her participation earlier this year as a singer in Yael Salomonowitz's performance project at Paramount Ranch III.

Colleen discusses equal representation of sex and gender within the arts community, taking measure of sexism and class structures, and the value of loving what you do on a daily basis.

Jennifer breaks down the Canadian arts community in geographic and economic terms. We discuss alternative funding models and artist run centers, as well as the balance between being a parent and an artist.

Max speaks about artists shedding ideas of ideology in their work and the importance of Socratic conversations on social media. We also discuss his successful show "Riffin" on KCHUNG Radio, and the challenges of an interviewer in todays media landscape.

Ian and Matt discuss running a gallery space as artists, and how they sustain individually vibrant art practices while providing opportunities for other artists at Metro PCS. They also reflect on the city of Los Angeles and how it propels and restricts creativity.

Yaron discusses how his studio practice has been influenced through family relationships and a nomadic adolescence. Performance, painting, video, and sculpture are all outlets for his artistic practice.

Neha Choksi discusses living in Bombay and Los Angeles, issues of labeling artists and their work, and the role of comedy, tragedy, and the absurd within her practice. Her work explores how we seek, experience and acknowledge absence and loss in material, temporal and psychological terms.

Kitao Sakurai speaks about growing up as a child actor, working as a cinematographer, the Dogme 95 film movement, and his current role as a the director and executive producer of the Eric Andre show on Adult Swim.

Kibum Kim, owner of the gallery Skibum MacArthur, is a lawyer, a teacher, and co-founder of the NEWD Art fair. We discuss his many endeavors, as well as the future of the Korean art market and the resurgence of the Dansaekhwa movement.

Adam Miller, co-founder of The Pit, discusses how the gallery started and their approach to programing and running a successful business while being an artist. We talk about horror films, his music career, and his work for PETA and the misconceptions regarding activism and the ethical treatment of animals.

Maurice Carlin discusses the founding and continued growth of the Islington Mill art center and school, growing up in Ireland, arts funding, and his own artistic practice.

Justine Kurland discusses the pictures generation and the mediated reality of photography, gender based assumptions we place on artists, modes of art education, and the change of course in her own artwork.

Shana Lutker discusses her body of work called The History of the Fistfights of the Surrealists, performance work, writing, and her role as Executive Director of Project X for X-TRA contemporary art journal.

Dan Cameron discusses critical writing becoming a function of the market, approaches to curating, the legacy of Marcia Tucker, and issues of gay and lesbian identity in contemporary art. "...your identity can be the source of your work...today, not only is that accepted, it's cliché. That wasn't always the case." D.C.

Alison O'Daniel discusses her recent exhibitions and her on going work in video, performance, sound, and installation.

In the second episode of Seeing is Forgetting, Aaron Moulton and I discuss how repressive logic inhibits freedom of expression, participatory anthropology, recursive exhibition making, and the power of dark magic. "...the last place you'll have an avant-garde experience is the art gallery, because you're so prepared to potentially have one, and for that reason not have one." A.M.

Conversations on contemporary art and culture in Los Angeles and beyond. This is the first episode of Seeing is Forgetting with artist John Houck.