Martin Wittfooth was born in Toronto, Canada in 1981 and works in two studios in Kingston, New York, and Savannah, Georgia. He earned his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2008. Wittfooth’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, including the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Akron Art Museum in Ohio, and La Halle Saint-Pierre in Paris, with solo exhibitions in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Copenhagen. His paintings have also appeared in numerous publications, including Juxtapoz, The New York Times Art Review, and Vice, and cover features in New American Paintings, Hi-Fructose, Chronogram, and American Artist Magazine.
Wittfooth’s paintings, drawings, installations, and sculptural works investigate themes of the intersection and clash of industry and nature, and the human influence on the environment. Many of his works explore the theme of shamanism - rituals and practices as old as our species - through which we have attempted to dialogue with nature: the nature outside of ourselves and the nature within. His creative language uses the combination of allegory and symbolism to convey visual narratives.
Martin Wittfooth is represented by Gallery Poulsen in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Martin’s upcoming solo exhibit “The Plasticene Era,” which opens on September 17th, 2022 @ Gallery Poulsen in Cøpenhagen
- The longest amount of time he has spent on one painting
- Getting inspiration from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles
- The pre-career retrospective
- Creating an exquisite corpse with oneself
- Martin growing up in Finland
- Martin working as an illustrator directly out of college
- 3D printing
- World building
- Speaking about one’s personal observations of the world through one’s paintings
- The Siren in Greek mythology
- Google’s “sentient” AI, LaMDA
- Creating meaning out of one’s own life
- Balancing being a working artist and having a family
- Being a community-focused artist
People / Artists Mentioned:
- Gerhard Richter (Visual Artist)
- David Cronenberg (Director)
- Bret Easton Ellis (Writer)
- Darren Aronofsky (Director)
- Adrian Ghenie (Painter)
- Justin Mortimer (Painter)
- Cecily Brown (Painter)
- Anish Kapoor (Sculptor)
- James Turrell (Artist)
- Albert Einstein (Physicist)
- Blake Lemoine (Google AI Engineer)
Books Mentioned:
- American Psycho
- Less Than Zero
Films / TV Shows Mentioned:
- Crimes of the Future (2022)
- Mother! (2017)
- The Shining (1980)
Emma Ruth Rundle is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and visual artist.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Emma leaving Cal Arts to move to Wellington, New Zealand
- Outsider art
- Yoshino’s introduction into photography
- Finding one’s flow state
- Tapping into the collective consciousness within one’s art
- Exploring the role of an artist
- Her newest album and visual art project “Dowsing Voice”
- Traveling to Wales to record “Dowsing Voice”
- Unblocking the gateway of the mind to allow the muse to enter
- Emma exploring getting her MFA
- Journaling
- Arthurian legends and Celtic myths
- Feeling less lonely when you can connect with an artist’s body of work
- Finding people you can connect with along the way
- Post-narrative work
People / Artists Mentioned:
- Henry Darger (Artist)
- Maja Ruznic (Painter)
- Vivian Maier (Photographer)
- Francis Bacon (Painter)
- Sibylle Baier (Folk Singer)
- Nick Drake (Singer-Songwriter)
- Joan Didion (Writer)
- Margaret Atwood (Writer)
- Olivia Laing (Writer)
- Phil Hale (Artist)
- Shape of Despair (Band)
- Patrick Walker (Musician)
- Lidia Yuknavitch (Writer)
- Mizmor (Band)
- Mary Maddux of Meditation Oasis
- Wim Wenders (Director)
- Andrei Tarkovsky (Director)
- Dave Elitch (Drummer)
Books Mentioned:
- “Everybody” by Olivia Laing
- The Mabinogion
- Poetic Edda
- “The Misfit’s Manifesto” by Lidia Yuknavitch
Films / TV Shows Mentioned:
- Wings of Desire (1987)
- Midsomer Murders (1997)
- Slow TV - Norway
- Stalker (1979)
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There is a way a voice can cut through the fascia of reality, cleaving through habit into the raw nerve of experience. Nika Roza Danilova, the singer, songwriter, and producer who since 2009 has released music as Zola Jesus, wields a voice that does that. When you hear it, it is like you are being summoned -- not to somewhere new, but to a place that's already wrapped inside you, somewhere previously obscured from conscious experience. This place has been buried because it tends to hold pain, but it's also a gift, because once it's opened, once you're inside of it, it can show you the truth.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Nika’s newest album “Arkhon”
- Accepting the past and exploring the unknown
- How her life drastically changed after the release of her album “Okovi” in 2017
- Her journey creating her albums: Taiga, Okovi, and Arkhon
- “When you’re trying to make music to fit into a world that already exists. It’s much less interesting.” - Nika
- Problems with viewing one’s art within the lens of commerce and commercial viability
- Having confidence in one’s own unique process
- The healing powers of meditation
- Having full faith and trust in the muse
- Transcendental Meditation
- Creating music in isolation
- The Definite Chief Aim
- Losing touch with one’s internal dialogue
- Cultivating purpose
- Returning to nature to understand that we are part of a greater ecosystem
- Human hubris
- Being mindful of how one expends their energy
- Changing the world through our artistic contributions
- Being completely honest with oneself
- Subverting the algorithm
- Defining success and value for ourselves
- Exploring ideas surrounding monetary success and prosperity
- “If you could only have a couple of things in your life, what would they be?” - Nika
- Existentialism
- “I want to focus on my experience. Not on how other people are experiencing me.” - Nika
People / Artists Mentioned:
- Alex DeGroot (Producer & Musician)
- David Lynch (Filmmaker)
- Andrei Tarkovsky (Director)
- Mitch Horowitz (Writer)
- Jesse Draxler (Artist)
- Napolean Hill (Writer)
- Margaret Atwood (Writer)
- Joan Didion (Writer)
Books Mentioned:
- “Catching The Big Fish” by David Lynch
- “The Body Keeps The Score” by Bessel van der Kolk
- “Daydream Believer” by Mitch Horowitz
- “The White Album” by Joan Didion
- “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion
Films Mentioned:
- Arrival (2016)
- Don’t Look Up (2021)
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