Foreground/Background with Noah Scalin

Sonya Clark is a Winifred L. Arms Professor of Art and Humanities at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Her work has been exhibited in over 450 museums and galleries across the globe and she is the recipient of multiple awards and residencies. And you may have seen her work featured in the New York Times, Sculpture, Art in America, Time Magazine, Los Angeles Times and many many others.

In this hour long conversation we discuss:

• Navigating the complexity of humanity in the art world and its relation to marginalized communities.  

• Embracing different styles and methods in learning and teaching art.

• And so much more!

Noah-O is an innovative rapper and entrepreneur that has been a staple on the Virginia Hip Hop scene since his debut project Monument Avenue in 2014. He founded the Charged Up Entertainment record label and recently launched a flagship store in Richmond, Virginia. He’s made appearances on Sway in The Morning and Hot 97 and was named one of Style Weekly's Top 40 Under 40. His latest release is the deeply personal album TRILLipino, which captures his experiences as a Filipino American growing up in San Francisco & Richmond, VA.

In this hour long conversation we discuss

• Dissolving self-pressure to allow for creative experimentation
• Translating storytelling and poetry skills into a creative career
• And so much more!

Jonathan is known for writing a Song-A-Day, which he has done every day since January 1st of 2009 - which means he is rapidly nearing 5,000 original songs. His songs have gone viral, gained him worldwide recognition and are now even available as NFTs. 

In this hour long conversation, we discuss the benefits of daily creative projects, what NFTs can offer artists, and so much more!

Jennifer is the Pulitzer prize winning author of the novel A Visit from the Goon Squad, she also wrote Manhattan Beach, which won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and many other multi-award winning books. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, Granta, McSweeney's, and The New York Times Magazine. And her new book The Candy House, a sibling novel to A Visit from the Goon Squad, came out from Scribner on April 5, 2022.

In this hour long conversation we discuss: pursuing a career in writing, the process of publishing novels, and so much more!

Freehand is an LA based multi-disciplined artist who’s infamous for destroying coveted sneakers to make unique masks - a body of work stemming from a year long, daily project called MASK365 (inspired by own Skull-A-Day project!) Since 2010 he has made more than 200 one of a kind sneaker masks, working with brands like Nike, adidas, Puma, Cadillac, Converse and more. Freehand was also my very first podcast interviewee and I’m excited to have him back for the 2nd time to specifically talk about the world of NFTs.

In this hour long conversation we discuss:

- Navigating Non-fungible tokens as an artist

- The pros and cons of this new digital space

- and more!

Michael-Birch is a fiber artist and fashion designer. Pierce has interned for Diane von Furstenberg, embroidered Christmas decorations for the Obama White House, and designed an exclusive collection for Levi’s. They have performed their embroidered portraits at Oscar and Super Bowl events, Design/Miami, and SXSW, and worked with clients such as Visa, Target, Amazon, Delta, NBCUniversal, and Airbnb. And they have exhibited in numerous galleries and museums both domestically and abroad.

In this hour long conversation we discuss:

- Surviving as an artist during a pandemic

- Collaborating with corporations

- Dealing with scam inquiries

- and more!

For this very special episode I’m interviewing my own parents, Mim Golub and Chuck Scalin! Both Mim & Chuck are artists and art educators and were of course fundamental in my own foray into the art world. It’s always a pleasure for me to hear the stories of their career arcs and I’m so glad to have captured this conversation in my studio earlier this year, before the Covid-19 Pandemic hit the United States. Thankfully both of my parents are healthy and continuing to stay safe through this unusual time.

In this hour long conversation we discuss: growing up in immigrant households, being first-generation college graduates, sexism in the education system, creating art internationally, and more!

Jesse is an internationally known artist whose goal has always been to translate his skewed perspective of the world onto paper, canvas, concrete or skin. He has been published in almost every tattoo magazine, has won a ton of awards for his unique use of color and even found his way onto the reality TV show Ink Master. He currently works in Richmond, Virginia where he runs his own studio called Loose Screw Tattoo.

Foreground/Background is a conversation between working artists – pulling back the curtain on the real day-to-day efforts that go into making a living from our passions and the realities of dealing with the art word.

In this hour long conversation we discuss: running a creative business, collaboration, tattoo art, reality TV, and more!

This interview was recorded prior to the COVID-19 pandemic so be sure to listen through our entire conversation to hear a follow-up with Jesse about the many things that happened to him since we talked earlier in the year (including multiple rounds of quarantine AND the birth of his first child!)...

Terry Border worked in the commercial photography industry for a dozen years before leaving it to follow more artistic ambitions. He began his world famous Bent Objects project in 2006 and since then he has published many, many books of his art He also speaks about and exhibits his work internationally and lives with his wife and cat in Indiana.

Foreground/Background is a conversation between working artists – pulling back the curtain on the real day-to-day efforts that go into making a living from our passions and the realities of dealing with the art word.

In this hour long conversation we discuss: Finding humor and inspiration in our current political climate, blogs and social media, working with everyday materials, and more!

Also be sure to stay through the entire talk to hear a follow up conversation about how COVID-19 has impacted Terry and his work since our original conversation was recorded before the global pandemic had reached the United States.

Kat Roma Greer is based in Hong Kong and works as an urban disruptor and curator of public art interventions for positive social change. She is the founder and artistic director of Micro Galleries, curator of Urban Nasty, and was named as one of Australia’s 100 Women of Influence for 2015, for her work in the cultural sphere.

Foreground/Background is a conversation between working artists – pulling back the curtain on the real day-to-day efforts that go into making a living from our passions and the realities of dealing with the art word.

In this hour long conversation we discuss: The global impact of COVID-19, increasing the accessibility of art, the power of street art, and more!