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A.G. Geiger Presents, Tales from the LA Art Underworld

A.G. Geiger Presents, Tales from the LA Art Underworld

By Michael Delgado

Fine art book store owner, Michael Delgado interviews the most interesting artists, musicians, performers, poets, writers and other malcontents prowling the Los Angeles cultural landscape.

Produced in cooperation with the Mayfair Hotel and music and artist management company Regime 72, "A.G. Geiger Presents" comes to you weekly from the Library Bar of the historic Mayfair Hotel.
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#43 John Caulkin, WPA Poster Exhibition

A.G. Geiger Presents, Tales from the LA Art UnderworldJan 28, 2020

00:00
28:14
#67 Artist Monica Wyatt & Craftsman Clare Graham

#67 Artist Monica Wyatt & Craftsman Clare Graham

Assemblage artist Monica Wyatt discusses her upcoming solo show at MorYork, a magical space filled with unreal sculptures, assemblages and fascinating objects that doubles as the studio of craftsman extraordinaire, Clare Graham. 

Mar 30, 202228:50
#66 Sex and the Single Feminist, Artist Barbara T. Smith

#66 Sex and the Single Feminist, Artist Barbara T. Smith

An insightful interview with the legendary feminist performance artist Barbara T. Smith who recently celebrated her 90th birthday and remains a force in the southern California art scene. An huge trove of her work, writings, videos, and correspondence were recently purchased by the Getty Museum’s Research Institute Library where they are being cataloged, ensuring that her work will go on to inspire new generations of artists and activists alike. Smith looks back on her work, the tumultuous 60's and 70's and updates us on what informs her art making now. 

May 05, 202134:44
#65 London Based Social Practice Artist Duo Something & Son

#65 London Based Social Practice Artist Duo Something & Son

Paul Symth, who together w Andy Merritt is one half of the London based art duo Something And Son, the highly acclaimed artists whose exhibitions at the Tate Modern have met both critical and popular acclaim discusses the Something and Son origin story, dream projects and the future of social practice art.

Mar 16, 202134:09
#64 LA based painter, Molly Segal

#64 LA based painter, Molly Segal

Segal discusses group sex in dystopian landscapes rendered masterfully in the unforgiving medium of watercolor as they appear in her new, impressive show at Luna Anais Gallery.

Mar 05, 202117:10
#63 Artist Don Edler

#63 Artist Don Edler

Visual artist and film maker Don Edler discusses his latest film "Devil You Know", a fascinating dive into the worlds of artificial intelligence, deep fakes and media echo chambers that lays bare the frightening reality of the unreality driving the post truth assault on the very foundation of human discourse.  

Jan 27, 202128:42
#62 Best of 2020

#62 Best of 2020

In a tumultuous year, artists have proven up to the challenge of addressing both personal and societal upheavals.  The legendary artist Larry Bell as well as emerging artist of color Yuge Zhou spoke of fresh insights into their artistic practice. MOCA Santa Barbara Chief Curator Alexandra Terry describes the work of Genevieve Gaignard and influential art and cultural writer Lawrence Weschler reflects on a pivotal moment in his career. LA's poet laureate, Luis J. Rodriguez reminds us of the rewards of resilience.

Dec 29, 202021:17
#61 Video Artist Yuge Zhou

#61 Video Artist Yuge Zhou

A resident at New Inc, the world's first museum led incubator for art, technology and design founded by New Museum in NYC, the internationally renown artist Yuge Zhou discusses her work and upcoming projects. 

Nov 19, 202029:45
#60 MCASB Chief Curator, Alexandra Terry

#60 MCASB Chief Curator, Alexandra Terry

The Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara's Curator discusses the current exhibition by LA based artist Genevieve Gaignard, their upcoming 2021 schedule including a show with Shana Moulton, a 45th anniversary celebration, their current fundraiser and an exciting mentoring program to foster more diverse leadership in the arts. 

Oct 21, 202027:34
#59 Artist Debi Cornwall

#59 Artist Debi Cornwall

In a fascinating discussion of what it means to be American, award winning photographer Cornwall talks about her latest book "Necessary Fictions".  After the blockbuster "Welcome To Camp America", in which she photographed both the captors and captives at the notorious detention center of Guantanamo Bay,  "Necessary Fictions"  continues her examination of the state sponsored fictions that we tell ourselves in the service of  empire.  

Oct 07, 202038:07
#58 Artist Casper Brindle

#58 Artist Casper Brindle

Represented by the William Turner Gallery in Los Angeles and by Nancey  Toomey Fine Art in San Francisco, Brindle discusses the unique southern  Californian light, as well as car and surf cultures and their combined  influence on his work.

Sep 02, 202019:02
#57 Executive Director, Mel and Leta Ramos Family Foundation, Rochelle Leininger

#57 Executive Director, Mel and Leta Ramos Family Foundation, Rochelle Leininger

What do Wonder Woman, Superman and Cat Woman have in common with a charitable foundation to benefit arts education among under-served communities in schools and non profit organizations? Leinenger talks about life with her father, the Pop Art legend, Mel Ramos, the Foundations mission,  and a fantastic opportunity to purchase rare monographs and lithographs in support of their work. 

Aug 24, 202018:33
#56 Artist Lezley Saar

#56 Artist Lezley Saar

Internationally renown artist Lezley Saar discusses her intricate work, what it was like growing up in an artistic family and why as an artist of color she won't be making art about Covid or police brutality in the near term.

Jul 07, 202021:05
#55 Author/ Photographer Carolyn Campbell

#55 Author/ Photographer Carolyn Campbell

LA Times Bestselling author Carolyn Campbell talks about her new book "City of Immortals, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris." Working for nearly 30 years to complete the book, Campbell's exhaustive research has yielded fascinating information on the history of funerary architecture and the Napoleonic era  as well as refreshing insights on the many luminaries buried there.

Jun 25, 202028:56
#54 Award Winning Art and Culture Writer Lawrence Weschler

#54 Award Winning Art and Culture Writer Lawrence Weschler

A staff writer for the New Yorker for 20 years, Weschler has won the prestigious George Polk award in Journalism - twice. His books of political reportage include The Passion of Poland (1984); about the Solidaity revolution; and A Miracle, A Universe: Settling Accounts with Torturers (1990) which examines how fledgling democracies in countries such as south Africa, Uruguay, Cambodia and Bosnia reconciled with their previously toxic security apparatuses. More recently Weschler published an update to his book "Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees" about his work with and insights on the godfather of the light and space movement, Robert Irwin.  Weschler also offers a glimpse at his upcoming book centered on the provocative tableau 5 Car Stud by Ed Keinholz.

Jun 17, 202033:04
#53 Painter, James Hayward

#53 Painter, James Hayward

In a wide ranging,  lively interview,  the artist Mike Kelly called "one of the few truly important West Coast painters",  talks with us about what it means to paint, how an artist should live their life and why its time for revolution. 

Jun 08, 202031:04
#52 Light and Space Artist, Peter Lodato

#52 Light and Space Artist, Peter Lodato

Lodato's work spans several decades and began in the late 1960's when he created installations exploring the nature of perception , specifically in the way physical spaces can be transformed into immersive experiences. Peter discusses his work and even gives up some of the secret techniques in his masterful paintings. 

Jun 03, 202013:42
#51 Art Critic and Educator Paddy Johnson

#51 Art Critic and Educator Paddy Johnson

The Founder of the influential website Art F City, Paddy Johnson explains why artist statements tend to suck and what to do about it. While chatting about her work as a writer for the New York Times, the Economist and other major publications, Paddy offers tips to artists on how to better present themselves while talking about their work. 

May 15, 202023:47
#50 Emmy Award Winning Director, Creative Director and Fine Artist, Wayne White

#50 Emmy Award Winning Director, Creative Director and Fine Artist, Wayne White

Artist Wayne White best known for his "Word Paintings" and his broadcast career as the strong creative force behind Pee Wee's Playhouse, introduces his return to puppetry in a new project for Instagram.

Apr 25, 202026:17
#49 Love Letter to LA from Her Top Poets

#49 Love Letter to LA from Her Top Poets

In a special edition for our time of quarantine, 12 of LA's finest wordsmiths offer readings dedicated to the idea of Los Angeles as a unique sense of cultural place, time and energy. Instead of focusing on pandemic and isolation, it's a reminder of why we live here and why we would live nowhere else. Participating poets in order of appearance: Ellyn Maybe, Laurel Ann Bogen, Bill Cushing, Lynne Thompson, Brendan Constantine, Susan Hayden,  Suzanne Lummis, Gail Wronsky, Richard Modiano, Candice Kelsey, Nicelle Davis, and Luis J. Rodriquez.

Apr 08, 202041:44
#48 Artist Larry Bell/ special edition

#48 Artist Larry Bell/ special edition

On special assignment for Art Report Today dot com,  I had the opportunity to speak with the world renown artist who explains why not knowing what you are doing is the best part of the creative process.

Mar 29, 202026:23
#47 Poet & Author, Candice Kelsey

#47 Poet & Author, Candice Kelsey

In intense and clear vignettes with structural allusions to classic literature, Kelsey mines the depths of her life as a daughter and a mother, and by association our own childhood experiences and adult self-consciousness.  

Mar 11, 202034:60
#46 SoLA Contemporary Director, Tatum Hawkins

#46 SoLA Contemporary Director, Tatum Hawkins

Helping to drive exciting new community oriented programming at South Los Angeles Contemporary, Director Tatum Hawkins talks about the Crenshaw District, the non-profit's mission and their upcoming shows that include projects with Storm Ascher & Mylo Mu. 

Mar 03, 202025:59
#45 Artist Sheinina Raj

#45 Artist Sheinina Raj

We visit with artist Sheinina Raj who talks about Interculturalher traveling exhibition/ sound installation collaboration with Grammy award winner Nelly Furtado. The exhibition opens May 16, 2020 at the Louis Lambert Gallery in Bergamont Station, Los Angeles.

Feb 18, 202039:39
#44 Artist, Nancy Buchanan

#44 Artist, Nancy Buchanan

A key figure in the performance art scene and of the feminist art movement that emerged in Southern California during the 1970s, Buchanan's work has often positioned the audience as participants in a wider conversation on the gendered and defamilarized body, the dangers  of commercialized voyeurism and the dire consequences of an increasing militarization in our society. Her work is included in the collections of major museums here in the US and abroad, including MOMA and the Centre Pompidou among many others.

Feb 07, 202037:57
#43 John Caulkin, WPA Poster Exhibition

#43 John Caulkin, WPA Poster Exhibition

Exhibition organizer Caulkin, explains why WPA posters are more relevant today than ever and how you can get inspired in workshops Feb 1 and Feb 8 on Chung King Road. 

Jan 28, 202028:14
#42 Gallerist Juri Koll

#42 Gallerist Juri Koll

Opening a new space in the Bendix building, Gallerist Juri Koll talks about his inaugural show, a retrospective of LA Artist Gloriane Harris. He also discusses the upcoming 2020 edition of the Fine Arts Film Festival  at Beyond Baroque and other noteworthy art news. 

Jan 21, 202029:26
#41 Zen Psychosis: Shana Nys Dambrot & Osceola Refetoff

#41 Zen Psychosis: Shana Nys Dambrot & Osceola Refetoff

Critic, Curator and Author Shana Nys Dambrot and National Photojournalist of the Year, Osceola Refetoff discuss their collaboration on the oneiric fiction novella, Zen Psychosis recently published by Griffith Moon Press.

Jan 10, 202035:18
#40 Best of 2019

#40 Best of 2019

Interesting insights, provocative  commentary and music from Tosh Berman, Beatie Wolfe, The Dark Bob, Brendan Constantine, Phil America, Nancy Baker Cahill and Christie Hayden

Jan 03, 202031:50
#35 Gallerist Craig Krull

#35 Gallerist Craig Krull

Longtime LA gallerist and force in the cultural workings of the region, Krull tells us why LA is THE city to be in for an artist today. 

Dec 13, 201941:11
#34 Artist Sandow Birk

#34 Artist Sandow Birk

Is painting a silly way to communicate? Why is the Qu'ran is so relevant to everyday America? And what does Bruegel have to do with mass shootings? 

Born in Detroit but raised in the OC Birk is well travelled, and his subjects are as wideranging as his world wide adventures. Images of gang violence, graffiti culture, prisons, surfing, skateboarding, Dante’s Divine Comedy, the Iraq war, and the Qur’an are all treated with an eye toward social justice and historical contexts.

Birk has exhibited in dozens of museum and galleries, and his work is in many public and museum collections including: SF MOMA the LACMA, The Getty Center in Los Angeles; the Met; and the Harvard University Art Museum as well as several renown European museums. Birk has received an NEA grant, and Fellowships from the Guggenheim, Fulbright, the Getty and the City of Los Angeles. AND There are no less than seven books devoted to his various projects - which obviously is one of the reasons, I'm excited to have him on the show.

Dec 04, 201931:02
#33 This is Your Brain on Drums: Composer Elle Spencer Lewis

#33 This is Your Brain on Drums: Composer Elle Spencer Lewis

Emmy Nominated composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and performer  Elle Spencer Lewis talks about her recent experience as a participant in  Rhythms of the City at the Rendon, her work with neuroenhancement and why music is the most intimate of the arts.

Nov 22, 201933:40
#32 Int'l Artist/ Performer Carole Douillard

#32 Int'l Artist/ Performer Carole Douillard

Worldwide phenom, Carole Douillard discusses her film "Idir", why Bruce Nauman haunts her, how different cultures influence the understanding of our own body gestures and why she is investigating the Stanford University lab dedicated to understanding rituals.

Nov 15, 201941:10
#32 Musical Weirdo Visionary Beatie Wolfe

#32 Musical Weirdo Visionary Beatie Wolfe

Beatie Wolfe who just turned 31, has beamed her music into space, been appointed a UN Women role model for innovation, guest curated the LA Times "Festival of Books" and held an acclaimed solo exhibition of her ‘World First’ album designs at the Victoria and Albert Museum talks about how she got there and where she is going next. 

If you have not yet discovered this amazing artist, or even if you have, this interview offers insights into Wolfe's ability create change through art and music. Her singularity and passion are inspiring and we play her enchanting song "Little Moth".

Oct 31, 201946:23
#31 Curator Asuka Hisa

#31 Curator Asuka Hisa

The curatorial force behind the LA Department of Cultural Affairs' Triennial CultureLA: FOOD, Asuka highlights the numerous outdoor experiences to be discovered in this edition's public art extraveganza. With over 15 commissioned works and over 75 events spanning from October 5 to November 3, Asuka also tells us about the project's genesis and why it's culinary theme is relevant today. 

Oct 18, 201932:13
#30 Gallerist Molly Barnes

#30 Gallerist Molly Barnes

In a lively interview, longtime art world bon vivant Molly Barnes covers her privileged background, her time as an aspiring actress, why LA is primitive compared to New York, whether or not Marc Selwyn is a snob, why parking is key to the genesis of an art center and other thoughts from the one of the art world's best known and most energetic gallerists.

Sep 27, 201935:10
#29 Artist/ Curator John Eden

#29 Artist/ Curator John Eden

How I learned to love the bomb, the California Cool School, extraterrestrial beings as an inspiration, and a touching story of what actually goes into making emotionally charged art. 

Sep 16, 201929:26
#28 Fototeka.com owner Robin Blackman and photographer Merrick Morton

#28 Fototeka.com owner Robin Blackman and photographer Merrick Morton

Murder, Mayhem & Art;  What Man Ray might have had to do with the Black Dahlia murder, Gangland LA and more! Originators of "Art of the Archive: the photos from the Los Angeles Police Department Archive" discuss how the internationally traveled show came about, the delicate balance in curation and how art can blossom amid the often gruesome work of police procedural photography. 

Sep 10, 201938:31
#27 Int'l Muralist James Peter Henry

#27 Int'l Muralist James Peter Henry

The Aussie native talks LA architecture, a childhood chasing roos, living near aboriginal art and how he goes about painting the massive walls he has been commissioned to transform. 

Aug 27, 201929:42
#26 Art Critic and Novelist Shana Nys Dambrot

#26 Art Critic and Novelist Shana Nys Dambrot

Becoming an art critic, the "LA Weekly Best Of" issue, why she is named Shana Nys and her forthcoming book "Zen Psychosis"

Aug 21, 201949:54
#25 Photographer Jonathan Potter

#25 Photographer Jonathan Potter

Giant pinhole cameras, an Episcopalian Bishop's influence on the American Revolution and enjoying analog in a digital world.

Aug 14, 201929:08
#24 Influential Performance Artist, The Dark Bob

#24 Influential Performance Artist, The Dark Bob

Part of the infamous performance art duo, Bob and Bob, The Dark Bob talks about his solo career making art, recording and performing, his latest album, what it meant to be making performance art when no one really knew what that was, what it feels like to have your art put into the Smithsonian archive and why Speedos need to be redesigned for older fat men. 

Jul 23, 201945:18
#23 Phil America Update

#23 Phil America Update

Social Practice Artist Phil America explains his world view and why we should care. With an edited commentary from Delgado. A full, unedited interview can be heard in episode 13.

Jul 17, 201911:21
#22 Latin Alt Rock Chart Topper Maria Del Pilar

#22 Latin Alt Rock Chart Topper Maria Del Pilar

Pilar talks about her Songs + Canciones II that dropped in March, her immigrant experience, Cal Arts, the current LA music scene and her involvement in the new hit show "Vida" on the Starz platform. 

Jul 04, 201945:17
#21 Artist/ Actor Simone Gad

#21 Artist/ Actor Simone Gad

From the Holocaust to Hollywood, longtime LA Artist and Actor Gad recounts her journey from childhood actor to prolific artist to a renewed interest in acting. 

Jun 12, 201935:49
#20 COLA Fellow, Artist Sandy Rodriguez

#20 COLA Fellow, Artist Sandy Rodriguez

One of LA's most interesting artists, Rodriguez chats about her current exhibition at the Municipal Gallery, Barnsdall and her Project 1521 which gathers artists, writers, and scholars to generate new  visual and literary works as we approach the 500 year anniversary of the  conquest of Mexico.

Jun 04, 201940:37
#19 Discostan founder, artist Arshia Haq

#19 Discostan founder, artist Arshia Haq

Artist, film maker, DJ and musicologist, Arshia Haq traces her journey from her immigrant experience to her career as an internationally renown artist exploring themes of mysticism, migration, celebration, warfare, nostalgia, homeland and borders.

May 24, 201951:39
#18 Publisher & Creative Director of SOVO Magazine, Farida Amar

#18 Publisher & Creative Director of SOVO Magazine, Farida Amar

The force behind LA's most interesting cultural magazine, Amar explains SOVO's mission to help you "curate your life", how to fly a helicopter upside- down and why commerce should be taken out of all artistic collaborations.

May 08, 201946:07
#17 Artist, Wallace Richard Mills

#17 Artist, Wallace Richard Mills

Wallace Richard Mills talks about how the disciplines of skateboarding  and making art intersect. He should know. As Creative Director/ Prod  designer extraordinaire for seminal skate brands like DC, Etnies and  Supra, Mills talks about his own art making journey and why you should  always listen to your inner 14 year old.

Apr 29, 201939:57
#16 Sex, Lies and 25 years of Kulov

#16 Sex, Lies and 25 years of Kulov

In a lively interview, Provocateur/ Performance Artist Kulov discusses gender activism, public art and his new book "90-15> 25 Years of Political Public Art and Performances".

Apr 19, 201947:05
#15 Artist/ Activist Dorian Lynde

#15 Artist/ Activist Dorian Lynde

Coming off recent shows at the Raleigh Contemporary and the Marciano Foundation, with upcoming installations in LA, Lynde talks about gendered power, indentured servitude in the Disney animation studios and the beauty of cel vinyl. 

Apr 12, 201941:29