Avant Gossip

Three Truths of Fascist Design

Howdy ya'll. Jackie and Hope discuss elements of fascist design. Jackie focuses on showcasing each truth with an example of how the US and Israel have implemented these design values into the fabric of the landscape. 
 
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How the New Deal Brought us Abstract Expressionism

Speaking of art hoe cliques, did you guys know that FDR's New Deal included programs the employed artists full time to make paintings, murals, and sculptures for government buildings and institutions? It's the story of Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Jacob Lawrence and many more artists who championed modern art in America like never before. And so what happens when you create laws that protect workers, give artists full time jobs and encourage them to hang out together? That's right folks, a union.
 
Today's episode dives into what the New Deal art programs looked like what they meant for artists in America, and in particular for Jacob Lawrence and Lee Krasner. Sorry about Jackie's sniffles, turns out she had covid while we recorded this.
(We chat in the beginning until 15:37 if you want to skip to the meat of the episode)
We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram
 
Sources:
Artists at Work: A Film on the New Deal Art Projects
Lee Krasner: Making Art, Making Trouble, and Making Do in the 1930s (lecture by Prof Gail Levin)
The Life and Work of Abstract Expressionist Lee Krasner: A Biographer's View (lecture by Prof Gail Levin)
The New Deal for Artists: the birth of abstract expressionism (Thesis by Jennifer M. Boling)

The Case for the Roller Rink as a Third Place

The history of roller skating is that of segragation, of suffrage, and of sexual awakening. Since their inception, rinks have served as day cares, as concert venues, and as places of protest.  As rinks around the US continue to close, Hope and Jackie talk about why it matters and send a plea out into the ethers for urban planners to include them in public space. It's a good time!
 
We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram

Hilma af Klint and her Art Hoe Clique

Hi ya'll, Hope and Jackie discuss Hilma af Klint. Was she queer? for sure. Was she a girls girl? We suspect. Listen in to hear about what the "af" is about, if/how Kandinsky got a peak of her stuff to make his abstract art, and other goodies.
 
We're socialists! Follow us on our socials: @avantgossip on tiktok and instagram
 
Sources:
The Friday Night Club by Sofia Lundberg, Alyson Richman, and M.J. Rose
Hilma af Klint: the Biography by Julia Voss
Multiples short documentaries on Hilma af Klint
 

Street Style and the Public Realm

Welcome to Avant Gossip, Jackie and Hope's excuse to hang out and converse about stuff that matters to them. They do some research and even go so as far as to read books (mostly around design, fashion, architecture, art history) and then have some chit chat about it. 
This episode Jackie and Hope discuss the *street* in street style. How does public space affect the subcultural aesthetics that blossom around it? How do subcultural aesthetics move through time and space? What happens when the public realm moves to the internet? Come gossip with us!
 
It feels reckless not to mention the genocide that is currently happening, even if this just reaches two listeners. We are heartbroken and demand a ceasefire NOW. Please call your local representative, go protest, educate yourself. Here is some links to do that:
Stop Gaza Genocide
Jewish Voice For Peace
Defund Israel