Woodmere Diving Board Podcast

Among the great figurative painters of the late twentieth century, Edith Neff (1943-1995) was ahead of her time in depicting race, gender, and class in the public spaces of Philadelphia. Community educator, Ebony DeBrest, and Program Director, Nima Koliwad, of the Mount Airy Learning Tree (MALT), discuss Neff’s work with William Valerio, Director of Woodmere Art Museum. MALT was founded in 1980 and celebrates the diversity of Northwest Philadelphia, bringing together neighbors to share a wide variety of ideas, information, and skills in informal learning environments.

Eileen Neff, the photographer, installation artist, and art critic, is the juror of Woodmere’s 2019 Annual. In conversation with hosts Bill Valerio and Stephanie Marudas, Neff discusses the ideas that interest her in the contemporary art scene in Philadelphia and the manner in which those ideas emerge in the show. "Second Nature: The Poetics of Re-presentation” is on view through September 2, 2019. The 94 artists selected explore the interplay of realism and illusion, relationships between truth, visual authority, authenticity, and imagination.

Freedom's Journal: The Art of Jerry Pinkney (Episode 5 of 5): Warren Oree and the Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble interpret “Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman” by Alan Schroeder. Warren Oree, composer, arranger, and bass; Suzanne Burgess, vocals; Adam Faulk, synthesizer, Frank Butrey, guitar, Greg “Juju” Jones, drums, Larry Price, saxophone, and Doug Pablo Edwards, percussion.

Freedom's Journal: The Art of Jerry Pinkney (Episode 1 of 5): Renowned illustrator and watercolorist Jerry Pinkney and Crystal Lucky, Associate Professor of English and Associate Dean at Villanova University, discuss African American history and both visual and literary interpretations of slavery, the Middle Passage, and the Underground Railroad. Their dialogue covers how the terrible legacy of slavery is felt in the culture of America today, and how there is also an “arc of promise." They discuss how to teach this hard history to children.

Freedom's Journal: The Art of Jerry Pinkney (Episode 2 of 5): Bass player and composer Warren Oree and vocalist Suzanne Burgess discuss art, music, and race in relation to their musical interpretations of two books illustrated by Jerry Pinkney: Julius Lester's “The Old African” and Alan Schroeder’s “Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman.” Topics include resistance, resilience, and the intertwinement of power and beauty in the arts.

Freedom's Journal: The Art of Jerry Pinkney (Episode 3 of 5): Renowned illustrator and watercolorist Jerry Pinkney takes us on a journey through the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, where he was raised. Pinkney describes growing up on East Earlham Street in the 1940s and 50s, and how his passion for history evolved in relation to the culture of his family and friends and the tangible presence of American history in Germantown.

Freedom's Journal: The Art of Jerry Pinkney (Episode 4 of 5): Warren Oree, and the Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble interpret “The Old African,” by Julius Lester. Warren Oree, composer and arranger, vocals and bass; Suzanne Burgess, vocals; Adam Faulk, synthesizer; Frank Butrey, acoustic guitar; Greg “Juju” Jones, drums; Larry Price, saxophone, and Doug Pablo Edwards, percussion.

Join us as we dive into the idea of the landscape as a powerful metaphor for the journey of life that we're all on. As part of Woodmere's "Pennsylvania Landscape in Impressionism and Contemporary Art” exhibition, we’ll hear from various artists and curators like Brian Peterson, Emily Brown, Peter Rose, Keith McManus and Ron Tarver. We'll explore parallel tracks in the way today’s artists view and love the beauty of the landscape, just as the Pennsylvania impressionists had more than a century ago, and how the urgency to preserve it still remains as Maura McCarthy of the Friends of the Wissahickon will share with us. We'll hear about how the Wissahickon Valley Park has inspired a strong sense of place for artists and the general public over the years.

Speed, action, danger—these are the defining elements of Darryl Moran’s stock car racing photographs. The first official photographer hired by NASCAR in the early 1990s, Moran was responsible for capturing all aspects of the races. Hear what it feels like to document these events from Moran's perspective and from photojournalist, Cheryl Senter. We'll also discuss the many aspects of race day with Nick Yzzi and Derek Jones, two people with first-hand knowledge of sitting behind the wheel as the green flag signals the start of the race.

The Woodmere Annual is a juried exhibition of contemporary art in Philadelphia, now in its 77th year. Syd Carpenter, this year's juror, is a sculptor and professor of studio art at Swarthmore College. From over 600 artists who submitted work for consideration, Carpenter selected works by 76 artists whose practices references the land, the transience of the body, and movement through space. In this episode, we talk with Carpenter about her own work on view in the exhibition, and that of Barbara Bullock and Selma Burke. We also discuss themes and ideas with a representative group of artists in the show, including Douglas Herren, James Morton, Sophie Sanders, Cheryl Tracy, and Kukuli Velarde.

In this episode, we dive in with illustrator Charles Santore. A South Philadelphia native who became famous for the TV Guide covers he made from 1972 to 1985, Santore worked for the Saturday Evening Post, Time, Life, and other major publications. He made the leap into children's book illustration in 1985, and to this day is celebrated for the virtuosity of his watercolor technique and unique ability to breathe new life into classic tales, from Aesop's Fables and Noah's Ark, to Paul Revere's Ride to the Wizard of Oz. We explore Santore's philosophy on art and life, and the social and cultural ideas that continue to drive his creativity.

Dive into Oakley’s vision through her murals at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. Part 2 explores the importance of some of Oakley's work at arguably her most important commission. You'll hear about what the murals represent, and you’ll even hear Violet in her own voice telling you what they’re all about.

Get to know Violet Oakley, the person and the life experiences that helped shape her mission as an artist. Patricia Likos-Ricci, an art historian at Elizabethtown College, who is the lead scholar on Violet Oakley and the Guest Curator of Woodmere's exhibition, A Grand Vision: Violet Oakley and the American Renaissance, provides insight into Oakley's fascinating life.

In this 3-part pilot series, the story of an important Philadelphia artist and civic leader named Violet Oakley is told through engaging conversations with a variety of today's artists and art scholars.

In this episode, we'll connect the importance of Violet and her work to present day artists and scholars including Ursula Rucker and Sylvia Yount, two amazing women that continue Oakley's legacy of pushing boundaries in new and exciting ways. Philadelphia-based contemporary artist Peter Paone begins this episode reflecting on his connection to Oakley through her life partner, Edith Emerson.