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Art

Supreme artist of the omniverse Chris Woods joins the crew to talk about murderabilia, Honore Fragonard’s flayed dancing babies, art as torture, Theodore Gericault’s severed heads, huge turd catastrophes, and macabre artists like Goya, Fuselli, HR Giger and Beksinski. Plus – was Jack the Ripper established artist Walter Sickert?

CORRECTION: Toren stated that Zdzisław Beksiński was shot, but here is what actually happened:
On 21 February 2005, Zdzisław Beksiński was found dead in his flat in Warsaw with 17 stab wounds on his body; two of the wounds were determined to have been fatal. Robert Kupiec (the teenage son of his longtime caretaker), who later pleaded guilty, and a friend were arrested shortly after the crime. On 9 November 2006 Robert Kupiec was condemned to 25 years in prison, and his accomplice, Łukasz Kupiec, to 5 years by the court of Warsaw. Before his death, Beksiński refused a small loan to Robert Kupiec (a few hundred złoty approximately $100).

Music: Mills Brothers “Funiculi Funicula”

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Images

Videos
(Spoiler alert for those who haven’t seen this Doctor Who episode)

Movies

Frida
Chris: 8/10

Lust for Life
Toren: 5/10
Kevin: 6/10
Chris: 6/10

Crumb
Toren: 7/10
Kevin: 7/10
Joe: 7/10
Chris: 9/10

Vincent and Theo
Chris: 6/10

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Toren: 7/10
Joe: 7/10

Goya’s Ghosts
Chris: 2/10

Pollock
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 7/10
Chris: 8/10

Basquiat
Toren: 6/10
Kevin: 7/10
Chris: 6/10

The Agony and the Ecstacy
Chris: 5/10

24 Responses

  1. A very Caustic art piece that was not included on the podcast (though may have been discussed) is Piss Christ. Needless to say, the piece cause much controversy.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ

    Also, related to the topic of much ado about nothing and art, listeners may be interested in reading more about Damien Hirst, the richest British artist.

    He is a British artist who won the Turner Prize (a big British art prize) for his series of pieces entitled “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living”, which is simply a tiger shark in formaldehyde. If I had to question any artist’s validity, this guy is tops my list.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Hirst

  2. A very Caustic art piece that was not included on the podcast (though may have been discussed) is Piss Christ. Needless to say, the piece cause much controversy.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ

    Also, related to the topic of much ado about nothing and art, listeners may be interested in reading more about Damien Hirst, the richest British artist.

    He is a British artist who won the Turner Prize (a big British art prize) for his series of pieces entitled “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living”, which is simply a tiger shark in formaldehyde. If I had to question any artist’s validity, this guy is tops my list.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Hirst

  3. In some kind of eerie coincidence, I read THE CHEESE MONKEYS (by Chip Kidd) last night, about an art college student in the late 50’s dealing with the ideas and craziness that identified modernism and post-modernism. There’s a giant crock of shit (human, it’s presumed) a rubber fetus that lives in a glove compartment, and a crazy angry idealistic nutto professor. It’s an amazing book, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

  4. Here’s a video of conceptual artist Chris Bishop being shot in the arm a la Jackass.
    Not very exciting, also suspect at best of the legitimacy of it as art imo.

    Oh yeah, LOVE the new intro!!!!!

  5. Here’s a video of conceptual artist Chris Bishop being shot in the arm a la Jackass.
    Not very exciting, also suspect at best of the legitimacy of it as art imo.

    Oh yeah, LOVE the new intro!!!!!

  6. Speaking of Piss Christ, there was also the Madonna covered in dung by Chris Ofili.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Ofili#The_Holy_Virgin_Mary_and_Mayor_Giuliani

    That’s not what I came here to mention though. As a Detroiter, I wanted to point out two things. First of all, the frakkin awesome “The Nightmare” by Fuseli is in permanent residence at the Detroit Institute of Arts, one of the largest museums of its kind in the world. I’m personally pretty proud of that. (Don’t begrudge we who have so little…)

    Further, and more Caustic, not a whole lot of people know that infamous Detroiter Jack Kevorkian is also a painter. His works have a certain… quality. This one is possibly my… let’s say “favorite,” with some extra Toren-ing.

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kevorkian/aboutk/art/war.html

  7. Hey fellas, great episode as always.

    This is Desmond form the Dread Media podcast. I thought I would relate what happened to me listening to this episode. I sat infront of my computer sipping from a stout as black as my mother’s heart when Joe (I believe it was Joe) said “how about I put the beret on my penis.”

    I did a spit take all over my Mac, my midi keyboard, a couple of comic books and the utility bill I have to take to city hall to pay this week.

    Now that I have finished cleaning up (25 minutes later) I am finishing up with the episode.

    Keep up the great work you glorious caustic bastards.

  8. Hey fellas, great episode as always.

    This is Desmond form the Dread Media podcast. I thought I would relate what happened to me listening to this episode. I sat infront of my computer sipping from a stout as black as my mother’s heart when Joe (I believe it was Joe) said “how about I put the beret on my penis.”

    I did a spit take all over my Mac, my midi keyboard, a couple of comic books and the utility bill I have to take to city hall to pay this week.

    Now that I have finished cleaning up (25 minutes later) I am finishing up with the episode.

    Keep up the great work you glorious caustic bastards.

  12. I’ve just started listening to Caustic Soda recently and am trying to listen to the podcasts in order, which is why this comment is so late. For anyone looking for a great parody of contemporary art, please watch the British show Spaced with Simon Pegg etal. Here’s a clip where one of the characters, Brian, explains his art:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhUMRgZjKr8

    There’s also a great episode which is all about the weirdness of contemporary art. Please check it out.

  13. I’ve just started listening to Caustic Soda recently and am trying to listen to the podcasts in order, which is why this comment is so late. For anyone looking for a great parody of contemporary art, please watch the British show Spaced with Simon Pegg etal. Here’s a clip where one of the characters, Brian, explains his art:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhUMRgZjKr8

    There’s also a great episode which is all about the weirdness of contemporary art. Please check it out.

    1. “Spaced” is one of my favorite shows. Great catch, I blame my terrible memory for completely forgetting about Brian for this podcast!

  16. Pingback: Thinking About Art: A Definition « hbartblog

  17. This doesn’t relate to Caustic Art, only something said in the episode: Crucifixion was not generally done with nails through the hands or on a cross. It was more common to rope people up to a pole because nails were expensive, crosses were more difficult to make and people would last longer. When crucifying a large number of people it was just more economical.

  18. This doesn’t relate to Caustic Art, only something said in the episode: Crucifixion was not generally done with nails through the hands or on a cross. It was more common to rope people up to a pole because nails were expensive, crosses were more difficult to make and people would last longer. When crucifying a large number of people it was just more economical.