Comments on: Episode 61: Kerry James Marshall

By: Black Romantic : Bad at Sports

Black Romantic : Bad at Sports — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:49:51 +0000

[...] blog has posted an interview with former BAS guest Kerry James Marshall. They sat down with Marshall while he was installing his show ” Black Romantic” at Jack [...]

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 13:06:42 +0000

Thanks! We appreciate the overseas love.

By: Jason Benedict

Jason Benedict — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 01:22:11 +0000

This is the best Bad at Sports show that I have heard so far. Well done.
I am listening from Berlin, Germany but enjoy getting hints of what is going on back in Chicago regarding art. The surprise spam mail that I received earlier this year that turned me onto your efforts has filled that gap nicely.
I have attempted to popularize your interviews with my artist friends bearing a connection to Chicago. A small demographic indeed, but your drip of quality content in the ocean of the internet is appreciated.

By: Mark Staff Brandl

Mark Staff Brandl — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 21:03:17 +0000

Alright Richard, get your BAS-asses over here and you all can stay with me in Switzerland and other friends — but none of this typical American all-the-countries-in-Europe-in-one-week-crap. You should stay a bit and check out art and stuff. And do a series of tapings for podcasts later, from Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria and England (the places I have lots of contact with) and any other such as Roberto and Stefano.

Warning — Americans are not all that popular here right now, and Canadians ARE! Horrors!

But really, I invite you and D and A. Come sometime.

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 04:17:30 +0000

How come all of you fabulous foreign listeners aren’t inviting us for vacation tours!!!

By: Stefano Pasquini

Stefano Pasquini — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 00:50:48 +0000

Hey Roberto! I’m supposed to be THE only Italian listener!

By: Mark Staff Brandl

Mark Staff Brandl — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 15:30:01 +0000

FABULOUS interview. What a wonderfully clear thinker. I just got to listening to the Podcast — I’m behind you guys, I know! I didn’t find KJM cynical at all, in fact, I think his notions very clearly leave a door open to and INVITE resistance, they are just pragmatic about the biased arenas in which we operate. Reminds me a bit o that wonderful political philospoher, Cornel West. ANd beautiful paintings too. And paintings!

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:53:24 +0000

Great job BAS, a wonderful and insightful interview. Kerry wasn’t cynical at all, he relayed his own personal experience with a cup full of truth. Bravo!

RE: Cave Painting (Don’t you think the Cave Painter, while painting to insure the hunt, was offered his share of the spoils depending on the outcome thereof.)

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 04:05:32 +0000

This is one of the best BAS interviews I’ve heard.
Not only should we celebrate KJM’s honesty and intellect but that he is here in this city. Proof that even with a sophisticated strategy for making work, one does not have to secede to the coasts to have an impact.

By: Steve Hamann

Steve Hamann — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:25:07 +0000

I like how this interview connects with the previous podcast about the influence of comic book art in contemporary art. I would’ve liked to hear more of Marshall’s comic influences. I wonder who his in his “cannon” of comic artists or comic characters ? Marshall’s “Rhythm Mastr” (I don’t think I spelled it right) and “Sob Sob” seem very much in the realm of “Comic Art” that M.S.Brandl discussed earlier, in that it utilizes an illustrative style, with comic book conventions such as the word balloon.

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:29:24 +0000

I actually was thinking about this point during the interview (as I have the attention span of gerbil of acid) and my model of making art which is more about finding fndign and space to do my huge things that are largely there to amuse me. I don’t really think a whole lot about selling stuff. So I suppose it really is all about the context in to which you place yourself. I’m okay with not being famous. I enjoy my big installations when I get to do them,

By: brad farwell

brad farwell — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 14:33:33 +0000

Great show, really interesting interview.

I think that it is worth bearing in mind that Mr Marshall’s take on the practicalities of art are only relevant if you want to be Successful (i.e. be one of the names in the book of art). It isn’t a strategy about how to make art, or how to make better art, it’s a strategy to try and make sure you make it into Art and the Art World, and aimed at giving yourself every possible advantage to achieve that. There are lots of successful artists who are less self-aware and make it anyway; they simply were reliant to a greater degree on luck. It seems that KJM’s philosophy is to make your own luck; it’s a lot easier to be in the right place at the right time if you’ve got a map and a watch.

(re: cave paintings- they weren’t commodities, but neither did the cave men need them as a source of income. If your finances and personal sense of well-being are independent of the approbation of the art market, feel free to pursue your art in isolation. it’s a totally legitimate thing to do, but it probably won’t lead to that capital-s Success he’s talking about.)

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 03:28:33 +0000

I am obviously a big proponent of being an informed participant. I think the realities of any business can make you cynical. Particulalry over time.

While I found him a touch cynical in moments, I really enjoyed getting an overall sense of his path through his career in this interview and thought that the success of this interview overall (and I do think this is one of our best) was attributable to Mr. Marshall’s intellect and skill as an educator. He took our half-baked questions and gave thougthful and engaging answers. C for us, A for him.

By: Patrick McDonough

Patrick McDonough — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 01:17:57 +0000

Excellent trestise on the need for education for employment for art students. The acknowledgement that not all art students will be artists is a powerful one. However, I question the idea that art objects have only market value, and no intrinsic value. Were cave paintings commodified?? Is there no instinctive appeal to an aesthetic twinge in one’s stomach? Then why are there artists making work in areas outside of America and Western Europe if there is not a market. Granted the state of post-secondary art education is flawed, but is it not means to an end? Do other disciplines not endure similar trials? Should UIC ask for the salary paid to Mr. Marshall returned if it is fact such a fraud?

By: Phyllis Stein

Phyllis Stein — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 18:39:20 +0000

Kerry is very low on the b.s. and quite high on the perceptivity scale. I have lived a lot of what he describes. He just says it better than anyone else, including me. He is not cynical and if you think he is you need to pick your doughy ass up and get to work.

By: My Head Is Still Spinning! « ‘Bout What I Sees

My Head Is Still Spinning! « ‘Bout What I Sees — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 17:26:30 +0000

[...] I am going through another round of kicking myself for missing him when he was in town a few years back. Kerry James Marshall on Bad at Sports lays it all out. [...]

By: salvo cheque

salvo cheque — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 17:23:04 +0000

Wow, that was awesome!

Cynical or just honest?

By: The Scarlett Pumpernickel

The Scarlett Pumpernickel — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:20:36 +0000

Jeepers that is confusing, but it is nice to see that BAS is drawing an international crowd!

By: roberto scala

roberto scala — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 15:50:03 +0000

I like Is the best image in my life i see thnak you
very much compliment to Roberto scala , Sorrento () Italy
o sole mio . music

By: Ann Onymous

Ann Onymous — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:39:34 +0000

Dear BAS,

Great painter! Great interview! What a downer though. This interview was much more cynical than I was expecting.

Ann