In this special live episode of Recording Artists, season two host Tess Taylor speaks with Getty Research Institute curator Pietro Rigolo about the making of the series, what she discovered through the letters, and artists’ stories and letters

Meret Oppenheim: Femme Fatale Is an Insult

Oct 24th, 2023 37m 40s

In 1975, Meret Oppenheim’s small painting Würgeengel, or Angel of Death, is included in a sprawling exhibition organized by famous curator Harald Szeemann. She had painted it over 40 years earlier, when she was only 16 years old. The only probl

Nam June Paik: I Don’t Want to Be Over Whelmed by Glory

Oct 17th, 2023 33m 19s

In the mid-1960s, Nam June Paik is living in a run-down studio in SoHo, struggling to make ends meet. But even as he jokes about his ongoing battle against cockroaches, he is building his network, seeking out support for his artist friends, an

Benjamin Patterson: Full Moon, Warm, Silver Clouds

Oct 10th, 2023 36m

On May 20, 1962, the morning after his first child is born, Benjamin Patterson writes a touching birth announcement to his own parents. The letter covers all the usual details—the baby’s weight and height, how the birth went, what the hospital

M. C. Richards: I Am Dancing with These Words Around You

Oct 3rd, 2023 37m 53s

By 1956, M. C. Richards has earned a PhD in English, taught poetry at Black Mountain College, gotten married (and divorced) twice, dedicated herself to pottery, helped found an artists’ cooperative alongside creators like John Cage, and become

Marcel Duchamp: Write Me Often, Just a Line or Two

Sep 26th, 2023 35m 42s

It’s July 1942, and the artist Marcel Duchamp has recently arrived in New York City after fleeing the Nazis in Vichy France. As he settles in, he writes to his longtime friend and fellow artist Man Ray, who is living in California. In this casu

Frida Kahlo: Do You Think of Me Some Time?

Sep 26th, 2023 37m 25s

In 1944, Frida Kahlo is at a crossroads, both in terms of her health and her career. In April of that year, with World War II dragging on, she writes to her gallerist—and former lover—Julien Levy. In this tender and personal letter, she moves f

Trailer

Season 2 Coming Soon—Intimate Addresses

Sep 12th, 2023 2m 18s

In season two of Recording Artists, titled Intimate Addresses, host Tess Taylor dives into the lives of six artists. From personal letters pulled from Getty’s archives, discover more about artists you’ve probably heard of like Frida Kahlo and m

Betye Saar: Your Particular Jellybean

Nov 12th, 2019 37m 7s

This episode focuses on Betye Saar (b. 1926). Joining host Helen Molesworth are artist Linda Goode-Bryant and art historian Marci Kwon. Saar is the only California artist in this series, and her work has been deeply influenced by the region’s c

Betye Saar: Working My Mojo

Nov 12th, 2019 37m 7s

This episode focuses on Betye Saar (b. 1926). Joining host Helen Molesworth are artist Linda Goode Bryant and art historian Marci Kwon. Saar is the only California artist in this series, and her work has been deeply influenced by the region’s c

Lee Krasner: Deal with It

Nov 12th, 2019 40m 44s

This episode focuses on Lee Krasner (1908–1984). Joining host Helen Molesworth are artists Lari Pittman and Amy Sillman. In interviews from 1972, 1975, and 1978, the first-generation abstract expressionist discusses her formation as a painter,

Yoko Ono: A Kind of Meeting Point

Nov 12th, 2019 36m 24s

This episode focuses on Yoko Ono (b. 1933). Joining host Helen Molesworth are artists Catherine Lord and Sanford Biggers. In an interview from 1990, Ono reflects on her influences, her years on the international avant-garde scene, and the impac

Alice Neel: Viva la Mujer

Nov 12th, 2019 35m 33s

This episode focuses on Alice Neel (1900–1984). Joining host Helen Molesworth are artists Simone Leigh and Moyra Davey. Neel is known for striking, expressionistic portraits of family, friends, lovers, and neighbors in Spanish Harlem. In interv

Eva Hesse: Oh, More Absurdity

Nov 12th, 2019 36m 29s

This episode focuses on Eva Hesse (1936–1970). Joining host Helen Molesworth are artist Mary Weatherford and art historian Darby English. Hesse is one of the most influential artists of her generation, despite having a career that lasted only 1

Helen Frankenthaler: Let ’er Rip

Nov 12th, 2019 36m 23s

This episode focuses on Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011). Joining host Helen Molesworth are artist Rodney McMillian and art historian Alexander Nemerov. Frankenthaler made large abstract paintings by pouring thinned paint directly onto the horiz

Helen Frankenthaler: Let ’er Rip

Nov 12th, 2019 36m 23s

Trailer

Coming Soon—Recording Artists: Radical Women

Oct 30th, 2019 2m 30s

In this season of Recording Artists, host Helen Molesworth delves into the lives and careers of six women artists spanning several generations. Hear them describe, in their own words, their work, relationships, and feelings about the ongoing ma