The Artist Who Was Both Loved and Disdained
Slow Burn
Slate Audio
4.6 • 25.2K Ratings
🗓️ 26 April 2023
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We bring you a special episode from Sidedoor, a podcast about the treasures that fill the vaults of the Smithsonian. This story is inspired by “Big Band,” a defining work by the painter LeRoy Neiman.
Neiman was a character, a cultural gadfly and an omnipresent artist who sat for decades right at the nexus of professional success, cultural ubiquity, and critical disregard. What made him so popular? What made him so disdained? And what can we learn from how he resolved this dissonance?
Sidedoor is produced by the Smithsonian with PRX.
This episode of Sidedoor was produced by Lizzie Peabody, Justin O’Neill, and James Morrison with help from Stefanie De Leon Tzic. The editorial team includes Ann Conanan, Caitlin Shaffer, Tami O’Neill, Jess Sadeq, Lara Koch, and Sharon Bryant. The show is mixed by Tarek Fouda and the theme song and episode music are by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. Derek John is Executive Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our Technical Director.
Special thanks to Joel Meyer, the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, especially Tara Zabor, Dan Duray, Heather Long, and Janet Neiman. Also thank you to the team at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History: Stephanie Johnson, Ken Kimery, Theo Gonzalvez, Eric Jentsch, John Troutman, Krystal Klingenberg, Valeska Hilbig, and Laura Duff. Thank you to Smithsonian Folkways Recordings for contributing music for this episode, and also to the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This podcast is brought to you by Progressive. |
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| 0:49.0 | A couple of years ago, Lizzie Peabody, |
| 0:51.0 | the host of the Smithsonian's podcast, Side Door, received a suggestion. |
| 0:56.0 | She should do an episode about the artist, Leroy Nieman. |
| 1:00.0 | Basically, like this guy was really foundational to representing American pop culture |
| 1:05.0 | during this very specific era. |
| 1:08.0 | In the 1970s, Leroy Nieman was one of the most popular painters in America. |
| 1:12.0 | He sported a giant, drooping mustache and made colorful, kinetic images |
| 1:17.0 | of famous musicians and athletes. |
| 1:20.0 | The people that love my paintings, those spectators and not viewers, |
... |
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