Decoder Ring - The Artist Who Was Both Loved and Disdained
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Slate
3.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 April 2023
⏱️ 36 minutes
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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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Slate Plus members get to listen to Decoder Ring without any ads. Their support is also crucial to our work. So please go to Slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today.
Decoder Ring is now available on YouTube. Listen here: http://y2u.be/D8cLqWAffJ8
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode is brought to you by Nike. |
| 0:04.2 | It's packed to school season, and you and your child might be feeling a bit anxious. |
| 0:09.0 | As a parent, you're the best team mate for your mini-me, and together, you can use sport |
| 0:13.2 | to help overcome anxiety. |
| 0:15.6 | Try something new as a family and celebrate even the little wins you achieve on the journey. |
| 0:19.9 | Create long-lasting memories that will take your kids from class to court and beyond. |
| 0:25.5 | Go to Nike.com, forward slash kids to get school ready. |
| 0:30.0 | A couple of years ago, Lizzie Peabody, the host of the Smithsonian's podcast Side Door, |
| 0:41.4 | received a suggestion. |
| 0:43.2 | She should do an episode about the artist, Leroy Nieman. |
| 0:46.6 | Basically, like this guy was really foundational to representing American pop culture during this |
| 0:52.7 | very specific era. |
| 0:54.5 | In the 1970s, Leroy Nieman was one of the most popular painters in America. |
| 0:59.3 | He sported a giant, drooping mustache and made colorful, kinetic images of famous musicians |
| 1:05.0 | and athletes. |
| 1:06.7 | The people that love my paintings, those spectators are not viewers. |
| 1:11.9 | They look at it for the experience and the re-experience for themselves. |
| 1:15.8 | He was on the sidelines of these games. |
| 1:17.4 | He was in these jazz clubs. |
| 1:19.0 | He was meeting these people. |
| 1:20.7 | He knew these people. |
| 1:22.3 | He wasn't like painting a photograph of Muhammad Ali. |
... |
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