Episode #35: Rivals- Lee Krasner and Elaine de Kooning vs. Their Husbands (Season 3, Episode 4)

ArtCurious Podcast

ArtCurious

Arts, History, Visual Arts

4.8 • 847 Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2018

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus. Get a FREE month of unlimited access to over 9,000 lectures presented by engaging, award-winning experts on everything from art to physics, interior design and world languages. Sign up today at thegreatcoursesplus.com/ART. This episode is also sponsored by HelloFresh. For $30 off your first box of delicious, fresh ingredients and easy step-by-step recipes, please visit HelloFresh.com/artcurious30 and enter the promo code "artcurious30." Anyone familiar with Abstract Expressionism will tell you that this art movement was one where all the insiders or practitioners were more closely involved than many other art movements. Such close confines also made for some serious rivalries, too. But there were other artists who were more intimately involved with one another and their artistic process-- they were married, or were lovers. Such is the case with both Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning --both of whom married women who were incredible artists in their own right. Interestingly, and sadly, when these two spouses are mentioned, it’s very rare that we are treated to sincere commentary just about their works of art. More often than not, we are, instead, given explanations of how these women measure up to their (admittedly more famous) husbands, and are relegated either to a supporting role, or just plain seen as not good enough in comparison. Why is it that such talented women continue to have their posthumous careers and stories marked and shaped by their husbands? Please SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW our show on Apple Podcasts! Twitter / Facebook/ Instagram Episode Credits Production and Editing by Kaboonki. Theme music by Alex Davis. Social media assistance by Emily Crockett. Additional research and writing for this episode by Patricia Gomes. ArtCurious is sponsored by Anchorlight, an interdisciplinary creative space, founded with the intent of fostering artists, designers, and craftspeople at varying stages of their development. Home to artist studios, residency opportunities, and exhibition space Anchorlight encourages mentorship and the cross-pollination of skills among creatives in the Triangle. Additional music credits "Song Sparrow" by Chad Crouch is licensed under BY-NC 3.0; "Converging Lines" by David Hilowitz is licensed under BY-NC 4.0; "Today, Tomorrow, & The Sun Rising" by Julie Maxwell is licensed under BY-ND 4.0; "Is everything of this is true?" by Komiku is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal License; "Fantasy in my mind" by Alan Špiljak is licensed under BY-NC-ND 4.0. Ad Music: "Hello September" by Proviant Audio is licensed under BY-NC-ND 3.0 US; "The Valley" by Dee Yan-Key is licensed under BY-NC-SA 4.0; "Galaxies" by Split Phase is licensed under BY-NC-SA 3.0 US Links and further resources Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art, Mary Gabriel The Art Story: Lee Krasner Artsy: "The Emotionally Charged Paintings Lee Krasner Created After Pollock's Death" Smithsonian Magazine: "Why Elaine de Kooning Sacrificed Her Own Amazing Career for Her More Famous Husband's" National Portrait Gallery Blog: "Elaine de Kooning's JFK" NPR: "For Artist Elaine de Kooning, Painting was a Verb, not a Noun" Elaine de Kooning in her studio, 1963 Elaine de Kooning, Self-Portrait, 1946 Lee Krasner in her studio, date unknown Lee Krasner, Self-Portrait, c. 1929 Elaine de Kooning, John F. Kennedy, 1963 Lee Krasner, Untitled (Umber Series), c. 1960 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:31.9	Anyone familiar with abstract expressionism would basically tell you what I'm about to tell you,
0:38.5	that this art movement was one where all the insiders or practitioners were more closely involved than many other art
0:43.9	movements, though of course there are exceptions. Most Ab-X artists were friends, working together,
0:50.2	collaborating, bouncing ideas off of one another. Such close confines also make for some serious
0:56.1	rivalries, too. But there were other artists who were more intimately involved with one another
1:01.2	in their artistic process. They were married or were lovers. Such is the case with both Jackson
1:07.6	Pollock and Willem DeCooning, who were the subjects of our last episode.
1:11.4	Both of these men married women who were incredible artists in their own right.
1:16.1	Interestingly, and sadly, when these two spouses are mentioned, it's very rare that we are treated
1:21.9	to sincere commentary just about their works of art. More often than not, we are instead given explanations of how these women measure up to their
1:31.6	admittedly more famous husbands and are relegated either to a supporting role or just plain
1:37.7	seen as not good enough in comparison.
1:44.0	Why is it that such talented women continue to have their posthumous careers and stories marked and shaped by their husbands?
1:51.0	Some people think that visual art is dry, boring, lifeless, but the stories behind those paintings, sculptures, drawings, and photographs
2:03.3	are weirder, crazier, or more fun than you can imagine.
2:07.4	And today we are continuing our series on great rivalries in art history with the unfortunate,
2:12.7	unofficial rivalry that history often likes to perpetuate, the comparison between Elaine Dekooning, Lee Krasner,
	...

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