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Natalie Hope McDonald Painting & Fine Art feat. Natalie Hope McDonald · philly has heART

0:14
I even looked, I even opened this and was like,
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I loved silt. That was wrong. What I liked was
0:21
we the people. Okay guys, you heard him. Robert
0:25
went to Ballet X last week. And Robert, is this
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the first Ballet X production that you went on
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without me? No, I had gone to Ballet X previously
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before you. You had a life before me? It's pre
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-Loo. Main character energy much over here. What
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an amazing, amazing show. I wish that everyone
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can see ballet in those little pieces. Every
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single time it's their first show. Like a primer.
0:59
Yes, you get to see and the breadth of the abilities
1:04
of all of these dancers. It was. Absolutely amazing.
1:09
And to your point for program A, so many people
1:13
brought up how that one dancer had to be in basically
1:17
every show. Lainey Jackson, we see you. Yes.
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So great. So great. Going back, I think we need
1:25
to skid. Because what Robert is talking about
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when he's mentioning the bite -sized pieces much
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like last week with program a Program B, which
1:35
we saw this most recent weekend had I believe
1:40
it was nine past productions in five to ten minute
1:48
increments as well as a world premiere of Friend
1:54
of the Pod, Keelan Whitmore. What an incredible,
1:59
incredible piece. Keelan. This piece had everything.
2:07
Yes. And imagine me doing my Stefan here. It
2:10
had live music. It had cutting edge choreography,
2:14
the this. Oh, yes. Yes. I'm doing. Louis hand
2:18
waving. Hand shaking. With a three maybe. Oh
2:23
yeah? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. It was only like three
2:25
fingers up. I didn't catch that from Row L. Yes.
2:29
Yes. Oh. Row C, you're talking to over here.
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Oh, hush. Can we please plug and promote the
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Young Patron Circle? Because I got to see that
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show for $30 and sat Row C. Loving it. And I
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will say, Katie, who's running that program over
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there, did an amazing job of starting this season
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off with the Young Patrons Circle on Friday night.
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It's bumpin'. It's bumpin' over there, and they're
2:59
building something great. Amazing. Robert, something
3:02
that occurred to me last week during program
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A. How is the choreography... archived. I don't
3:10
expect you to have an answer. This is just a
3:12
rhetorical question. I was I was thinking the
3:14
same exact thing. I don't know. And how do you
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how do you archive choreography that was here
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before video? What possibly could have happened,
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right? They could have videoed the shows and
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you knew exactly what to do. But that's a great
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question for a choreographer in the future. How
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do you how do you How do you archive that? How
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do you lock that in? How do you write it down?
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How do you make sure that your artistic license
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is solidified? Preserved. Right, exactly. And
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not copyrighted. Or what is that process? I don't
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think you can. What do you say about Balanchine
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and the trust, the Balanchine Trust? They did
3:58
something with it. Nobody can do it without their
4:01
permission. Right. Guys, more to come, more to
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come as we discover what's going on here. Also,
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are the costumes archived? They have to be because
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those bunny ear ones with the pleather had little
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cuts from like, oh, somebody slid on the floor
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one time and the leather starting to break. Either
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that or they were just dancing really hard. That's
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true, but I think that these They looked like
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they were reused pieces that they archive it
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possibly like a museum does their art. And also
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last week, there were several sets of angel wings
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for one of the program A productions. So I thought
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about that as well. Yeah. Robert, other than
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Ballet X, Program B, you were extremely busy
4:57
last week. I doubled down. I tripled down. You
5:00
quad down. Let's be honest. You went to the PMA
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Contemporary Craft Show. You went to the Philadelphia
5:06
Chamber Music Society Modigliani Quartet. Same
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night. You went to brunch at the bar. I did.
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Did you take a nap after all of this? When was
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nap time? Saturday. Saturday afternoon, I think
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I got... I got like two and a half hours in,
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which was a nice pick -me -up. PMA Craft Show,
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let me tell you, Lucinda, we have lined up probably
5:29
the next whole entire season just from the PMA
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Craft Show. So many amazing artists, local amazing
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artists that won blue ribbons that have been
5:40
to the show before. There was a Fairmount Philadelphia
5:44
contingent. That all come from this one studio
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that I think we need to go and see the whole
5:51
thing in person I'll get back to you But I mean
5:57
the whole place was as of gossip, okay, we'll
6:01
touch on this for a minute I mean every trustee
6:04
was there And every time I feel like you open
6:07
up the inquirer, this story unfolds a little
6:10
bit more. Yes, guys, we are talking about Sasha
6:12
Suda and the PMA. Which do you know, that's not
6:15
a real name. I think it's like Alexa or something.
6:19
Because you know me, the accountant was deep
6:22
diving on the 990 today. So it's accountant talk.
6:26
I know what a 990 is. For those who don't know,
6:30
990s are financial statements that all nonprofits
6:34
have to put forth. And when you put them forth,
6:37
there is a list of the staff who makes over a
6:42
certain threshold. Is that threshold standardized?
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I think you have to list the top five executives.
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Most. Well, you have to list every officer and
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then the top five paid staff. Gotcha. But rolled
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into PCMS quartet. Absolutely amazing. Shout
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out to Chelsea and to Marquis. Incredible, incredible
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work. They're really supported by their president
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and CEO at PCMS about their Young Friends program.
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It was a Young Friends night. the place was packed,
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packed. These four artists out of France killed
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it. Had a very modern piece to start and then
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two classic movements of Beethoven. And then
7:44
there was drinks at Attico afterwards where you
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got to talk with the artists. And so we got kind
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of insider information on what goes into practicing
7:56
all the time, and all of these performances,
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how they're on the move for this tour. Like,
8:03
the next night they were supposed to be in New
8:05
York, and then they were going to Canada, and
8:07
then they were going to the West Coast. And they
8:11
really have to work with their bodies to then
8:14
adjust, to then make sure that they have time
8:18
to practice, as well as time to kind of... Rehydrate,
8:23
take care of yourself, self care. Yes, exactly.
8:26
Interesting. It was great. It was great. Did
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they have to kick you out of Attico? Well, I
8:30
left. They might have kicked out the rest of
8:32
them, but I had to meet my bedtime because the
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rest of the weekend kept going on. All right,
8:39
tell us about Brunch at the Bar. Nick and Erin
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absolutely put a show together for a beginner
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ballet. You got to learn the new steps. We got
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to meet other young friends. We got to meet our
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old friends. We got to meet all the types of
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friends. Trustees showed up to take a class and
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then there was a boozy brunch afterwards. Cannot
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wait. I can't wait to see what happens with this
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new building because we won't be limited to only
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50 people in the studio. I'm thinking a hundred
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people in the studio learning beginner ballet.
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boozy brunch afterwards. Love that. It's going
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to be awesome. Robert, I'm so excited for the
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conversation that we're about to get to with
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Natalie Hope McDonald. Are you ready for it?
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Can't wait. On to the conversation. Greetings.
9:47
This is Robert Marsh, and you're listening to
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Philly Has Hard Podcast. In this podcast, we
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sit down with artists, gallerists, educators,
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curators, and other creatives who comprise the
9:57
Philadelphia art world to discuss upcoming performances,
10:01
exhibits, other events and initiatives that are
10:04
not to be missed. The art scene in Philadelphia
10:07
is so rich that it can seem daunting. Consider
10:10
this your weekend cultural recommendation. With
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me always is my producer, Lucinda Deggerlin.
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Hello, hello. And today we have Natalie Hope
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McDonald. We're so happy to have you. Thanks
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for having me. I'm so excited to be here. Yes,
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yes. In the studio and everything. It's perfect,
10:26
it's perfect. We had the privilege to see Natalie
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Hope McDonald's work at Pi Gallery on their first
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Friday where we got to... Give out drinks. Give
10:41
out cocktails. Got people drunk. Got people a
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little tipsy. That was great. It was awesome.
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Because you know what? They bought things. Yes,
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they did. Yes, they did. I mean, there were a
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lot of sold stickers that night. It felt very
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good. Yes. A lot of red dots. We were standing
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next to the price list and people were like,
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I'm looking for the price list. Oh, we have it
11:01
right here. Right here. Come on by. Right next
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to the booze. Have a cocktail. Have a price list.
11:07
Also, you know what I remember from that night
11:09
is that somebody who was in from New York bought
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your art off of the wall and left with it. I
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think usually it's packaged up. Yes, I think
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that happens when somebody isn't going to be
11:22
able to get back. They might make a special arrangement
11:25
with the gallery. Gotcha. Luckily, I had more
11:28
work that I could put up. Oh! I have endless
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amounts, so I said, I can fill that space. Wait,
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can we talk about that? So, you're bringing X
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amount, right, with you. you work with the gallerists
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to curate what the look will be? Yes. They were
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fantastic, I've got to say. I went in with a
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really strong idea of what I wanted, but I was
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careful because I didn't quite know how they
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would, you know, how they work with artists.
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Every gallery is very different. Some galleries...
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are really interested in doing the curation completely
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on their own. Others really invite the artist
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in to feel it out and get their perspective.
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I was able to hang the secondary room on my own.
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and provide that perspective. And it was really
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great. They were so cool about it. But I think
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they also liked my vision for it. So it worked
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out really well. OK, and I'm going to throw out
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an interjection. I don't know if you mentioned
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this, but it was Pi Gallery with Alexa and Margaret,
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who were our guests maybe about a month ago.
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Natalie, take us back. We asked our guests for
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their origin story. Can you tell us where your
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journey started that brought you to art? What
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are those moments, both big and small, in your
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life that led you to where you are now? Yeah,
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that's very interesting. I think, like any kid,
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I was an artist at a very early age. And I was
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thinking about this when you guys had mentioned
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it. I think the distinction is that some of us
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just stay with it. I think all kids do it, but
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society as a whole doesn't really encourage.
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creativity on that level. You know, it's cute
13:13
when you're little. Oh, that's great. She's got
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her picture hanging up at the classroom or whatever.
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But when it starts to get serious, they kind
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of question whether it's a real career. And I
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think I did it. I mean, we're a product of our
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environment. Luckily, I had parents who were
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really, really supportive. But I think even they
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were like, well. what kind of job are you going
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to get when you get a little older? And as a
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result, I ended up studying English and going
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into journalism for a long time. So I did have
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a job job. But it was always nagging at me because
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if you'd asked me when I was little versus a
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couple of years ago, really any time in my life,
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my dream job was being an artist. I just couldn't
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figure out quite how to do it. I wish, like,
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some amazing artists I admire that I found my
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voice when I was younger. In my 20s, I was still
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experimenting. I really didn't find my artistic
14:05
voice until, I would say, more recently. And
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I decided to just go for it. I was doing, you
14:12
know, writing a little bit, then I was doing
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art, and it started to be like 50 -50, and then
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finally it just became my full -time job. But
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yeah, since I was a kid, it's funny, before my
14:25
dad passed away, He gave me a few pieces he had
14:29
saved from when I was little. My mom ended Swedish
14:33
death cleaning before we even knew what that
14:36
was. Relatable. She got rid of everything. I
14:39
would look for something two minutes that I thought
14:41
I had two minutes ago and it was gone. It was
14:44
immaculate. She didn't keep things. But apparently,
14:47
he would occasionally grab things and keep them
14:49
in his office. And he showed me this book I had
14:53
made. before I knew how to write, but it was
14:57
this weird paper book and I'm trying to figure
14:59
out how to do something as cool as that now because
15:03
it is so cool. It's this abstract art piece and
15:06
I can't believe I have it. I can't believe I
15:08
did that as a kid. It's like we grow up, we learn
15:11
how to do art, we go through classes, and then
15:14
we want to get back to that. place we were when
15:17
we didn't overthink things. So I think I do that
15:21
a lot. I'm really trying to remember what that
15:23
was like to be so pure about it. But that thing
15:27
that my dad gave me was amazing. I was so excited
15:30
to see it. That's incredible. I was impressed.
15:32
I was like, who did this? I couldn't have possibly
15:35
done this. Why can't I do that now? What's wrong
15:38
with me? So, you know, those of us who still
15:43
stick with it, I don't know. We're gluttonous
15:45
for punishment, I suppose. your process of making
15:53
art. One of our listeners always wants to know
15:56
what music people listen to when they make their
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art. Oh, that's interesting. Sometimes I work
16:02
in silence. Sometimes I have the television on.
16:06
I do listen to a lot of podcasts, I'll admit.
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I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts. And
16:12
yet I don't think they really affect what I'm
16:13
doing because I'm sort of in the mode. It depends
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on what kind of art I'm doing, whether I'm painting
16:19
or I'm doing... illustration or word writing,
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the text art I do. The text art I'm usually quiet.
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But songs often pop into my head when I'm working.
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So a lot of times musical references will be
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in a lot of my work. But it's not always playing.
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It may have been something I heard earlier or
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so forth. But yeah, I come up with a lot of my
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ideas walking and just... giving it some time,
16:45
you know? For this last exhibition, I knew I
16:47
wanted to do really big paintings because I hadn't
16:50
done them in a while, but I couldn't figure out
16:52
how to connect them to the word -based work.
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And I just, I was walking around New York City
16:58
and I finally figured it out. I had this aha
17:00
moment where I saw some piece of graffiti that
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I knew was going to somehow connect my art and
17:06
make the show the kind of show I wanted it to
17:09
be. But it comes at the strangest times. Who
17:11
knows? It's just got to live life. Yeah. I think
17:14
you have to be open to it. Yeah. Which means
17:17
you're open to a lot of... You tend to be a little
17:20
more sensitive to things, which has its good
17:23
points and its bad points sometimes. Sometimes
17:26
you want to just tune out the world. And there's
17:29
many times I want to do that. And then there's
17:32
other times if you do that a little too much,
17:33
you're not really getting the inspiration that
17:36
you might miss. Right. When we read about your
17:40
work, the term mixed media commonly pops up.
17:43
Is there a certain combination of materials that
17:46
you frequently employ? Yeah. For paintings, for
17:49
years I've been using acrylic -based. were paint,
17:54
but I also draw a great deal, and I use oil -based
17:59
pens, so I do a lot of mixing of different materials
18:04
on paintings. But in more recent years, I've
18:06
been collecting reclaimed wood, vessels, all
18:11
kinds of interesting materials, sometimes industrial
18:14
material, and reworking them into new types of
18:17
art. I love that they come with history, unlike
18:20
a blank canvas, which is very fresh. There's
18:23
something sustainable and interesting about some
18:26
of these existing materials. And I do like that
18:29
sustainability factor. I'm also really interested
18:32
in the quality. Like there's this like old wood
18:35
you look at and you go, my God, what can I do
18:36
with this? It's so beautiful. I'm going to write
18:39
all over it. I'm going to do something completely
18:41
crazy or plates. Plates were a big one. I started
18:44
getting into using those and I love the idea
18:46
that they're not new. I don't really like to
18:49
buy new ones. I prefer ones that have been at
18:52
somebody's dinner table. You think, who sat around
18:55
these? What kind of dinners did they have? What
18:58
are their conversations like? I love recycling
19:01
that. So that's part of my process. It's really
19:03
fun to go thrifting. I love it. I always find
19:05
good stuff. And a lot of times it dictates what
19:08
kind of work I end up doing. I didn't realize
19:10
how much that was true until I thought about
19:12
it recently. And hanging this last show, I was
19:14
like, oh my gosh, I'm finding all these amazing
19:17
pieces. I think it's really bringing out something
19:19
in me. It's good. It's in a good way. If we were
19:22
to ask you about your favorite show you ever
19:25
produced, what is the first one that comes to
19:28
mind? And what about it keeps a special place?
19:32
This last show was really important because it
19:36
was very much the vision I had. But years ago,
19:40
I did an exhibition at the William Way Community
19:43
Center, which I started creating these small
19:49
illustrations. I ended up doing more than 500
19:52
of them. Wow. Maybe even more. I can't remember.
19:56
I don't count that high. I'm not freaking out
19:58
numbers. But I ended up doing, I did all of these
20:00
pieces in my kitchen because I didn't have an
20:02
art studio yet. And I ended up just covering
20:06
the lobby with art everywhere. And they were
20:10
all hand drawn pieces. And I think seeing how
20:15
like overwhelming and how crazy that could be.
20:19
how much it reached people. It really created
20:21
conversations between people of different generations,
20:24
especially because it was a gallery, but it was
20:26
in a community center. So it reached very different
20:29
people who might not normally go into a museum
20:31
or an art gallery, per se. it was very fulfilling
20:34
to see the reactions to it. That meant more to
20:38
me than anything. And I couldn't believe that
20:40
I was doing it at my desk under the steps in
20:43
this old city apartment I had. And all these
20:46
pieces were made there before I had a place to
20:49
really make art. And I think that will always
20:51
be a special exhibition for me. And I like to
20:55
think it inspired other people after that to
20:56
really rethink how they could use that space
20:59
and not be limited. Right. It opened up the doors.
21:03
Yes, was this more curated by yourself? Yeah,
21:06
I hung every piece because they had all these
21:09
people ready to help, but I knew that part of
21:11
the process would be me hanging the piece. I
21:16
really love doing salon walls. And you saw a
21:19
little bit of that in the last show. It's one
21:21
of my things I love doing, and I kind of just
21:23
do it very much by eye. I don't measure anything.
21:26
And I knew I needed to do that. It was the way
21:29
that the flow. of the show. Of course, it took
21:32
forever. I don't know why I thought that I should
21:34
do that. But in my mind, I went, this is a great
21:37
idea. I should definitely be the only person
21:39
hanging this and becoming a crazy person as I
21:42
did it and cursing a lot when I got up really
21:46
high because there are high ceilings in that
21:48
old building. Yeah, it was something to behold,
21:50
I'm sure. I hope nobody took pictures or video
21:54
of that. But yeah, that will always mean a lot.
21:57
And it was geared toward LGBT history. And that,
22:02
I thought, was really important at the time.
22:04
It was happening. Yeah. Lovely. We recently met
22:09
the gallery manager. Jake? Yes. Jake Foster?
22:13
Yes. Yes. Yes. We met him at DaVinci Art Alliance
22:18
the day after we were at because we were giving
22:23
out more alcohol. More cocktails. You guys are
22:26
great. We're trying. I mean, you're really, you're
22:30
really gassing up the art world. This is good.
22:33
I joke that we're kind of like cater waiters.
22:38
That's how I'm going to buy the Louboutins. Well,
22:42
then everybody talks about, these podcast people,
22:44
they keep giving us wine. We love them. I heard
22:48
that more than once. Oh, really? Yes. Amazing.
22:50
Yes, I said, oh, you got to listen to their podcast.
22:53
You have some obligation now. You got free wine.
22:56
Exactly. It's part of the deal. There's no free
22:59
wine. Jake Foster is doing a great job. I was
23:02
on the art committee there for a while, and I
23:04
left because they're doing so amazing. And I've
23:07
been so busy, and I feel like I haven't been
23:09
able to really contribute in the way I'd want.
23:11
And they have all these young people. They have
23:13
so much energy. Yeah, I think they're going to
23:15
be doing great things in the next few years.
23:17
I love it. Stay tuned to the podcast. Do you
23:22
have any current upcoming projects or exhibitions?
23:26
Yes. As a matter of fact, I'm heading to New
23:28
York this weekend. I'm doing an exhibition at
23:32
Studio 6 Gallery in the Lower East Side. It's
23:35
on Rivington Street. It opens on Friday. I'm
23:39
going to be in a group show, so I think there'll
23:41
be a few different artists. I'll be there through
23:43
the weekend doing some live painting and meeting
23:45
people. The show's up for about a little more
23:48
than a week. It's a short exhibition, more of
23:51
a pop -up, I guess. But I'm super excited because
23:54
I was asked to do this by one of my favorite
23:57
graffiti artists in New York. And it's really
24:00
geared towards street art and different elements
24:03
that kind of spring out from that. So I'm not
24:05
a street artist myself, but a lot of my work
24:08
is heavily inspired by it. So it's a it's a nice
24:11
fit, I think. That's lovely. Then I'm heading
24:13
to London for two months. Yeah. I have to stay
24:17
there. I know. Yeah. I haven't been there in
24:19
years. It's like I still didn't know. I'm like,
24:21
do I get travel shocks? I don't know. Can I just
24:25
get a credit card that works there? I had to
24:27
do it. It was embarrassing. I had to do research
24:30
because I've been out of the country for a while,
24:32
apparently. Yeah, I'm going. I'm staying at a
24:36
friend's place and he has a little art studio,
24:38
so I'll be able to work. And I launched this
24:41
project that... If people are interested, they
24:44
can connect with me on Instagram, and I'd be
24:47
happy to explain it. But it's basically, you
24:50
purchase a day from me in London for $100, and
24:54
I will do an art piece for you there based on
24:57
what I'm doing that day. And it could be a poem
24:59
painting, it could be a sketch. It's something
25:02
that would be in a sketchbook, so you're not
25:03
going to get like a giant painting or anything.
25:05
It's something that I'm doing while I'm traveling.
25:08
But it's for a really affordable price. And initially,
25:11
when I came up with the idea, I wanted to find
25:15
a way to ground myself. I thought, what am I
25:17
going to do in London for two months away from
25:20
my studio? A, I'm not going to have any kind
25:22
of income. So it helps a little bit to have people
25:26
participating. But also, I was thinking I'd be
25:29
a little lonely and I'd miss that interaction
25:30
I have with people while I'm here in Philly.
25:32
So it'll be... Kind of cool because it involves,
25:36
you know internet connections a social media
25:38
connection I'll be posting the work as I'm doing
25:41
it So hopefully we can have a nice conversation
25:43
about what things are going on in the United
25:45
States versus Europe, right? Who knows where
25:48
it's gonna go. So hopefully the work will be
25:50
good. I realize I have a lot to do There's a
25:51
lot of people who signed up which I'm super And
25:54
there's still more days. So there's more days
25:58
And you can take you don't just have to buy one
26:01
day No, no. You can buy multiple days. That's
26:04
great. That's true. They're good gifts. I know
26:06
I won't be back until February, so they could
26:08
be like late holiday gifts. Yes. Or a Valentine's
26:11
gift. Valentine's? That's perfect. Think of your
26:14
mom now. I know. And the people be thanked online.
26:17
I think everybody likes to be appreciated. Oh,
26:19
that's lovely. And I certainly appreciate. We
26:21
can't do this as artists without our collectors,
26:24
without our supporters. Some of us are very lucky
26:26
to have that. I'm thinking like fish and chips
26:28
and cheese steaks. I'm a vegetarian. What are
26:32
you talking about? Oh my gosh. I can draw those
26:34
things. Perfect. Yeah, I know. I can draw them.
26:37
I don't know what I'm going to do. It's going
26:38
to be interesting. Let's see what happens. Oh,
26:40
it's going to be great. Are you in James Oliver?
26:44
Is it James Oliver? I have been in a group show
26:47
with James Oliver, and I do have work. Was that
26:49
recent? It was a few years ago. Everything's
26:53
a few years ago, I think, because I'm not really
26:54
sure when it was. But I love James. And I do
26:57
have work at his gallery in the sort of store
27:01
section he has. He's got a new space. Yeah. It's
27:05
very cool. Yeah. I think I tried to go there
27:10
in between shows and you have to walk up the
27:13
set of stairs, right? Well, you still have to
27:15
go up. many stairs. Now he's on the second floor
27:18
and it's a beautiful space. Still a lot when
27:20
you're with a five -year -old. Yeah, well, I'd
27:22
imagine that could be true. But it's way better
27:25
than it was. I want to check that out when we
27:28
should too, Robert. I also read that you were
27:32
in Bluestone Gallery. Oh man, remember that place?
27:35
Yeah, years and years ago. That is a TVT. That
27:38
is a gallery that we bought one of the first.
27:41
paintings that we own. Oh my gosh. And I cannot
27:45
remember the artist. I think maybe it was a Caterina.
27:50
I remember her. Yep. And we loved Pam. Yes, Pam's
27:55
amazing. She was wonderful. Yeah. I miss it every
27:58
time I go by. I'm like, I think that's where
28:00
Bluestone used to be. Yeah. I think it might
28:02
be a thrift store. Oh, okay. If it's the one
28:04
I'm thinking, it's pretty cool. Okay. Yeah, Pam
28:07
was wonderful. She gave me a solo show when I
28:11
didn't know if I'd be able to do that. I was
28:13
still kind of figuring out what I wanted to do
28:15
as a painter and she was amazing. So I do appreciate
28:18
it. I'll always appreciate her. Oh, that's amazing.
28:21
I'll have to tag her in this. Yes, definitely.
28:23
I don't have her personal information. She's
28:26
still on Facebook. Amazing. Yeah, she's doing
28:28
well. Where can people find you both online and
28:32
in real life? In real life, I go to a lot of
28:35
coffee shops. I love Dirty Franks. I'm not a
28:41
drinker, but I love it there. And I often help
28:43
curate or judge their shows that they do. They
28:46
have a great art gallery. They do. I think it's
28:49
very underestimated. But I actually buy a lot
28:51
of art there. And if you're a beginning collector,
28:55
it's a great place to really think about what
28:58
kind of art you like at a good price point. And
29:02
there are amazing artists at Cho. Truly, really,
29:05
really good people. Where else do I go? Well,
29:08
the best place to reach me is on social media
29:10
because I'm always on there apparently. I don't
29:12
even know what my screen time is. I'm not looking.
29:14
I don't have one of those alarms because I have
29:18
to be on there. I know people are chatting and
29:20
I want to make sure I get back to them. Instagram,
29:23
Natalie Hope McDonald. That's the best place
29:26
to reach me. And if you have questions, you can
29:28
just, you know, get in touch. If you want to
29:29
buy a day in London, I'm happy to talk to you.
29:32
I have an online calendar. I made it really fancy
29:34
and easy, which is a lot for me because I have
29:38
a paper calendar, guys. This is like, I was like,
29:41
I have to do this online. This is horrible. Lucinda
29:44
and I were just talking about like, you are,
29:46
you have, as an artist, you have to be like a
29:48
one man show for everything. Everything. You
29:50
do it all. There's a, there are hilarious memes
29:52
about that. where there's like Victorian women
29:54
laying back on couches going, I just finished
29:57
my artist statement and now I have to post a
30:02
meme and now I have to wrap all of the work and
30:06
ship it. Oh, I'm at the post office a lot. If
30:10
anyone wants to know what I do, I go to the post
30:12
office and ship art all the time. What is the
30:15
best post office in Philadelphia? Oh, gosh. I
30:17
go to ones that I can get coffee nearby or do
30:20
a little shopping. So I go to the one on 13th
30:24
near Market often. And I also go to the one near
30:27
Independence Hall a lot. So shout out to my ladies
30:30
at the post office there. They know me now. They're
30:33
always like fragile. I invited them to art shows.
30:39
They haven't shown up yet, but I'm hoping one
30:41
day I was like, aren't you curious what I'm sending
30:43
all the time? It's just in a box. I have amazing
30:46
collectors. One of my best collectors is in Montana,
30:49
so I'm shipping things to her all the time. Oh,
30:52
that's great. Are you serious? You want more
30:54
art? This is amazing. Yes, please. I want to
30:56
see your house. I want to know what's going on
30:58
in there. Tell her to send photos back. I know
31:02
I do. I would like that very much. We're going
31:05
to close up with some rapid fire questions. I'm
31:08
afraid. I'm very scared of this, but let's see
31:10
how it goes. Philadelphia art scene in one word.
31:15
Diverse. If you could work in any other medium
31:19
and achieve the same success you currently have,
31:22
what would it be? I would love to be an actor.
31:26
Specifically, I would love to play a lawyer on
31:28
television. Oh, that's good. Because I never
31:31
want to be a lawyer in real life, but I think
31:33
it would be so fun on TV. That would be great.
31:36
You can tell I watch a lot of Law & Order, right?
31:38
Yes. Okay. Yes. So good. If you could collaborate
31:42
with any live artist... Who would it be? Oh my
31:47
gosh. I mean, I love Shepard Fairey. I do. I
31:52
don't know how we would collaborate, but that
31:54
could be fun. I like so many dead artists. This
31:57
is terrible. Like everybody I'm thinking about,
32:00
they're deceased. It's okay. We can't dig them
32:02
up, can we? We could. Gosh. Oh, Tracy Emin. She's
32:11
a British artist. Okay. She's amazing. Excellent.
32:15
I would love that. Laurie Anderson has done some
32:18
interesting visual art in addition to her music.
32:23
I'm obsessed with Ryan Murphy and all of his
32:26
productions, every one of them. I love every
32:29
one of them. And I want to meet him so badly.
32:32
I want to work with him. I don't know what possible
32:34
capacity. Maybe Ari in the background. I don't
32:37
care. I don't care what it is. A round of F.
32:41
Mary Kill. Now you can do either the artists
32:45
themselves or the artists work up to you. Okay,
32:48
Frida Kahlo Mary Cassatt Yayoi Kasuma. I Would
32:53
marry Frida? She seems fun. Yeah And she had
32:58
her own house. I know that I I should like Mary
33:02
Cassatt. She was really a pioneer for women But
33:06
I'd kill her. Yeah, don't my killer are somebody's
33:09
gotta go and I think I love all those polka dots.
33:17
Yes. Yes. F those polka dots. Excellent. F those
33:19
polka dots. There's a woman who conned her way
33:23
into the art world, the Anna Delvey of the art
33:27
world, if you will. She said that she had sold
33:30
and shipped this pumpkin sculpture priceless.
33:36
The purchaser paid, never got pumpkin sculpture.
33:40
There have been a few stories like this. I don't
33:42
remember the pumpkin one, but there have been
33:44
a few fraudulent art sales and celebrities have
33:49
been the targets a lot. I don't know about that
33:54
one. There should be a documentary about this.
33:55
I'll link it on the show notes. Please do. Share
34:00
with me. I'd love to know. Anna Delvey. Oh, Lord.
34:03
Anna Delvey of the art world. I can't remember
34:05
this woman's name. I think she was German though.
34:09
Well, Natalie, thank you so much for the conversation
34:11
today. Thank you. I really appreciate it. It
34:13
was fun to be with you guys. Anytime. I would
34:15
hang out anytime. Stop by. For sure. It's so
34:17
much fun. And you didn't even bring me wine or
34:20
anything because that's what you've been doing
34:22
to all of Philadelphia. Thank you. You guys are
34:25
the best. Thanks, Natalie. Robert, I could have
34:41
talked to Natalie for another hour. Natalie's
34:44
such a good storyteller as well. We could have
34:48
definitely kept this going. I think we might
34:50
end up with matching Louboutin embellished dune
34:54
boots. Oh yeah, you guys definitely are leaning
34:57
into the shoes. Alright, before we get into this
35:01
weekend's picks, Robert, can you tell us about
35:05
the event that you and I are hosting at the Print
35:09
Center? super, super excited to be able to partner
35:14
with the print center for their 110th anniversary
35:19
benefit. Whoa. Yeah. Incredible. Incredible.
35:25
We are going to be part of specifically the emerging
35:30
collectors preview. Join the print center for
35:34
a special evening where the guests can preview
35:37
the artwork up for bid, hear about the works
35:40
from the artists who created them, and get insight
35:43
on art collecting strategies. This is... This
35:47
is what I need. Right, this is beginner collector
35:51
night. Come out, come and learn. It's not like
35:55
there's a $50 ,000 painting on the wall. No pressure.
36:00
No, this is reasonable introductory artwork that
36:07
is there for the artist to walk you through,
36:11
to give you that backstory. This is gonna be
36:15
a fun night. And Robert and I will be there,
36:18
hopefully learning new things. Yeah. The preview
36:21
is free, but an RSVP is required, and it's gonna
36:24
be Tuesday, December 2nd. We're gonna link that
36:27
in the show notes. Five to seven, guys. Roll
36:30
right out of work, right into the preview. Copy
36:32
hour. Their closing celebration for the print
36:37
center will be Saturday, December 6th, starting
36:40
with a champagne reception and a main event starting
36:42
at 6 p .m. Tickets starting at $75. You can grab
36:46
their tickets at printcenter .org. And we'll
36:51
link that on the show notes. For this weekend
36:54
and beyond, under $100, under $1 ,000, Philadelphia's
37:01
Magic Gardens inspired works by Philly artists
37:04
opens on November 14th at Magic Gardens. Philadelphia
37:11
Sketch Club. 165th Anniversary Gala is on November
37:16
15th. It's located on Kamak, just south of Yubar.
37:22
Group show titled Materiality is ongoing at Bridget
37:26
Meyer Gallery, and that just opened last week.
37:29
Pi Gallery presents Tapestries by Nina Hans for
37:33
the month of November. An exhibition by Jake
37:36
Weinstein Klinker is ongoing at Works on Paper
37:39
Gallery. Fernando Postigo's Postigo Express documenting
37:45
the Basque conflict in San Sebastian, 1977 to
37:51
2003 is ongoing at UPenn's Arthur Ross Gallery.
37:56
And finally, the traveling exhibition Dreamworld
37:59
Surrealism at 100 is ongoing at the PMA. Finally.
38:05
There's a lot out there. And with that, Philly
38:09
has heart. And art. Well, you know, women are
38:41
destroying the workforce in two years. Since
38:43
2001. I cancelled my subscription. Yeah. It was
38:48
hard. It was hard and it wasn't because I've
38:51
been disappointed for a while now. But that one
38:53
just took me over the edge. Yeah. I like all
38:57
the memes. Like get it, lose it, we're going
38:59
to destroy the workforce.