Latest / philly has heART / ArtBlog feat. Roberta Fallon and Ryan deRoche

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ArtBlog feat. Roberta Fallon and Ryan deRoche · philly has heART

0:14
Hey, Lucinda. Hello, how are you? Doing great.
0:18
Doing great. A little rested. Yeah. Yeah. Fresh
0:21
as a daisy. Got a couple days, you know, to ourselves,
0:24
and it was great. We went a week without recording.
0:27
What? We did. We should do that more often. Let's
0:31
batch them. Yeah. Exactly. It'd be great. I had
0:35
the amazing opportunity to get up to Newport,
0:37
Rhode Island. Mm -hmm. And... How was traffic?
0:40
Not bad. Did you make it through New York without
0:43
having to? Well, we let 430 in the morning, so
0:47
we missed all of New York traffic. Well done.
0:52
Well done. On the way back, probably like six
0:55
and a half hours. So a little more traffic -y.
1:00
It was a weekday, though. So yeah, those happen.
1:04
Perfectly fine. But got to see some amazing art
1:08
and even some architecture. We got to see for
1:12
the first time the third floor of The Breakers.
1:16
Okay. The Vanderbilt Gilded Age summer cottage,
1:20
let's call it. Let's call it a cottage. Commissioned
1:22
by Cornelius Vanderbilt II. It's a Richard Morris
1:27
Hunt building. This is the first time that the
1:31
public have been introduced to the third floor
1:34
as it was still in the Vanderbilt family that
1:37
they could live. and summer on the third floor
1:41
of The Breakers while all the guests and the
1:45
Preservation Society ran the first and second
1:48
floors. And that's how they financed it. Exactly.
1:51
Eat the rich. It was good. It was good. Art scene
1:57
up there. Amazing. I mean, on the walls, we also
2:02
went into Doris Duke's mansion where she has
2:06
incredible works of art. around the entire home
2:10
that have still been there over the years, as
2:13
well as like, surgeons, portraits, you know,
2:18
sprinkled throughout Newport still. You know,
2:21
an osh to seeing surgeon at, oh. Do you remember
2:25
that? Yes. Moving on. Yep. How about you? What'd
2:30
you get into? Just some hand, foot, and mouth
2:33
recovery. But I went to - Parenting. I went to
2:38
- the preview of the Philadelphia Theatre Company's
2:42
Primary Trust production on Saturday night. And
2:46
then my husband and I went to Vetri. Nice. I've
2:49
never been. Have you been? Vetri Cucina? It's
2:52
actually called Cucina. Oh. Actually... That
2:55
is the Italian pronunciation. I have never actually
2:58
been. It's pretty good. Yeah. They offer two...
3:03
Prefix menus. Okay one you have more flexibility.
3:06
We went with that. Okay, and we went with the
3:09
wine panel It was probably the best meal we've
3:14
had Recently yeah Definitely not something to
3:19
bring your kids to Unless your kid is very fancy.
3:23
Did you know that they've closed today? Vetri
3:30
Kushina Are they closed on Mondays? No. Year
3:36
27 comes to a close today. Oh. Starting year
3:40
28. Cut! I should have read through the whole
3:44
thing. I'm keeping that in. Okay, going back
3:49
to Primary Trust here. It's a 2024 Pulitzer Prize
3:53
winner and there was a certain scene in it where
3:58
I did cry. It made me cry. That's good. It's
4:03
pulling out some emotion. It moved to you. Some
4:06
people go to therapy I go to see a play. Yep.
4:09
It is on until October 5th, and I highly recommend
4:14
it Something that I did over the weekend that
4:18
was I had actually been looking forward to this
4:21
being released But I watched the Lilith Fair
4:26
documentary last night. It was released yesterday
4:28
on Hulu. Okay. What do you know about Lilith
4:31
Fair? Nothing. At the end of the 90s, if you
4:35
were a young lady who... If you've ever picked
4:39
up a teen magazine or watched MTV, maybe VH1,
4:44
engaged in pop culture, you knew what Lilith
4:48
Fair was. And right now, our female contingent
4:51
is screaming at you. Essentially what happened
4:58
is that there was this programming directive
5:01
across the radio that prohibited two women artists
5:05
being played back to back on the airwaves. Right?
5:10
This is the era of Sarah McLaughlin, Paula Cole,
5:15
Natalie Merchant, Sean Colvin. Following? Yes.
5:21
Okay. Sarah McLaughlin saw this as a challenge
5:26
and said, I bet I could tour with another woman
5:30
and it would sell. So she and Paula Cole did
5:33
like kind of this beta test, a tour with four
5:37
stops. and I think it did exceptionally well.
5:41
And this was like around the time of probably
5:44
Lollapalooza, Woodstock 94. So she put together
5:48
a tour of entirely females, although there were
5:53
males in some bands. For the young ladies, it
5:56
was the festival concert to go to see. I didn't
6:00
go see it. I was still kind of young at the time,
6:02
but the fact that it was on my seventh grade,
6:06
12 -year -old radar is something else. And it
6:10
was just a contrast at a time where you got Woodstock
6:14
99. Did you watch those documentaries? What a
6:16
fucking train wreck. Yes. It was... such a contrast
6:21
to that and they actually address that in the
6:24
documentary because both Sheryl Crow and Jewel
6:27
who were mainstays on the Lilith Fair like went
6:31
over to Woodstock 99 for like the weekend the
6:36
weekend right and then came back and were like
6:39
okay this is safe right and one of the Woodstock
6:43
documentaries they address how Jewel like literally
6:46
takes off her guitar walks off stage, gets on
6:50
the bus, doesn't finish her set. Wow. Because
6:53
that was just such a toxic production. Also,
7:00
the gentlemen that were running it were so fucking
7:03
incompetent. Yeah. And not owning up to the shit
7:07
that went down. Whereas, you see, it wasn't even
7:11
a women ran tour. It was both sexes, both genders
7:17
were represented. a lot more competent. Lilith
7:22
Fair, the first summer was criticized for being
7:27
very white. They had Tracy Chapman on as a co
7:32
-headliner with Sarah McLaughlin, but that was
7:36
the extent to any other race or identity. They
7:43
owned up to it and the next The next summer they
7:51
had Erykah Badu, they had Missy, they had Queen
7:56
Latifah. Just really enjoyed the documentary
8:01
and if you have not canceled your Hulu yet you
8:04
should watch it too. One more thing before we
8:07
get on to the conversation. Have you gotten one
8:09
of these yet? Oh yes. Okay guys, I am holding
8:13
up the season guide for Ensemble Arts Philly.
8:16
I love it. It's like truly a compilation of all
8:19
of the ensemble arts companies. So we are talking
8:22
Broadway, we're talking the Philadelphia Ballet,
8:25
Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia
8:28
Chamber Music Society. It makes it really easy
8:32
for planning. Yeah, totally. Was there anything
8:35
in here that you are particularly excited about?
8:39
Yes, I want to see the outsiders. In Philadelphia
8:45
this year and so I believe so and Then I am really
8:53
excited to see what this year's opera has in
8:57
store I believe their opening weekend was incredible
9:01
What are you most excited about? Okay, the 90s
9:04
called again. Oh cuz blue man group. Oh, yes
9:10
I never saw them the first time around. Oh really
9:13
something about it is feeling very nostalgic
9:15
Kind of like I need to buy a computer with Intel
9:18
processing in it. Yes And I think that's what
9:23
I'm most excited about. Okay, Robert. I love
9:25
it. Okay, shall we get on to the conversation
9:27
on to the comma? This is Robert Marsh, and you're
9:43
listening to Philly Has Heart podcast. In this
9:46
podcast, we sit down with artists, gallerists,
9:49
educators, curators, and other creatives who
9:51
comprise the Philadelphia art world to discuss
9:54
upcoming performances, exhibits, and other events
9:57
and initiatives that are not to be missed. The
10:00
art scene in Philadelphia is so rich that it
10:03
can seem daunting. Consider this your weekend
10:06
cultural recommendation. With me always, is my
10:10
producer, Lucinda Deggolin. Hello, hello. And
10:13
today we have Roberta and Ryan of ArtBlog. Thank
10:17
you so much for coming in today. Glad to be here.
10:19
Pleasure, pleasure. Yes. Usually when we sit
10:22
down and we speak with some of the artists or
10:24
gallerists, we start with their origin story,
10:28
but we can start where you started with ArtBlog.
10:32
and how it came to fruition to then share the
10:37
arts with Philadelphia and beyond. Okay. If it's
10:43
my turn to say something, yes, that sounds great.
10:48
ArtBlog started in 2002 when Libby Rossoff and
10:53
I were working as artist collaborators together.
10:58
We had a 15 -year practice of making art painting,
11:01
sculpture, street giveaways, you know, all that
11:04
kind of stuff. And we decided at the same time
11:08
we were seeing this explosion in the arts in
11:11
Philadelphia in the late 90s, early 2000s, that
11:16
the inquirer was cutting down its arts coverage.
11:20
And we said, this is wrong, this is bad. And
11:23
I'm an artist and a writer and Libby is an artist
11:27
and a writer and an editor. And my husband said,
11:31
we'll just start a blog. He's a techie kind of
11:34
guy. And Blogger was already up and running.
11:36
And so we started a blog. And Libby knew some
11:40
HTML, so she HTMLed up a template. And we were
11:45
on Blogger. We FTPed to our own website, FallonandRossov
11:49
.com. I mean, this is really old school, right?
11:53
This is a long time ago. And very quickly, because
11:57
we had a 15 -year art practice in Philly, we
12:00
knew all the artists, a lot, a lot of artists,
12:02
and they found us. We said we were going to do
12:05
this, and they found us, and some of them said,
12:08
can we write for you? And we said, we can't pay
12:11
you yet, but we hope to have an ad program, and
12:14
so then we can pay you. So they started writing
12:17
for us, like Tim McFarlane wrote for us once.
12:21
I think Judith Schechter, maybe. I don't remember
12:24
exactly. There were a few artists. We were very,
12:27
very proud to have them with us. But that's the
12:31
origin story of Art Blog. Oh, that's amazing.
12:34
We had similar discussions when we first wanted
12:38
to start this with some of the gallerists and
12:41
some of the artists. It just being like, we want
12:44
to be able to share our stories as many times
12:46
and in many different ways as we can. And so
12:51
it's so great to know that the community came
12:54
together to then be able to contribute to that
12:56
and to help that grow then over the years to
12:59
become what it was. And now it's an amazing passage
13:04
of everything that has happened over time in
13:07
the art world in Philadelphia that people can
13:10
then still go back and see. It's great. That
13:13
archive, it has to be like just something else.
13:17
Yes, yes. So Roberta, can you go into some of
13:22
the things that you were doing prior to Art Blog?
13:25
Prior to Art Blog, I was taking classes at Pafa
13:29
for two years. Just to learn more about drawing
13:32
and painting and looking. Path is really good
13:34
for, you know, the academic kind of look and
13:37
draw. And at a certain point, I said, I want
13:40
more than this. And so I went and transferred
13:42
to Tyler, which had all concept all the time.
13:46
And it was really what I wanted. And so I was
13:49
at Tyler for a couple of years. I didn't want
13:51
a degree. I already had a degree in English,
13:54
but I wanted to learn the materials and to be
13:57
able to get dirty. And so not about writing about
14:02
them at that point, but because I have a writing
14:05
background, I was able to write about the materials
14:09
and stuff when I was starting to write about
14:12
the art. How about yourself, Ryan? What was life
14:16
before Art Blog? Life before Art Blog is a lot
14:19
like life after Art Blog. So a lot of what I
14:22
do is community based work. And so one of the
14:25
things that that I've done in the past is a group
14:27
called School Free Players, and it's a youth
14:30
-led directed theater company. So we continue
14:35
to do that. We did that before, and we continue
14:36
to do that after. A lot of those kind of programs
14:40
are happening. Excellent. Yeah. Is that in Philadelphia?
14:44
It's all Philadelphia based. Yeah. Excellent.
14:45
Yeah, it's homeschool on school kids who are
14:47
just kind of like looking for other social outlets
14:49
and artistic outlets. And so we put on different
14:52
shows at different locations. A lot of our shows
14:54
end up at Theater Exile and other locations.
14:57
Oh, excellent. What was your most recent? a particular
15:00
one over the summer that you did? Oh, we didn't
15:02
do one over this summer because my oldest is
15:04
going to college this year. So we got to do like
15:06
a congratulations. An exciting trip this year.
15:09
But previous shows we'd done English Pantos.
15:13
So it's kind of like a call and response with
15:15
the audience and the cast and crew. And so that's
15:19
a lot of fun. So that's a tradition that we continue
15:22
as well. So that was the last show that we did.
15:24
Yeah, it was called TV Land Panto. And is it
15:26
mostly like elementary level or are you working
15:29
with all different levels? We aim a little bit
15:32
like 10 and up. Below that gets a little like
15:35
how do you fit them in? But there's always like
15:37
they have a sibling so you have a 16 year old
15:39
and a 12 year old and maybe an eight year old
15:40
they're like okay we'll find you a spot. So yeah.
15:44
This is for both of you. Could you take us through
15:46
the journey that brought you to Philadelphia
15:49
and if you are natives why stay in Philadelphia?
15:56
Very funny question. I love the way it ended.
15:59
That's a great ending. Because I did. No kidding.
16:05
Yeah, I grew up in media, and so a little outside,
16:08
but still, you know, had my full education here,
16:12
went to Villanova University, loved it so much,
16:15
still work in and out of the city, and I never
16:19
want to go anywhere else. I think that's true
16:23
of a lot of Philly people, Philly natives. I
16:26
had neighbors, I have neighbors, I live in Ballicanwood
16:29
now, and they grew up in Narberth, and they still
16:32
live there, and their kids are local, and my
16:36
kids are local, and people like it here when
16:39
you grow up here. It's in the water, something.
16:42
Yeah, for sure. So Ryan, do you want to start?
16:46
You have this interesting journey. Sure, I'll
16:47
keep my shoulder. Yeah, so originally I'm from
16:49
the west coast and eventually made my way to
16:52
Minnesota and then went to school in San Diego
16:54
and then my partner got a job with Teach for
16:58
America and Teach for America landed us here.
17:01
Wow. So we just kind of stayed and I think we
17:03
stayed because just the way that the the city
17:07
is so large and yet you see the people you know
17:09
it's such a small town yeah you run into people
17:11
you know on a regular basis like oh that's sweet
17:13
and it's endearing it's also rough it's also
17:16
tough but it's it also feels like a place that
17:19
you can do almost anything you want yeah right
17:22
you can afford to live here you can afford to
17:25
try different things you know oftentimes there
17:28
especially in arts it does feel like there's
17:29
gatekeeping but there still feels like an opportunity
17:32
yeah if you really want it I think our blog is
17:34
an example of something that came out of that.
17:37
So I'm from Wisconsin and went to school in Madison.
17:45
Go Badgers! Nice. Do you want to be a Badger?
17:50
I won't sing it. It's kind of a nasty song. And
17:54
we came to Philadelphia. I met my husband at
17:57
the college. We came to Philadelphia via Boston
18:00
where he was doing some post -doc work and then
18:04
got a job at Penn. So that's why we're in Philly.
18:08
And we arrived here in 1984. So that's a while
18:11
ago. Yes. And with one 18 month break where we
18:15
went to Ann Arbor to be he was visiting at the
18:18
university. We've been here ever since. So it's
18:21
a long, long time to be in Philly. Yeah. How
18:25
was Philadelphia in the 90s? Oh, my. Yes. Philly
18:29
in the 90s was a very extraordinary place. There
18:34
was a lot of do it yourself. energy in the community.
18:38
People were starting some galleries, Shelly Spector.
18:41
I don't know if you know Shelly. She started
18:43
Spector Gallery. She's an artist and has all
18:47
kinds of credentials to her name. She's really
18:49
great promoter of the arts. Her gallery was on
18:53
6th and Bainbridge and she would have openings
18:56
and she worked very closely with Space 1026,
18:59
which was, do you know about them? They were
19:01
coming up at about the same time. An alternative
19:04
gallery that was collective of artists who their
19:08
first space was on 1026 Arch Street. And it was
19:12
a big old building and they put in a skate ramp.
19:17
And they were all skater dudes. You know they
19:20
we pasted on the walls. They were all printers.
19:23
They went some went to college and some didn't,
19:25
but they shared skills. they were an amazing
19:29
group of really serious artists who came up from
19:32
outside the system of Philadelphia Academy and
19:37
Temple and all that kind of stuff. Anyway, Shelly
19:40
worked with them, showed a lot of their works,
19:44
the Space 1026ers. What else was going on in
19:47
the 90s? So there was wheat pasting going on
19:49
all over the city. Lots of really creative, wonderful
19:53
stuff. a few galleries were popping up. I made
19:59
a list here, Space 1026. Oh, Philly Sculptors
20:02
was starting. I don't know if you know about
20:04
them, but they started I think 25 years ago now,
20:08
and they are a group of sculptors who are just
20:12
like a guild, an old -fashioned guild of sculptors,
20:15
but they promote each other's works, and Libby
20:18
and I had made sculptures, so we were part of
20:20
that group to begin with. First Fridays were
20:24
a real scene because there was a critical mass
20:26
of galleries in Old City and there was street
20:31
vending. right on 2nd Street, you know, with
20:34
blankets, like you see in New York, or used to
20:37
see in New York. I don't know if it happens anymore,
20:39
but people putting their art out on the sidewalk,
20:42
and you could buy it for really cheap. And it
20:45
was lively, and it was fun, and there's nothing
20:49
like it anymore, as the galleries have moved
20:52
out of Old City. Back in 91 and 92, there was
20:56
something called Art in the Armory. Now, you
20:59
may have heard of Art in the Armory in New York.
21:01
There are armories all over the place. They're
21:03
the military assembly halls. So there's one on
21:06
the Drexel campus, and this was on 33rd Street.
21:11
And a bunch of artists got really provoked because
21:14
the Philly Museum of Art had a local artist show.
21:18
And they excluded a whole lot of really good
21:21
artists. And people got so mad and they just
21:25
said, well, let's do our own show. So it was
21:28
a non -jury, come one, come all, let's put our
21:31
stuff together. For $10 each person, they could
21:36
hire the assembly hall, the armory. And so they
21:41
took it over for a weekend. So that happened
21:43
two years, 91 and 92. And Libby and I participated
21:48
in that in 92. And that was amazing. Oh, that's
21:51
incredible. Yeah. So Gallery Joe was around back
21:55
then. Nexus doesn't exist anymore. Clay Studio
21:59
moved, of course, to Kensington. They were on
22:02
Second Street. Pentamenti, thank goodness, is
22:06
still there. Larry Becker, I don't know if you
22:08
know Larry Becker Gallery. Yes. He, they own
22:11
their building. That's how they happen to be
22:13
there. Are you familiar with Roger Lapel? Roger
22:18
Lapel was a pape guy who was best friends, he's
22:23
older gentleman, to David Byrne, or David, what's
22:27
his name? The blue velvet guy, I'm blanking on
22:30
his last name. David Byrne is talking heads.
22:32
Talking heads. Blue velvet Louis? No, that's
22:36
velvet underground. Right. Close but no cigar.
22:39
The movie Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. David Lynch.
22:42
That's it. David Lynch. So Roger Lapel had a
22:46
gallery on 3rd Street and David Lynch worked
22:51
for him while he was going to Paffa. Oh my gosh.
22:56
And so David Lynch and Roger Lapel had a good
22:59
relationship, and Roger Lapel had a lot of David's
23:02
early, early, early work. Wow. Yeah, which I
23:06
think was sold at auction at some point. And
23:08
so Roger has long passed on out of this earth.
23:12
Sadly, he was a great guy. Real raconteur, you'd
23:15
go into his gallery and an hour later you would
23:17
come out sort of stumbling here. All these wonderful
23:20
stories to tell you about David and all these
23:24
other, you know. things that happened at Paffa.
23:27
Oh my gosh. So Temple University back in the
23:30
90s had a gallery space on Third Street right
23:36
near the Painted Bride around the corner from
23:38
Third Street. It was only there like a split
23:40
second it seems like maybe two seasons it was
23:44
there and then they were building they were moving
23:46
the campus from Elkins Park you know Tyler used
23:50
to be in Elkins Park and they moved it to Center
23:53
City and at that point Temple and Tyler School
23:57
of Art said we're gonna bring that gallery in
23:59
-house back from Old City. So yeah, Painted Bride
24:05
was very lively. That's all I can remember right
24:10
now. That's incredible. Thank you for sharing.
24:15
It was a very cool time. It felt very experimental.
24:18
There was a lot of things going on in the streets.
24:21
Dancing and Libby and I were giving our art away
24:23
and all kinds of fun experimental stuff. We just
24:28
read the article about Jane Golden from... mural
24:32
arts, retired 42 years. I mean just starting
24:37
as a graffiti project and what it had grown to
24:40
over the years and now it's the largest mural
24:43
arts program in the whole world. It's insane.
24:48
It's incredible and it's all in our backyard.
24:51
I'll tell you one additional thing about the
24:53
90s. You could drive your car and park it anywhere.
24:58
So we found Philly Has Heart podcast as a reaction
25:02
to November 4th last year and so we were wondering
25:07
if you had found Art Blog with Libby over two
25:10
decades ago through what could have been a similar
25:14
climate in either politics and or the art world
25:19
in itself. Did you have any of that or those
25:23
movements through the time with Art Blog? Well,
25:27
yeah, I guess you could say we started as a political
25:31
act. ArtBlog is a political act to set something
25:35
up that is going to be public facing and giving
25:39
stuff away. We were giving away our thoughts
25:41
and creating a community, hoping to create a
25:45
community. So there's that. We also were at a
25:51
time when in 2000, I guess four it would have
25:57
been. John Street was mayor of Philadelphia and
26:01
he had killed the Office of Arts and Culture.
26:04
It's a low -hanging fruit. You need to balance
26:06
the budget. It happens all the time in Philadelphia.
26:09
They just exit out. What's -his -name did it
26:13
last time? The one who preceded, sorry I'm blanking
26:15
on his name. Kenny. Kenny did it. Yeah. So...
26:19
We led a movement on Artblog that was kisses
26:23
for Mayor Nutter. There was a person Michael
26:26
Nutter was going to come on board. He won the
26:28
election. He hadn't made a decision on whether
26:31
he was going to open up the Office of Arts and
26:33
Culture yet. So we had a running thing on Artblog
26:36
where we asked the artist to send us pictures
26:38
and a little statement. about why we should have
26:41
arts and culture in Philadelphia. And so we had,
26:44
you know, I don't know how many 50 people wrote
26:47
in and gave us their little, you know, face shot.
26:50
So we were activists. You know, I can't say that
26:53
it was our blogs thing that got the Office of
26:56
Arts and Culture reinstated, but it was not or
27:00
not or did reinstated. You know, anything in
27:02
the arts is going to be political. Oh, yeah.
27:04
At its base. Oh, yeah. I think. What do you think,
27:07
Ryan? I hope so. That's kind of the point. It
27:11
kind of moves the needle. I mean, it's one of
27:13
the first things to get cut. It's one of the
27:15
first things to get banned. Yeah. If it didn't
27:17
have an impact, you wouldn't do those things.
27:19
Right. Right. Throughout your years at Art Blog,
27:22
which moment stands out the best for you? Oh,
27:27
man. Yeah. It's like asking which child is your
27:31
favorite. I hate this question. I don't know.
27:37
Obviously the beginnings are always the most
27:38
exciting, right? You just started this, you said
27:40
in February. It's exciting. The first year is
27:44
thrilling. You get feedback from people, people
27:47
know about it and you help promote it and you
27:50
talk to so many people. You're doing something
27:52
that is bringing you into a community. We were
27:55
doing that too and it's really thrilling to be.
27:59
involve that granularly in a community where
28:01
you're talking to people and learning things
28:03
and they're learning about you, the exchange
28:05
of information. So I have to say the beginnings
28:08
were the most exciting. I mean, we've had lots
28:11
of ups and downs through the years, budgetary
28:14
and otherwise, but to start a project is my happy
28:19
spot. Oh, I love that. Yeah. How about for you,
28:22
Ryan? I would say it's sometimes, especially
28:27
later on, like two decades in, Roberto would
28:30
ask, are people actually reading? Are people
28:32
actually looking at the site and be like, here's
28:33
the numbers. We've got millions of impressions.
28:36
Like people are interested. It actually makes
28:38
a difference. It actually is connecting and resonating
28:40
with people. And then we open up different, different
28:43
things, expand the, they did the podcast, it
28:47
expands in other areas. So there's general interest
28:50
in it. So I wouldn't, I'm not sure there's necessarily
28:52
one thing that stands out, but I think. Just
28:54
the longevity stands out as so important that
28:58
has staying power for all these years. And the
29:01
archive is massive. It's a who's who of who did
29:04
work and touched lives in the city and in the
29:07
community. And I think it's valuable without
29:13
a dollar sign. You don't think we can sell it
29:16
at Sotheby's? I'm sure you could. You have to
29:21
figure out how. Yeah, right, exactly. But I would
29:25
say there was a time when we were looking at
29:27
the numbers and seeing if there's expansion or
29:30
whatever is available and we just open up an
29:32
opportunity for other people to expand the newsletter
29:35
or something. And people were just like, yeah,
29:37
we're all for it. and just like there's always
29:39
that interest. It was kind of that nice reminder.
29:42
So not necessarily a thing with Lining with Artists,
29:43
but remembering that the community still wants
29:46
it. So like it was a response, started as a response
29:48
to the Enquirer cutting it and all the newspapers
29:50
are shutting down their arts inquiries, very
29:52
focused or minute. But our blog expanded and
29:56
people were like, we're interested. I think those
29:58
are good reminders. Exactly. If I can just. amend
30:01
what I said before. New beginnings are not only
30:05
at the beginning. I mean, we started video work
30:08
early on in 2007. We were approached by an artist,
30:11
David Kessler, and he said, let's go into galleries.
30:15
Libby and Roberta talked to, you know, about
30:18
the art in the galleries. So there's a whole
30:20
series of them. It was called Look It's Libby
30:22
and Roberta with an exclamation. Oh, my gosh,
30:25
I love it. You know, and there's all kinds of
30:32
episodes with us going to the art museum. We
30:34
went to Pantimenti. We went all over the place
30:37
with the camera on. And David is a brilliant
30:41
videographer. And then he would whittle it down
30:45
to, you know, three minutes and we would feed
30:48
him because we couldn't pay him. It was like,
30:52
can we at least feed him? Yes, exactly. That's
30:56
perfect. And then, you know, starting the podcast
30:59
was another sort of, let's start this new thing.
31:02
And we got some money to start podcasting from
31:04
the Knight Foundation. That was like, oh, okay.
31:08
Yeah, so that was a new beginning within, you
31:11
know, art blog that made it really exciting.
31:14
We had a writing contest for about five years.
31:18
We had come one, come all, write about art in
31:22
Philadelphia. We didn't define what art was.
31:25
And we had elementary school students that were
31:29
submitting things through their mom and we had
31:33
people from New York that were submitting things
31:35
about I was over in you know Philly and I saw
31:38
the Duchamp blah blah blah and we had jurors
31:41
from outside the city to jury the right the entries
31:46
and we gave cash prizes Wow yeah so we were continually
31:52
sort of changing it up, to keep it fresh for
31:55
us. Not that the day -to -day publishing wasn't
31:59
fresh. It was. That's always been really exciting.
32:02
But to have these other little nuggets along
32:05
the way was really cool. That's great. Artblog
32:09
has closed the curtain this year, but there is
32:13
going to be a celebration of life for Artblog.
32:18
Did you want to share a little bit about that?
32:20
Yes, first of all, I want to say don't be sad
32:23
Don't be sad right that was people people have
32:26
been coming up to us and saying it's so sad And
32:29
I you know two months ago I was sad and now I've
32:33
worked through the stages of grief and I've come
32:35
out the other side and I think Ryan you have
32:37
to and All of us on the board and we're saying
32:41
Yeah, damn it. We did it. 21 plus years. Let's
32:46
celebrate this thing we did. It's incredible.
32:48
Hey, that's perfect timing because ArtBlog can
32:50
order a drink at the bar. Yes. You're right.
32:54
We're of age. Indeed. So yeah, we're going to
33:01
celebrate. And ArtBlog has a history of birthday
33:05
parties. We love cake. And we like to drink.
33:08
And so we've always had birthday parties through
33:11
the years. And it's open. It's open. We would
33:14
like people to register. We're going to set up
33:17
a little Google form for you to put your name
33:20
and your email address in there. Excellent. And
33:23
it'll be at Moore College of Art and Design on
33:26
October 23rd in the evening. Perfect. 6 to 9.
33:31
And we'll have cake. We love that. We're going
33:34
to close out. with some rapid fire questions.
33:38
If you could describe the Philly art scene in
33:41
one word. Potential. Adiosyncratic. Cheesesteaks,
33:46
with whiz or without? With. I can't do dairy,
33:51
that's not a fair question. And the vegan stuff
33:53
tastes terrible. Oh my goodness. Favorite Philadelphia
33:58
neighborhood? Oh, West Philly, without a doubt.
34:03
I've always been hopeful for the Temple neighborhood.
34:05
to pop, but it just kinda seems like there, but
34:08
I'm surprised Kensington's blowing up in the
34:10
way it is, but there's something about South
34:14
that always feels interesting, like stumble on
34:17
something new. I love that, love that. Favorite
34:21
Philadelphia -based artist people are sleeping
34:24
on. Well, Ann Minick has been slept on for 90
34:28
-some years, but Ann Minick is a gem and deserves,
34:34
doesn't have a pew. Fellowship, should have one.
34:37
Doesn't have enough museum representation, doesn't,
34:40
you know. One artist that I've wanted to cover
34:43
for a long time, we did just some podcasts with,
34:46
was Brian Brazemore out of West. And speaking
34:49
of under -representation, I think that's a great
34:51
example as well. Love it, love that. Favorite
34:55
beverage at the moment? Beer. I'm from Milwaukee.
35:00
Coming out this summer, so I love... Arnold Palmer
35:01
is to mix it up for me. Well, thank you both
35:04
for your time today. It was absolutely incredible
35:07
to hear from you and to hear of the amazing work
35:10
of our blog. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank
35:13
you. Everything is back, Robert. That's great.
35:29
This is great for us. I know. And I hope everyone's
35:33
going out to see it. I hope so. Okay. Because
35:36
if you don't have anything to do or you're sitting
35:39
on a couch, you're doing it wrong. You're doing
35:41
Philadelphia wrong. Okay, well first of all,
35:44
art blog. Roberta is my icon. Absolutely incredible.
35:50
She truly filled a gap and then also paved the
35:57
way. I loved hearing about Philadelphia in the
36:00
90s. That was so great. That was so great. That
36:03
was a good question. FOMO. Yeah. It's cool to
36:07
see how the players have changed over time, too,
36:10
or remain the same. You know, your art patrons
36:15
have truly invested into this city over and over
36:20
again for decades. We have some things for this
36:24
weekend, a bunch of things to pencil into your
36:26
calendar. Opening night of Philadelphia Orchestra
36:30
is tomorrow. Now, we're recording this on Monday.
36:34
It is airing Wednesday evening. It isn't too
36:38
late to get your tickets. We've linked them in
36:40
the show notes. The concluding weekend of Opera
36:43
Philadelphia, Il Viaggio a Reims, is this weekend.
36:47
There are exactly a handful of tickets available.
36:51
The Halide Project is hosting a platinum palladium
36:55
printing workshop hosted by a friend of the pod,
36:58
John Joyce, on September 27th and 28th. And it's
37:02
a one -day workshop. You either pick that Saturday
37:05
or you pick that Sunday. Nice. The Philadelphia
37:09
Chamber of Music Society presents Sphinx Virtuosi
37:13
on October 11th at 730 p .m. at the Perlman Theater
37:17
in the Kimmel Center. And again, the Philadelphia
37:20
Theatre Company Primary Trust is ongoing, but
37:24
the Drama Discovery Day Series Child Care Matinee
37:27
is Saturday, October 4th at 2 p .m. Pico's free
37:32
First Sunday Family Day at the Barnes is on October
37:36
5th in collaboration with IPD Philly in early
37:40
celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day. And something
37:43
to get on your radar for later this fall. Tickets
37:47
for the traveling exhibition Dream World Surrealism
37:51
at 100 are available. The exhibit does not open
37:55
until November 8th and runs until February 16th.
37:58
The PMA is the only United States venue getting
38:02
a stop. Take that, New York. Philadelphia Ballet
38:07
Gala and Gala Performance is October 11th. There
38:10
are Young Friends level tickets available. Robert,
38:14
I see your Philadelphia Ballet Gala. and raise
38:17
you the Ballet X 20th Anniversary Gala on October
38:20
28th. Get those tuxes out. As we mentioned last
38:24
week, at the Print Center throughout November
38:27
22nd, there's a solo show by Nazinan Naruzzi
38:31
titled False Dawn and a group show titled Memory,
38:35
Loss. Also, those Calder Gardens are open. And
38:40
with that, Philly has art. And art. Hello hello
39:07
hello 1 2 3 1 2 3 Hello hello hello 1 2 3