[April 20, 2022 | Season 2, Ep. 13 | Barbara London Calling]

Barbara London: When COVID raised its head and we went into lockdown, I needed a way to talk with the kinds of passionate people whose work and personalities have interested me for decades. “Barbara London Calling” was the answer.

Today’s episode marks the 13th and final chapter of “Barbara London Calling” 2.0. This season I interviewed 12 artists at the forefront of art and technology. For the Season 2 finale, I wanted to do something different: Instead of interviewing an artist, I decided to interview another curator who could help me process the wealth of new information we’ve uncovered all season long. So today, I’m happy to introduce special guest Valerie Cassel Oliver, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

I recall first meeting Valerie in Texas a good 15 years ago, when she was the impressive and collegial senior curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Valerie, thank you very much for joining me for Season 2 finale of “Barbara London Calling.”

Valerie Cassel Oliver: It is such a joy to be here, Barbara. You know, I think we met each other in 2003, when we went to Poland. We were part of a curatorial group that went to Poland through the CEC Artslink. So, our time together goes way back. Of course, I’ve known and followed and celebrated your work for so many years, having been in Chicago at the School of the Art Institute, and the Video Data Bank, so connections there, as well. We go to the way back. It’s so wonderful to have these relationships that continue to grow.

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[April 6, 2022 | Season 2, Ep. 12 | Barbara London Calling]

Barbara London: My guest today is Lucy Raven, an American artist who works with the moving image, light and sound to create majestic, immersive art. Born in 1977 in Tucson, Lucy grew up with a strong connection to the American West. Over the last few years, she has had solo exhibitions all over the world, including the recently reopened Dia: Chelsea in New York, where her work occupied the entirety of a former marble-cutting factory on West 22nd Street. This includes two of her kinetic light sculptures and a 45-minute film that depicts the clanking and construction at a concrete plant in Bellevue, Idaho. Lucy, thank you so much for joining me.

Lucy Raven: Thanks for having me in your podcast. Very happy to be here.

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[March 23, 2022 | Season 2, Ep. 11 | Barbara London Calling]

Barbara London: Today my guest is Aura Satz, an inspired artist who dives deep into the history of electronic sound. Born in Spain in 1974 and now based in London, Aura received a degree in art, music and spectacle from the university of Bologna in 1998. She received a practice theory PhD from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2002. Aura works with the moving image and sonic sculptural objects as she creates what may appear to be minimal acoustic artwork, but in fact are packed with metaphor and original ideas. She engages with performance, film, photography and sound installation in work that is a delightful mix of archaic technologies, as she explores the complex marriage of human and machine, and the uncertainty it engenders in bodily awareness and human agency. Aura, thank you for joining me.

Aura Satz: Thank you for inviting me.

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[March 9, 2022 | Season 2, Ep. 10 | Barbara London Calling]

Barbara London: Today, my guest is the artist Ken Okiishi, born 1978 in Ames, Iowa. Ken comes from what he calls a linguistically expressive family, with roots in Hawaii and Japan. The simultaneity of those different cultures and identities helped motivate Ken’s interest in language. He received a BFA from Cooper Union in 2001 and went on to explore image networks and media systems through his art. Welcome, Ken, and thank you so much for joining me.

Ken Okiishi: Hi, Barbara. It’s great to be on the show.

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[February 23, 2022 | Season 2, Ep. 9 | Barbara London Calling]

Barbara London: My guest today is Ed Atkins, an English artist whose lively practice revolves around writing, the moving image and installation, with a keen interest in the emotions our digital technologies are unable to contain. Born 1982, in an English village outside Oxford, Ed grew up in a household that considered literature to be the creative pinnacle. He graduated from London Slade School of Art in 2009. That same year, his father died of cancer. Death, loss, distemper and debility have been preoccupations ever since. Ed, thank you so much for joining me.

Ed Atkins: Pleasure. Thanks for having me, Barbara.

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[January 26, 2022 | Season 2, Ep. 6 | Barbara London Calling]

Barbara London: Today I’m speaking with Nalini Malani, a versatile artist who easily moves between the mediums of painting and video, and between the cultures of Bombay, as she still prefers to call it, and Amsterdam. Born 1946 in Karachi, British India, her Sikh agnostic parents and family fled during Partition, in 1947, to Bombay before settling in Calcutta. After a job transfer of her father to Bombay, Malani studied at the conservative British style Sir J.J. School of Art, where in 1969, she received her diploma in painting.

During her studies she already had a studio in the multidisciplinary Bhulabhai Memorial Institute, Bombay. There, she interacted with actors, musicians, poets, and dancers, and saw how theater reaches an audience rarely found in the elitist gallery spaces. That summer, in 1969, she was selected to be part of the renowned Vision Exchange Workshop, VIEW. As the only female participant, she became its most productive member, creating a large series of camera-less photographs, experimental 8mm color stop-motion animation and a series of short black-and-white 16mm films. From this, she developed a filmic view that would dominate the rest of her artistic life in all the different media she used. Nalini, thank you so much for joining me.

Nalini Malani: Hello, Barbara, it’s lovely to see you and it’s lovely to talk with you this afternoon. We’ve known each other for a long time, but it’s lovely to meet across oceans at this moment. At least that’s possible.

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[January 12, 2022 | Season 2, Ep. 6 | Barbara London Calling]

Barbara London: Today I’m speaking with Sondra Perry, an interdisciplinary artist born 1986 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Sondra creates insightful artwork using video, computer-based media, installation and performance. She is one of today’s bright, young stars, highly respected as an innovator. Technically adept, with wit and grace she investigates such timely topics as desire, race, power and gender. Sondra, welcome to Barbara London Calling 2.0. I’m delighted to talk with you today.

Sondra Perry: Thanks for the invitation, Barbara. This is really cool.

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