The Art Career Podcast: Becoming Smarter About Art And Artists

 I hate it when some commentator on Fox News starts ranting about elitists. To them, an elitist is someone who finished college, reads books and actually knows real facts. 

Elitist or not, I've been an art fan for much of my life, ever since I saw Girl with A Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer. After all, what is that expression on the girl's face? So elusive, and so easy to interpret in so many ways.

But elitism is a true concern in the art world. You have your art snobs, your faux art critics, and your art pseudo-intellectuals, who claim to divine meaning from famous paintings that we could never comprehend.

Even people who know about art do not have a decent understanding of art careers. Art History majors and masters of Fine Arts are increasingly the target of ridicule by those who insist that learning contributes to something critical in our society, such as coal mining, gun manufacturing, or meat packing plants.

That's why I like The Art Career podcast with Emily McElwreath so much. You don't need to know anything about Wassily Kandinsky's 1911 Composition V to enjoy the podcast.

 Here is the mission statement of the podcast:  "Want to learn and be inspired by the leading art professionals who are shaping our culture? The Art Career Podcast is a space, breaking barriers by letting you sit in on candid, straightforward conversations with leaders in visual arts, writing, music, theater and film. Join New York-based advisor, curator, and overall artist advocate, Emily McElwreath as she dives deep into topics like self-development, career trajectories, mental health, social justice, and the artists that have changed our lives"

The host, Emily McElwreath, asserts, "With each episode, our mission is to empower you, expanding your journey through the arts." 

To be clear, McElwreath doesn't just have guests who are artists in the sense of painting. To her, "artist" is an expansive term, so she has writers, fashion experts, poets, educators, and even a critic.

As a host, I can compare McElwreath to the 20th-century artist Jasper Johns. His works were deceptively simple yet rife with inscrutable allusions to deeper philosophical concepts. In effect, McElwreathy makes podcast hosting looks so easy and untroubled, she evinces the idea that she's not working hard.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In one of my favorite episodes, McElwreath (Doesn't her name sound like a Lord of the Rings character?)  talks with writer Cheryl Strayed. The best-selling author of Wild and the critically acclaimed debut novel, Torch, Strayed goes deeper than a cursory promotion for Tiny Beautiful Things, which is being adapted into a Hulu TV show.

The guest and host talk in depth on imposter syndrome and Strayed's self-acknowledged "inner terrible someone," which, she claims, is an essential part of the writing process. Strayed opens up about dealing with writing flaws and learning to craft sentences lovingly. 

To be clear, McElwreath is not one of those podcast hosts who simulate cognitive behavior therapy in audio. You know the type. The host asks an open-ended question and then the guest takes off on a long, uninterrupted ramble, only to have the host then say, "Can you tell us more about it?"

McElwreath is an active participant in the intellectual heavy lifting going on in these discussions. And her verbal contributions add to the interview, often bringing greater focus to the guest's primary message or clarifying a point. 

Emily McElwreath owns a firm, McElwreath Art Advisory, which is a full-service firm that provides guidance and assistance to art collectors through a comprehensive list of services. She has
over seventeen years of experience as an advisor, independent curator, and art educator.

Throughout her career, Emily McElwreath has worked on blockbuster exhibitions, including Andy Warhol, Julian Schnabel, and Nate Lowman at The Brant Foundation, as well as lecturing at top NYC museums including The Whitney and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Most recently, she has curated multiple exhibitions with leading emerging artists and is now the host and CEO of The Art Career Podcast. With an MA from Purchase College in Art History with a Concentration in Contemporary Art Criticism and an Art Business Certification from Christie's Education, Emily McElwreath possesses diverse, real-world experience and formal academic training.

That blend of the real world with the academic makes McElwreath the perfect person to create and host the podcast.  

One of my other favorite episodes occurred in the second season with Jasmine Wahl, who is the Founder and Director of the Project For Empty Space, a non-profit organization based in Newark, New Jersey. In the show, McElwreath and Wahl take listeners on a wild ride from subjects as diverse as cultural identities and the overestimation of politeness. 

At one point, Wahl asks, "What can we do in our current society to create equal structures?"

 The podcast just began its third season in early April. The most recent episode is with Rebecca Pauline Jampol, who discusses public arts programs in the city, and how a thriving arts scene can become a hub for change, activism, and social discourse.

Join The Art Career Podcast for new episodes every Thursday. Since listening, I've learned more about the intricacies of the artistic process, the art business in general, how art can be a force for positive change in our society, and how art can bring us together instead of pushing us away from each other.

If I could ask Emily McElwreath anything, it would be this. Is there really a musical melody inside Leonardo da Vinci's famous The Last Supper painting?