Roberta Smith is the senior art critic for the New York Times; her husband, Jerry Saltz, is the senior art critic for New York magazine. They stride across the art world like colossi or perhaps colusses, depending on your preference—astute, eloquent, wedded colussi. They joined us for a rare joint appearance on stage at the … Continue reading »
Category Archives: Art
Episode 59: Alison Bechdel
The number of people who can currently see their lives enacted on the musical stage is, I believe, three. Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys, that scary witch in Wicked—but she might be fictional—and Alison Bechdel, whose graphic memoir, Fun Home, is the basis of the hit show at New York’s Public Theater. She draws, she … Continue reading »
Episode 36: Roz Chast
Born in Brooklyn, Roz Chast is best known for her cartoons for The New Yorker, many other magazines, and more than a dozen books. We note with pleasure how much she sounds like a Roz Chast cartoon: smart, funny, just a bit fretful, and thoroughly appealing. Maybe that’s because her cartoons have taught us to … Continue reading »
Episode 28: Al Jaffee
Cartoonist Al Jaffee is the creator of the Mad Magazine Fold-In and Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions. He was 92 when recorded this conversation, the magazine’s longest-running contributor, partly explained by his remark, “Serious people my age are dead.” PERSON: Harvey Kurtzman PLACE: The Muthaiga Country Club, Nairobi, Kenya THING: A MAD fold-in Continue reading »
Episode 15: Maira Kalman
One of America’s most beloved illustrators, Maira Kalman has drawn for children, with Max Stravinsky, the poet-dog; for adults, in the New Yorker; and for dancers, who share qualities of both, in creating sets for Mark Morris. She’s illustrated the new edition of The Elements of Style, been a “visual columnist” for the New York … Continue reading »