WPR: To the Best of our Knowledge - Arts

Life in Death, Death in Life

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Every spring in Japan, people crowd under blooming cherry trees. They're signs of spring, and remembrances of life's transience.Master gardener Sadafumi Uchiyama says the blossoms are the quintessential representation of the Japanese principle of mono no aware... beauty in the intertwining of life and death.

At the Hour of Our Death

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Photographer Sarah Sudhoff has been intrigued by mortality for almost as long as she can remember. She's made art out of out of disease, hospitals, funeral homes. In her series, At The Hour of Our Death, she's taking an close look at death.

Close-up Death

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

We tend not to talk about death much in North America. Maybe we just don’t have the words to contain something so visceral. Maybe images are a better way to explore or express our mortality, and our feelings about it.In a recent body of work, photographer Sarah Sudhoff helps us take a close look at death. In the NEW and EXTENDED interview, Anne Strainchamps talks with Sarah Sudhoff about ‘At the Hour of Our Death’.

David Sheppard on Brian Eno's "Music for Airports"

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 6 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Brian Eno biographer David Sheppard talks about Brian Eno's groundbreaking 1978 album,l "Ambient 1: Music for Airports."

Stephen Sondheim on "Into the Woods"

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

"Into the Woods" celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Stephen Sondheim chats with Steve Paulson about the history of the legendary musical.

Frank Browning on the Dancing Brain

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

What happens in your brain when you dance? Frank Browning talks with scientists and choreographers in France and the U.S. about the "dancing brain."

David McCandless on Beautiful Information

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Mon, 2 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

With digital data streaming online, how do you make sense of it all? Data journalist David McCandless says, make it beautiful.Want to see some of McCandless's visualizations? Take a look!

Kenneth Goldsmith on "Uncreative Writing"

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 1 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Poet and writer Kenneth Goldsmith talks about his "Uncreative Writing" course in which students are penalized for showing any originality and creativity. Goldsmith is the author of "Uncreative Writing: Managing Language in the Digital Age."

Austin Kleon on "Steal Like an Artist"

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 1 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Austin Kleon talks about his book, "Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative."

Jonah Lehrer on "Imagine: How Creativity Works"

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 1 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Jonah Lehrer talks about his new book, "Imagine: How Creativity Works."

Jonah Lehrer on Creativity

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

In this UNCUT interview, Jonah Lehrer talks about his new book, “Imagine: How Creativity Works.” Turns out, we can all learn to be more creative.

Charles McNair on Literary Criticism

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Mon, 5 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0600

As the Books Editor of Paste Magazine, Charles McNair cares deeply about what we read. But McNair is concerned that we're only reading a handful of the artists available to us, thanks to what he calls a kind of geographic hegemony of taste-making. In other words - we're all reading the same books because a handful of respected critics on the East and West coasts tell us to.

David Gill on Film Versions of Philip K. Dick's Work

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 4 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Philip K. Dick scholar David Gill talks about Hollywood's adaptations of Philip K. Dick's novels and short stories.

Stories of Us

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Rather than making our stories better - or attempting to stop telling them altogether - Jonathan Harris is helping people combine their stories in a bid to unveil the "ecstatic truth" of human life. Anne Strainchamps asked Harris about his storytelling platform, Cowbird.Listen to the UNCUT interview here.

Jonathan Lethem on "The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, etc."

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Jonathan Lethem talks about his role as a novelist, which he explores in his new book, "The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, etc."

Astra Taylor's "Examined Life"

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The documentary, "Examined Life," features eight prominent philosophers, including Cornel West, Peter Singer, Slavoj Zizek and Judith Butler.

James Der Derian on Academics at War

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Academics are no longer just ivory tower analysts. The Defense Department has recently hired civilian anthropologists and social scientists as on-the-ground advisers to soldiers.

Shepard Fairey - from Obey to Hope

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Sun, 8 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

You may not know Shepard Fairey but, you probably know his work. In 2008 he created the now-iconic Obama HOPE poster.

Laughing at Pain

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Alan Dale says laughing at slapstick is - at its heart - an expression of our sympathy with TV and film characters who get hurt. He says it's also relief that, for once, it's not us in pain.

Jonathan Harris on Cowbird

webmaster@wpr.org (Wisconsin Public Radio) — Thu, 8 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Days before the launch of his latest project - a multi-media storytelling platform for the public - Jonathan Harris tells Anne Strainchamps about his inspiration and vision for Cowbird.