Not Real Art

With the world in its current state, it’s hard to remain positive. But to survive, we have to continue to find the beauty however we can and be inspired by the good. Our guest today, Dan Ubick, is not only an extraordinarily talented musician, but he is also a shining light in these dark times.

Today we welcome 2020 NRA Grant Recipient, photographer, Gershon Kreimer. With an educational background in film, Gershon transitioned to photography, where his sculptural, layered photographs have gained recognition and acclaim. We discuss the nature of his work, and why he is driven by making his photographs as universal as possible.

Art can be an incredibly powerful tool in giving overlooked and marginalized communities spaces to speak and share their stories. Today's guest, Jacqueline Valenzuela, is a painter whose work is centered around her experience in the Chicano world of lowriding. She conveys the stories of women in the space who own their own cars, and who, despite facing tremendous odds, are rising up in the male-dominated lowriding world.

Paloma Montoya’s work draws visual inspiration from classic cartoons, using her character Lola to play with teen internet culture in a way that is dark but funny too. She was a recipient of the 2020 NRA grant and joins us on the show today to talk about what her work is all about and how she handles the different sides of being an artist.

We know how important art can be in subverting dominant narratives and creating spaces for marginalized communities to speak from. Today's guest, Kiara Machado, is a first-generation Central American-American painter whose work explores the complexity of her identity. As a 2020 NRA Grant winner, Kiara’s work stood out to us as being sophisticated, bold, and captivating.

Miki Yokoyama makes ethereal illustrations on 2D and 3D surfaces that explore the profundity of life and allude to the interconnectedness of all beings. She is an NRA 2020 grant recipient and today she joins us on the show to speak about her work and the process that inspires it. For Miki, the idea of all lives beginning, intertwining, and ending in an infinite universe is deeply profound.

Today we speak to Tijera Williams, a painter whose work incorporates collage, self-portraiture, and re-workings of art iconography to form images that are rich and raw while carrying a powerful political message. Tijera is a recipient of the 2020 NRA art grant and it was a pleasure having her on the show to talk about her journey with art, the white supremacist political landscape in America, and how art can play a role in making the playing field more equal.

Today we welcome multidisciplinary artist David Schwartz, AKA DVS to talk about his most recent foray into physical art, his memories of working with Prince, and the fruits of never giving up on a creative vision. David is a singer, songwriter, graphic designer, art director, and visual artist, and while he was sleeping in his car after he got out of college he also started hanging out with Prince and ended up collaborating on Daisy Chain.

In our increasingly polarized society and as the indivisibility we have been promised becomes further from our reality, what role do artists play in interrogating where we are now? The Indivisible 2020 exhibition explores what it means to be indivisible and divided in today’s United States, and Not Real Art is proud to be a media partner. The next few shows will be interviews with participating artists, and today’s guest, Leroy Johnson is a true political artist in every sense of the word.

We are continuing our discussions with artists participating in the Indivisible 2020 exhibition that Not Real Art is a media partner of, and today’s guest is none other than Linda Vallejo. Linda is a multimedia artist who consolidates a range of influences from a lifetime of travel and study to create work that explores contemporary social, cultural, and political issues.