Art Happens: The Divine Mess of Art History

James William Moore
  • 5.0 (3)
  • VISUAL ARTS

Art Happens: The Divine Mess of Art History is where masterpieces meet mayhem. Join artist and educator James William Moore for bite-sized episodes exploring the scandals, strokes of genius, and happy accidents that shaped art history. Witty, insightful, and a little irreverent — it’s art history served with sass, smarts, and a splash of chaos. Because perfection’s overrated… and art happens.

  1. Frida Kahlo: The Two Fridas

    2D AGO

    Frida Kahlo: The Two Fridas

    In this Masterpiece Moment, we step into the storm-lit space of Frida Kahlo’s The Two Fridas (1939)—a double self-portrait painted in the emotional aftermath of her divorce from Diego Rivera. Two nearly identical Fridas sit hand-in-hand beneath a heavy sky, dressed in opposing identities: European white lace on one side, Tehuana tradition on the other. Their hearts are exposed. A single vein connects them. And one of them is bleeding. This episode is an intimate, lyrical close-look at how Kahlo turns the body into biography—where heartbreak isn’t metaphor, it’s anatomy. We trace the painting’s visual logic: the portrait of Rivera, the medical clamp, the stained dress, the shared artery that feels like the last thread of love. Along the way, we unpack duality as lived experience—heritage, belonging, rejection, survival—and why Kahlo refused to be boxed in as a Surrealist when she insisted she was painting her reality. With heartbeat sound cues, rustling fabric, and a faint guitar underscoring the tension, this is a quiet, emotional witness to a painting that doesn’t “resolve.” It simply tells the truth: sometimes you are more than one self at the same time—and sometimes the bravest thing you can do is keep holding your own hand. Final Stroke: “Frida didn’t paint portraits — she painted her own truth.” J-Squared Atelier, LLCfor the love of artDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Send us a text Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Follow & Subscribe to Art Happens Stay inspired with new episodes every week! Don’t miss out on deep conversations with artists, curators, and creators exploring the vibrant world of contemporary art. Connect with Us: J-Squared Aterlier (J2Atelier) 🌐 Website: J2 Atelier 📸 Instagram: @J2Atelier James William Moore 🌐 Website: James William Moore 📸 Instagram: @the_jwmartist Leave a Review: Love what you hear? Help us grow by leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform! Your feedback keeps us inspired. 🎙️☕

    11 min
  2. Pop Art

    FEB 9

    Pop Art

    Pop Art is everywhere—on soup cans, comic panels, billboards, and celebrity faces. But this episode isn’t asking, “Is it beautiful?” It’s asking, “Who sold this to you… and why did you buy it?” In this episode of Art Happens: The Divine Mess of Art History, host James William Moore dives into the movement that dragged advertising, packaging, and fame onto the gallery wall—and made it impossible to unsee the machinery underneath. From Andy Warhol’s silkscreen assembly line of Campbell’s Soup and Marilyn, to Roy Lichtenstein’s Ben-Day dot melodramas that turn emotion into a product, Pop Art reveals a culture built on repetition, recognition, and desire. We also rewind to British Pop’s sharper, more ironic edge with Richard Hamilton’s iconic collage—Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?—a showroom of modern life where everything is “new,” “improved,” and quietly selling you a dream. Because Pop Art doesn’t land cleanly as celebration or critique. It’s complicit—and that’s the point. It’s a mirror. And the mirror is… extremely high definition. Final Stroke: Pop Art didn’t celebrate fame — it exposed the factory behind it. J-Squared Atelier, LLCfor the love of artDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Send us a text Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Follow & Subscribe to Art Happens Stay inspired with new episodes every week! Don’t miss out on deep conversations with artists, curators, and creators exploring the vibrant world of contemporary art. Connect with Us: J-Squared Aterlier (J2Atelier) 🌐 Website: J2 Atelier 📸 Instagram: @J2Atelier James William Moore 🌐 Website: James William Moore 📸 Instagram: @the_jwmartist Leave a Review: Love what you hear? Help us grow by leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform! Your feedback keeps us inspired. 🎙️☕

    11 min
  3. David Hockney: Pools, Polaroids, & iPads (audio)

    FEB 2

    David Hockney: Pools, Polaroids, & iPads (audio)

    A splash is the fastest thing in the world—blink-and-it’s-gone. So how did David Hockney turn a half-second event into an entire philosophy of looking? In this episode of Art Happens: The Divine Mess of Art History, James dives into Hockney’s lifelong obsession with vision: not “How accurate is it?” but “How does seeing feel?” We start with “A Bigger Splash” (1967)—that calm modern pool interrupted by a frozen white explosion—now in Tate Britain.   From there, we jump to Hockney’s 1980s Polaroid “joiners,” where a scene becomes a stitched-together experience—more like memory than a single authoritative snapshot.   Then we zoom out to Hockney’s bigger provocation: perspective isn’t a law, it’s a habit. In Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters, he argues that optics may have shaped how Old Masters built realism—and whether you buy every claim or not, the creative takeaway is liberating: if the tool stops helping you see, change the tool.   Finally, Hockney picks up the iPhone and iPad and does what he’s always done—makes new tech feel handmade. We visit Fleurs fraîches in Paris at Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent (Oct 20, 2010–Jan 30, 2011): glowing digital flowers presented in their original device format, like pocket-sized stained glass.   If you’ve ever worried about doing it the “right” way, this is your permission slip to ask a better question: Is this helping me see? And for more creative fuel, hop over to Lattes & Art after this episode. J-Squared Atelier, LLCfor the love of artDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Send us a text Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Follow & Subscribe to Art Happens Stay inspired with new episodes every week! Don’t miss out on deep conversations with artists, curators, and creators exploring the vibrant world of contemporary art. Connect with Us: J-Squared Aterlier (J2Atelier) 🌐 Website: J2 Atelier 📸 Instagram: @J2Atelier James William Moore 🌐 Website: James William Moore 📸 Instagram: @the_jwmartist Leave a Review: Love what you hear? Help us grow by leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform! Your feedback keeps us inspired. 🎙️☕

    7 min
  4. When Art Gets Political (audio)

    JAN 26

    When Art Gets Political (audio)

    In this episode of Art Happens: The Divine Mess of Art History (presented by J-Squared Atelier), host James William Moore pulls back the curtain on the myth that art is “above politics.” Because history doesn’t back that up—when the world catches fire, artists don’t always whisper. Sometimes they make images so loud you can’t unsee them. In Behind the Brush: When Art Gets Political, we follow political art as witness, protest, and pressure—starting with Francisco Goya’s The Third of May 1808, a painting that refuses to romanticize war and instead stares brutality straight in the face. Then we jump to the 1980s, where the Guerrilla Girls weaponize anonymity, humor, and hard data to expose inequality inside the museum itself—turning visibility into a battleground. This episode breaks down what makes art political (hint: it’s not the style—it’s the intent), why institutions are never truly “neutral,” and how images can outlive their moment to ensure future generations can’t claim, “I didn’t know.” Because the point isn’t to be approved. The point is to be seen. J-Squared Atelier, LLCfor the love of artDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Send us a text Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Follow & Subscribe to Art Happens Stay inspired with new episodes every week! Don’t miss out on deep conversations with artists, curators, and creators exploring the vibrant world of contemporary art. Connect with Us: J-Squared Aterlier (J2Atelier) 🌐 Website: J2 Atelier 📸 Instagram: @J2Atelier James William Moore 🌐 Website: James William Moore 📸 Instagram: @the_jwmartist Leave a Review: Love what you hear? Help us grow by leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform! Your feedback keeps us inspired. 🎙️☕

    10 min
  5. The Arnolfini Portrait: Secrets in the Mirror

    JAN 19

    The Arnolfini Portrait: Secrets in the Mirror

    A portrait that refuses to sit still. In this episode of Art Happens: The Divine Mess of Art History, host James William Moore opens the case file on Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait (1434)—a painting where the real plot twist isn’t the couple… it’s the mirror. A convex glass “eye” on the back wall reflects two unexpected figures in the doorway, pulling us into the room and turning a simple portrait into a staged moment, a legal-looking document, and a psychological trap. We examine the painting’s most suspicious “clues”—the single burning candle, abandoned shoes, watchful dog, expensive oranges, prayer beads, and the mirror ringed with tiny Passion scenes—then follow the scholarly debate: wedding scene, betrothal, memorial, status flex… or a deliberate mash-up designed to multiply meaning. Van Eyck’s famous inscription—“Jan van Eyck was here”—lands less like a signature and more like witness testimony. And once you notice that, the painting stops being something you look at… and becomes something that looks back. J-Squared Atelier, LLCfor the love of artDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Send us a text Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Follow & Subscribe to Art Happens Stay inspired with new episodes every week! Don’t miss out on deep conversations with artists, curators, and creators exploring the vibrant world of contemporary art. Connect with Us: J-Squared Aterlier (J2Atelier) 🌐 Website: J2 Atelier 📸 Instagram: @J2Atelier James William Moore 🌐 Website: James William Moore 📸 Instagram: @the_jwmartist Leave a Review: Love what you hear? Help us grow by leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform! Your feedback keeps us inspired. 🎙️☕

    10 min
  6. Surrealism: Dreams, Freud, and Lobsters on Telephones

    JAN 12

    Surrealism: Dreams, Freud, and Lobsters on Telephones

    In this episode, we drop straight into Surrealism—where logic takes a back seat and the subconscious grabs the wheel. If you’ve ever seen a lobster perched on a telephone and thought, “Yep… that tracks,” you already understand the vibe. Born in the 1920s after World War I, Surrealism wasn’t “random for random’s sake”—it was a rebellion against the idea that reason alone could explain (or prevent) catastrophe. Guided by André Breton’s manifesto and supercharged by Sigmund Freud’s dream theories, Surrealists chased the hidden forces underneath everyday life: desire, fear, memory, obsession—everything we pretend isn’t running the show. We break down the movement’s signature tactics—automatism, chance-based games like Exquisite Corpse, and juxtaposition—then step into the worlds of three iconic Surrealists: Salvador Dalí, with melting clocks and the famously unsettling Lobster Telephone; René Magritte, quietly sabotaging reality with razor-clean images and mind-bending statements; and Leonora Carrington, expanding Surrealism into myth, transformation, and a symbolic language that refuses to shrink women’s inner worlds into someone else’s fantasy. Surrealism endures because it tells a truth we don’t love admitting: we’re not as rational as we think. This episode is your invitation to let the weird out—not to escape reality, but to expose what it’s hiding. “They painted dreams not to escape reality — but to expose it.” If Surrealism lit a spark, pour another shot with Lattes & Art—where we talk to artists about how the magic actually gets made. Lattes & Art Podcast J-Squared Atelier, LLCfor the love of artDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Send us a text Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Follow & Subscribe to Art Happens Stay inspired with new episodes every week! Don’t miss out on deep conversations with artists, curators, and creators exploring the vibrant world of contemporary art. Connect with Us: J-Squared Aterlier (J2Atelier) 🌐 Website: J2 Atelier 📸 Instagram: @J2Atelier James William Moore 🌐 Website: James William Moore 📸 Instagram: @the_jwmartist Leave a Review: Love what you hear? Help us grow by leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform! Your feedback keeps us inspired. 🎙️☕

    9 min
  7. Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Poet in Paint

    JAN 5

    Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Poet in Paint

    In this Artist Snapshot episode of Art Happens: The Divine Mess of Art History (presented by J-Squared Atelier), host James William Moore traces Jean-Michel Basquiat’s rise from the SAMO© tag on late-1970s Manhattan streets to the early-1980s gallery scene. The episode breaks down how Basquiat “samples” language and imagery—using words, cross-outs, repetition, crowns, skulls, and anatomy—to build paintings that feel like the city itself. You’ll hear key milestones, including his first New York solo show at Annina Nosei Gallery (March 6–April 1, 1982) and the cultural collision captured by the 1985 New York Times Magazine “New Art, New Money” cover. The episode also highlights Basquiat’s direct engagement with race, power, and policing through “Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart)” (1983), and reflects on his death in 1988 and how his legacy grew alongside the art market’s obsession with him. J-Squared Atelier, LLCfor the love of artDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Send us a text Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Follow & Subscribe to Art Happens Stay inspired with new episodes every week! Don’t miss out on deep conversations with artists, curators, and creators exploring the vibrant world of contemporary art. Connect with Us: J-Squared Aterlier (J2Atelier) 🌐 Website: J2 Atelier 📸 Instagram: @J2Atelier James William Moore 🌐 Website: James William Moore 📸 Instagram: @the_jwmartist Leave a Review: Love what you hear? Help us grow by leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform! Your feedback keeps us inspired. 🎙️☕

    8 min
  8. Behind the Brush: Photography vs. Painting

    12/29/2025

    Behind the Brush: Photography vs. Painting

    When the camera arrived in the 1800s, it didn’t just introduce a new gadget — it triggered a full-blown identity crisis for painters. In this episode of Art Happens: The Divine Mess of Art History, host James William Moore digs into the moment photography “kicks the door in,” forcing painting to choose: compete on realism… or reinvent itself. We’ll travel from the ghostly early daguerreotype to Realism’s unfiltered truth-telling, then into Impressionism’s radical pivot toward light, atmosphere, and the feeling of seeing. The twist? Photography didn’t kill painting — it freed it, cracking open the path to experimentation, abstraction, and the modern art world as we know it. Final Stroke: When painting met photography, it didn’t die—it evolved. Presented by J-Squared Atelier. And if you want more creative origin stories, check out Lattes & Art.   J-Squared Atelier, LLCfor the love of artDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Send us a text Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Follow & Subscribe to Art Happens Stay inspired with new episodes every week! Don’t miss out on deep conversations with artists, curators, and creators exploring the vibrant world of contemporary art. Connect with Us: J-Squared Aterlier (J2Atelier) 🌐 Website: J2 Atelier 📸 Instagram: @J2Atelier James William Moore 🌐 Website: James William Moore 📸 Instagram: @the_jwmartist Leave a Review: Love what you hear? Help us grow by leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform! Your feedback keeps us inspired. 🎙️☕

    7 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Art Happens: The Divine Mess of Art History is where masterpieces meet mayhem. Join artist and educator James William Moore for bite-sized episodes exploring the scandals, strokes of genius, and happy accidents that shaped art history. Witty, insightful, and a little irreverent — it’s art history served with sass, smarts, and a splash of chaos. Because perfection’s overrated… and art happens.

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