Bad Art

Colin McLaughlin-Alcock and Mariel Gruszko

5.0 (8)
SOCIAL SCIENCES

A Podcast About the Politics of Art in the 21st Century

APR 15

Social Death

Reflecting on current events, Mariel and Colin discuss the proliferation of atrocity images on social media. What is at stake when these images are treated as a tool of political mobilization? References: Sontag, Susan. 2003. Regarding the Pain of Others. Eubanks, W. Ralph. 2025. Emmett Till Then and Now. in Bulletin by Monument Lab. Hernandez, Joe. 2021. “Read this powerful statement from Darnella Frazier, who filmed George Floyd’s murder.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2021/05/26/1000475344/read-this-powerful-statement-from-darnella-frazier-who-filmed-george-floyds-murd Jackson, Jenn. 2022. “The Militancy of (Black) Memory ” SAQ. https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-9825933 Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: B8YVHLPEYANQ7MQB Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p

1h 16m
MAR 17

Can Art Solve Poverty? – (The Creative City Episode)

This episode is a deep dive into the “creative city” model of urban planning. We talk about the ways that influential urban planners like Richard Florida and Charles Landry have promoted investment in the arts as a way to solve urban problems. We will answer the question, can art solve poverty? (Answer: No). Key Sources: Florida, Richard. The Rise of the Creative Class. Landry, Charles. The Creative City A Toolkit for Innovators. Melamed, Samantha. “Can this tiny storefront save Philly’s most drug-ravaged neighborhood?” Philadelphia Inquirer. March 30, 2017. Denmead, Tyler. The Creative Underclass: Youth, Race, and the Gentrifying City. Mould, Oli. Urban Subversion and the Creative City. Montgomery, Alesia. “Reappearance of the Public. Placemaking, Minoritization, and Resistance in Detroit.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 2016. Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: YAP7TI2AQAAXNTJR

1h 13m
FEB 2

Bad Art's Halftime Spectacular

In anticipation of the Super Bowl, and in response to conservative outrage over the selection of artist Bad Bunny as halftime performer, we present a deep dive into the history and politics of the NFL’s halftime show. Major Sections Include: Introducing the episode 00-1:30 Reflecting on current events 1:31-15:00 Recurring halftime themes and the identity of the NFL 15:00-24:52 The history of the halftime show 24:52-34:38 Nipplegate 38:48-49:16 Racial politics in the NFL 49:16-70:00 Michael Jackson’s Unprecedented Super Bowl Spectacular 70:00-74:46 The 2020s 74:46-78:27 Bad Bunny 78:27-end We used clips from: Super Bowl XXVI “winter magic”: https://youtu.be/6wMXHxWO4ns?si=wtqMFHe45ts4SE37 Up With People at Super Bowl XIV https://youtu.be/2ruQ1tj4MDA?si=KfMAbNwTtfnBk_Ab Michael Jackson – Super Bowl XXVII 1993 Halftime Show: https://youtu.be/EsopN7JKUVs?si=oVd7-bkO338aXluL References: As N.F.L. Fights Racism and Sexism, Team Owners Undercut the Message. New York Times. 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/25/sports/football/woody-johnson-trump-jets.html Horowitz, Juliana Menasce, Kiana Cox and Kiely Hurst. 2025. “Views of Race, Policing and Black Lives Matter in the 5 Years Since George Floyd’s Killing.” Pew Research Center. May 7. https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/05/07/views-of-race-policing-and-black-lives-matter-in-the-5-years-since-george-floyds-killing/ Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: U1D0INK9CQ8QRL8S

1h 26m
JAN 5

Aesthetic Violence: Art in the War on Terror

Honestly, we just wanted to do a normal episode that didn’t react to current events. We thought that the War on Terror would be a somewhat stable historical artifact. – Then Trump invaded Venezuela, kidnapped its president, and stole its oil. So this episode is unexpectedly relevant. While we don’t comment on Venezuela directly, there are some important themes in thinking about the aesthetics of war that are unfortunately topical. References Ronak Kapadia. “Insurgent Aesthetics: Security and the Queer Life of the Forever War.” https://www.dukeupress.edu/insurgent-aesthetics Hirst Appologizes for Calling 9/11 ‘A Work of Art.’” The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/sep/19/september11.usa Leerom Medovoi. “Dogma Line Racism: Islamophobia and the Second Axis of Race.” https://read.dukeupress.edu/social-text/article-abstract/30/2%20(111)/43/33720/Dogma-Line-RacismIslamophobia-and-the-Second-Axis?redirectedFrom=fulltext Jean Baudrillard. “The Gulf War Did Not Take Place.” https://www.amazon.com/Gulf-War-Did-Take-Place/dp/090995223X Rumsfeld clip from “Control Room.” 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCgfMdvk2n8&t=1390s Committee to Protect Journalists. Dataset of Journalists and Media Workers Killed. https://cpj.org/data/killed/country/?status=Killed&motiveConfirmed%5B%5D=Confirmed&motiveUnconfirmed%5B%5D=Unconfirmed&type%5B%5D=Journalist&type%5B%5D=Media%20Worker&start_year=1992&end_year=2026&group_by=year Caecilia Pieri. “Can T-Wall Murals Really Beautify the Fragmented Baghdad? https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/30661 “Michael Rackowitz Brings Destroyed Iraqi Art Back To Life.” Northwestern University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jXG1cXxE1Y Joshua Craze. “Junk Empire.” https://canopycanopycanopy.com/contents/junk-empire Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: DNUZSKHSHWIM3J1Q Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p Episode Artwork: Berghan Oil Fire. Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bergan_oil_field_fire.jpg

1h 14m
12/09/2025

It's Brutal

“It’s Brutal!” Trump, Architecture, and American Authoritarianism. (Weird Little Architects Part II). E08. In this follow up to our episode on Trump’s “Weird Little Architects” (E06) we examine the ways that architecture has been instrumentalized by the Trump administration. Through a close look at the Executive Order “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again,” and at administration comments around the renovation of the White House, we show how architecture is used by the administration to advance its authoritarian and white supremacist projects. Major sections include: Trump’s Architecture Program. 00-37:00 Fascist Aesthetics and the Demolition of the White House. 37:00-56:00 Brutalism and Modernism as a Contrast to the Trump Agenda. 56:00-81:00 We used clips from: “Justin Shubow Interviewed About Brutalism on Newsmax – Greg Kelly Reports” https://youtu.be/OFRpqpdCikw?si=clvtWq8TSQEO1viR “Stephen Miller: East Wing was Cheaply Built, Long Overdue for Renovation.” https://www.foxnews.com/video/6383815895112 Zoolander (2001) References: Krugman, Paul. 2025. “Trump’s Gilded Ballroom and the Fall of the American Republic.” https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trumps-gilded-ballroom-and-the-fall Koldehoff, Stephen and Tobias Timm. 2025. Donald Trump Has a History of Pulverizing Historic Buildings. Artnet. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/donald-trump-bonwit-teller-friezes-met-2132673 Benjamin, Walter. 1935. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Medovoi, Leerom. 2012. “Dogma-Line Racism: Islamophobia and the Second Axis of Race.” Social Text. 30 (2 (111)): 43–74. https://doi.org/10.1215/01642472-1541754 Compagnon, Madeline. 2020. “What Makes a ‘Beautiful’ Federal Building?” JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/what-makes-a-beautiful-federal-building/ Volner, Ian. 2020. “Trump Can’t Make Architecture Great Again Without an Infrastructure Plan.” Artnews. https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/columns/trump-make-architecture-great-again-maga-classicism-1202677813/ We used a quotation: “The Democrat Party’s main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals,” which should be attributed to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: TPBUUIJWTSHGYJQ9

1h 20m
11/25/2025

The Reactionary Politics of “The Best American Poetry” – with guest Nick Sturm

We invited Nick Sturm to join us to tell us about his recent Defector article, “Good Riddance to The Best American Poetry.” Nick tells us about the reactionary ideals which shaped the poetry anthology series and how these reactionary ideals influence American politics and the wider world of poetry. Nick Sturm teaches at Georgia State University in Atlanta. His book “Publishing the New York School: Small Press Communities and American Poetry” will be published by Columbia University Press. Nick is also in the research stage on another book-length project, “The Poetry Business,” that examines the role of the state, nonprofits, universities, and philanthropy in the professionalization of American poetry. A few other forthcoming projects include a chapter on poet Frank O’Hara’s publishing history in “Frank O’Hara in Context” from Cambridge University Press; editing “The Collected Poems of Jim Brodey” for Nightboat Books; and a chapter on the relationship between federal arts funding and small press editorial practices in “The Bloomsbury Handbook of Literary Editing.” You can find Nick’s article, “Good Riddance to The Best American Poetry” here: https://defector.com/good-riddance-to-the-best-american-poetry In our conversation, Nick mentions Jonathan White’s article, “Thinking Generations:” https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/49483/1/White_thinking_generations.pdf — Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: KRQMGNARPJLX0ICN

1h 29m
11/04/2025

Weird Little Architects

In this episode, we tell you about the weird little architects in Trump’s orbit and their plans to remake DC. References The National Civic Art Society: www.civicart.org Website for Michael Curtis, the artist member of the NCAS https://theclassicalartist.com/statues Video: Washington the Classical City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LkKnhtOPnc “Hegel’s Aesthetics.” In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hegel-aesthetics/ Cole, Bruce. Art From the Swamp: How Washington Bureaucrats Squander Millions on Awful Art. https://www.amazon.com/Art-Swamp-Washington-Bureaucrats-Squander/dp/1594039968 Video: Roger Scruton: Why Beauty Matters. https://vimeo.com/549715999 Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: RIGCP4AT5FQFWIGO

1h 15m
10/20/2025

Style Wars Revisited

Colin and Mariel watch “Style Wars,” a classic documentary about New York City graffiti in 1982, and explore what this documentary can tell us about the politics of today. References: Style Wars (1982): https://youtu.be/CO9YgJXzRmk?si=Alsm22cBTOlZxOY1 Footage of the Burning of the Bronx from the 1977 World Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVH-BE9CUo Interview with Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant. Hip Hop Slam: https://www.hiphopslam.com/articles/artic_StyleWarsDVD.html Map: “How the Burning of the Bronx led to the Birth of Hip Hop,” originally from “Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas” Joshua Jelly-Shapiro and Rebecca Solnit eds. Featured on Independent Lens. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/how-the-burning-of-the-bronx-led-to-the-birth-of-hip-hop/ Rahn, Janice. “Painting Without Permission” https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/painting-without-permission-9780897898102/ Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: TBDYWEHRAAIK7W26 Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p

1h 11m
10/06/2025

Public Art on Trial

Public Art On Trial: In this episode, we examine the ways that major funders of public art in the US have often sought to use public art as a tool of social engineering. What did these funders hope that public art would achieve? And were they successful in their efforts to transform the social life of American cities? We will look at a number of high profile public art projects and controversies and attempt to evaluate the goals and impacts of public art in the US. References: Richard Serra Interview 1983: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgtcyuXQ4T4 The Trial of Tilted Arc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxyhgUAYvB4 Kwon, Miwon. “One Place After Another: Site Specific Art and Locational Identity.” https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262612029/one-place-after-another/ For info on urban renewal and Calder Plaza: Michigan Live: Awash in concrete: How Calder Plaza came to be: https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2016/10/grand_rapids_urban_renewal_exp.html Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: UKJ7UN6PM4ANCNM9

1h 4m
09/22/2025

Banksy in Palestine

The internationally famous graffiti artist, Banksy, has made 3 trips to Palestine, where he has attempted to use graffiti art to build solidarity with the Palestinian cause. What are the possibilities and limits of this form of artistic solidarity? References: Dan Brooks “Banksy and the Problem with Sarcastic Art.” NYT. Sept 10 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/10/magazine/banksy-and-the-problem-with-sarcastic-art.html Amahl Bishara. “Backstories: U.S. News Production and Palestinian Politics.” 2012. https://www.sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/back-stories Shuruq Harb: “Don’t Confuse Me With The Monkey: On Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel.” Ocula. July 21 2017. https://ocula.com/magazine/spotlights/dont-confuse-me-with-the-monkey-on-banksys-wa/ Jennifer Lynn Kelly. “Invited To Witness: Solidarity Tourism Across Occupied Palestine.” 2023. https://www.dukeupress.edu/invited-to-witness Channel 4 News. “Banksy documentary: Welcome to the Banksy art hotel in Bethlehem.” 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMS6Ds3qryY&ab_channel=Channel4News BanksyFilm. “Make this the year YOU discover a new destination.” 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e2dShY8jIo&ab_channel=banksyfilm The Guardian. “After Banksy: The Parkour Guide to Gaza.” 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuHsRm5FBvA&ab_channel=TheGuardian — Episode Photo By Maureen from Buffalo, USA – West Bank wall at Kalandia, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=118005802 Cover Photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: KGPS35V2S9VLBQSZ

1h 10m
09/06/2025

Memorialize The Movement: Preserving Art From the George Floyd Uprising with Leesa Kelly and Amira McLendon. E02.

Colin interviews Leesa Kelly and Amira McLendon of Memorialize the Movement about their experiences as Black activists working to preserve art from the 2020 uprising in Minneapolis. Kelly and McLendon offer insight into the racial politics of art preservation. Links and References: Memorialize the Movement: https://www.memorializethemovement.com/ Art and Artifact: Murals from the Minneapolis Uprising: https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517918989/art-and-artifact/ Preservation for the People Podcast: https://blackartconservators.com/podcast/ Monument Lab’s National Monument Audit: https://monumentlab.com/audit Jenn M. Jackson: “The Militancy of (Black) Memory: Theorizing Black-Led Movements as Disjunctures in the Normativity of White Ignorance.” https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-9825933 Cover Photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: WOMBEWKJI6OOODDO

53 min
08/26/2025

Very Fine Statues on Both Sides E01

On Trump’s obsession with and confederate statues. Recorded before the announcement that Trump would restore the confederate monument at Arlington and other monuments taken down in 2020. References: Cox, Karen.2019. Dixies Daughters: The United Daughters of the Confederacy and The Preservation of Confederate Culture. UP Florida. https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813064130 Southern Poverty Law Center map of confederate symbols, “Whose Heritage”: https://www.splcenter.org/whose-heritage-map/ A Pinterest of statue toppling images from 2020: https://pin.it/1vCPFbp6F Clips: CNN: Trump on Removal of Confederate General: Is George Washington Next? Aug 15 2017 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10157182610776509 CNBC: President Donald Trump on Charlottesville: You Had Very Fine People on Both Sides. Aug 15 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmaZR8E12bs Cover Photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: GQDFBFKOAKOQWZM5

1h 13m

12 Episodes

5

out of 5

8 Ratings

A Podcast About the Politics of Art in the 21st Century

Creator

Colin McLaughlin-Alcock and Mariel Gruszko
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

12
Rating

Explicit
Show Website

Bad Art

Society & Culture

Society & Culture

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