Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages

Who Arted is art history and art education for everyone. While most art history podcasts focus on the traditional "fine art" we see in museums around the world, Who ARTed celebrates art in all of its forms and in terms anyone can understand. Each episode tells the story of a different artist and artwork including the traditional big names like Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol along with lesser-known artists working in such diverse media as video game design, dance, the culinary arts, and more. Who Arted is written and produced by an art teacher with the goal of creating a classroom resource that makes art history fun and accessible to everyone. Whether you are cramming for your AP Art History exam, trying to learn a few facts so you can sound smart at fashionable dinner parties, or just looking to hear something with a more positive tone, we’ve got you covered with episodes every Monday and Friday.

  1. Maria and Julian Martinez | Black on Black Pottery

    4D AGO

    Maria and Julian Martinez | Black on Black Pottery

    Maria Martinez belonged to the Tewa-speaking Pueblo people, known for their rich artistic heritage. Pottery-making was deeply rooted in Puebloan culture, serving as a means of artistic expression and a reflection of their close connection with the natural world. Maria grew up watching her family members create pottery, learning the traditional techniques. Of course, we seldom talk about those who simply carry on a tradition. Maria Martinez and her husband Julian revolutionized pottery production and shared their methods with their community. In doing so, they raised the profile of pottery as an art form while helping others understand and appreciate their cultural heritage. If you would like to learn more about modern clay production, check out the clay episode of my other podcast, Art Smart. ⁠Art Smart | Clay⁠ ⁠Art Smart | Glaze This is an encore presentation. Every January/February, I release daily episodes to refresh everyone's memory on the 64 artists and artworks that will be included in my Arts Madness Tournament held in March. While most of these daily episodes will be reruns, I will continue publishing new episodes on Mondays.  Vote in Round 1 of Arts Madness https://www.whoartedpodcast.com/arts-madness Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    13 min
  2. Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun

    6D AGO

    Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun

    In 1778, Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun met Marie Antoinette at the Royal palace in Versailles. The queen had heard of Le Brun’s talent and asked to paint her portrait. Marie Antoinette loved the way Le Brun painted her and from that point on, she was pretty much her official royal portrait painter. Le Brun painted 30 portraits of the queen. Almost as quickly as her star rose, her fortunes changed. In 1789, Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun was forced to flee France in a disguise and under the cover of darkness during the early stages of the French Revolution. Le Brun didn’t have the opulent life of luxury that revolutionaries despised, but she had worked her way up to become Marie Antoinette’s favorite portraitist and the French Revolution was not the ideal time and place for friends of the monarch. Be sure to vote for your favorite artists & artworks in Arts Madness 2026 ⁠⁠https://www.whoartedpodcast.com/arts-madness⁠⁠ Listen to other episodes covering AP Art History content on my ⁠Spotify Playlist: AP Art History Cram Session This is an encore presentation. Every January/February, I release daily episodes to refresh everyone's memory on the 64 artists and artworks that will be included in my Arts Madness Tournament held in March. While most of these daily episodes will be reruns, I will continue publishing new episodes on Mondays.  Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    8 min
  3. Claude Monet | Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer)

    FEB 23

    Claude Monet | Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer)

    My guest this week is Jen Leban from The Art of Education. For any fellow art teachers listening, check out The Art of Ed Community and I had the priviledge of writing for the AOE magazine last year, so check out my articles. We're kicking off the annual Arts Madness Tournament and I thought there would be no better way to start things off than inviting Jen to join me for a friendly discussion about an artist we have different opinions about. Please join in the fun by weighing in and cast your vote for your favorite artists/artworks in this year's tournament. Each week, half will be eliminated until only 1 remains. The impressionist movement in late 19th-century art represented a significant shift away from the rigid, representative styles that had dominated the art world for centuries. Claude Monet, a central figure in this movement, began to experiment with color and light in a way that captured the fleeting essence of a scene rather than its exact details. His series of wheat stack paintings, created around 1890, exemplifies this approach. These works were not just about the subject itself, but about how different lighting and weather conditions at different times of the day transformed the appearance of these common agricultural structures. This innovative technique challenged contemporary notions of art and paved the way for future abstract movements. Monet's wheat stacks were meticulously crafted over months, despite their seemingly rapid, "impressionistic" brushwork. He often worked on multiple canvases simultaneously, switching between them as the light changed in the field to accurately document each subtle variation. This practice was a direct response to the rise of photography, which could capture reality with precision that painters could not match. By focusing on elements that the cameras of the time could not—such as the vibrant play of light and an imaginative use of color—Monet and his peers redefined the role of the artist. Their work, once considered controversial and even "unfinished" by critics, is now celebrated for its revolutionary impact on the history of modern art. Shoutout and a bit thanks to Podranker for including me on their list of ⁠Best Art History Podcasts⁠ Check out my other podcasts  Fun Facts Daily | Art Smart | Rainbow Puppy Science Lab Who ARTed is an Airwave Media Podcast. If you are interested in advertising on this or any other Airwave Media show, email: advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    31 min
4.7
out of 5
143 Ratings

About

Who Arted is art history and art education for everyone. While most art history podcasts focus on the traditional "fine art" we see in museums around the world, Who ARTed celebrates art in all of its forms and in terms anyone can understand. Each episode tells the story of a different artist and artwork including the traditional big names like Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol along with lesser-known artists working in such diverse media as video game design, dance, the culinary arts, and more. Who Arted is written and produced by an art teacher with the goal of creating a classroom resource that makes art history fun and accessible to everyone. Whether you are cramming for your AP Art History exam, trying to learn a few facts so you can sound smart at fashionable dinner parties, or just looking to hear something with a more positive tone, we’ve got you covered with episodes every Monday and Friday.

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