Studio Sessions

Matthew O'Brien, Alex Carter
  • 5.0 (4)
  • VISUAL ARTS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Discussions about art and the creative process. New episodes every other week.  Links To Everything:    Video Version of The Podcast: https://geni.us/StudioSessionsYT  Matt’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/MatthewOBrienYT  Alex’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/AlexCarterYT  Matt’s Instagram: https://geni.us/MatthewIG  Alex’s Instagram: https://geni.us/AlexIG 

  1. 6D AGO

    69. What If Your Best Work Needs Less Sharing

    This week we got into something we'd been circling for a while: what happens to the work when the work and the content share the same camera, the same hours, the same brain. We used the image of food coloring dropped into water — once it's in, you can't pull it back out — and followed that wherever it went. Which turned out to be pretty far: the scarcity feeling that keeps you posting, the fantasy that a YouTube channel is a path to an artistic life, whether conflict and economic pressure are actually what fuel the thing rather than what threaten it. We also spent time with a more slippery question — what is it you're actually after, and have you looked at that honestly enough to know? We talked about photographers who worked monastically and ones who burned through marriages and health, about Vivian Maier nannying in obscurity, about whether patronage would free you or just kill the plant in a different way. And we kept landing on the same uncomfortable place: you can logic together a roadmap, but that's not what gets you anywhere. We closed on what we're calling is-ness — that quality in certain photographs where something just is, and you feel it, and there's no accounting for it. It's part of what drew us into this conversation in the first place. We didn't solve anything. But we got closer to knowing what we're actually asking. -Ai  If you enjoyed this episode, please consider giving us a rating and/or a review. We read and appreciate all of them. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode.  Links To Everything:  Video Version of The Podcast: https://geni.us/StudioSessionsYT  Matt’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/MatthewOBrienYT  Matt’s 2nd Channel: https://geni.us/PhotoVideosYT  Alex’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/AlexCarterYT  Matt’s Instagram: https://geni.us/MatthewIG  Alex’s Instagram: https://geni.us/AlexIG

    1h 15m

  2. MAR 17

    68. Protect The Work At All Costs

    We started this one talking about whether building a content ecosystem around photography risks turning the work into content, and how the pressure to produce on a content timeline can collapse the space that photographs actually need. When you're operating from scarcity, you grab the recognizable brand for cheap instead of holding out for the thing that represents what you're building. That tension between immediacy and long-term identity ran through most of the conversation, how we each relate to our own work. We spent a lot of time on taste and self-criticism. Matt talked about genuinely loving many of his photographs and wondering whether that's a kind of happy cluelessness or something closer to what Eggleston described when he said he loves all his pictures. We talked about the Winogrand documentary again, the thousands of undeveloped rolls, what it means that the act of shooting might have mattered more to him than the output, and how the art world commentary around his work sounds increasingly hollow on repeat viewings. That led into mimicry versus voice, and the moment content stops being performance and starts being the thing itself. -Ai If you enjoyed this episode, please consider giving us a rating and/or a review. We read and appreciate all of them. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode. Links To Everything: Video Version of The Podcast: https://geni.us/StudioSessionsYT Matt’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/MatthewOBrienYT Matt’s 2nd Channel: https://geni.us/PhotoVideosYT Alex’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/AlexCarterYT Matt’s Instagram: https://geni.us/MatthewIG Alex’s Instagram: https://geni.us/AlexIG

    1h 7m

  3. MAR 3

    67. Leica Luck

    More of a fun for us one here. What started as a pretty standard phone call turned into one of the most unexpected camera days we've had. Matt found a Leica M11 and Q2 listed on Facebook Marketplace by a woman selling her dad's collection to cover nursing care costs — and after some back-and-forth, both cameras came home with us. We talk through the full story, the legitimacy paranoia, trading a Zeiss 35mm for a 28mm viewfinder, the philosophy of owning things you actually use, and why paring down a collection can feel more intentional than building one. -Ai If you enjoyed this episode, please consider giving us a rating and/or a review. We read and appreciate all of them. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode. Links To Everything: Video Version of The Podcast: https://geni.us/StudioSessionsYT Matt’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/MatthewOBrienYT Matt’s 2nd Channel: https://geni.us/PhotoVideosYT Alex’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/AlexCarterYT Matt’s Instagram: https://geni.us/MatthewIG Alex’s Instagram: https://geni.us/AlexIG

    1h 13m

  4. FEB 17

    66. Back to Square One

    We catch up on the gallery space that didn't come together — not because of conflict, but because the arrangement shifted enough that the original vision no longer fit. What stings isn't the logistics, it's the built-in community that came with that particular spot, and the version of things we'd already started imagining. From there the conversation turns inward. We're both feeling the gap between talking about making work and actually making it — the pull to get back out with a camera, the fatigue of looking at old sequences, and what it means when commerce brain starts crowding out everything else. We end up somewhere around the question of what art even is — Tolstoy's definition, the transcendentalist framing, Rick Rubin and George Saunders on process — and whether finding your own answer to that matters more than finding the right one. -Ai If you enjoyed this episode, please consider giving us a rating and/or a review. We read and appreciate all of them. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode. Links To Everything: Video Version of The Podcast: https://geni.us/StudioSessionsYT Matt’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/MatthewOBrienYT Matt’s 2nd Channel: https://geni.us/PhotoVideosYT Alex’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/AlexCarterYT Matt’s Instagram: https://geni.us/MatthewIG Alex’s Instagram: https://geni.us/AlexIG

    1h 6m

  5. FEB 3

    65. Attempting A Low-Stakes Space For Photography And Conversation: PART 2

    WE STILL HAVE NO NAME... We spend most of this episode wrestling with what to name our new gallery space. The conversation moves through dozens of possibilities—from "Synchronicity" to "Room" to "Keyframe"—trying to find something that isn't pretentious, that wears well over time, and that captures the intersection between a photography gallery, Josh's furniture showroom, and a functional creative space. We talk about Star Wars naming, city names, and why the best names feel obvious once you hear them. Beyond the naming problem, we dig into what this space actually needs to be. Not a stark white-wall gallery, not a packed vintage shop, but something in between—a place that feels lived-in and functional while still formally presenting work. We discuss projectors versus CRT TVs, lighting strategies, and how to arrange furniture so the space encourages conversation rather than commerce. The bigger goal emerges: creating a scene in Omaha for street photographers and creative people, a place comparable to Warhol's Factory or the Neistat brothers' studio—somewhere work gets made because there's a community constantly pushing each other. We talk about curation philosophy, the difference between selling objects and presenting a way of seeing, and building trust with an audience by being selective about what gets shown. -Ai If you enjoyed this episode, please consider giving us a rating and/or a review. We read and appreciate all of them. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode. Links To Everything: Video Version of The Podcast: https://geni.us/StudioSessionsYT Matt’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/MatthewOBrienYT Matt’s 2nd Channel: https://geni.us/PhotoVideosYT Alex’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/AlexCarterYT Matt’s Instagram: https://geni.us/MatthewIG Alex’s Instagram: https://geni.us/AlexIG

    58 min

  6. JAN 20

    64. Attempting A Low-Stakes Space For Photography And Conversation: PART 1

    We talk through the unexpected opportunity to create a photography exhibition space in Omaha's Old Market. The conversation covers how a casual connection through vintage reselling led to subletting a space for three months—low financial risk, no formal contracts, just the chance to experiment. We discuss rejecting the traditional gallery model entirely: no price tags, no sales pressure, just a place for photographers to gather, show work, and build community. The episode explores the tension between excitement and anxiety that comes with actually doing something instead of just talking about it. We examine why this informal approach feels right—how the lack of commercial pressure creates freedom to experiment, try different exhibition ideas, and focus on creating experiences rather than moving product. The metaphysical alignment between collaborators, the value of physical gathering spaces, and standing at the threshold of something that could either fail quickly or turn into something unexpected. -Ai If you enjoyed this episode, please consider giving us a rating and/or a review. We read and appreciate all of them. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode. Links To Everything: Video Version of The Podcast: https://geni.us/StudioSessionsYT Matt’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/MatthewOBrienYT Matt’s 2nd Channel: https://geni.us/PhotoVideosYT Alex’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/AlexCarterYT Matt’s Instagram: https://geni.us/MatthewIG Alex’s Instagram: https://geni.us/AlexIG

    50 min

  7. JAN 6

    63. Build The Foundation, Lose The Costume, Keep Your Soul

    We sit down for our annual year-end conversation, reflecting on 2025 and mapping out intentions for 2026. The discussion moves between practical revenue planning and deeper questions about identity, authenticity, and what it means to build a creative life without losing yourself in the process. We explore the tension between chasing grandiose visions of success and learning to be present with who we actually are—people who source vintage records, make photographs, create videos, and build websites. The conversation touches on the difference between "playing the part" of a successful creator versus doing work that genuinely reflects our interests and values. We discuss building infrastructure: getting websites live, returning to photography, potentially publishing short stories, and establishing outlets for work that's been internal for too long. Both of us grapple with the pull of consumption and distraction versus the slower work of being present, disciplined, and engaged with the actual world. The episode ends on the idea of returning to being generalists rather than specialists—people with broad interests and connections across different areas of life, people who haven't traded their souls for narrow visions of achievement. -Ai If you enjoyed this episode, please consider giving us a rating and/or a review. We read and appreciate all of them. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode. Links To Everything: Video Version of The Podcast: https://geni.us/StudioSessionsYT Matt’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/MatthewOBrienYT Matt’s 2nd Channel: https://geni.us/PhotoVideosYT Alex’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/AlexCarterYT Matt’s Instagram: https://geni.us/MatthewIG Alex’s Instagram: https://geni.us/AlexIG

    1h 22m

  8. 12/23/2025

    62. What Do We Owe The Past When We Build With Its Pieces?

    We stumble into uncomfortable territory when Matt shares a YouTube channel that initially captivated him—a series of video essays about art and commerce, aesthetically compelling and philosophically engaged. But when Alex identifies the footage as a filmmaker's documentary work, used without direct credit, we're forced to examine our own assumptions about appropriation, influence, and artistic honesty. What begins as a simple observation becomes a deeper interrogation: Is this reconstitution or appropriation? Branding or art? And why does it bother us so much when someone's work doesn't match the authenticity it preaches? We contrast this with examples of master filmmakers who dialogue with the past—borrowing a philosopher's cadence, recreating classic shots—in ways that feel transformative rather than extractive. The conversation spirals through our own creative missteps (using music as a crutch in early screenwriting), the finite game of protecting acquired cultural capital versus the infinite game of genuine artistic exchange, and the uncomfortable recognition that we all walk the line between inspiration and imitation. We try to avoid drawing hard rules while acknowledging that when your essay is about rejecting commerce, maybe your method shouldn't look like effective branding. We also examine the uncomfortable but inevitable gap between taste and skill. -Ai If you enjoyed this episode, please consider giving us a rating and/or a review. We read and appreciate all of them. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode. Links To Everything: Video Version of The Podcast: https://geni.us/StudioSessionsYT Matt’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/MatthewOBrienYT Matt’s 2nd Channel: https://geni.us/PhotoVideosYT Alex’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/AlexCarterYT Matt’s Instagram: https://geni.us/MatthewIG Alex’s Instagram: https://geni.us/AlexIG

    1h 10m
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About

Discussions about art and the creative process. New episodes every other week.  Links To Everything:    Video Version of The Podcast: https://geni.us/StudioSessionsYT  Matt’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/MatthewOBrienYT  Alex’s YouTube Channel: https://geni.us/AlexCarterYT  Matt’s Instagram: https://geni.us/MatthewIG  Alex’s Instagram: https://geni.us/AlexIG 

Information

  • Creator
    Matthew O'Brien, Alex Carter
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    69
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Studio Sessions
  • Show Website
    Studio Sessions