THE J&J SHOW

Creating Art vs Creating Content: Trying to make it as a working artist in a digital age.

In this episode, we kick off with a discussion about our relationship and experiences with the word “content” and our opinions on the differences between art and content. We discuss the relentlessness of Instagram, share stories of our battles with the algorithm, and conclude with tips on how to deal with the pressure of social media as a working artist, and how to make insta fun again! 

This episode is split into two parts. In part one, we discuss some shows we’ve been to see recently and touch on our opinions/how we felt about them. Our full thoughts on most of these exhibitions can be found through our Notes On… segment! Part two of this episode delves into the before, during and after of gallery going. We’ll discuss the before: how to find out about shows, the during: tips on how we look at art, and the after, how we approach art writing and discussing art we’ve seen. We then round up with general tips on how to actively interact with art, ideas for how to incorporate what you’ve seen into your practice, and what to do with the information critically, contextually and in terms of art writing.

We’re so excited to be welcoming our first guests, Dirty Dishes Collective! The DDC is a brand spanking new collaborative curatorial project, co-founded by Cassia Powell + Dani Neira. It predominantly operates out of the Crummy Gallery; a mobile art space based in Victoria, BC. The DDC cherishes dirty dishes as the physical remnants of gathering + sharing meals. With an emphasis on supporting emerging artists, they embrace food as a form of care and connection which actively resists institutional art dynamics, and works toward alternative, relational ways of being together.

In this episode, we hear the aims and origin story of the DDC, as well as how their first exhibition in the Crummy went! We also discuss the DDCs approach to curation, their opinions on the role of institutional galleries and how they sit alongside them.

A few weeks ago, we saw a TikTok that sparked real debate between us. It was a video made by Jacob Seeger, who just gained access to DALL-E2.

DALL-E 2 isn’t the first AI software with the ability to generate images. Launched in April 2022, this new AI system can create original, realistic images and art from a text description, combining concepts, attributes and styles.

In this episode, we give a bit more context into DALL-E 2, discuss some issues that have already arisen, as well as debate our feelings about DALL-E 2 in the context of the art world. Is DALL-E 2 coming for our careers? Is this new technology already flawed by replicating our Western biases? Are our degrees in fine art worthless now? How is DALL-E 2 making its way into mainstream culture? Tune in to find out!

A couple of months ago, a man disguised as an old lady in a wheelchair leapt up and smeared cake on the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. This stunt was plastered all over the news and social media for several days, sparking international discussion. We chatted about this at the time, and reached the conclusion that, despite the fact it was trending on twitter, we felt that it wasn’t really that controversial. This got us thinking about all the other art stunts from the past and what motivates people to make stunt art.

In the first part of the episode, we give a little bit of context and define what stunt art is by noting the criteria of what might make a piece of work, stunt art. From Duchamp’s 1917 upside down urinal, to Cattelan’s 2019 duct-taped-banana, we thought it would be fun to rank 22 different artworks that we feel meet this criteria.

If you want to follow along with visuals for the ranking of the work, you can find the link to the video we recorded HERE. It might be easier to follow this way, but we tried our best to ensure that it was also fun to listen to without visuals! This is a new format we’re experimenting with, so if you have any feedback, please let us know! SO! Let’s find out if stunt art really is shit : )

Today we’re chatting with three of the artists who participated in our first ever digital residency! At the start of October, we began working with seven artists who took part in a six week residency titled Prickly Pear. Over the course of the residency, the artists were invited to respond to the prompt “tell us a secret…” The name of the residency, Prickly Pear, was inspired by the feeling on your skin after you reveal a secret. The act of sharing a secret can be prickly, but sweet. It can be solely prickly, uncomfortable and embarrassing. Or, it can be strictly sweet, filling the spiller with relief.

Each of the seven proposals tackled the prompt in a different way, through different mediums. We were absolutely blown away by the work that was created in such a short time frame, and I am currently working on putting together a publication that is due to be released in the New Year, which will celebrate and showcase these works. You can check out the work on our instagram, @jigglenjuice.

We were fortunate enough to chat with three of those artists, Katie Brown, who crafted and unraveled the secrets behind over 140 matchbooks they found in a thrift store, Carla Smith, who explored the unspoken nature of our comfort foods, and Niamh Dale, who asked herself “where do secrets live within the body?”

Being an artist is so elusive. The way people become a “successful” artist is even more elusive. This project will map everything Shae does in 2023 to try and make sense of how it happens as she work towards her goal of being a full time artist. You’ll be able to read her applications, see how she organises her practice, and track her success rate. In this episode, we’ll be chatting about the origins of this project!

We hope that by being able to track Shae's process and look back on what she did throughout 2023, we’ll be able to spot the mistakes and flaws, or the key moments and achievements that got her to where she is! Obviously, everyone’s journey will look different, but we hope at the very least, this project will be interesting, and at best, motivating to you!

Learn more about the project here.

In this episode, we’re delighted to welcome artist / curator duo, Kosar Movahedi and Carly Greene ahead of the second iteration of a project titled Get It? Get It? We discuss the use of humour in a Fine Arts setting, independent curation projects, accessible art experiences and DIY spaces.