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Talk Art
Boy George (Christmas Special Episode)
It's the Talk Art CHRISTMAS EPISODE!!!
We meet the incomparable Boy George: Grammy, Brit and Ivor Novello award-winning lead singer of Culture Club, songwriter, music producer, fashion designer, artist/painter and LGBTQ+ vanguard. All in all, he's a pop culture ICON!!! In this generous, candid, TWO HOUR feature-length special, you can immerse yourself in the creative and fascinating mind of BOY GEORGE!!!!
We explore George's lifetime making art (he has been painting since childhood) in tandem with singing, writing and producing music, collaborating with Sinead O’Connor, his love of Yoko Ono’s art and music, being summoned for lunch with Andy Warhol, his respect & friendships with Duggie Fields, Tracey Emin, John Maybury, Leigh Bowery, Keith Haring, Vivienne Westwood and Derek Jarman plus getting to meet legends Lou Reed, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Frank Sinatra!
Plus George reads our star signs and reveals that Russ & Rob share both their star sign and moon.. AND he sings for us his part from Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’!!!!! We discover details of his infinite hat collection but also the art he has collected including a number of artworks by David Bowie as well as Grayson Perry and Yoko Ono.
George’s best selling book KARMA is out now. Told in his inimitable style, this definitive autobiography tells the story of the charismatic frontman - the drama, the music, his journey of addiction and recovery, surviving prison, meeting legends like David Bowie, Madonna, Diana Ross and Prince, and the highs and lows of a life lived in the spotlight and in the headlines.
In 2024, Boy George will make his return after 20 years to Broadway in the musical Moulin Rouge! The larger-than-life English superstar will take over the role of the boisterous, top-hatted impresario Harold Zidler in the Tony Award-winning musical for a limited run from Tuesday, February 6th to Sunday, May 12th 2024.
Follow @BoyGeorgeOfficial on Instagram and @BoyGeorge on X (formerly Twitter). Buy his new autobiography KARMA at Waterstones. Book tickets for Moulin Rouge and learn more here: @MoulinRougeBway
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!! Thanks for listening to us for the past 5 years!!! We have loved celebrating our 5th anniversary in 2023.
We will return on New Year's Day with another ICONIC guest. Until then, have a magical Christmas. Love, Russell & Robert Xx
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1. Introducing Talk Art
39:25Welcome to Talk Art! Actor Russell Tovey and gallerist Robert Diament discuss how they first became friends a decade ago, plus more recent adventures at Frieze Art Fair, the Turner Prize, South London Gallery and other exhibition highlights in London, as well as Robert's gallery relocating to the seaside town of Margate, Kent.2. Sir Michael Craig-Martin CBE
01:05:51Russell & Robert talk with leading artist Sir Michael Craig-Martin CBE exploring 50 years of art-making. From his early 1960s work as a conceptual artist culminating in the seminal ‘An Oak Tree’ (1973) through to more recent decades as an internationally-renowned painter, sculptor and printmaker as well as his influential role as a teacher to two generations of Young British Artists at Goldsmiths.3. Pedro Pascal
01:00:02Russell & Robert talk with leading actor Pedro Pascal, star of Narcos, Game of Thrones and forthcoming Star Wars 'The Mandalorian'. They discuss his favourite artist, a classic painting on display at Museum of Modern Art that offered Pedro comfort when he moved to New York in the mid 1990s, as well as his more recent art experiences at Tate Modern and Frieze Art Fair whilst filming in London for his latest movie Wonder Woman 1984.4. Sarah Hadland and Laura Aikman
53:37We celebrate the holidays with two dear friends, the actresses Sarah Hadland and Laura Aikman (both stars of The Job Lot comedy sitcom with Russell). Topics include Olafur Eliasson’s melting ice installation highlighting climate change, Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirrored room, the paintings of LS Lowry, Beryl Cook, Picasso and Ed Ruscha. Plus we discover which guest once pole danced for Madonna! Happy Christmas everyone. We will return in Spring 2019 with a weekly season. Love Russell and Robert X5. Louisa Buck
50:02Robert & Russell chat with leading British art critic and author Louisa Buck, columnist for the Art Newspaper and a judge of the Turner Prize in 2005. They explore how the art world has evolved since the 1980s and 90s, discover which artwork Grayson Perry made as a commission to commemorate the birth of Louisa's daughter as well as revealing the best, and very worst, interviews she's conducted. Happy International Women's Day!6. Martin Creed
01:00:57Robert & Russell meet legendary artist and ‘poet of the everyday’ Martin Creed (and his dog Jimmy). Find out why this Turner Prize winner doesn’t read reviews of his own work, who his favourite comedians are and how music has informed his art. We delve deep into Creed’s creative output spanning more than 30 years. From a giant kinetic sculpture with the word MOTHERS lit up in neon, a live performance where athletes run through the Tate as fast as they can, to a more recent handmade textile work: a multicoloured neck-warmer (worn by the artist during this very interview).7. Sadie Coles
46:12Robert & Russell meet gallerist Sadie Coles, one of the world’s most respected and successful art dealers. Discover why she set up her gallery in London after managing Jeff Koons’ studio in New York in the mid 1990s; how she first discovered the work of Sarah Lucas and John Currin; the skill of representing new artists on the primary market and the importance of taking a longterm view. We discuss feminism and equality in the workplace and why it's good to be collegiate. Finally we explore childhood trips to visit Tutankhamun at the British Museum, a memorable performance by mime artist/choreographer Lindsay Kemp and a pivotal Nancy Grossman exhibition.
8. Tracey Emin CBE
01:07:57Robert & Russell meet Tracey Emin CBE, one of the world’s most respected, successful and controversial artists. During an hour-long private tour of her current solo exhibition ‘A Fortnight of Tears’, we explore her mother’s recent death, grief, everlasting love, the supernatural, insomnia and abortion. Tracey reveals that nature is one of her biggest influences and how working in a small South of France studio enabled the artist to wholeheartedly and triumphantly return to painting. Learn more about her longterm connection to the work of Edvard Munch, her return to her childhood hometown of Margate and why, surprisingly, she doesn’t keep a diary. For images of all works discussed in this episode, visit our Instagram @TalkArt Please leave us a review and rating if you’ve enjoyed this episode!9. Ryan Gander OBE
56:50Russell & Robert chat to leading conceptual artist Ryan Gander OBE. We explore artist persona, designing a kitchen sink, family ties, the soul of objects and why his art has been so commercially successful in Japan. Ryan reveals how a limited edition Rolex watch transformed into an artwork, why he worked with glow-in-the-dark concrete, the importance of empathy and why we should all ‘let the world take a turn'. For images of works discussed in this episode, visit our Instagram @TalkArt. Ryan’s new BBC Four documentary ‘Me, My Selfie and I’ is available to view on iPlayer until mid April 2019. Please leave us a review and rating if you’ve enjoyed this episode!