Why'd They Put That In A Museum?
Art. Objects. Museums. Ideas. Questions. What happens when you put things on display and invite people in to look? Have you ever seen art on display and wondered, “Why’d they put that in a museum?” Museum curator Sarah Lees and author Beth Bacon start each conversation with one item, in one specific museum. We explore the object, its history, and the cultural ideas surrounding it. In the end, that object takes on new meaning as listeners discover the fascinating reasons it ended up in a museum.
Episodes
15 episodes
Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirror Rooms, Part 1
Yayoi Kusama is known as one of the most well-known living artists… that is, today she is well known. This is the first part of a 2-part episode that focuses on Kusama;s Infinity Mirror Rooms, particularly 'Infinity Mirror Room—The Souls of Mil...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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24:09
Rembrandt Artist In His Studio
Rembrandt is known for telling dramatic stories with his art. He often paints his figures in intriguing moods and guises. In his self-portrait, Artist In His Studio, Rembrandt does both, creating a moody, enigmatic story in a ver...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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20:48
Marcel Duchamp Bicycle Wheel
The sculpture Bicycle Wheel by Marcel Duchamp is playfully irreverent and deceptively simple. It’s just a rim and a stool. But the concepts behind it are lot more complicated. In the century since it was created, it has become signific...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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27:15
Edvard Munch: The Scream
The Scream by Edvard Munch is among the world's most recognizable artworks. But how much do you really know about this image of a wavy figure with a scull-like face and wide open mouth? Sarah Lees and Beth Bacon discuss this p...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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28:15
Crystal Z. Campbell
In the first episode of season two of Why’d They Put That in a Museum, host Sarah Lees speaks with Beth Bacon about an exhibit of works by contemporary artist Crystal Z. Campbell. Through most of this podcast, Beth is recording while walking ar...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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26:42
What Is A Museum? The Evolution and Purpose of Museums: Past, Present, and Future
In this episode of "Why They Put That in a Museum," Beth Bacon, an author and avid museum goer, joins Sarah Lees, a museum curator and researcher, to explore the origins, history, and purposes of museums. They discuss ancient Greek philosophica...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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18:28
Lusha Nelson: Photographs of Jesse Owens, Katherine Hepburn, and more
In this episode of “Why Did They Put That in a Museum?” hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss the photographs of a little known photographer, Lusha Nelson. Nelson’s photos were found in a yard sale. Why’d they put them in a museum? These were...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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29:05
Vivian Maier, American photographer
In this episode of 'Why They Put That in a Museum,' hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss the unusual story of Vivian Meier, an unknown nanny whose extraordinary street photography was discovered by chance in an unclaimed storage locker. They...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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25:22
Dolley Madison Daguerreotype by John Plumbe, Jr.
In this episode of 'Why They Put That in a Museum,' hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss a rare 1846 daguerreotype of Dolley Madison recently acquired by National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. Dolley Madison was the wife of the fourth U...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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26:14
"Joe" by Richard Serra at Pulitzer Arts Foundation
Beth Bacon visits Richard Serra's 'Joe' and talks with Sarah Lees about her experience while walking around this large steel sculpture. In this episode of 'Why They Put That in a Museum,' Beth and Sarah wrestle with the opposing thoughts and fe...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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28:11
Storage Jar by Dave The Potter
In this episode of Why They Put That in a Museum, Sarah Lees and Beth Bacon discuss a stoneware jar made by Dave The Potter, a skilled enslaved potter from South Carolina. They discuss the inscription on the jar, which is a lighthearte...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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21:43
Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci
In this episode of 'Why'd They Put That in a Museum?' hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss how Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, the Mona Lisa, ended up in the Louvre (hint—it was brought to the Louvre before the Louvre was a museum!). Th...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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23:09
Cage Crinoline "A Favorite of the Empress" by Unknown Maker
Sarah Lees, a museum curator, and Beth Bacon, an art enthusiast, co-host a podcast called 'Why Do They Put That in a Museum?' In this episode, talk about the cage crinoline, an undergarment from Victorian England that's currently in London's Vi...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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19:22
Faith Ringgold: Woman on a Bridge #1 of 5: Tar Beach
In this episode of 'Why'd They Put That in a Museum,' hosts Sarah Lees, a museum curator and researcher, and Beth Bacon, an avid museum goer and children's book author, discuss Faith Ringgold's 'Tar Beach,' which is a part of her 'Woman on a...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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22:46
Van Gogh: Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear
In this episode of 'Why They Put That in a Museum,' hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees delve into the history and cultural significance of Vincent van Gogh's 'Self Portrait with a Bandaged Ear.' They explore what makes the painting so moving, talk...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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31:59
