Arts Archives

When this year's unemployment rate climbed over 9%, pundits noted that it was the highest in America since 1983. It may not be a coincidence that it was also 1983 that saw the premiere of a David Mamet play exposing the cut-throat, take-no-prisoners world of a less than honorable band of salesmen.

By Steve Walker

The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art announced its new curator on July 30, 2009. Barbara O'Brien has worked in the arts for nearly two decades, mostly on the East Coast, but now she's returning to her Midwest roots.

By Laura Spencer

The phrase: "Don't Quit Your Day Job" has been used as a put down for decades. If someone sings badly, they're told "Don't Quit Your Day Job." And yet, often for an artist, it's the day job that provides the inspiration, material, or simply a structured schedule for the art.

By Laura Spencer

Kansas City, MO – Until recently, the artist Johnny Naugahyde kept his day job - and his real identity - separate.

Artists Damon Lee Patterson and Monica Janelle Ko Guthridge both live in the building, and organize arts events there.

By Ashly Kissman

In 2006, a group of local artists designed an exhibition with the central purpose of spotlighting Kansas City art and artists in other cities. The show was called Whoop Dee Doo and has since that time expanded into something that looks more like a variety show on a sugar high.

By Steve Walker

The phrase: "Don't Quit Your Day Job" has been used as a put down for decades. If someone sings badly, they're told "Don't Quit Your Day Job." And yet, often it's the day job that provides the inspiration, material, or simply a structured schedule for the art.

By Gina Kaufmann

This summer Kemper at the Crossroads is hosting the latest episode of artist Jaimie Warren's Whoop Dee Doo, presented in conjunction with the exhibition Jaimie Warren: You Are So Beautiful in the Face, on view now through October 3rd.

By Drew Bolton

In August, it will be eleven years since a 220-yard mural went up on Metropolitan Avenue in Kansas City Kansas. The mural spans the history of the Argentine neighborhood, from pre-history to the future.

By Sylvia Maria Gross

Kansas City, MO – The artists who collaborated on the project were from Kansas City and Mexico. And for several of them, painting the mural was a turning point in their lives.

Much has been written about tumultuous relationships between artists - think Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera or Van Gogh and Gauguin. But often relationships between artists are much more amiable.

By Laura Spencer

Lewis Copt and Jim Brothers

How have artistic groups influenced, responded to and taken inspiration from revolutionary movements?

By The Walt Bodine Show, July 1, 2009

This week, shock waves reverberated worldwide, as the world mourned the loss of Michael Jackson. During the Stevie Wonder concert at the Starlight theater this week, fans of Jackson and Wonder celebrated the music of the King of Pop.

By Susan B. Wilson and Laura Ziegler

The caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail. The refreshing lime drink has become popular at some restaurants and bars in Kansas City. To quench her thirst KCUR's Susan B. Wilson dropped in to see Vegas, the bartender and manager Jean Lazarotto at Fogo De Chao restaurant on the Plaza.

By Susan B. Wilson

Kansas City Art Institute Professor Emeritus, Wilbur Niewald, reflects on his encounters with Dan Christensen as a student, artist, and patron. A new survey of paintings by the late artist (1942-2007)documents Christensen's "never-ending quest to understand the possibilities of color, paint, and pictorial space."

By Drew Bolton

For the past year and a half, the Kansas City Museum has been going through a major renovation. And that means, for now, anyone looking for a one-stop destination to see a stagecoach, a stuffed buffalo or Civil War uniforms is out of luck. KCUR's Alex Smith recently stopped by the area's only comprehensive regional history museum to see how the work is coming along.

By Alex Smith

The year after the four giant badminton shuttlecocks were installed on the lawn of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The New York Times described it as a public art piece making "the world a better and livelier place." But, in Kansas City, there were grumblings from critics who called it "not art" and a "giant waste."

By Laura Spencer