logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2024
1h 14m

Hiroshi Sugimoto on Photography as a For...

THE SLOWDOWN
About this episode
The Japanese photographer, artist, and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto discusses his pictures as fossilizations of time; seascapes as the least spoiled places on Earth; his enduring love for cooking, opera, and Japanese Noh theater; and why, for him, the “target of completion” for a building is 5,000 years from now. 
Up next
May 27
Sheila Hicks on Life as a Series of Portals
For our latest “site-specific” episode of Time Sensitive, Spencer meets Sheila Hicks inside her courtyard in Paris’s Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, where she has called home for more than 60 years. The 91-year-old Nebraska-born artist—widely known for her vibrant, sculptura ... Show More
1h 8m
May 13
Valerie June on Joy as a Form of Resistance
The singer-songwriter Valerie June has a gift for writing contemporary songs that feel timeless and as though they could also have existed at various points across the past century. Her expansive layering of Appalachian folk, Delta blues, gospel, soul, early country, and even spi ... Show More
1h 18m
May 6
George Saunders on the Power of Fiction to Enliven the World
The novelist, essayist, and short-story writer George Saunders—widely celebrated for his novel Lincoln in the Bardo (2017), which won the Man Booker Prize, and book of short stories Tenth of December (2013)—has made it his mission to “de-dullify” the world through his clear-eyed, ... Show More
1h 16m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2025
A brush with… Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work. Tillmans, born in Remscheid, Germany, in 1968, has changed the history of photography. He ... Show More
1h 11m
Dec 2024
Constantin Brâncuși | The Kiss & Bird in Space
Constantin Brâncuși was a Romanian sculptor who made a significant impact on modern art through his abstract sculptures. His passion and dedication to art is legendary. In the autumn of 1903, he began a months-long walk from Bucharest to Paris, where he sought to immerse himself ... Show More
18m 5s
Jun 2024
Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Modigliani, a rebellious Italian painter, left a lasting mark on the art world with his distinctive style and captivating portraits. Born in Livorno in 1884, his early life was marked by illness and a dramatic incident that saved his family from financial ruin. Modigliani' ... Show More
12m 1s
Sep 2025
TLDR Ibrahim El-Salahi | The Inevitable
My TLDR episodes are meant to be short and to the point with a few key facts to know about the artist and a look at one of their major works. This episode explores the life and work of Ibrahim El-Salahi, a pivotal figure in Sudanese and African modernism. Born in 1930 in Omdurman ... Show More
12m 20s
Jul 2025
Shohei Shigematsu: Defining Radicality in Architecture
As the partner running the New York outpost of Rem Koolhaas’s legendary firm OMA, this architect has done that rarest of things: established himself as a cultural figure in his own right. On this Season 13 finale, Dan speaks with Shigematsu about growing up in the heyday of 1980s ... Show More
59m 49s
Sep 2024
A brush with… Robert Longo
Robert Longo talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work. Born in 1953 in Brooklyn, Longo was a key figure in what was called the Pictures generation of ... Show More
1h 3m
Jul 2024
A brush with... Michael Craig-Martin
Michael Craig-Martin talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work. Craig-Martin was born in Dublin in 1941, and grew up in the US, but has been based in London for ... Show More
57m 43s
Dec 2024
Jeff Koons | Pink Panther
Jeff Koons, born in 1955, displayed an early interest in art. As a teenager, he called Salvador Dali's hotel and arranged to meet the artist. He was inspired by Dali and went on to study art in college. Koons supported himself with various jobs, including working at the Museum of ... Show More
21m 4s
Jan 2025
The Art of Competitive Cycling Photography, with Phil Penman & Kristof Ramon
Top shot © Kristof Ramon The dynamic arena of competitive cycling photography is not for the faint of heart. This grueling specialty requires a mix of split-second reaction times, intuitive technical mastery, and the ability to anticipate—and even more important—embrace risk. It ... Show More
1h 26m
Nov 2024
Jesse Darling
We meet artist Jesse Darling. His multi-disciplinary practice, of sculptures, drawings and objects, considers how bodily subjects are initially formed and continuously reformed through sociopolitical influences.Darling (b. Oxford, UK) draws on his own experience as well as the na ... Show More
55m 46s