Oct 2025
1h 2m
We are back, we are wide-eyed, almost Bratz Dolls eyed (!) and South of the Border 🇲🇽
This time diving into the work of Rosa Rolanda, who metamorphosis-ized 🦋 from a famous Broadway dancer into a Surrealist late in life.
Full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-CVdxpnwBc
Along the way she crossed paths with figures like Man Ray. It's likely she even learned the photogram process from him, which she then made uniquely her own. Her photograms feel like intimate journal doodles crossed with the raw energy of punk zines from the early '90s.
She also met her soon-to-be partner and collaborator, the Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias—also known as 'El Chamaco.'
Together, they became Mexico's first artistic power couple, predating even Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Their groundbreaking work, the book "Island of Bali," was the first comprehensive account of Balinese culture for the Western world, detailing its art, music, dance, and rituals.
But it's her paintings that have this incredible, haunting feeling of anemoia—a nostalgia for a time you've never known. This gives them a distinct '90s or early 2000s vibe. On the surface, they seem simple and illustrative, but on a second, third, or even fourth look, you start to peel back all these incredible visual and narrative layers."
Topics include:
Bratz Dolls and Crazy Town
Frida Kahlo and Arte Popular at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
the Museo de Arte Moderno
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Smart and Final yellow
Marion Morgan’s Morgan Dancers
Man Ray’s photograms or Rayograms
Rat Fink for some reason
Mexico City’s first artist power couple
Tina Modotti, Nickolas Muray, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera
Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girls
Miguel Covarribus and Rosa Rolanda’s Island of Bali book from 1937
Las Mañanitas scene from “El Rapto” starring Maria Felix
The 60th Venice Biennale “Foreigners Everywhere”
LACMA’s 2012 exhibition “In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States”
And what Visual Art can learn from performative art like dance
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Patreon ➫
http://patreon.com/artslicepod
Merch ➫
https://artslicepod-shop.fourthwall.com/collections/all
More Merch ➫
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The featured song was “Cascades” from Kris Keogh’s new album Processed Harp Works, Volume 3 on the Japanese imprint - Muzan Editions.
https://muzaneditions.bandcamp.com/album/processed-harp-works-volume-3
The album is amazing - It’s like drifting off in a meditative trance, being brought back to awareness, before drifting again. If you like artists like The Caretaker - you really need to spend time with these albums.
Other tracks featured:
Elvenheim - “At Night” https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Shamil_Elvenheim/momentum
Holizna - “First Snow” https://holiznacc0.bandcamp.com/album/winter-lo-fi-2
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CREDITS:
Writing and Research by Stephanie Duenas and Russell Shoemaker
Editing, Production and Sound Design by Russell Shoemaker
Logo Design by Russell Shoemaker
Theme by Russell Shoemaker and Betta Music Pro
Ending Theme by Russell Shoemaker and Underwood Beats
Social Media by Stephanie Duenas and Russell Shoemaker
Newsletter by Stephanie Duenas