Ep. 55: Making Television + Sharing the World with Artist Michael Oates Palmer
06/28/19 • 123 min
Today on the show we are lucky to have award winning screenwriter, world traveler, melomaniac, gourmand, political junkie, social justice activist and all around great human, Michael Oates Palmer! Michael has worked as a writer on countless TV shows and films, building an unpredictable and varied career over the last twenty years. With many interests and a voracious curiosity for the world around him, Michael has managed to stay astride of his inspiration and keep moving on, even through failure and difficult periods. We chat about journalling practices, the creative process, travel and why the research that goes into new work is one of his favorite parts of the job. Michael also shares some of his deeper philosophies on being at home in the world, round table conversations and the connection between curiosity and empathy. With a huge heart and big mind dedicated to creativity and positive impact, our guest really shows how it is possible to follow your abilities and passions while at the same time thinking about something larger than oneself. This conversation covers everything from film and TV, to music, politics and the geography of the US. For a truly wonderful chat, be sure to tune in to the Not Real Art Podcast today!
Key Points From This Episode:
- The TV show Michael is currently working on.
- The current abundance of great TV shows.
- Why Michael loves research and learning about new things.
- Travel, wandering and broadening experiences for ones craft.
- Popularity, quality and how these can exist simultaneously.
- The importance of differing opinions and meaningful disagreements.
- Why Anthony Bourdain and Leonard Cohen were such compelling characters.
- Michael's own creative process and the long winding journey of craft.
- Is it a better time to be a film and television writer than before?
- The love of the journey, working on passion projects and staying excited.
- New Orleans parade lines, dancing and abandoning the ego.
- Letting it all in, curiosity and a connectedness to the world.
- Impactful art and protest in a baffling world.
- The Trojan's horse theory and the benefit of nourishing entertainment.
- And much more!
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Michael Oates Palmer — https://www.instagram.com/oatespalmer/
Emmy Awards — https://www.emmys.com
Robert Redford — https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000602/
Three Days of the Condor — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/three_days_of_the_condor
Condor — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/condor/s01
Lord of the Flies — https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7624.Lord_of_the_Flies
Mr Mercedez — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/mr_mercedes
Silicon Valley — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/silicon_valley
Breaking Bad — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/breaking_bad
Wes Anderson — https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027572/
Aaron Sorkin — https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0815070/
The West Wing — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing
Picasso — https://www.pablopicasso.org/
Guernica — https://www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp
Allen Toussaint — http://allentoussaint.com/
Betty Harris — https://thevinylfactory.com/news/betty-harris-lost-soul-queen-of-new-orleans-compilation/
Michael's Grandmother's Art —
Anthony Bourdain — https://www.mashed.com/94441/untold-truth-anthony-bourdain/
Kitchen Confidential — https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Confidential-Updated-Adventures-Underbelly/dp/0060899220
Leonard Cohen — https://www.leonardcohen.com/
Old Filth Trilogy —
Today on the show we are lucky to have award winning screenwriter, world traveler, melomaniac, gourmand, political junkie, social justice activist and all around great human, Michael Oates Palmer! Michael has worked as a writer on countless TV shows and films, building an unpredictable and varied career over the last twenty years. With many interests and a voracious curiosity for the world around him, Michael has managed to stay astride of his inspiration and keep moving on, even through failure and difficult periods. We chat about journalling practices, the creative process, travel and why the research that goes into new work is one of his favorite parts of the job. Michael also shares some of his deeper philosophies on being at home in the world, round table conversations and the connection between curiosity and empathy. With a huge heart and big mind dedicated to creativity and positive impact, our guest really shows how it is possible to follow your abilities and passions while at the same time thinking about something larger than oneself. This conversation covers everything from film and TV, to music, politics and the geography of the US. For a truly wonderful chat, be sure to tune in to the Not Real Art Podcast today!
Key Points From This Episode:
- The TV show Michael is currently working on.
- The current abundance of great TV shows.
- Why Michael loves research and learning about new things.
- Travel, wandering and broadening experiences for ones craft.
- Popularity, quality and how these can exist simultaneously.
- The importance of differing opinions and meaningful disagreements.
- Why Anthony Bourdain and Leonard Cohen were such compelling characters.
- Michael's own creative process and the long winding journey of craft.
- Is it a better time to be a film and television writer than before?
- The love of the journey, working on passion projects and staying excited.
- New Orleans parade lines, dancing and abandoning the ego.
- Letting it all in, curiosity and a connectedness to the world.
- Impactful art and protest in a baffling world.
- The Trojan's horse theory and the benefit of nourishing entertainment.
- And much more!
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Michael Oates Palmer — https://www.instagram.com/oatespalmer/
Emmy Awards — https://www.emmys.com
Robert Redford — https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000602/
Three Days of the Condor — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/three_days_of_the_condor
Condor — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/condor/s01
Lord of the Flies — https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7624.Lord_of_the_Flies
Mr Mercedez — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/mr_mercedes
Silicon Valley — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/silicon_valley
Breaking Bad — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/breaking_bad
Wes Anderson — https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027572/
Aaron Sorkin — https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0815070/
The West Wing — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing
Picasso — https://www.pablopicasso.org/
Guernica — https://www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp
Allen Toussaint — http://allentoussaint.com/
Betty Harris — https://thevinylfactory.com/news/betty-harris-lost-soul-queen-of-new-orleans-compilation/
Michael's Grandmother's Art —
Anthony Bourdain — https://www.mashed.com/94441/untold-truth-anthony-bourdain/
Kitchen Confidential — https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Confidential-Updated-Adventures-Underbelly/dp/0060899220
Leonard Cohen — https://www.leonardcohen.com/
Old Filth Trilogy —
Previous Episode
Ep. 54: The Fourth Dimension with Artist Cleophus
Our guest today is Albert Cleophus Willis, artist, designer, music producer and resident of the fourth dimension! Working as a multidisciplinary artist over the last four decades has provided Cleophus with an obvious wealth of experiences and lessons, way too much to fit into one podcast. His continuing journey through new ideas, traversing inspiring and unchartered territories and a commitment to practicality and making ends meet are just some of the ways in which our guest has kept himself busy over his life time. We chat about his three dimensional work, daily routines, art school and portraiture. We also ruminate on the digital age and the computer as a creative tool, its pros and cons. Cleophus opens up about the artist as a rebel and someone who breaks the status quo while the world around them is trying to categorize everything and he shares openly about the wealth of creativity that is present in his family and amongst his siblings. There is also a surprising moment in the conversation where Cleophus admits to working under an alias that we all might know! For all this great stuff and a whole lot more, tune in with us today, on the Not Real Art Podcast! For more information about artists, links and resources from this episode, please visit https://notrealart.com/cleophus/.
Key Points From This Episode:
- The array of work Cleophus has done over four decades.
- Creation of three dimensional artworks and legacy portraits.
- Influences, early years and finding a path to a career in art
- How he became an award winning producer at Motown Records!
- The digital age, undoing mistakes and using digital tools
- Artists as rebels and non-conformists; going against the grain and breaking the rules.
- A creative family, his upbringing and growing up with dyslexia.
- Parenting and allowing space and structure for kids to grow into their passion.
- How Cleophus came to design the cover for a Ray Charles album.
- Art by design and why Cleophus primarily considers himself a designer.
- Working under an alias; selling art online that did not interfere with his career.
- The Art Master company and how Cleophus ended up parting ways with them.
- Print on demand, Instagram filters and the rise of amateur art.
- Cleophus' hopes for the future, keeping on with the artist mentality he believes in.
- And much more!
Next Episode
Ep. 56: IP Attorney + Photographer, Joshua Wattles
Today on the show we have Joshua Wattles, artist, photographer and lawyer for the creative arts! Formerly Advisor-in-Chief to DeviantArt, we chat with Joshua about his career in film, music and his creative pursuits alongside all of these. We discuss current issues of privacy and the advent of GDPR, how these new laws translate across the world in different ways and what this means for the global creative community. The conversation covers the rise of DeviantArt and how it preceded many of the communities and social networks that dominate today's landscape, setting the standard for a lot of the norms of the modern internet world. Joshua comments on the importance of community, artistic freedom and the role of luck in life of the mammoth platform he helped build. We also hear about the landmark moments in film that Joshua was a part of in his work at Paramount and how he transitioned out of a big film studio into the relatively outsider realm of DeviantArt. For this fascinating conversation be sure to join us today! For more information about artists, links and resources from this episode, please visit https://notrealart.com/joshwattles/
Key Points From This Episode:
- What is street photography?
- Privacy, GDPR and the effect on street photography in Germany.
- The links between privacy concerns in Europe and World War II.
- Joshua's hat collection and his favorite bomber jacket.
- DesignerCon, Secret Walls, dad caps and mom jeans.
- Joshua's work at Paramount.
- How Josh got his job at DeviantArt.
- The invention of the modern movie soundtrack.
- Joshua's long and winding road to being a full time art lawyer.
- Why DeviantArt was and is so successful and influential.
- The different worlds of art, exclusivity and cultural exchange
- How DeviantArt expertly navigated copyright infringement
- The sale of the DeviantArt and Joshua's hopes for its future
- And much more!
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