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The Object

The Object

The Object podcast from the Minneapolis Institute of Art

"The Object" podcast explores the surprising, true stories behind museum objects with wit and curiosity. An object's view of us. Hosted by Tim Gihring, produced by the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
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Top 10 The Object Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Object episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Object for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Object episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The man behind "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" was one of the richest, most popular authors in the world—an adventurous celebrity who could fight as well as write. But many of Alexandre Dumas’ readers today don’t know that he was Black—or that his best story may have been his own. A portrait of Alexandre Dumas, widely reproduced in his day, was recently acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Art: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/142671/portrait-of-alexandre-dumas-pere-pierre-francois-eugene-giraud Another portrait of Dumas in Mia’s collection—younger, dashing, looking a little like Prince: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/54426/portrait-of-alexander-dumas-achille-deveria
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In the fall of 1930, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera travel to the United States for the first time, welcomed as celebrity artists, ambassadors of an ancient and powerful Latin American identity. But as the months turn to years, can Rivera’s vision of one united Pan-America--and their young marriage--survive the pressures of politics, fame, temptation, cultural differences, and scandal? You can see examples of Diego Rivera’s work, and that of other modernist Mexican artists, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art: https://collections.artsmia.org/search/diego%20rivera You can see Rivera’s San Francisco mural “Pan American Unity,” discussed on the show, here: https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/pan-american-unity/ You can see photos of Frida and Diego taking San Francisco by storm here: https://www.kqed.org/news/11848986/inside-frida-kahlo-and-diego-riveras-life-in-san-francisco You can see (and read) Kahlo’s heartfelt letter to Rivera from a San Francisco hospital (“Diego, mi amor”) in the collection of the Smithsonian: https://www.si.edu/object/frida-kahlo-letter-diego-rivera%3AAAADCD_item_739 You can read about and see images from the SFMOMA’s excellent recent exhibition “Diego Rivera’s America” here: https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/diego-riveras-america/ Last and certainly not least, you can read some of the story “Queen of Montgomery Street,” written about Kahlo in San Francisco, also in the Smithsonian: https://www.si.edu/object/AAADCD_item_766
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He was the ideal man. Handsome, strapping, with unreal proportions. But ancient statues like the Doryphoros originally looked much different, a revelation that is slowly upending long-held assumptions about race and art in the classical world. And not a moment too soon to confront the dangerous claims of white supremacists. You can see a 3D model of the Doryphoros statue here: skfb.ly/6KZOH. You can read more about it here: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/3520/the-doryphoros-italy. And read more here about the scholars cited in this episode, who are confronting the abuse of antiquity by hate groups: https://bit.ly/2YRG5GZ
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The Object - Ghost Ships Of Xu Fu
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10/10/22 • 22 min

In ancient China, a royal sorcerer named Xu Fu is sent with some 60 ships to find the elixir of immortality. But on the second voyage, he and his crew of thousands disappear. Possibly to Japan, legend suggests, where Xu Fu becomes the first emperor. Now, as a Hmong artist explains, one clue to their fate may lie with his people’s own legendary history. You can see the entire 50-painting series of “The Hmong Migration” by Cy Thao, mentioned in this episode, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, including the painting depicting Xu Fu’s voyage: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/89559/5-cy-thao
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The Object - Finding Fanny: The Model Who Disappeared
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07/31/23 • 29 min

She was one of the most recognizable women in the world, her long copper hair filling painting after painting, even if few people knew her name: Fanny Cornforth. Model, muse, and mistress to the most influential artists of the Victorian era, she still had to fight for everything she got. Until, in the end, she lost the one thing she could count on for sure: herself. You can see Fanny in this 1868 painting, "I know a maiden fair to see," in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/83645/i-know-a-maiden-fair-to-see-charles-edward-perugini You can see the photograph mentioned in this episode--of Fanny, posing beside a mirror--here: http://www.rossettiarchive.org/docs/sa223.rap.html
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The Object - Encore episode: Secrets of the Veiled Lady
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01/15/24 • 24 min

They are illusions, no more real than someone being sawed in half onstage. Yet the veiled ladies that Raffaelle Monti sculpts in the 1800s are very real to him. Poignant symbols of an identity he’s forced to conceal, even as they make him famous. As we prepare for Season 6, it’s an encore episode that first aired in 2021, a story of pride and prejudice and dreams just out of reach. Here you can see Monti’s Veiled Lady, c. 1860, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, a visitor favorite for more than half a century: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/12092/veiled-lady-raffaelo-monti
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The Object - Wait for It

Wait for It

The Object

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03/11/24 • 24 min

The premiere of Season 6! When the work of a brilliant but forgotten artist falls into the lap of a curator, it suggests something uniquely human: pleasure is good, unexpected pleasure even better. But when the surprises keep coming, years later, the story becomes both a mystery and a meditation on patience. You can see the art of Richard Holzschuh here: https://collections.artsmia.org/search/Holzschuh
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The Object - Flying Too Close to the Sun
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06/10/19 • 13 min

Kehinde Wiley, long before he painted President Obama's official portrait, went to Brazil. There, he was inspired by a monument to the great aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, whose incredible, tragic life is as forgotten in the United States as it is celebrated almost everywhere else. You can see the monument here: https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/fotografias/GEBIS%20-%20RJ/rj39822.jpg And you can see the painting discussed in this episode here: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/107241/santos-dumont-the-father-of-aviation-ii-kehinde-wiley
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The Object - How to Stop an Assassin
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04/09/19 • 10 min

Long ago, when everyone but your dog was a potential assassin, you needed to protect yourself by any means necessary. Starting with poison-proof silverware. A surprising story of art, myth, and the dangerous world that was.
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In the 1930s, Grant Wood is one of the most famous people in America, the artist behind "American Gothic"—the painting of the man, the woman, and the pitchfork, standing outside their house. An artwork so celebrated and so curious it’s called the “modern Mona Lisa.” But as times change and jealousy spreads, Wood suddenly finds himself fighting for his life and livelihood, protecting a secret he hid almost everywhere but in his achingly quirky, queer art. You can see Wood’s curious, nostalgic style in "The Birthplace of Herbert Hoover," in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of art: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/2805/the-birthplace-of-herbert-hoover-grant-wood Some see a self-portrait in "Sentimental Yearner," a drawing made for Sinclair Lewis’s "Main Street": https://collections.artsmia.org/art/22510/sentimental-yearner-grant-wood
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FAQ

How many episodes does The Object have?

The Object currently has 75 episodes available.

What topics does The Object cover?

The podcast is about Podcasts and Arts.

What is the most popular episode on The Object?

The episode title 'Black Musketeer: A Swashbuckling Tale of Race and Revenge' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Object?

The average episode length on The Object is 22 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Object released?

Episodes of The Object are typically released every 28 days.

When was the first episode of The Object?

The first episode of The Object was released on Jan 8, 2019.

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