Art Of The Unspeakable (AUDIO)

Renowned artist Doug Auld joins James on this edition to discuss the social and political dimensions of his life’s work. Auld’s most recent and controversial collection, Those Who Blew the Whistle (2016), consists of 50 unique portraits of “people willing to bring upon themselves enormous controversy and upheaval for seemingly little to no reward.”

Auld’s creations often focus on human forms and subject matter that have been overlooked or shunned by the broader society. Perhaps most notable among these is the acclaimed three-year project culminating in State of Grace (2005), which consists of ten large scale portraits of adolescent burn survivors. The collection received international recognition in the New York Times and Washington Post, and was also featured in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC.

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Doug was born in Queens, NY and grew up in New Jersey. In his last year of high school, his life’s course changed upon seeing Jim Morrison and The Doors perform at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA. He began studying piano and classical music, eventually writing 18 pieces of original music. His band “East Agony” played in several venues around the metropolitan area including the famous “CBGB” located in NYC

He later took up an interest in painting after visiting the Salvador Dali Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Primarily self taught, Doug pursued Art and painting, eventually taking continuing education courses at the Art Student’s League, School of Visual Arts and The NY Academy in NYC. He presently lives, works and teaches in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Select paintings discussed in the interview are reproduced below. Additional information is available at dougald.com.

James F. Tracy‘s work on media history, politics and culture has appeared in a wide variety of academic journals, edited volumes, and alternative news and opinion outlets. James is editor of Union for Democratic Communication’s Journal Democratic Communiqué and a contributor to Project Censored’s forthcoming publication Censored 2013: The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2011-2012. Additional writings and information are accessible at memoryholeblog.com.