87: Tabitha Nikolai

87: Tabitha Nikolai

Author: Sean J Patrick Carney October 28, 2018 Duration: 1:12:36
Fresh off her solo exhibition, “Utopia Without You” at Williamson | Knight in Portland, OR, artist Tabitha Nikolai linked up with me to talk Nightcore, earnest rites of suburban occult, post-cataclysmic world-building, junk food asteroids, crust punk elves in the Pacific Northwest, a general malaise with liberalism and prescriptive visibility, isolation and the gamer's den, her fictitious corporation called Dynamic Horizons Limited, upgrade culture, planned and perceived obsolescence, cosplay and D&D, performative allyship in art institutions and gallery spaces, and growing up in Utah. The outro music is Don McClean’s “The Flight of Dragons (Nightcore Remix).” Humor and the Abject just migrated over from Drip to Patreon. Subscribe today for just $3/mo: https://www.patreon.com/humorandtheabject Check out Tabitha’s website here: https://tabithanikolai.com/ See images from “Utopia Without You” here: https://www.williamsonknight.com/tabitha-nikolai/

Sean J Patrick Carney hosts Humor and the Abject Podcast, a series that finds the funny in the often challenging and unsettling world of contemporary art. This isn't a dry lecture or a fawning interview show; instead, Carney digs into the messy, the awkward, and the deliberately provocative corners of the art scene to see what makes us laugh, even when we might feel we shouldn't. Each episode feels like a conversation that could only happen here, one that acknowledges how discomfort and comedy are frequently intertwined in the work being made today. You'll hear discussions that grapple with ideas that are both intellectually rigorous and genuinely amusing, exploring why artists so often use humor to tackle difficult subjects. The podcast provides a unique, accessible entry point into contemporary practices, suggesting that laughter can be a powerful tool for understanding. Tuning in, you get the sense of being let in on a series of inside jokes that, once explained, reveal something much deeper about culture and creativity. It’s for anyone curious about art but tired of overly serious commentary, offering a fresh and engaging perspective that only this particular blend of host and subject matter can deliver.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Humor and the Abject Podcast
Podcast Episodes
82: Now That's What I Call Milwaukee! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:14
It’s time for some sound art. Don’t read below unless you’ve actually listened to this entire thing. LOL. 02:00 - AFI - Miss Murder 05:15 - Gorilaz - Feel Good Inc 08:55 - Oasis - Wonderwall 13:00 - Misfits - Hybrid Mome…
81: Danny Palumbo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:22
Los Angeles comedian and non-fine-dining guru Danny Palumbo, a Prodigal Son of Austin, returned to town this weekend for a couple of headlining dates at the Velveeta Room. He dropped by Humor and the Abject to talk about…
80: Oliver Leach (@BAKKOOONN) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:05
Photographer Oliver Leach, notorious as BAKOON on Twitter, joins Humor and the Abject over Skype this week all the way from San Francisco. We talked about his love of horror, rent-controlled apartments, his weird photogr…
79: Art and Labor (OK Fox and Lucia Love) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:47
Happy Art and Labor Day! On this week’s episode, I connected with artists and art workers OK Fox and Lucia Love, hosts of the excellent podcast Art and Labor out of New York. We talked about shitty jobs in the art world,…
78: The DSA Podcast (Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe) #7 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:39
Seven is God’s number, and the seventh episode of the DSA Podcasts is positively divine. This time around, Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe have another pointless conversation, this time regarding Hawaii’s Big Island, bogs, the…
77: Geoff Rickly [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:34
Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly is gearing up to celebrate the band’s 20th (!!!) anniversary. He joined me in the kitchen this week to talk about Thursday’s origin story, some of his fondest memories from their two-decade…
76: Laura Bernstein [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:20
Mothmen! Yetis! Chupacabras! Oh My! Artist Laura Bernstein drops by this week to talk about alternative genetics, cryptids, imagined future beings, circus aesthetics, the paradox of zoos, growing up in the Bronx, materia…
75: Ana Fabrega Returns / The Savage Table [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:58
Recorded inside of one of Richard Serra’s Torqued Ellipses at Dia:Beacon, comedian Ana Fabrega is back in her second appearance on Humor and the Abject. Earlier on the day this was recorded, Ana was a visiting artist for…
74: Adrian Chen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:21
Journalist Adrian Chen has covered the darkest corners of internet culture for years. He’s been a staff writer at the New Yorker and Gawker, and has bylines in practically every publication and on every platform you’ve e…
73: Christin Bailey (@hexprax) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:52
I think that Christin Bailey is the funniest person on all of Twitter. She joined me over Skype this week from sunny San Diego to talk about her recent visit to Europe, her outrageous astrology column, the Animaniacs, wh…