Dr. Lisa Gives A Sh*t

This got fucked up—to hear my session with Alessandra Expósito, please start at the 28 minute mark. Alessandra is a terrific artist and does a lot of work with animal skulls (including chicken skulls!) https://alessandraexposito.com/ She also does therapy on stage, where SHE IS THE PATIENT. She brought her shrink with her so we had a talk with Alessandra as the patient with 2 shrinks: me plus her own personal shrink that she brought along. Fascinating! Besides talking a bit about her work, we find that Alessandra is a bit, well, OCD. Like she showers immediately after every subway ride. I love how she talks about it—it's her quirk and she's ok with it. Not embarrassed, not ashamed, she just simply owning it. And she's had a guy for 8 years that thinks she's adorable (which she is). So here's what I learned for myself — don't try to hide your annoying habits from your partner. You're going to be that way anyway and it's much easier for them if you are ok with your own weirdness. The less defensive and respon

Rebecca Major is a smart, highly original, shit together artist. Dr. Lisa plumbs her childhood experience of moving at 5 years old with her mother and 10 year old sister from Budapest, Hungary to NYC to live with a prominent, wildly avant-guard theater group, the Squat Theater (active in a large communal setting. Rebecca has since become an accomplished artist and grounded adult, but it couldn’t have been easy. We get a great vision of her experience and some of the effect it’s had on her life. More about Rebecca and her work here: http://www.rebeccamajor.com/ Learn about the Squat Theatre, an important part of NYC theater history: (From Wikipedia) Squat Theatre (1977–1991) was a Hungarian experimental theatre company from Budapest, which left Hungary for Paris, France, and then New York City, where they built a reputation for experimental theatre.[1][2] Originally, the Company was known as Kassák Haz Studió and was located at Uzsoki-utca 57, Budapest). For political and aesthetic reasons the Company emig

Five minutes before my show was to go live, I realized my guest wasn’t coming, so I called up my always entertaining friend, artist David Kramer and ragged on him for an hour. If you don’t know how mean I can be, well, listen to this. Kramer more than holds his own while we gossip about the art fairs in town. We find out what David’s working on, his upcoming solo exhibition in June at Front Room and whether or not he has stolen ideas from his 19 year old son, Martin who’s in film school. Here’s an video of David and Martin in therapy with me from 2007 when Martin was 9. Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B83RKYFUA0g More about David Kramer and his work here: https://davidkramer5000.com/

Ken Johnson started a project about 5 years ago titled Ball and Cone. http://ballandcone.tumblr.com/ Ball and Cone are simply the life and experiences of an anthropomorphized ball and an anthropomorphized cone duo in a comic style format. Ball and Cone have no sex or human identity, just one eye each, and they are adorably compelling and funny. They are very simple but explore questions and ideas that can be very complex, such as the meaning of existence and what is mirth? BUY THE BOOK here: https://www.amazon.com/Ball-Cone-Ken-Johnson/dp/1729735851/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1548880981&sr=8-15&keywords=ball+and+cone It was fascinating to talk with Ken about this work and the more than one thousand of drawings he's done for this project., the role it’s taken on in his daily life (he does about one a day) and the dialogue he has with his followers. I think the biggest surprise to me was to find out his largest audience is children, many from far-flung parts of the globe. The uniqueness in this work is how it ca

I am obsessed with the creative process which led me to becoming a fan of Jim Tews’s podcast "Quitting Comedy." http://www.jimtews.com/podcast.html He has great comedians talk about their career and process by starting with the premise : Have you ever thought of quitting comedy? Comedian Jim Tews learned a lot about discipline from his years in the Coast Guard which turned out instrumental in helping his personal development and managing his creativity productively. In this session with Jim, we learn about his less-than-typical, comedy career journey from being brought up in a blue collar family from Allentown, Pa. and being told by his guidance counselor in high school that he wasn’t “college material” to enlisting in the Coast Guard and making a successful comedy career for himself. It turns out being yelled at constantly is good for any creative career really. More about Jim here: http://www.jimtews.com/ and here: Jim Tews made his stand-up television debut on Last Comic Standing and was featured in

Rolf Arne Leer had an unusual upbringing which connects him intimately to outsiders. He is a highly creative, successful, HANDSOME guy who grew up on a farm in Norway that was also a center for mentally ill people. He is the 3rd generation to manage a facility where the working farm provides occupational therapy, housing and medical care for 16 patients at a time. Rolf and his sister were brought up with schizophrenic, bipolar patients, a Down syndrome woman, etc. https://www.quotedmagazine.com/ Quoted magazine is a glorious coffee table book style magazine that are spectacular profiles of 10 highly individualized New Yorkers, curated by Rolf and his staff. Together with Quoted Magazine’s brand Manager, Megan Davenport, Rolf takes us on a deep dive into his life growing up around the mentally ill as a daily part of life. His genuine love and compassion for these people was actually kinda moving to tears for this hard-boiled shrink that I am. I wish the life Rolf describes were available for all mentally tro

I got to spend an hour with artist advisor Marina Granger, founder of https://www.theartistadvisory.com/about-2/ and she imparted some art career wisdom that you can’t get anywhere. We’ve all heard of creative coaches, etc., but Marina is truly in a class of her own. She has a lot of experience from her art world experiences working in galleries and museums. Here’s a quote from one of her clients that describes her abilities nicely: “Like the perfect combination of therapist and business coach, she tactfully summarized my struggles to their essence. She transformed the dark complicated mass into one crystal clear nugget that I could hold gently in my brainspace.” Normally I dig into people’s personalities, but Marina’s advice and insights were so valuable that I kept my mouth shut and did a lot of listening. So grateful to her from all of us! She considers this a labor of love for artists so her prices are ridiculously reasonable. If you use this promo code you can get 10% off with our special code: GIVEASHIT

Rosa has a unique perspective on life and comedy as she comes from a 2-Mommy family, a Jew and a Hispanic. She did know her bio dad and his family, they’re all close, so it sounds a bit like a very modern day and much more interesting version of the Brady Bunch. Rosa is a powerhouse at 25; she’s been in a solid relationship with a guy for two years—all in all, I dub her well rounded and secure. Rosa is on the board of The Black Women in Comedy Festival which is coming up-Feb. 28 thru March 3! www.blackwomenincomedyfestival.com Rosa writes a lot about women and minorities, LBGTQ in comedy, so we get to dive into these topics as well. More about Rosa here: https://www.rosaescandon.com She’s also a highly talented visual artist: http://www.thnk1994.com/

I am impressed with comedian/animator Manolo Moreno’s work. It’s highly original and HILARIOUS. Check it out here. Manolo was brought up in Pennsylvania with 4 siblings and parents originally from the Philippines. Dr. Lisa delves into whether he wants to bring his work to a larger audience—if he does, then why the fuck is he burying his impressive credits in the darkest corners of his website??? Manolo is endearing and great at articulating his psychological makeup so there is lots of learning all around. ps: I got Manolo to talk about girls!!! (he's single + hetero) I also found out why Manolo said no to my original invitation to be on the show. A very good reason, too! Why do I always take this stuff so personally? CHECK OUT THIS TALENT!!! http://manolosomething.com/index.html Insta, twitter: @manolosomething https://www.instagram.com/p/BrcOx4sHlD0/

You can too! These guys are smart, attractive, and talented, plus they make great, widely respected work together without arguing. IS this real? How is it possible that a married couple can make art together without getting at each other’s throat? I kicked the tires and found out A LOT. They both have equally strong personalities and mutual respect folks! They each come from small towns which helps keep the neurosis in check too. We talk about their current show at Postmasters, http://www.postmastersart.com/archive/jcpo19/jcpo19direct.html which, among some larger pieces, has miniature dollhouse type of recreations of horrific historical scenes, many of which are mass suicides such as Jonestown. There’s also a well-researched recreation of In addition delve into some of their projects which involve more craziness such as driving an illegal re-made tour bus around Chelsea giving tours on the art from the bus and selling strange funny art souvenirs. http://www.jenandpaulbustours.com/ And this crazy over-the –to

I met Daniel Christmann on the street earlier in the week while he was soliciting signatures for his campaign for Public Advocate. He’s a super passionate guy with very specific, thought out points of view. He shared his views on more than what to do with the L train. He wants to motivate society in general. Daniel’s an interesting guy who has learned the variety of people and neighborhoods through his job as manager of a plumbing company. He’s is REAL. More about Dan and his platform here: https://www.nycpublicadvocate.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/605000943248603

I got to talk with Natalie White about how she came to NYC at 17 from Fairmont, West Virginia, without any specific plan. She met Peter Beard and soon became the muse for a lot of famous artists such as Beard, George Condo, Spencer Tunick, Sean Lennon and many more. At first, she was their inspiration and then went on to creating her own work, becoming an artist herself, with many exhibitions. White then used her boundless energy to make changes for women’s rights, walking 250 miles from NYC to DC. and defacing the Capital upon her arrival. Natalie and I talk a lot about how women handle their sexual power in a way that is positive for everyone concerned. She really is a great role model in this way. We come to the conclusion together that her social power is what makes people respond to her in the long run. More about Natalie White here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_White_(artist)?fbclid=IwAR0ve8QZYMjGQUARzwk-ztIq21gj0Iho9pOQqWt3mGJG7G9wvlJLyEXrb9s

Patty is an excellent visual artist/painter who has just hung a show at Front Room-open until Jan. 6, titled, "Studio Mates", which features 5 pairs of artists who share studios. https://www.frontroomles.com/ We have an engaging and illuminating discussion about what the experience and effect of having a studio mate is on ones art and life. Patty has some great stories about the studio visits she made during the curation of this show. There’s some great stories about Patty’s own studio share with artist Amy Hill. (Here's a Dr. Lisa session with Amy: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/drlisa/episodes/2018-09-25T09_55_52-07_00). We also talk about Patty’s dramatic change of subject in her own work—abstract to an original form of self-portraiture. She says due to her feelings resulting from the election of Donald Trump, but Dr. Lisa pokes around to check if there’s more personal besides her political feelings behind that. More about Patty and her work here: http://patriciafabricant.com/

Melissa Roth is classically trained stage, film, and voice over actress and writer. Her career is going great right now—she’s playing the romantic lead in a play at the Theater for the New City which opens soon. https://theaterforthenewcity.net/?vh_show=the-bohemians (I saw it, it was FABULOUS and packed!!!) Melissa had a tough 2017. She broke up with her boyfriend and contracted a scary, difficult to diagnose illness. I noticed her resolution and gratitude on a recent facebook post, so I invited her in to talk about what she’s gone through and how she is now in a great place career-wise. When Melissa and I dig in we get to talking about how she missed some waving red flags in her last relationship. She then shares a story about how at age 16, she had a 21 year old boyfriend who turned out to be schizophrenic. His older friends unwittingly involved Melissa in an intervention to get him into a hospital. After that Melissa and I discuss how it’s a worthwhile endeavor to get out and meet people to continue datin

My fellow host Billy C. manned the RFB studio for me while I reported by phone live from Miami Art Week, at Superfine Art Fair specifically with the smooth James Miille co-founder. So much great art and the artists were there, generously allowing me to make fun of them as I am wont to do. https://superfine.world/miami-beach/

Kelsey Caine and I connected because we have both competed in pageants. I was Miss Subways 2017, but Kelsey competed in an actual beauty pageant! Miss New York! Anyway it was snowing like a motherf*cker and Kelsey was about 35 minutes late. I had to hold down the fort with stories about bra shopping and a conversation with a call-in baker in Nova Scotia. Kelsey did give us a back scene view of the pageant world from the most HILARIOUS perspective—she was competing in the most subversive way, stained ball gown, etc. Really entertaining and enlightening on how women are treated in these situations. She's great and we will reschedule her for a full episode soon! More about Kelsey Caine: https://www.authorsguild.net/services/members/3183 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/28/opinion/sunday/beauty-pageant-competition.html Connect with Kelsey here: Twitter: @kelsey_caine Snap: kelseylcaine

Loren Munk is an amazing painter and art world chronicler. His art and videos are an amalgamation of art history. The well-known painter, Katherine Bradford said he deserves a MacArthur "Genius" Award and I wholeheartedly agree. As James Kalm, he’s had over 2 million views of his web series covering art, galleries, artists, openings and even some street musicians. There is so much to learn about this former Mormon from Utah. Loren was talented as a child but art didn’t come alive for him until he was stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army during the 70’s. Loren was a highly active part of the art world in the 80’s. He never quit, but the art world went through it’s paces and he and his wife, Kate, focused on bring up two boys. In the meantime Loren, reentered the art world with a vengeance. This is genuine inside scoop, folks. There’s even a discussion of, “What’s more important for an art career,-the work or the relationships?” Find out more about Loren and see his work here: http://www.lorenmunk.com/ Enjoy

Five days before the historic 2018 mid-term elections, I sit down with creative entrepreneur, Yulia Laricheva. I’m on the hunt to find out where her drive and ambition comes from. It's hard not to feel like a lazy ass around this lady! This leads to a deep dive into her experience of moving to the U.S. from the outskirts of Moscow when she was 10 years old. Yulia feels lucky to have the opportunities she has as opposed to what they would have been if her family hadn’t left Russia, and she doesn’t want to miss a single minute in her creative quest to help women and minorities succeed. Also Yulia really opens up about her life in all sorts of ways. More about Yulia and her company, DREAM NATION here: http://www.dreamnation.io/

This session is a follow up to very intense personal session on Feb.1, 2018 that I had with fellow Radio Free Brooklyn host of Ben Talks. https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/drlisa/episodes/2018-02-12T13_00_17-08_00 Also check out Ben's show-Thursdays, 5-7pm!https://radiofreebrooklyn.com/show/ben-talks/ Here on Oct. 25, 2018, we check in again in this session, 9 months later, RFB host, Ben Louis is going places fun, EXCITING and scary. The last time I sat down with Ben on Feb.1st, 2018, he was going through a breakup of a long-term relationship. On the eve of his 28th birthday, Ben is poised to take off - on radio and live on stage. He’s focused on his career and it’s taking him places. There’s a lot of inspiration in here for you lazy asses out there. I’m looking forward to having Ben back in a bunch of months to hear what’s happened from this glance into his future.

Thanks to the Ecuadorian Film Festival, I get to sit down with accomplished actress and jazz singer Cristina Morrison, appearing in one of the main selections, Agujero negro (Black Hole) http://www.ecuadorianfilmfest.com/copy-of-template-5, who grew up in Ecuador and Miami but has also lived in Galapagos. Fascinating to hear how as a young girl she grew up in 2 very different cultures, American and a strict Catholic Latin American one. Her story about a childhood trauma involves being locked in a car! She has two sons and they can’t take her seriously when they see her act-it’s just mom acting! We were also joined by Andrea Taps,www.andreataps.com who was in the studio, representing the Ecuadorian film festival, so we get to hear the 2 ladies talk Ecuador and speak a bit in Spanish. Also got a recommendation for a great Ecuadoran restaurant in Manhattan. Besides hearing about her work and life, we got to fit in some of Cristina’s remarkable voice.