Of the Earth 本土
Of the Earth is a podcast created by Cortney Chaffin and Ellen Larson, two art historians who have dedicated themselves to the study of over 5,000 years of material culture from China. The program’s title comes from the Chinese word 本土 (bentu), meaning “native soil.” In each episode, Of the Earth digs into a wide range of topics, introducing listeners to the many connections, complexities, and contradictions of Chinese art and culture, across time and space.
Of the Earth 本土
Bonus Episode: The Politics and Pyrotechnics of Cai Guo-Qiang's "Sky Ladder" with Shanny Luft
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Cortney Chaffin & Ellen Larson
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Season 1
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Episode 4
Recently, Cortney & Ellen sat down with Shanny Luft, host of podcast No Cure for Curiosity and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, to talk about contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang and the Netflix documentary Sky Ladder. We discussed the impact and scale of Cai's explosion events, the collaborative nature of his work, and the precarious line between art and propaganda.
Check out No Cure for Curiosity for an alternate cut of our conversation with Shanny!