Spike Lee: Creative Sources is an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum featuring hundreds of objects from the personal collection of director Spike Lee. In this adapted audio guide, you'll hear Spike Lee share the stories behind some of those objects.

Come see Spike Lee: Creative Sources at the Brooklyn Museum through February 4, 2024. For tickets and more information, visit our website: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/

Spike Lee: Creative Sources at the Brooklyn Museum

Since the 1970s, Judy Chicago (American, born 1939) has been a pioneer in the development of feminist art. Her most influential work is the sweeping installation The Dinner Party (1974–79), a celebration of women’s achievements in the form of a meticulously executed banquet table. Places are set for 39 mythical and historical women, and the work honors an additional 999 women by inscribing their names in gold. One of the most important artworks of the twentieth century, The Dinner Party immediately became an icon of feminist art upon its public debut in 1979, as well as a flashpoint for dialogue and controversy.

This is The Dinner Party Today, a series by the Brooklyn Museum in which artists, writers, and thinkers reflect on the artwork’s legacy and the women it represents.

Read more about The Dinner Party (bit.ly/the-dinner-party), and visit www.brooklynmuseum.org for tickets to see the work in person.

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

The Dinner Party Today

Fifty years after his death, Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) remains an artistic and cultural icon. Not only is Picasso a household name, but his artwork sells for record prices, continually asserting his status as the preeminent modern artist. It’s Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby examines the artist’s complicated legacy through a critical, contemporary, and feminist lens, even as it acknowledges his work’s transformative power and lasting influence.

Hear Hannah Gadsby introduce the exhibition, and see it at the Brooklyn Museum, now on view through September 24.

Hannah Gadsby Introduces 'It’s Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby'

Spike Lee breaks down why he shared his personal collection with the public for Spike Lee: Creative Sources, an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. In the following episodes, he tells stories inspired by a selection of objects in the exhibition.

Spike Lee: Creative Sources is open at the Brooklyn Museum through February 4, 2024. Visit www.brooklynmuseum.org for tickets.

See a photo of the objects Lee discusses: https://bit.ly/SpikeLeeGuide

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Introduction | Spike Lee: Creative Sources

Spike Lee remembers novelist Toni Morrison and a portrait of her painted by artist Tim Okamura. In 2020, Morrison (1931–2019) was commemorated as one of Time magazine’s “100 Women of the Year.” As part of the project, Time created new covers for past issues, for which this painting was commissioned. The portrait became the cover of the reimagined 1993 issue, honoring the year Morrison became the first Black woman to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature.

This episode is part of an adapted audio guide to Spike Lee: Creative Sources, open at the Brooklyn Museum through February 4, 2024. Visit www.brooklynmuseum.org for tickets.

See a photo of the portrait and other objects Lee discusses: bit.ly/SpikeLeeGuide

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Tim Okamura’s Portrait of Toni Morrison | Spike Lee: Creative Sources

One of Spike Lee's most treasured possessions is an African National Congress flag signed by former South African president Nelson Mandela and activist and politician Winnie Mandela. Lee acquired the flag in 1992 while shooting the final scenes for Malcolm X, in which Nelson Mandela plays a teacher in Soweto. He won the country's first democratic elections in 1994.

This episode is part of an adapted audio guide to Spike Lee: Creative Sources, open at the Brooklyn Museum through February 4, 2024. Visit www.brooklynmuseum.org for tickets.

See a photo of the signature on the flag and the other objects Lee discusses: bit.ly/SpikeLeeGuide

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

The African National Congress Flag | Spike Lee: Creative Sources

Spike Lee talks about Shepard Fairey’s 2008 portrait of former United States president Barack Obama, featuring Obama’s likeness and the word “PROGRESS.” Lee owns a screenprint of the design, signed by Obama and inscribed by Fairey with the words, “Spike, thanks for the inspiration.” 

This episode is part of an adapted audio guide to Spike Lee: Creative Sources, open at the Brooklyn Museum through February 4, 2024. Visit www.brooklynmuseum.org for tickets.

See a photo of Lee’s signed print and the other objects Lee discusses: https://bit.ly/SpikeLeeGuide 

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

PROGRESS (Obama) by Shepard Fairey | Spike Lee: Creative Sources

As Spike Lee accepted an Oscar for BlacKkKlansman in 2019, his speech praised “our ancestors who have built this country into what it is today.” Hear why Lee opted to bring his speech on paper instead of submitting it to the teleprompter ahead of the ceremony.

This episode is part of an adapted audio guide to Spike Lee: Creative Sources, open at the Brooklyn Museum through February 4, 2024. Visit www.brooklynmuseum.org for tickets.

See a photo of Lee’s notes and the other objects Lee discusses: https://bit.ly/SpikeLeeGuide 

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Speech from the 91st Academy Awards | Spike Lee: Creative Sources

Spike Lee shares his thoughts on Nike's "Jumpman" ad campaign, Michael Jordan, and Air Jordans, which are featured in Lee's film She's Gotta Have It. In the film, Lee plays Mars Blackmon, a basketball-obsessed breakdancer who wears a "Brooklyn" cycling cap, name chain, and the famous sneakers.

Lee's poster is signed and inscribed by Michael Jordan: "My Very Best . . . #23."

This episode is part of an adapted audio guide to Spike Lee: Creative Sources, open at the Brooklyn Museum through February 4, 2024. Visit www.brooklynmuseum.org for tickets.

See a photo of Lee's signed poster and the other objects Lee discusses: https://bit.ly/SpikeLeeGuide

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Michael Jordan’s “Jumpman” Campaign for Nike | Spike Lee: Creative Sources

Since the 1970s, Judy Chicago (American, born 1939) has been a pioneer in the development of feminist art. Her most influential work is the sweeping installation The Dinner Party (1974–79), a celebration of women’s achievements in the form of a meticulously executed banquet table. Places are set for 39 mythical and historical women, and the work honors an additional 999 women by inscribing their names in gold. One of the most important artworks of the twentieth century, The Dinner Party immediately became an icon of feminist art upon its public debut in 1979, as well as a flashpoint for dialogue and controversy. 

Catherine Morris is the Sackler Senior Curator for the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum. In this episode, she delves into the history of Chicago’s work on The Dinner Party, its reception at the time it was created, and the conversations the installation continues to open up for new audiences. 

This episode is part of The Dinner Party Today, a series by the Brooklyn Museum in which artists, writers, and thinkers reflect on the artwork’s legacy and the women it represents.

Read more about The Dinner Party (bit.ly/the-dinner-party), and visit www.brooklynmuseum.org for tickets to see the work in person.

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Introduction | The Dinner Party Today

Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is an installation consisting of a banquet table with places set for 39 mythical and historical women; it honors an additional 999 women by inscribing their names in gold on the Heritage Floor. The work, completed in 1979, addresses the absence of women from dominant historical narratives. Chicago intended The Dinner Party to be so vast and impressive that women could never again be erased from history.

Massimiliano Gioni is the Artistic Director of the New Museum, where Judy Chicago: Herstory—the first comprehensive New York museum survey of Chicago’s work—is on view through March 3, 2024. He discusses Chicago’s legacy and that of Christine de Pisan, a medieval writer and intellectual represented in The Dinner Party.

This episode is part of The Dinner Party Today, a series by the Brooklyn Museum in which artists, writers, and thinkers reflect on the artwork’s legacy and the women it represents.

Read more about The Dinner Party (bit.ly/the-dinner-party), Christine de Pisan (bit.ly/3TfCVM5), and the Heritage Floor (bit.ly/heritage-floor), where the names of an additional 999 women are inscribed. Visit the Brooklyn Museum to see the installation in person. Also get tickets to the New Museum to see Judy Chicago: Herstory (bit.ly/3TlipcR).

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Massimiliano Gioni on Christine de Pisan | The Dinner Party Today

Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is an installation consisting of a banquet table with places set for 39 mythical and historical women; it honors an additional 999 women by inscribing their names in gold. The work, completed in 1979, addresses the absence of women from dominant historical narratives. Chicago intended The Dinner Party to be so vast and impressive that women could never again be erased from history.

Roxane Gay is the author of Ayiti, An Untamed State, the national bestseller Difficult Women, and the New York Times bestsellers Bad Feminist and Hunger. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. Here, she discusses Ethel Smyth, a twentieth-century composer included in The Dinner Party.

This episode is part of The Dinner Party Today, a series by the Brooklyn Museum in which artists, writers, and thinkers reflect on the artwork’s legacy and the women it represents.

Read more about The Dinner Party (bit.ly/the-dinner-party), Ethel Smyth (https://bit.ly/46Pv4b3), and the Heritage Floor (bit.ly/heritage-floor), where the names of an additional 999 women are inscribed. Visit the Brooklyn Museum to see the installation in person.

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Roxane Gay on Ethel Smyth | The Dinner Party Today

Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is an installation consisting of a banquet table with places set for 39 mythical and historical women; it honors an additional 999 women by inscribing their names in gold. The work, completed in 1979, addresses the absence of women from dominant historical narratives. Chicago intended The Dinner Party to be so vast and impressive that women could never again be erased from history.

Kevin Kwan is the author of Crazy Rich Asians, the international bestselling novel that has been translated into 40 languages and adapted into a top-grossing Hollywood film, as well as China Rich Girlfriend, Rich People Problems, and Sex and Vanity. Time magazine named Kwan one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.” He talks about modernist author Virginia Woolf and her influence on his work.

This episode is part of The Dinner Party Today, a series by the Brooklyn Museum in which artists, writers, and thinkers reflect on the artwork’s legacy and the women it represents.

Read more about The Dinner Party (bit.ly/the-dinner-party), Virginia Woolf (bit.ly/41mhdYW), and the Heritage Floor (bit.ly/heritage-floor), where the names of an additional 999 women are inscribed. Visit the Brooklyn Museum to see the installation in person.

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Kevin Kwan on Virginia Woolf  | The Dinner Party Today

Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is an installation consisting of a banquet table with places set for 39 mythical and historical women; it honors an additional 999 women by inscribing their names in gold. The work, completed in 1979, addresses the absence of women from dominant historical narratives. Chicago intended The Dinner Party to be so vast and impressive that women could never again be erased from history.

adrienne maree brown promotes healing ideas through her multigenre writing, music, and podcasts. She is the author and editor of several published texts, as well as the cogenerator of a tarot deck and developing musical ritual. Here, she discusses abolitionist and suffragist Sojourner Truth.

This episode is part of The Dinner Party Today, a series by the Brooklyn Museum in which artists, writers, and thinkers reflect on the artwork’s legacy and the women it represents.

Read more about The Dinner Party (bit.ly/the-dinner-party), Sojourner Truth (bit.ly/46VAGRj), and the Heritage Floor (bit.ly/heritage-floor), where the names of an additional 999 women are inscribed. Visit the Brooklyn Museum to see the installation in person.

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

adrienne maree brown on Sojourner Truth | The Dinner Party Today

Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is an installation consisting of a banquet table with places set for 39 mythical and historical women; it honors an additional 999 women by inscribing their names in gold. The work, completed in 1979, addresses the absence of women from dominant historical narratives. Chicago intended The Dinner Party to be so vast and impressive that women could never again be erased from history.

Conceptual performance artist and activist Nadya Riot is a founding member of Pussy Riot, a global feminist protest art movement. In 2012, she was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment following an anti-Putin performance; she was released in December 2013. Here, she discusses Hypatia of Alexandria, an influential ancient philosopher whose work in mathematics and astronomy earned the wrath of radical Christian monks.

This episode is part of The Dinner Party Today, a series by the Brooklyn Museum in which artists, writers, and thinkers reflect on the artwork’s legacy and the women it represents.

Read more about The Dinner Party (bit.ly/the-dinner-party), Hypatia (https://bit.ly/3v7ux7f), and the Heritage Floor (bit.ly/heritage-floor), where the names of an additional 999 women are inscribed. Visit the Brooklyn Museum to see the installation in person.

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Nadya Riot on Hypatia | The Dinner Party Today

Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is an installation consisting of a banquet table with places set for 39 mythical and historical women; it honors an additional 999 women by inscribing their names in gold. The work, completed in 1979, addresses the absence of women from dominant historical narratives. Chicago intended The Dinner Party to be so vast and impressive that women could never again be erased from history.

Maria Grazia Chiuri was named Creative Director of Dior in 2016, becoming the first woman to hold this position. She studied at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome, and her honors include the Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor). Here, she talks about Artemisia Gentileschi, whose work as an early Italian Baroque painter was long neglected by scholars in spite of her extensive achievements in the art world.

This episode is part of The Dinner Party Today, a series by the Brooklyn Museum in which artists, writers, and thinkers reflect on the artwork’s legacy and the women it represents.

Read more about The Dinner Party (bit.ly/the-dinner-party), Artemisia Gentileschi (bit.ly/3RIMZe9), and the Heritage Floor (bit.ly/heritage-floor), where the names of an additional 999 women are inscribed. Visit the Brooklyn Museum to see the installation in person.

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Maria Grazia Chiuri on Artemisia Gentileschi | The Dinner Party Today

Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is an installation consisting of a banquet table with places set for 39 mythical and historical women; it honors an additional 999 women by inscribing their names in gold. The work, completed in 1979, addresses the absence of women from dominant historical narratives. Chicago intended The Dinner Party to be so vast and impressive that women could never again be erased from history.

Ericka Hart is a Black queer femme activist, writer, and award-winning sexuality educator. Hart is currently an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University’s School of Social Work and the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College. Here, she discusses the mixed legacy of reproductive rights activist Margaret Sanger. 

This episode is part of The Dinner Party Today, a series by the Brooklyn Museum in which artists, writers, and thinkers reflect on the artwork’s legacy and the women it represents.

Learn more about the Puerto Rican contraceptive trials mentioned in this episode (bit.ly/48SLpgx). Also read more about The Dinner Party (bit.ly/the-dinner-party), Margaret Sanger (bit.ly/48Sp6HW), and the Heritage Floor (bit.ly/heritage-floor), where the names of an additional 999 women are inscribed. Visit the Brooklyn Museum to see the installation in person.

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Ericka Hart on Margaret Sanger | The Dinner Party Today

Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is an installation consisting of a banquet table with places set for 39 mythical and historical women; it honors an additional 999 women by inscribing their names in gold. The work, completed in 1979, addresses the absence of women from dominant historical narratives. Chicago intended The Dinner Party to be so vast and impressive that women could never again be erased from history.

Lucy Lippard is a writer, activist, and curator who has curated more than fifty major exhibitions and earned nine honorary doctorates of fine arts. Her books include Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America, Undermining: A Wild Ride Through Land Use, Politics, and Art in the Changing West, and Partial Recall: Photographs of Native North Americans. Lippard’s honors include the Caroline Bancroft History Prize from the Denver Public Library and grants from Creative Capital and the Lannan Foundation. Here, she talks about Sacajawea, a member of the Shoshone Tribe in present-day Idaho, who was an essential guide for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s expedition through North America in 1804.

This episode is part of The Dinner Party Today, a series by the Brooklyn Museum in which artists, writers, and thinkers reflect on the artwork’s legacy and the women it represents.

Read more about The Dinner Party (bit.ly/the-dinner-party), Sacajawea (https://bit.ly/4bA05n7), and the Heritage Floor (bit.ly/heritage-floor), where the names of an additional 999 women are inscribed. Visit the Brooklyn Museum to see the installation in person.

Lucy Lippard on Sacajawea | The Dinner Party Today

Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is an installation consisting of a banquet table with places set for 39 mythical and historical women; it honors an additional 999 women by inscribing their names in gold. The work, completed in 1979, addresses the absence of women from dominant historical narratives. Chicago intended The Dinner Party to be so vast and impressive that women could never again be erased from history.

Judy Chicago is an artist, author, feminist, educator, and intellectual—and the creator of The Dinner Party. Carmen Hermo is Associate Curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum. Here, they discuss Chicago’s vision for The Dinner Party, the extensive historical research it required, and the team behind the creation of the work. 

This episode is part of The Dinner Party Today, a series by the Brooklyn Museum in which artists, writers, and thinkers reflect on the artwork’s legacy and the women it represents.

Read more about The Dinner Party (bit.ly/the-dinner-party) and the Heritage Floor (bit.ly/heritage-floor), where the names of an additional 999 women are inscribed. Hear from Massimiliano Gioni, director of the New Museum and curator of Herstory, about Judy Chicago’s work and influence (https://bit.ly/3TnfQ9Q). Visit the Brooklyn Museum to see The Dinner Party in person.

This project was produced by Seaplane Armada and the Brooklyn Museum.

Judy Chicago with Carmen Hermo | The Dinner Party Today

This jar from 14th-century China is one of the finest surviving examples of early blue-and-white porcelain. When said aloud, the Mandarin Chinese names for the four fish depicted—mackerel, whitefish, carp, and freshwater perch (清白廉洁, or qing bai lian jie)—form a pun of the phrase meaning “honest and incorruptible."

This track is a supplement to the Kids and Families’ Guide to the Brooklyn Museum: Ages 7–11. Read it here: https://bit.ly/3VFVGJA
 
Find out more about this object: https://bit.ly/3IRYUSL

Qing Bai Lian Jie

For the first time in twenty-four years, Utagawa Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo—one of the Brooklyn Museum’s greatest treasures—returns to public display. The Museum’s complete set of these celebrated prints is among the world’s finest, full of vibrant colors preserved by decades in the dark. 

Niles Luther is the composer-in-residence at the Brooklyn Museum. In conjunction with the exhibition Hiroshige's 100 Famous Views of Edo (feat. Takashi Murakami), Luther wrote compositions in response to three of Utagawa Hiroshige’s works: Chiyogaike Pond, Meguro, No. 23, Kinryuzan Temple, Asakusa (Asakusa Kinryuzan), No. 99, and New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Oji, No. 118.

Hear Luther on his background and composition process.

Niles Luther on composing art music and Hiroshige

Art and experiences that inspire celebration, compassion, courage, and the will to act.

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