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‘Cut & Paste’: New Arts Podcast Kicks Off With STL Legend Leslie Laskey

This week, St. Louis Public Radio debuts its first arts podcast,"Cut & Paste."

cut & paste logo

We invite local visual and performing artists to tell stories. Who inspires them? What are their successes? Where have they stumbled along the way? Sometimes, in the conversation, it's us doing the stumbling! But we always have fun. We hope you will, too.

We begin with local icon Leslie Laskey, 94, professor emeritus at Washington University’s Sam Fox School,  and his partner and fellow artist Frank Schwaiger. Laskey’s a painter and Schwaiger works mostly in sculpture. This fall, they had their first joint exhibition, at Bruno David Gallery,but made it clear there's absolutely no correlation between their work.

Here are some snippets:

Leslie Laskey at Art Kamp in Michigan, 2010
Credit Provided by Dennis Cope
Leslie Laskey

  • Laskey: “I invent the universe. I have temporary residence in that place. And a work visa,” he says, drilling down in recent work to a tiny universe: the embryo. Tweet #cutpastestl
  • Laskey finds inspiration everywhere. Even “a piece of paper on the street." Tweet #cutpastestl
  • Schwaiger is also struck by randomness: “If you spilled the stew on the floor, you’d stop and study the pattern. “That accident is usually the thing that enlivens the piece, makes it far better than your original, relatively straightforward, perhaps even stupid idea.” Tweet #cutpastestl
  • Yet, as a sculptor, Schwaiger’s work also involves deliberate, repetitive movements: "The hand guides the mind through the process."Tweet #cutpastestl

Look for new "Cut & Paste" (#cutpastestl) podcasts every few weeks on our website. You can also subscribe to “Cut & Paste” through the "View all Podcasts & RSS Feeds" link.

Follow Willis Arnold on Twitter: @WillisRArnold 

Follow Nancy Fowler on Twitter: @NancyFowlerSTL

Please help St. Louis Public Radio find artists to feature on "Cut & Paste." Click here to become a source in the Public Insight Network and share what you know.  

Nancy is a veteran journalist whose career spans television, radio, print and online media. Her passions include the arts and social justice, and she particularly delights in the stories of people living and working in that intersection.