In this podcast interview with the artist Joshua Sofaer, Oriana Fox asks for his help in finding her purpose, her why. He is, after all, a socially engaged artist who is deeply invested in turning life into art because art makes life more interesting than art. And, he’s also a relational dynamics coach and Oriana pays for his services from time to time. They also discuss the possibility of breaking into the mainstream simply by imitating the trappings of fame. But that is not all! Tune in to get the scoop on self-help, self-exposure, doubt and boilerplate definitions.

LISTEN HERE
(A transcript also available.)

“Art is what makes life more interesting than art” is a quote from the Fluxus artist Robert Filliou, which he gave originally in French as, “L’art est ce qui rend la vie plus intéressante que l’art”.

Dr Oriana Fox is an artist with a PhD in self-disclosure. She puts her expertise to work as the host of the talk show performance piece The O Show.

Joshua Sofaer is an artist who is centrally concerned with modes of collaboration and participation, which he explores through social sculpture, performance, installation, exhibition and publication. Equally as comfortable in the clean white gallery, the dramatic stage of the opera house, the carefully positioned vitrine of the museum, the shared areas of public space, and the domestic personalised rooms of private homes, what draws Sofaer’s diverse practices together is a concern with how audiences engage with the world as a place of potentiality.

– Artists mentioned in this podcast: Shobana Jeyasingh, Gavin Turk, Robert Filliou, Stacy Makishi, Hamja Ahsan, Jeremy Deller, Miranda July and Lois Weaver [FYI: Lois will be interviewed on an upcoming episode of this very podcast series]
– Cultural figures who have become famous and made a lot of money after doing TED talks mentioned in this podcast: Brené Brown, Simon Sinek and Ruby Wax (well, she was famous before her TED talk, to be fair)

Credits:
– Hosted, edited and produced by Oriana Fox
– Post-production mixing by Stacey Harvey
– Themesong written and performed by Paulette Humanbeing
– Special thanks to Katie Beeson, Janak Patel and the Foxes and Hayeses.