Episode #212: This episode features Joan Jonas drawing in her Manhattan studio, and on stage at the Umeå Jazz Festival in Sweden. "Drawing is like practicing the piano, because the first ones that I do often don't come out so I have to practice," says Jonas who handicaps herself by attaching her ink brushes and oil sticks to long rods or branches. "It's almost accidental if they turn out." While showing archived drawings of her dogs and an owl, Jonas discusses her interest in capturing an animal’s character through portraiture.

Working in performance, video, installation, sculpture, and drawing, Jonas finds inspiration in mythic stories, investing texts from the past with the politics of the present. Wearing masks and drawing while performing on stage, Jonas disrupts the conventions of theatrical storytelling to emphasize potent symbols and critical self-awareness.

Learn more about the artist at:
http://www.art21.org/artists/joan-jonas

CREDITS: Producer: Ian Forster. Consulting Producer: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Interview: Ian Forster & Susan Sollins. Camera: Jarred Alterman, Linus Andersson, and Amanda Björk. Sound: Richard Gin & Johannes Oscarsson. Editor: Morgan Riles. Artwork Courtesy: Robert Ashley, Electronic Arts Intermix, New York, Joan Jonas, and Performing Artservices, Inc. Special Thanks: Mimi Johnson. Theme Music: Peter Foley.

ART21 "Exclusive" is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; 21c Museum Hotel, and by individual contributors.