• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to footer

Brain Fuzz

A culture, art, and music podcast

  • Browse Episodes
  • Listen Now
  • About Brain Fuzz
    • Who Are Joe and Matthew?
  • The Lost Episodes

The High Life with William Downs | Episode 15

March 27, 2017 By brainfuzzadmin 2 Comments

High Life with William Downs on the Brain Fuzz arts podcast
Cue Steve Winwood: Joe and Matthew sit down with artist William Downs and renew some faith in a cold Miller High Life.

Joe and Matthew are joined by artist William Downs. They delve into art career paths and trajectories. Automatism and the practice of performative drawing are explored. Studio visits, critics, and the trials and tribulations of academic life are discussed.

Along the way, numerous artists and luminaries are name-checked including:

Eva Hesse

Louise Bourgeois

Philip Guston

Lawrence Weiner

David Hammons

Amy Sillman

. . . and more.

Matthew gives voice to the average viewer and takes heat from Joe on a Sex Pistols comment. The Ramones are briefly celebrated.

William eases tensions with his soothing baritone.

Who Is William Downs?

William-Downs-High-Life-and-Brain-Fuzz-Arts-Podcast-optBorn and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, William Downs works in a range of mediums, but focuses primarily on drawing. He received a Multidisciplinary M.F.A. from the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore and a B.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking from the Atlanta College of Art and Design.

Downs taught Foundation Drawing at the Maryland Institute College of Art from 2002 through 2010. He taught Advanced Drawing at Parsons The New School for Design, Foundation Drawing at The Cooper Union and Tulane University.

Downs is currently a Drawing and Painting Lecturer at Georgia State University and is represented by Sandler Hudson Gallery.

Bio excerpted from SandlerHudson.com.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: Episodes Tagged With: Artist Life, Artist Studio Spaces, Creative Life

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Steven Anderson And The Amish Cleanse | Brain Fuzz Arts Podcast Ep 40 says:
    September 27, 2018 at 9:19 pm

    […] The High Life With William Downs (Episode 15) […]

    Reply
  2. Jill Frank At The Temporary Art Center | Brain Fuzz Arts Podcast Ep 56 says:
    December 22, 2019 at 11:54 pm

    […] “The High Life With William Downs,” Brain Fuzz Arts Podcast Ep 15 […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please prove you are not a robot: *

Footer

Engage

Interested in you, your place, organization, or your music being featured on Brain Fuzz?

Email us:

admin -at- brainfuzzpodcast -dot- com.

Listen on Spotify

Discourse

Yeah, it's a verb too. Share your thoughts and your comments with #BrainFuzzPodcast.

You can also leave comments in episode show notes here at BrainFuzzPodcast.com. Just "Browse Episodes" to access individual episodes.

Search

RSS Feed

  • Gordon Chandler Turns Over Some Rocks
  • Esteban Patino And The Illusion of Language
  • Mike Stasny Cares Deeply.
  • Artificial Curation
  • Institutional Fatigue

Validate

[Valid RSS]

Copyright © 2025 Gamelan, LLC. Brain Fuzz and the Brain Fuzz Podcast are trademarks or registered trademarks of Gamelan, LLC. All rights reserved.

XML Sitemap | Blog Feed | Podcast Feed