Episode 598 – Anita Kunz

Virtual Memories Show

Virtual Memories Show 598:
Anita Kunz

“It’s a whole different experience from making the paintings to see everything on a wall. That’s the only way to understand where you’ve been and where you’re going.”

Artist & illustrator Anita Kunz returns to the show to talk about how art saved her life, as we catch up on her fantastic books, ORIGINAL SISTERS and STRIKING A POSE: A Handy Guide to the Male Nude (Pantheon and Fantagraphics, respectively). We talk about Anita’s passion for figure drawing, how disconcerted some male viewers were by Striking A Pose, the difference between drawing women and men and all the tension and dynamics that go into making art from each gender, and why Winston Churchill’s granddaughter was none-too-pleased by his appearance in her book. We get into how her 2020 lockdown project of painting one portrait of a badass woman every day evolved into her Original Sisters series, how it feels to be closing in on 500 portraits (!), and how she keeps finding more badass women to paint. We also discuss her transition from an acclaimed illustration career into big art projects, how Barbara Nessim helped her find a gallery (and how she had to get over her fear of gallery owners), the book of parables & fables she’s making, how it feels to see her Original Sisters in museum exhibitions (and how much she’s looking forward to their big show at the Norman Rockwell Museum), the burden of having to be A Nice Girl In A Small Town growing up, how she makes great art while being racked with self-doubt, the importance of mentors and art-friends, and a lot more. Give it a listen! And go get ORIGINAL SISTERS and STRIKING A POSE!

(And go listen to our 2021 conversation!)

“Because I wasn’t allowed to speak, I put it into my art.”

“My problem is I keep finding more and more badass women to paint. But I have to stop at 500.”

“My audience for Striking A Pose seems to be gay men, which I’m 1,000% happy about.”

“When I was writing up a commencement speech, I went through a lot of my old stuff, and the one thing I realized was that art saved my life.”

Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!

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About our Guest

Anita Kunz is an acclaimed illustrator and painter whose work has graced the covers of the New Yorker, Time, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and many other mass circulation periodicals. She was named one of the 50 most influential women in Canada by the National Post. She was the first woman and the first Canadian to have a solo show at the Library of Congress. She has been appointed Officer of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor. She lives in Toronto.

Follow Anita on Instagram, check out the Original Sisters site, and listen to our 2021 conversation.

Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded at Anita’s home on a pair of Blue enCORE 200 microphones feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4 digital recorder & interface. I recorded the intro and outro on a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photos of Anita by me. It’s on my instagram.