Marcel Dzama and Arcade Fire's Will Butler on Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast

Two polaroid images of Marcel Dzama and Will Butler in the recording studio

2018

A conversation about instinct in creative practice that nods to punk rock, fatherhood, and the ethics of artistic expression.

In the fifth episode of Dialogues, artist Marcel Dzama—known for his whimsical style, distinctive color palette, and varying mediums that include drawing, sculpture, film, and costume design—is paired with musician and composer Will Butler, a key member of the indie-rock band Arcade Fire. Recounting influences from their upbringings that range from Duchamp to biker culture, Vikings to variety shows, the duo discuss the role of art as a form of revolution in the current political climate. The series is hosted by Lucas Zwirner, Editorial Director of David Zwirner Books.

See Dzama’s work in the exhibition Marcel Dzama: A Jester’s Dance on view at the University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor through September 23, 2018.

Watch Will Butler perform live in Arcade Fire, currently on tour through North America. Visit everythingnow.com for tour dates and more information.

Produced in partnership with Slate Studios, Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast is the latest installment in a series of initiatives celebrating the gallery’s twenty-fifth anniversary, which launched in January 2018 with a multi-gallery retrospective in New York and the opening of David Zwirner Hong Kong. “While this year marks an important milestone for the gallery, we continue to look and move forward, whether it be opening a new gallery or exploring new mediums,” says David Zwirner. “This is one of the many digital initiatives we are embarking on, to both engage with new audiences and further our artists’ voices.”