Ep. 37 Jumping Genes & Dancing Figurines

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Today best friends Milena and Megan cover Nobel prize winning American geneticist Barbara McClintock & French-American painter, sculptor, and performance artist Niki de Saint Phalle

Barbara McClintock

Barbara’s mother worried about her daughter. Natural to any parent, she fretted over the choices her child wanted to make. And natural to any parent she felt her child was not making the best decisions – after all, her child wanted to go an Ivy League school. Barbara’s life choices led to something much worse – winning a Nobel Prize for her discoveries in mobile genetic elements.

Today Milena covers how Barbara was led astray and spent a life dedicated to understanding the genetic components that we’re comprised of. We talk the importance of having family support, challenges of balancing motherhood and the importance of going with your gut. Oh, and how corn can actually be kinda cool.

Niki de Saint Phalle

Get yourself a woman who can do both

Italian princes, nervous breakdowns, Jane Fonda and .22 rifles. There are times Megan finishes researching an artist and wonders, how did I get here? That’s the case with French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle. This sculptor/painter/performance artist ties all of those things together in her career that spanned over 50 years. While today gives us mostly feel-good vibes, Niki did face challenges in her early years.

Today we cover how those challenges impacted her studio practice, art world sexism in the 1960s and the personal costs of pursuing your dreams. Let’s be honest, if you never try – a little part of you will always hate yourself.

Selected Works
Early 1956 work completed while Niki was institutionalized for a nervous breakdown
1960’s piece
The Bride on Horseback, one of many assembled artworks Niki was making early on. These gritty, critical pieces were part of the European New Realism movement
Image of Niki performing a Tir (shoot) performance painting. This series from the early 1960’s launched Niki’s career into international acclaim
Installation view of She – a cathedral. For the three months it was on view in 1966 over 80,000 came to see it at the the Modern Museum in Stockholm, Sweden
Into the 70’s Niki’s work shifted themes – above are pieces from her Nanas series of dynamic, colorful





Image of Niki’s sculpture garden, completed over ten years with the help of her partner, local craftspeople and an Italian aristocrats 







  • Gaudi – Spanish architect best known for his flowing, organic forms. After visiting his public park Niki was inspired to create her own sculpture garden 
  • Brancusi – Romanian born sculptor who was a leading artist in the Parisian & international art scene, first to establish an art studio in the Impasse Rosin  
  • Impasse Ronsin – Sketchy alleyway that became a hub for artists studios 
  • Joan Mitchell – American abstract artist that inspired Niki to dedicate her life to her art career, leaving her family in the process 
  • Jean Tinguely – Fellow artist located at Impasse Ronsin. A kinetic sculptor, Jean became both a romantic and creative partner in Niki’s life 
  • New Realism – European art movement that Niki was part of, was antithesis to the American Pop Art movement










As always, music by EeL