MINNEAPOLIS—March 1, 2023—The award-winning podcast The Object, produced by the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), begins its fifth season on Monday, March 6, turning to some of the most persistent questions about art and museums. Why are so many statues in museums missing arms, heads, or feet? Why is there so much nudity in premodern art? Is everything in a museum incredibly valuable?
Through four seasons and 46 episodes, The Object has explored the surprising, true stories behind the objects at Mia—stories of power and prejudice, love and heartbreak, that are ultimately stories about us. Written and hosted by Tim Gihring, a veteran journalist in Minneapolis, the show is ranked among the top 15 percent of podcasts nationally and has been honored by the American Alliance of Museums.
“People bring a lot of questions into museums,” says Gihring, “questions that can go unanswered because the magic of museums has often depended on no one looking behind the curtain. But those questions reflect genuine tensions in society and the answers are fascinating, and in season five we walk right up to them.”
Season five opens with The Department of Missing Limbs, exploring why we so often see the ancient world as broken, disconnected, and distorted. From natural causes to national pride, avarice to zealotry, the history of broken art is a history less of the ancient world than our own.
Future episodes will examine the naked truth about nudity in art, why Monet made so many paintings of the same thing, and what became of some of the most famous faces in art history.
The Object is made possible by generous support from Ameriprise Financial.