The Truth In This Art: Stories That Matter

In this new episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest on this episode is me, Rob Lee!Who is Rob Lee: Rob Lee, veteran podcaster, cultural critic and educator, is the host of The Truth In This Art, a podcast rooted in human connection in a world dominated by self-promotion and rankings. Through intimate, authentic, and conversational interviews, Rob invites listeners to connect deeply with the city of Baltimore while gaining insight from a diverse range of professionals—artists, chefs, professors, activists, CEOs, and more.In this episode, I'm interviewed by some of my favorite guests and friends including artists Maurice James Jr. , Zoë Lintzeris and arts administrator Camille Kashaka. The hosts peel back the curtain a bit to reveal who I am. In this episode, I'm interviewed by Maurice James Jr., Zoë Lintzeris, and Camille Kashaka as we uncover the story beneath the work, discuss film experience and its cultural impact, and explore how algorithms, media dynamics, and artist compensation shape creative life and the need to protect one’s peace.Get to know me in a whole new way!  The Truth In This Art is supported by William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council's Creativity Grant and Mayor's Individual Artist Award - Creative Baltimore Fund (Baltimore). Host: Rob LeeMusic: Original music by Daniel Alexis Music with additional music from Chipzard and TeTresSeis.Production:Produced by Rob Lee & Daniel AlexisEdited by Daniel AlexisShow Notes courtesy of Rob Lee and TransistorPhotos:Rob Lee photos by Vicente Martin for The Truth In This Art and Contrarian Aquarian Media.Guest photos courtesy of the guest, unless otherwise noted.Support the podcastThe Truth In This Art Podcast Fractured Atlas (Fundraising): https://www.fracturedatlas.orgThe Truth In This Art Podcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thetruthinthisart.bsky.socialThe Truth In This Art Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthinthisart/?hl=enThe Truth In This Art Podcast Website: https://www.thetruthinthisart.com/The Truth In This Art Podcast Shop: Merch from Redbubble ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Phaan Howng!Who is Phaan Howng: Phaan Howng is a Taiwanese American multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland. Howng creates lush, vegetal paintings and installations that examine the various historical perplexities within human-plant relationships, particularly humans' desire to control and tame nature. Her work, Big Ass Snakes on a Plane, is currently on view publicly in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District in Baltimore as one of the installations in the public arts initiative Inviting Light. In this episode, Phaan shares her story. Phaan shares her start moving from Florida to North Carolina to settling in her current base of Baltimore all while explore art as a career. Howng discusses what it was like finding her multidisciplinary approach to making art and her curiosity with plants. Howng describes some highlights from 2025 including her work, Big Ass Snakes on a Plane, and her work curating EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS, which features the work of 25 artists of the APIMEDA (Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and Desi American)  diaspora who live and create in the Baltimore and the DMV area.  Be sure to check out Big Ass Snakes on a Plane in the Start North Arts district. Phaan's website is https://www.phaan.com/ The Truth In This Art is supported by William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council's Creativity Grant and Mayor's Individual Artist Award - Creative Baltimore Fund (Baltimore). Host: Rob LeeMusic: Original music by Daniel Alexis Music with additional music from Chipzard and TeTresSeis.Production:Produced by Rob Lee & Daniel AlexisEdited by Daniel AlexisShow Notes courtesy of Rob Lee and TransistorPhotos:Rob Lee photos by Vicente Martin for The Truth In This Art and Contrarian Aquarian Media.Guest photos courtesy of the guest, unless otherwise noted.Support the podcastThe Truth In This Art Podcast Fractured Atlas (Fundraising): https://www.fracturedatlas.orgThe Truth In This Art Podcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thetruthinthisart.bsky.socialThe Truth In This Art Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthinthisart/?hl=enThe Truth In This Art Podcast Website: https://www.thetruthinthisart.com/The Truth In This Art Podcast Shop: Merch from Redbubble ★ Support this podcast ★

In this premiere of The Truth In This Art, the guest on this episode is Lonnie Millsap! Who is Lonnie Millsap: Lonnie Millsap is an award-nominated (Thurber Prize, Reuben Award nominee) Los Angeles-based cartoonist. He is known for his work in the New Yorker Magazine, where he's word has been pushlished over 90 times, his synicated cartoon 'bacön' and over publishing over 13 books including his most recent, 'My Pockets Are Juicy!', The juiciest collection of cartoons ever drawn. Millsap is known for his unique illustration style and humor. Also, Millsap has earned the praise of cartooning legends like Keith Knight, Gary Panter, Sergio Aragones, Dan Piraro and Jim Benton. In this episode, Lonnie shares his story. In it, Millsap describes turning his childhood passion of drawing everything into a carerr of publishing books as well as welling them. Millsap shares some of his inspiration from Gary Panter and Charles M. Schulz. Millsap also provides some background on 'The juiciest collection of cartoons ever drawn.', My Pockets Are Juicy!' and his syndicated comic 'bacön'. Lonnie shares his thoughts on the community within indie comics and cartooning. (Lonnie and I met during in the indie comics loop - initially at Small Press Expo and then I had the chance to interview Lonnie at Cartoon Crossroads Columbus in 2025, it was great!)This was a great way to start off the new season and I hope you enjoy. Lonnie's website is https://lonniemillsap.com/ The Truth In This Art is supported by William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council's Creativity Grant and Mayor's Individual Artist Award - Creative Baltimore Fund (Baltimore). Host: Rob LeeMusic: Original music by Daniel Alexis Music with additional music from Chipzard and TeTresSeis.Production:Produced by Rob Lee & Daniel AlexisEdited by Daniel AlexisShow Notes courtesy of Rob Lee and TransistorPhotos:Rob Lee photos by Vicente Martin for The Truth In This Art and Contrarian Aquarian Media.Guest photos courtesy of the guest, unless otherwise noted.Support the podcastThe Truth In This Art Podcast Fractured Atlas (Fundraising): https://www.fracturedatlas.orgThe Truth In This Art Podcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thetruthinthisart.bsky.socialThe Truth In This Art Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthinthisart/?hl=enThe Truth In This Art Podcast Website: https://www.thetruthinthisart.com/The Truth In This Art Podcast Shop: Merch from Redbubble ★ Support this podcast ★

Ben Passmore closes out this season of The Truth in This Art.Ben Passmore (DAYGLOAYHOLE, Your Black Friend, Sports Is Hell, BTTM FDRS; contributor to The Nib) joins Rob Lee to discuss his new book, Black Arms to Hold You Up: A History of Black Resistance.An award-winning cartoonist whose work ranges from the fantastical to the autobiographical, Passmore brings sharp, often humorous social commentary on politics, activism, white supremacy, sports, and the Black American experience.In this episode, Passmore shares the story behind Black Arms to Hold You Up—why he chose graphic nonfiction, how he approached making it, and the care required when drawing real people and histories. He breaks down craft decisions that make complex ideas legible without flattening them, and how he balances clarity, intention, and voice.The conversation also digs into audience and context: making art in rooms where you’re often the only Black person, how perception shifts outside community, and what cultural moments reveal about how we frame Black artists. It’s about how comics can carry culture, memory, and critique—connecting personal storytelling to broader histories while inviting readers to keep learning.Topics Covered:Exploring intent, process, and responsibility in nonfiction comics with Black Arms to Hold You UpWorking across fantastical and autobiographical modes with social commentaryNavigating audience, context, and perception in art spacesMaking complex ideas accessible without losing nuanceMake the conversation count: buy Black Arms to Hold You Up. Passmore’s new graphic nonfiction holds contradiction with care, keeps the humor respectful, and carries history without flattening it. The Truth In This Art is supported by William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council's Creativity Grant and Mayor's Individual Artist Award - Creative Baltimore Fund (Baltimore). Host: Rob LeeMusic: Original music by Daniel Alexis Music with additional music from Chipzard and TeTresSeis.Production:Produced by Rob Lee & Daniel AlexisEdited by Daniel AlexisShow Notes courtesy of Rob Lee and TransistorPhotos:Rob Lee photos by Vicente Martin for The Truth In This Art and Contrarian Aquarian Media.Guest photos courtesy of the guest, unless otherwise noted.Support the podcastThe Truth In This Art Podcast Fractured Atlas (Fundraising): https://www.fracturedatlas.orgThe Truth In This Art Podcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thetruthinthisart.bsky.socialThe Truth In This Art Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthinthisart/?hl=enThe Truth In This Art Podcast Website: https://www.thetruthinthisart.com/The Truth In This Art Podcast Shop: Merch from Redbubble ★ Support this podcast ★

Kayla E. joins The Truth In This Art to discuss Precious Rubbish.Kayla E. (award-winning artist, Creative Director at Fantagraphics, 2023–2024 Princeton Hotter Fellow) joins Rob Lee to discuss her debut full-length graphic memoir, Precious Rubbish.An award-winning artist whose practice spans comics and fine art—textiles, sculpture, video performance art, painting, and drawing—Kayla E. brings candid, instinct-driven storytelling about life, family, and making work on her own terms.In this episode, Kayla E. shares the story behind Precious Rubbish—why she made it for herself with no plan to publish, how every decision was guided by pure instinct, and how the book’s distinctive color palette was lifted from vintage “Komic Kards.”The conversation also digs into audience and context: setting aside what’s proper, traditional, or would sell; focusing on truth over convention; and connecting the memoir to a broader art practice across mediums. It’s about how comics and fine art can hold difficult life stories while inviting readers to look closer.Topics Covered:Making a memoir with no intent to publish—letting instinct lead form and contentLifting the color palette of Precious Rubbish from vintage comic cardsCollecting ephemera and old stuff as an aesthetic engineBalancing honesty and care when depicting a terrifying family historyFrom comics to fine art: textile, sculpture, video performance art, painting, drawingMake the conversation count: read Precious Rubbish—grab it from your library, Amazon, or thriftbooks.com. Kayla E.'s graphic memoir stays true to lived experience, trusts instinct, and turns memory into art without sanding off its edges. The Truth In This Art is supported by William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council's Creativity Grant and Mayor's Individual Artist Award - Creative Baltimore Fund (Baltimore). Host: Rob LeeMusic: Original music by Daniel Alexis Music with additional music from Chipzard and TeTresSeis.Production:Produced by Rob Lee & Daniel AlexisEdited by Daniel AlexisShow Notes courtesy of Rob Lee and TransistorPhotos:Rob Lee photos by Vicente Martin for The Truth In This Art and Contrarian Aquarian Media.Guest photos courtesy of the guest, unless otherwise noted.Support the podcastThe Truth In This Art Podcast Fractured Atlas (Fundraising): https://www.fracturedatlas.orgThe Truth In This Art Podcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thetruthinthisart.bsky.socialThe Truth In This Art Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthinthisart/?hl=enThe Truth In This Art Podcast Website: https://www.thetruthinthisart.com/The Truth In This Art Podcast Shop: Merch from Redbubble ★ Support this podcast ★