Art & Architecture

William Fox Talbot was a brilliant scholar determined to capture the magic of the camera obscura in some permanent, reproducible form. In 1835, he discovered the negative-positive process, and went on to prove himself an exceptional creative photographer. This program explains the technical aspects of his work and shows many of his most beautiful and thought-provoking results. (26 minutes)

Georges Seurat was an enigmatic character who produced, in La Grande Jatte, an equally enigmatic work of art. What is the fishing woman really fishing for? What do the monkey-revealed by X-rays to be a last-minute add-on-and the luminous little girl symbolize? What is going on with the painting's shadows and proportions? This program considers these and other mysteries as it scrutinizes Seurat's defining masterpiece: the pointillist technique and the color theory that underlies it, the visible influence of Classical art, the indignation aroused by the painting's first public showing, and its many unusual appearances in pop culture. A BBCW Production. (50 minutes)

Writers write so that the future may learn," a 5th-century French monk once inscribed in a diligent hand. This program is a concise history of the illuminated manuscript and book production. The everyday lives of the writers, scribes, and illustrators are revealed, and honor is paid to the best known: Einhard, biographer of Charlemagne; Gerald of Wales; the Abbot of Wearmouth Jarrow; the poor miscreant scribe, Raulinus; and Jean Mielot, scribe of the court of Philip the Good of Burgundy. The work of husband-and-wife illuminators, Richart and Jeanne de Montbaston, is shown and discussed, along with the operation of Florentine bookseller Vespasiano da Bisticci-book agent to kings and nobles. The program ends with the arrival of the printing press and movable type. (24 minutes)"

In this program, artists John Hoyland and Sir Anthony Caro; Charlotte Mullins, of the Irish Independent on Sunday; and others examine the history of Abstract Art. After a capsule summary of Impressionism and Cubism, the program tracks the full flowering of Abstract Art, stretching into Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism. Special attention is given to Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Jason Martin, and Fiona Rae. Footage of artists at work along with a wide selection of paintings and sculpture round out this concise and informative overview. A BBCW Production. (29 minutes)

Abstract Expressionism was born from a joining of attitudes in American art and European avant-garde art, but was later rejected for its nonfigurative and seemingly egocentric character in favor of the ultra-objective phenomenon known as Pop Art.This program examines:o Franz Kline's C & O (1958), from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DCo Helen Frankenthaler's Mountains and Sea (1952), from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DCo Willem de Kooning's Morning: The Springs (1983), from the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdamo Jasper Johns' Flag (1954), from the Museum of Modern Art, New Yorko Andy Warhol's The Texan: Portrait of Robert Rauschenberg (1963), from the Wallraf-Richartz Museum and Museum Ludwig, Cologneo Roy Lichtenstein's Girl with Hair Ribbon (1965), from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC(60 minutes)

In the villages of sub-Saharan Africa where traditions are still strong, art is an integral part of daily life. This illuminating program examines the symbolism, aesthetics, and functionality of African art through the vast region’s sculpture, masks, architecture, ornaments, clothing, and utensils. In addition, indigenous African religious beliefs are explored through rituals—a spiritual form of performance art—and funerary statuary. Prehistoric rock art is also presented, and the conceptual nature of African art is stressed. Location footage underscoring the rich mosaic of cultures to be found in sub-Saharan Africa provides the backdrop for the program. (22 minutes)

Belgium's Tervuren Museum contains the world's largest collection of Central African art, which consists of approximately 250,000 pieces. Noted journalist Paul Solman discusses the power and the true price of this collection with art historian Ramona Austin and journalist/author Adam Hochschild. In the immense Congo region, there are more than 250 different cultures, so there is a broad range of artistic styles to be found there. Austin is particularly drawn to the emotionally riveting abstracts, with their modernistic qualities and generalized forms that influenced Picasso and other European masters. She also admires the intricate detailing lavished on everyday objects like combs. But how did the Tervuren collect this body of art? Hochschild says that when Belgium's King Leopold II colonized and brutally exploited this territory during the late 1800s, ivory and rubber were not the only things sent back to Europe. (13 minutes)

Combining interviews with leading architects, historians, and conservationists with location footage from all over Europe, this program examines the Modern Movement in architecture, from its emergence after World War I until World War II. The first half of the documentary explores the movement's origins and ideology, spotlighting the Bauhaus in Germany, Le Corbusier in France, the Functionalists in Holland, and the Constructivists in Russia. The second half traces the movement's growth and spread, emphasizing the influence of the social climate and political environment of the interwar years upon building design. (52 minutes)

Albert Paley is world-renowned for his metal work in jewelry and large-scale sculpture. This program provides a comprehensive overview of his life and work, including his studies at Temple University's Tyler School of Art, his early work in jewelry design, and more contemporary works such as the Renwick Gates and his decorative architectural sculpture for Bausch & Lomb. Commentary from Elizabeth Broun, director of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, and an examination of Paley's technique complete the detailed survey of this 20th-century luminary. (58 minutes)

Albrecht Durer, arguably the greatest artist of the northern Renaissance, was the primary conduit through whom Italian Renaissance forms and ideas were introduced into a Germany still dominated by the Gothic tradition. This program examines the life and work of the peerless painter and printmaker, focusing on some of his most important pieces. The influence of his father, a goldsmith; Anthony Koberger, Durer's godfather and one of Germany's finest printers and publishers; painter and illustrator Michael Wolgemut; and the humanist Wilibald Pirckheimer is considered as well. (21 minutes)

Thanks to the efforts of dedicated visionaries, there is an intergenerational learning experience spreading across the country. This fine arts forum invites the creators and supporters of outstanding school and community programs to take center stage. Together they share the positive impact the programs are having on students and the public at large, promoting art education and helping to ensure that the nation's artistic reservoir will grow in vitality and diversity. (29 minutes)

Sculptor Allan Houser won international recognition for his depiction of the stoic, powerful figures of his Chiricahua Apache and Navajo families in wood, stone, and metal. This program follows Houser-also acclaimed for his murals and paintings-from quarry to studio, where he sculpts a face in marble, and to the Shidoni Foundry, where he casts a bronze head. The art of Houser, whose father was with Geronimo in 1886, blends his people's heritage with his own personal spirit of adventure to create iconic figures and images that honor the past while looking to the future. (30 minutes)

Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists has been the basis of art criticism since the 16th century. This dramatized program cleverly illustrates how each great master developed techniques by building upon the work of his predecessors. The lively discussion between Master Vasari and his apprentice reveals the innovations of Giotto, Ghiberti, Donatello, Uccello, Masaccio, della Francesca, Botticelli, Leonardo, Raffaello, and Michelangelo. Images of selected masterpieces illustrate the Roman influence on Renaissance art and reinforce the concepts of perspective, balance, chiaroscuro, composition, and realism. This charming guide to the Italian masters provides an excellent foundation for high school students. (29 minutes)

Art appreciation requires an understanding of the medium, the subject matter, and the subtexts inherent in the artists' techniques. In this program, correspondent Paul Solman and art historian Wen Fong visit an exhibit that is emblematic of Imperial China from the 8th century to the 17th. Styles discussed include the Imperial propaganda" of the Sung and Ming dynasties; the wild spontaneity of Qwai Su's calligraphy, akin to the action painting method of Jackson Pollock; the intensely personal works of Ni-Tsung; the bourgeois images of Chu Ying; and the subtly subversive imagery of Chu Ta, a prince who became a monk. To Wen Fong, art is the perfect bridge between cultures because everyone can respond to its mystical essence. All one needs to do is look deeply. (9 minutes)"

At once banal and provocative, the works of Andy Warhol sardonically comment on the ubiquity of mass media in modern America. This program takes a look at the Pop Art movement and the life of Warhol through a penetrating investigation of his deadpan Ten Lizes. The painting exemplifies his fascination with-and his indifference to-celebrities as objects no less commodified than a simple can of soup. (31 minutes)