Regularly using subjects which lie on the border of science and philosophy, Conrad Shawcross‘s structural and often mechanical sculptures question empirical, ontological and philosophical systems ubiquitous within our lives. While at first appearing rational and functional, his complex mechanised systems in the end deny all rational function and so the viewer is forced down philosophical and metaphysical avenues to deduce a ‘rasion d’etre’. From early works such as The Nervous System, 2002 – a monumental spinning machine that endlessly weaves a length of coloured rope into the form of a double helix, the shape of DNA – to his recent giant spiral work Continuum, 2004, the artist has attempted to visualize, among other things, the incomprehensible of human concerns, time.
In the early 1960s Anthony Caro led a revolution in sculpture in Britain. His abstract steel constructions, often painted in bold colours, forged a new and internationally influential sculptural language. In the years since his fertile and diverse practice has consistently challenged and extended what sculpture is, and what it might be. At the age of 80, Anthony Caro remains intensely active, working each day in his studio and overseeing every detail of an extensive retrospective at Tate. Preparations for the show are featured in this profile, along with many of his major works, filmed in Britain, Germany and the United States.
An essay film exploring the relationship between humans and propaganda, spanning from the enslaved individuals of 16th-century Saint-Domingue to the digital 'Sisyphus' role embodied by NPCs (Non-Player Characters) in the popular video game, Assassin's Creed.
The life and work of influential mid-century architect and designer Eliot Noyes, who is best remembered as the man behind IBM's landmark design program in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Messengers: A Podcast Documentary is an intimate, vibrant look at the world of podcasting and what compels independent podcasters to take on the challenge of a burgeoning form. Produced by a team of award-winning filmmakers from the Tampa Bay area, The Messengers chronicles the nationwide growth of podcasting and uncovers some of the magic behind the medium, visiting some of the most influential podcasters to have them share about their shows, their communities and the impact podcasting has had on their lives.
For the first 18 years of her life, Mozart’s sister shared equal billing with her brother. Musical partners and collaborators, Wolfgang Mozart and Maria-Anna Mozart played together before Kings and Queens, and were the talk of Europe. What happened to her? Forced into retirement by age 16 because she was a woman, a stunning new investigation explores why she was retired against her will and the explosive theory: did Maria-Anna Mozart continue to compose in secret?
Follow us as we go coast-to-coast to find the best Halloween attractions in America. From the scariest haunted houses on the planet to gourmet dinners with a ghoulish twist, there's enough tricks and treats for everyone.
The Domino Revival, a gripping film that follows Mike Signorelli and a group of revivalists during a crucial time in history. As society's hunger for spiritual significance grows, witness the extraordinary power of Jesus Christ through Gospel preaching, verified miracles, overcoming despair, and deliverance from demons.
The Kerese family own Danubio, the most famous pastry shop in Caracas. This documentary humanizes the inner workings of a family business by providing glimpses of the sweet, the sour and the salty. Led by Evelia, an unconventional woman ahead of her time, Danubio has sparked a deep sense of belonging amongst everyone who has ever made or tasted its Pan de Jamón, sometimes even at the expense of the family itself. The film provides a refreshing view of a landmark that continues to stand still as the country crumbles around it.
Method Sampling is explored through the works of a hip-hop orchestra, a disabled choreographer, a self-taught Black mycologist, a tiny house builder and a critical theorist.
Three spectacular canvases by Sandra Blow were one of the highlights of the 2006 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Sadly, this was her last show, as she died in August that year. This film was made in her studio in St. Ives as she was preparing to submit her works, and it captures her remarkable character and her fascinating reflections on a lifetime creating beautiful, rigorous, distinctive and joyous paintings. Sandra Blow spent a formative year as a student in Italy in the late 1940s, and she returned to London to begin a distinguished career dedicated to developing her vigorous abstract art. In addition to paint, she worked with a diverse range of materials, including sacking, plaster and coloured paper collages, and while her work often referred to landscape and to architecture, it was always exploring ideas of pure form and colour, balance and chance, light and movement. theEYE is an excellent introduction to contemporary artists and their work
Howard Hodgkin was one of the world’s leading painters, whose art is admired both by critics and by a wide public. Beginning with a remembered experience, Hodgkin works on his seductive and complex paintings for long periods, characteristically producing richly coloured, sweeping compositions, which continue into the picture-frame itself. These paintings uniquely straddle representation and abstraction, at the same time as they demonstrate both an awareness of history and an understanding of art’s potential today. Most recently, his interest in working in different scales, evident particularly in significantly larger paintings such as Americana and After Vuillard, demonstrates his concern to engage the viewer in new and challenging ways.
Hamish Fulton describes himself as a “walking artist”. For more than thirty years he has undertaken demanding walks in many parts of the world, and drawn on his experiences to create distinctive artworks using text, graphics and photographs. He aims to “leave no trace” in the landscape, and he acknowledges that his art cannot represent the experience of a walk. “What I’m interested in,” he explains, “is presenting a sort of skeleton of something, and then the viewer fills in what’s missing, maybe from your own experience.” Although they exhibit a striking consistency in their concerns, Hamish Fulton’s artworks can exist as large-scale wall paintings and as modest publications, as graphics to compete with advertising hoardings and as online animations. They are informed both by spiritual ideas and by political questions prompted by our uses of the environment and by specific issues such as land rights.
FRONTLINE examines the Houston Astros cheating scandal and what it says about baseball today. With reporter Ben Reiter, the documentary traces the making of one of the best teams and worst scandals in modern Major League Baseball history, the limited accountability and how the Astros’ approach to baseball changed the sport.
After decades of secrecy and cover-ups, Hollywood's Dark Secret was revealed to the world- on the wings of inspiring bravery. Voices that had long been silenced risked everything to share their shocking stories of abuse at the hands of some of the most powerful people in the world. Uncover the disturbing reality that is - the casting couch. The truth is out, and it is being heard.
The identity of the little girl in a famous photograph from 1951 has remained a mystery for over seventy years. I'M THE GIRL investigates the power of a single image and the women who claim to be her.
Gillian Ayres studied at Camberwell School of Art from 1946-50, before running the AIA Gallery with painter Henry Mundy whom she married. As a young artist in the 1950’s, Ayres was closely involved with leading British abstract artists including Roger Hilton. Ayres was quick to respond to European tachism and American abstract expressionism, creating a body of work that placed her in the forefront of her generation. In the sixties she was the only woman artist to be represented in the important ‘Situation’ exhibitions, showing large paintings combining oil and paint that aimed for the sublime using very radial drip and pour techniques of action painting.
So what do you do when your cherished childhood toy becomes a collection. Then becomes an obsession? Well, like the Addams Family – voila! The house is a museum! The Matchbox Man, director Gorman Bechard visits Charlie Mack, who began buying Matchbox cars in 1963, when he was 7; from his initial 20 to 30, his collection exploded to more than 42,000 – one of the world’s largest – prompting him to turn much of his Connecticut home into a showcase of nearly every model and variation ever made. And while he gives a look at his blistering array of colors and styles, he presents a history of a humble toy car that became an international phenomenon.