Paul Klee, a German WWI veteran said, "The more horrifying this world becomes, the more art becomes abstract." After the war, Klee and other abstract artists taught at the Bauhaus School which was influencial in abstract art and architecture.
This clip provides background information on the famous Italian artist, Michelangelo, and jokingly explains that popular culture has influenced the public to think of him as a Ninja Turtle. It mentions the artist's most famous works, the Statue of David and the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and gives a fictional depiction of his work on the masterpiece that is the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Vincent Van Gogh's brother Theo pays him a visit and encourages him to rediscover his spark to overcome his depression. He calls Vincent an idler, but Vincent is quick to discern himself from a man who chooses to be idle. Rather, he indicates that he would love to work but cannot because of his current situation.
Amid the McCarthy hearings and the launch of the civil rights movement in the 1950s, painter Jacob Lawrence sought to frame early American history the way he saw it. His ensuing work, the sprawling series “Struggle,” has been reassembled and is now on a national tour, with its first stop at the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts. Special correspondent Jared Bowen of WGBH visits the exhibit.
This clip illustrates Jean-Michel Basquiat's journey from his beginnings as part of the graffiti duo, SAMO, to his rise as an internationally renowned painter.
We tackle the intersection of art and our changing climate. Throughout history, art has helped reveal the climate around us and highlight our fragile relationship to it. Sometimes, nothing can be done to protect our cultural heritage except completely closing it off like the cave painting in Lascaux France. Then there are the artworks created to reveal and highlight the fluctuations of our climate like Robert Smithson's spiral jetty. Today we look some artis that highlight this fragile relationship.
The artist Frida Kahlo is a larger-than-life icon, While the artis passed away in 1954, when she was still with us Frida Kahlp propagated her own image in numerous ways through her distinctive style and commanding presence. We take a close look at her life growing up and what led her down the path of painting. We take an in depth look at what early influences would spark her body of work.