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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2009 > October > 06 > Entry
Wednesday: It’s arts and crafts night on PBS
Need some free recession-ready arts programming?
Wednesday, it’s arts and crafts night on PBS with the premiere of two series, ‘Art:21: Art in the Twenty-First Century’ and ‘Craft in America.’ And Tuesday you can preview an episode of ‘Art 21’ for free at Arthouse at 6 p.m.
‘Art21: Art in the Twenty-First Century,’ a four-part series
9 p.m. Wednesdays, Oct. 7-28
PBS
‘Craft in America: Origins and Process’
7 p.m. tonight
PBS
‘Program Three: Transformations,’ a screening and discussion
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Arthouse, 700 Congress Ave.
Cost: Free
Information: 453-5312, www.arthousetexas.org
Perhaps what makes ‘Art:21’ the documentary series about contemporary visual art, such a pleasure is its directness.
No voiceovers or talking head experts interfere with the Peabody Award-winning series, which begins its fifth season Wednesday. Instead, artists speak directly and do so from their studios or homes or wherever they happen to be making art. And that gives “Art: 21” a certain intimacy and accessibility that’s not always the case with the contemporary art world that love to throw an impenetrable wall between it and an audience.
Each one-hour episode is organized around a theme. This season it’s “Compassion,” “Fantasy,” “Transformation” and “Systems”. But don’t let those organizing rubrics cloud your viewing too much.
More importantly, backgrounds and influences are learned and the series gives a peek into how an artist makes choices about what he or she creates - or doesn’t create — reveals much more.
This season we see South African artist William Kentridge apply his hand-drawn animation techniques to his first-ever design for an opera set. Provocateur Jeff Koons reveals the factory-style art-making method he uses employing a plethora of assistants. Cindy Sherman continues to morph into other characters for her photographs, but takes things to a new tragic level. And Chinese artist Cao Fei speaks through her virtual reality avatar.
Getting a glimpse the artists at work, making creative choices and speaking frankly makes “Art21” like a casual, friendly encounter with some of the most innovate and original thinkers of our times.
Image: Yinka Shonibare MBE. ‘How to Blow up Two Heads at Once (Ladies),’ 2006. © Yinka Shonibare, MBE, courtesy the artist, James Cohan Gallery, New York
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