How do artists tell stories in their work? How does contemporary art reflect and reveal narrative traditions? How does the art of today record and describe the world around us? The Art:21 documentary "Stories" explores these questions through the work of Charles Atlas, Kara Walker, Kiki Smith, Do-Ho Suh, and Trenton Doyle Hancock.
How do contemporary artworks embody emotion? How do artists express longing, love, and human experience in their work? The Art:21 documentary "Loss and Desire" explores these questions through the work of Charles Atlas, Collier Schorr, Gabriel Orozco, and Janine Antoni.
How do artists evoke and transform time in their work? Can a work of contemporary art be timeless? How does contemporary art relate to art of the ancient past, to nature, and to the rhythms of the life? The Art:21 documentary "Time" explores these questions through the work of Charles Atlas, Martin Puryear, Paul Pfeiffer, Vija Celmins, and Tim Hawkinson.
How do artists use irony, goofiness, satire, and sarcasm in their work? Can an artwork be funny and critical at the same time? Do contemporary artists always take themselves seriously? The Art:21 documentary "Humor" explores these questions through the work of Charles Atlas, Eleanor Antin, Raymond Pettibon, Elizabeth Murray, and Walton Ford.
From politics to mass media, the theme of power pervades daily life and is reflected in the ideas and concerns of contemporary artists. The Art:21 documentary "Power" explores the work of the artists Cai Guo-Qiang, Laylah Ali, Krzysztof Wodiczko, and Ida Applebroog, and concludes with an original video artwork by Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler.
How does memory function? What is history? How do contemporary artists frame the past in their work? The Art:21 documentary "Memory" explores these questions through the work of the artists Susan Rothenberg, Mike Kelley, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Josiah McElheny, and concludes with an original video artwork by Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler.
Susan Sollins
Producer
Susan Dowling
Creator
