Art: 21 - Art in the 21st Century: Seasons One & Two

Art: 21 - Art in the 21st Century: Seasons One & Two

Art: 21 - Art in the 21st Century: Seasons One & Two
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DVD details

Actor: VARIOUS
Brand: MUSIC VIDEO DISTRIBUTORS
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 50 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-12-13
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: ARTF600
Studio: PBS
Product features:
  • This release contains the first and second season of PBS' acclaimed documentary, which takes a look into the future at how art will be changing people's lives in the 21st Century. Artists of many fields and levels of establishment are caught in the act of creation and discuss their work, what it means, and what the they are striving for. Hosted by a variety of celebrities, this special loo

DVD Reviews of Art: 21 - Art in the 21st Century: Seasons One & Two

DVD Review: Perfect Orientation to the Artist's Vocation
Summary: 4 Stars

Art it turns out is not all that complicated and not all that hard to understand if we just find the right way to approach it. ART 21 allows us to approach art just as an artist does: as a way of establishing a rapport and ongoing dialogue with the world. Each episode features four artists & each artist invites us into their artistic space & shares with us not only the evolution of individual works & shows in progress, but also a petit autobiography (including intimate details about why they began creating & continue to create) that gives us an ideal point of entry into their personalities, motivations, & thought processes. Most of the artists here were born in the 60's & do not present themselves as seers or sages (as early and mid 20th cent artists often did) but simply as normal humans who happen to think visually. That's refreshing.

The strength of the series is its lack of pretension and the way that it allows the artists to speak directly to us, and many of the artists are extremely articulate & fascinating to listen to (I was especially impressed with Ann Hamilton). This series avoids (mod, postmod & other) theory & instead foregrounds the artist as a developer of specific skills & strategies. It also foregrounds the artist as an often private creature involved in crafting a highly personal vision, albeit one that is ultimatley meaningless unless shared. The viewer therefore feels invited into the artist's space and vision and feels very welcome there. ART 21 is therefore a very pleasing introduction/orientation into the world of art. After watching a couple seasons worth of ART 21, viewers will likely feel that artists are people just like themselves but with one slight difference: they are obsessively devoted to their work.

The weakness of the series is that many of the artists selected seem to be carving out very private niches and although they may desire to connect with audiences, their work just doesn't give audiences much to connect to. The artists themselves are all interesting in their way, but the work presented does not always seem to be as interesting or evocative as the people describing it. In fact much of the work is virtually impossible to decipher without the artist's autobiography & self-commentary & the detailed explanation of the relation between self & material. All of the artists are dealing with memory & commenting on the way we use art to remember the past as well as connect to the present. But after awhile the content or message just seems generic/interchangable/inconsequential; what really singles individual artists out is not their message but their work habits, their techniques & their materials.

Most of the artists in this series were born after 1960. For this generation, it's not about the finished product or a fixed message; its about creating art that invites audiences to become part of the creative process & to become producers of their own interpretations & meanings. Perhaps the artist has never really been a meaning-maker, but simply one who examines the ways we make meaning out of routine & ritual; out of craft & technique; and out of close contact with the physical world. This certainly seems to be the underlying message of the series.

Perhaps future episodes/seasons or a future PBS series will feature not only individual artists discussing their own work, but panel discussions that put artists (from various generations, genders, & cultures) in dialogue with each other and with art world types (curators & critics...).

Highly recommended to both those with a casual and a longstanding interest in art.



More Art: 21 - Art in the 21st Century: Seasons One & Two reviews:
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Description of Art: 21 - Art in the 21st Century: Seasons One & Two

Studio: Music Video Dist Release Date: 12/13/2005
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