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- A fast moving odyssey into the subterranean world of the rarely explored province of Filipino genre filmmaking.
- Documentary profile of singer-actress Eartha Kitt.
- A documentary film about the life of pianist and jazz great Thelonious Sphere Monk. Features live performances by Monk and his band, and interviews with friends and family about the offbeat genius.
- A look at the life, work, and impact of Andy Warhol (1928-1987), pop icon and artist, from his childhood in Pittsburgh to his death after a botched surgery. Warhol coined the word "superstar," became one, and changed the way the culture looks at and understands celebrity. After studying at Carnegie Tech, he goes to New York to be a commercial artist. By 1960, Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Rosenquist are inventing pop art. Warhol starts "The Factory," his workshop where he paints and makes movies. His is a cafe society of late nights and parties. His family, friends, an agent, a curator, gallery owners, actors, the co-founder of "Interview," and others tell stories and assess his art.
- By the end of the 1980's a new architectural sensibility challenged the prevailing post-Modern attitude and brought forth new and daring designs. Driven by the philosophy and theory of Jacques Derrida, the architects of Deconstructivism are rooted in a movement that urges us to examine the space we move through. Deconstructivist Architects documents explosive and seemingly chaotic structures from Vienna to L.A., and interviews those who pursue its aesthetic issues. Filmed on location with the architects and at the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition Deconstructivist Architecture, which was curated by Philip Johnson.
- Architect Peter Zumthor lives and works in the remote village of Haldenstein in the Swiss Canton of Graubünden where he can keep the politics of architecture at a comfortable distance as he enjoys status and praise for his unique modernist buildings. In "The Practice of Architecture", critic Kenneth Frampton visits Zumthor at his studio where the two are surrounded by models, designs and plans for current and future projects throughout Europe and the United States. Frampton questions the renowned architecture on the motives and methods behind some of his most famous works, including his Zinc-Mine-Museum in Norway and the highly acclaimed Therme Vals, a stunning hotel and spa built over the thermal springs in Graubünden. While walking us through his career, Zumthor discusses his penchant for minimalism, the importance of landscape, light and material, and the architectural theory behind his stunningly precise style.
- In "Álvaro Siza Transforming Reality", Portugal's renowned architect discusses his work and tours 15 projects with architectural historian Kenneth Frampton, who has referred to Siza as "one of the most important architects working today". In 1974 the end of the dictatorship in Portugal opened up this previously isolated part of the world to current ideas about design, architecture and urban planning. 'Critical regionalism', or the melding of indigenous architectural forms with international ideas defined the architectural revolution in and around Oporto, Portugal. This movement became know as 'the Oporto School' of which Siza is the leading figure. Siza's approach to architecture is centered around the idea that the setting of a building is integral to its design, and that a structure's design should reinforce its surroundings by both enhancing and highlighting its potential. Frampton discusses with Siza his most significant architectural innovations at the actual sites in Portugal, including his large-scale housing project in Evora, the architecture school of the University in Porto, the Teachers' College in Setúbal and the recent Serralves Museum in Porto .
- In 1985 director Christian Blackwood embarked on a documentary project about his landlords and neighbors at 115 Bank Street in Manhattan, Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis. The project resulted in a beautifully intimate depiction of the two and how they exist within their creative and personal partnership. Murray Louis first joined Alwin Nikolais at Henry Street and quickly became an important innovator in the Playhouse Company (later called the Nikolais Dance Theatre), acting as Nikolais's lead dancer and longtime collaborator. Christian Blackwood accompanies Nik and Murray during a season of performances of new work, both in the U.S. and abroad. "Nik and Murray: The Dances of Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis" is a lively and informative portrait of the two choreographers in which they reveal their insight into dance and their own unique way of creating work.
- Linked by their desire for the unknown and an increasingly explorative use of materials, the artists featured in 14 Americans: Directions of the 1970s strive to push boundaries and observe the space we occupy. Some of their activities enlist engineering and construction techniques, others compose texts or scripts that are central to their art. Some cast the viewer in the role of a spectator, while the others demand active participation. Through performances, sculptures, earthworks, furniture, and shaped canvases, artists such as Mary Miss and Scott Burton expand the meaning of art and strive to reshape our approach to creation.
- Known for his bold, abstract and stark white buildings, American architect Richard Meier now takes on the challenge of building the Jubilee Church in Rome. Holding the location in high regard, Meier praises the vibrant visual layout of the city and tells us, "Rome is a city of architecture; it's a city of walls and columns and spaces and places and defined places and wherever you look there's architecture" (Richard Meier). Staying true to his signature design style, Meier has created a structure resembling grand soaring sails which appear steady and peaceful as they stand in striking opposition to the city's landscape. Three curved walls separate three distinct spaces: the main sanctuary, the weekday chapel and the baptistry, each with its own entrance. As a contrast he shows us his favorite churches in Rome by his famous colleagues from earlier times.
- Serving as a detailed portrait of the acclaimed Japanese architect, this film engages with Kisho Kurokawa, who employs Buddhist ideas in a symbiosis of traditional forms and western modernism to achieve an intercultural architecture. In a merging of philosophy, culture, space and narrative, Kurokawa has created a body of work that he defines as symbiotic, which he specifies as "the simultaneous expression of conflicting things in a symbiotic manner" (Kisho Kurokawa). Kisho Kurokawa: From Metabolism to Symbiosis follows him to many of his major accomplishments in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nara, Osaka, Berlin, Paris, Chicago and New York.
- Jeff Wall is one of the most important and influential photographers working today. His work played a key role in establishing photography as a contemporary art form. Jeff Wall describes his recent work as "near documentary," a plausible account or a report on real or imagined encounters. Wall usually spends weeks painstakingly recreating these encounters and taking many pictures, from which he selects his final image in a critical process. His photographs are mainly displayed as backlit Cibachrome transparencies. In an interview with Sheena Wagstaff, Chief Curator at the Tate Modern, he said: Evaluation of quality is the core of the pleasure of the experience of art; the simultaneous pleasure of enjoying something intensely and of recognizing that it is a good work. I always judge my picture - daily, hourly, all the time. Even though it's disappointing to have to say "that one is not good", or "not as good as that one", it is still a pleasure to go through that process and experience a work afresh. Nothing has been as destructive to the condition of art as the idea that qualitative judgment is unimportant, and that art is important for cultural reasons. Art can only be important if it is good, because if it is good, it pleases us in ways we don't anticipate and don't understand, and that pleasure means something to us even if we can't specify what, exactly.
- Filmed during the commemoration of Einstein's centennial at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies, with former colleagues who provide insight and recollection. The panel includes Banesh Hoffman, Peter Bergman, Valentine Bargmann, and Ernst Straus. An understanding of Albert Einstein emerges, giving the audience a sense of the personal side of one of the 20th century's greatest thinkers.
- Although Butoh is often viewed as Japan's equivalent of modern dance, in actuality it has little to do with the rational principles of modernism. Butoh is a theater of improvisation which places the personal experiences of the dancer on center-stage. The dancer is used as a medium to his or her inner life, but not for the portrayal of day to day existence. A Dionysian dance of nudity, eroticism, and sexuality, Butoh's scale of expression ranges from meditative tenderness to excessive grotesqueness. By reestablishing the ancient Japanese connection of dance, music, and masks, and by recalling the Buddhist death dances of rural Japan, Butoh incorporates much traditional theater. At the same time, it is a movement of resistance against the abandonment of traditional culture to a highly organized consumer-oriented society. An alliance of tradition and rebellion, Butoh is one of the most fascinating underground dance movements. "Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis" is a visually striking film portrait shot on location in Japan with the participation of the major Butoh choreographers and their companies.
- This installment of The New Modernists looks at nine American-based innovators and their work for housing projects, commercial architecture, private houses and renovations from California to Italy to Japan and beyond. New York architect Billie Tsien, who participates in the film along with her husband and creative partner Tod Williams, states "Making architecture is about the process of making something and the thing, when you are finished, is never perfect, it is always slightly changing, it gets the scratches of the people who move in, fingerprints, it is like life itself, it is not static." (Billie Tsien) The featured architects discuss their methods and efforts towards building on the principles of Modernism while evolving a new language- one drawn from politics, film, literature, theory and the state of the world.
- Documentary examining the life and career of producer/director Roger Corman. Clips from his films and interviews with actors and crew members who have worked with him are featured.
- In 1968, we had the opportunity to spend time with Thelonious Monk and his musicians, following him in New York, Atlanta, and in various European cities. In New York his quartet plays at the Village Vanguard and at recording sessions for Columbia Records; in Atlanta they appear at a Jazz Festival organized by George Wein. The members of the quartet were Charlie Rouse, Larry Gales, and Ben Riley. The group was joined on the European tour by Ray Copeland, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, and Johnny Griffin, traveling as part of George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival road company.
- As an architect, educator, and philosopher, Louis Kahn played a prominent role in the history of 20th century architecture. An examination of six of his most significant buildings: The Salk Institute; the Kimbell Art Museum; the Center for British Art; the library at Philips Exeter Academy; the Indian Institute of Management; and the Parliament Buildings of Bangladesh.
- Known for his Pop imagery, avant-garde films, and enigmatic muses, Andy Warhol was a vital figure in the New York City art scene. Making a name for himself throughout the 1960's with his eccentric portrayal of commercialism and pop culture, Warhol soon became a much sought after artist, attracting the attention of both Manhattan's elite and those marginalized in society. In reference to Warhol's ability to draw a crowd, art critic David Bourdon observes, "I think Andy is quite conscious of everything that he's doing. He's a little but of a provocateur in that he always foresees what the reaction will be to a work before he starts it." (David Bourdon). Warhol predicted cultural and artistic trends while simultaneously holding a mirror up to those who perpetrated them. His iconic muses such as Candy Darling and Brigid Polk fueled his desire for artistic voyeurism and represented Warhol's aesthetic extremes. Through his Superstars Warhol both flirted with and mocked the idea of fame and what it meant to be "known" in a city like New York.
- Guided by seasoned New Yorkers, political figures, and cultural connoisseurs, "Empire City" examines Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs in order to paint a portrait of the ever-evolving metropolis. Appearing to be both adaptable and stubbornly stagnant, New York is a city of juxtapositions. As our narrator notes, "The city is too big, too diverse, and too complex for anyone to comprehend. New York is many cities interlaced with one another, each in constant independent motion." In "Empire City" we see proof of this dynamic through both footage and discussion of extreme wealth, economic success and increasingly expensive real estate versus the hardships faced by the city's minorities such as people of color, immigrants, and the lower class. Leaders and residents such as David Rockefeller, Edward Koch, Norman Mailer, Jane Jacobs, and Herman Badillo offer their insight into the best and worst of New York while tenderly noting the pride and loyalty it's inhabitants hold onto.
- Led by Meyer Schapiro and George Segal, "The Artist's Studio" gifts us with an intimate conversation between the art historian and the artist as they discuss Segal's plaster sculptures in relation to the European tradition and to contemporaries, from Giotto to Abstract Expressionism. Focusing on process, material, color and theory Schapiro and Segal examine the artist's work and the complex thought behind his acclaimed human casts.
- "Art in Our Time: Toward a New MoMA" features a cycle of 'end of century' exhibitions, cumulatively titled 'MoMA 2000', which aim to present the museum's rich collection in a brand new way. Instead of MoMA's famously traditional chronological installation, oriented heavily towards the 'School of Paris', the curators assembled works by themes which offered the public a new approach to the understanding of the art of our time. One aspect of this different approach was to experiment with finding new ways for MoMA to connect more decisively with the art of the present, as the term 'modern' can be construed as the art of the first half of the last century. By masterfully juxtaposing art of the past with art of the present, MoMA has encouraged it's visitors to observe, contemplate and process iconic pieces spanning the last century.
- Philip Guston is a powerful staple of the abstract expressionist movement, though he would prefer it be referred to as the New York School. Along with composers, choreographers and his fellow visual artists, Guston found his place in the avant garde. Often times finding modern art almost too accessible, Guston strives to create pieces that encourage audiences to engage, but not without deep consideration. His paintings rely heavily on motif and repetition, emphasizing the importance of his often political subjects. Perhaps his own worst critic, Guston had a habit of destroying the work he did not find himself connecting with. Guston had no interest in simply presenting an image that he was not fully absorbed in. His passion for his work comes through in heavy brush strokes which turn and travel expressively across the canvas. In reference to his own process and the diversity within his work Guston tell us "Nothing is ever solved in painting. It's a continuous chain that sometimes doesn't go in one line, but goes in a serpentine line or in crooked paths, detours, which have to be investigated." (Philip Guston) In both his paintings and career Guston did not fear exploration but welcomed it, eagerly following the winding path of his ever evolving art.
- A visit to the Spoleto Festival the year it started a U.S. season in Charleston, SC.
- The band of American artists known as the New York School toyed with tradition and rebelled against the Renaissance. In the early throes of Abstract Expressionism artists such as Jack Tworkov and Robert Motherwell were intent on working from the unconscious, eager to stray from the structured composition of the European work they had studied throughout school. Feeling as though free association yielded their best results, the painters, poets and performers of the New York School took a surrealist approach that was concerned less with aesthetic and more with expression. Those associated with the School were unified by their desire to create from within. While walking through the studios of Adolph Gottlieb, Philip Guston, and Lee Krasner, writer and narrator Barbara Rose notes, "Many were immigrants to America, but slowly they turned their eyes from Europe, looking into themselves and into their own subjective conflicts and experiences. As a result, they created a monumental, dramatic art that remains a singular expression of the crucial modern quest for individuality and personal freedom." Never knowing exactly how their pieces would turn out, the artists of the New York School embraced their own complex humanity and worked from a place of bold, sporadic realness.
- Katja Mann, wife of German novelist Thomas Mann, recalls their fifty years of marriage and their history both as a couple and independent intellectuals. Born in Germany, the Manns were exiled to the United States during WWII, and returned to Europe after the war, settling in Kilchberg near Zurich. Katja (née Pringsheim) was a witness to all her husband's writing and guarded him from interruptions throughout the years. Thomas Mann's well known literary accomplishments include "Buddenbrooks", "The Magic Mountain", "Death in Venice", "Joseph and His Brothers", and "Doctor Faustus". In this conversation with Elisabeth Plessen, Katja and her son Golo describes their life in vivid detail and reveal the background to many of Mann's important writings. Filmed in Katja's home in Kilchberg in 1969.
- No understanding of the modern movement in architecture is possible without knowledge of its master builder, Mies van der Rohe. Together with documentation of his life, this film shows all his major buildings, as well as rare film footage of Mies explaining his philosophy. Phyllis Lambert relates her choice of Mies as the architect for the Seagram building. Mies's achievements and continuing influence are debated by architects Robert A.M. Stern, Robert Venturi, and Philip Johnson, by former students and by architectural historians. Mies is seen in rare documentary footage.
- With the participation of famed architects such as Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind and Zaha Hadid, Peter Eisenman: Making Architecture Move provides an intimate look into the work of the daring and controversial creator. Filmed in the U.S. and Germany, Eisenman takes the viewer through several of his buildings, including the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio, while explaining his upcoming projects such as the Rebstockpark community in Frankfurt and the Max Reinhardt monument in Berlin. His predecessors and contemporaries offer praise and commentary on Eisenman's complex body of work including their own thoughts and theories surrounding his unique style.
- Narrated by critic Donald Kuspit, A New Spirit in Painting: 6 Painters of the 1980's explores the creative paths being forged by a collection of modern artists. Through observations of their pieces and intimate discussions ignited by the meaning behind the work, we gain a rare insight into the minds behind the rousing new wave of painting. Often times dark and daring in their aesthetic, the artists have recovered myth, history, symbols and eroticism to use as subject matter, recharging the gestures of previous generations with new intensity and inspiration.
- While visiting four architectural practices in 1982, we discuss the postmodernist movement through its meaning and motives. Beyond Utopia: Changing Attitudes in American Architecture features Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, Frank Gehry, Michael Graves and Peter Eisenman, all of whom are protégés of Philip Johnson. Guided by their mentor, these innovators rejected the European modernism of Mies and Corbusier in search of alternative directions. The architects show and discuss their buildings of the time both in their personal offices and on location.
- The Sensual Nature of Sound portrays four New York based composers and performers in terms of their musical lives and artistic passion. Though Laurie Anderson, Tania Leon, Meredith Monk and Pauline Oliveros are all pioneers in American music, each composer pursues a distinct direction of her own. Their rehearsals and performances show a common pursuit of lyrical storytelling through which a new set of contemporary narratives has been forged. Through body, sound, movement and composition, these women have forged their own path through the wild world of modern music.
- Pairing his collection of figurative paintings with an astute conversation surrounding mortality and humanity, "Francis Bacon and the Brutality of Fact" offers personal insight into the mind of an artist. In an interview led by friend and art critic, David Sylvester, Bacon opens up about his work and the, often times, grotesque and macabre tone of his paintings. His representations of the human figure in portraits and triptychs link him, in his view, to the distorted realism of Van Gogh and Picasso. With his unique take on life and death, Bacon explains to us the dichotomy of his art through an unexpectedly optimistic thesis which he dubbed the "brutality of fact". As Bacon's striking art conveys, with the acceptance of death comes a passionate vitality for life.
- A visit to the studio of Ernst Wilhelm Nay, a remarkable, if somewhat solitary German artist, who established his status at age 30, just before the advent of the Nazi takeover. Nay belonged to the persecuted generation of German artists who, just as their work began to blossom, were forced out by Hitler's art dictatorship. Labeling the art "decadent", the Hitler regime called for the removal of Nay's paintings from museum collections and the artist was banned from showcasing his new work. After the end of World War II, Nay returned to painting and worked tirelessly to make up for lost time, producing new pieces year after year and quickly becoming one of Germany's leading painters. Ernst Wilhelm Nay died in 1968 at the age of 65 yet his studio, still intact, offers a retrospective of his work starting from the 1920s. His wife, Elisabeth Nay walks us through the studio, offering insights into her husband's process and creative intent.
- Japanese architect, Tadao Ando, roots himself in cultural visions of space, landscape, and juxtaposition. Inspired deeply by his home and heritage, Ando proposes an international architecture that he believes can only be conceived by someone Japanese. Believing in the importance of carpentry and craftsmanship, Ando pays tribute to his culture and the way in which architecture is approached through the body. Showcasing his individuality through urban complexes, residences and chapels, Ando presents the work of his formative years, before embarking on projects in Europe and the United States.
- In 1968 German Television agreed to co-produce a film with us in which the distinguished German writer, Uwe Johnson, would introduce and question the various characters with whom he exchanges news and opinions during his wanderings on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Uwe, who lived in the area for several years, spent a majority of his free time getting to know his neighborhood very well, observing the goings on in the streets, cafeterias, and parks. We proposed to him that he participate in the documentary but being essentially introverted, Uwe was not interested in appearing on-camera, but was willing to make a list of places and situations that he felt should be included in the film. Christian Blackwood took charge of the project while Johnson wrote the narration which was added in once the film was edited. "Summer" in the City was broadcast in Germany at the time of its release.
- Documentary portrait of the Philippine filmmaker Lino Brocka.
- Apart from the work itself, it is the fragile, ephemeral quality of dance that creates a bond of intimacy between a performer and the viewer. Seven choreographers work tirelessly to both question and embrace their chosen form, producing work that celebrates the strange, startling and poetic beauty of dance and performance. Curated by Gia Kourlas. Narrated by the choreographers.
- Renowned architect, Arata Isozaki creates with a rare and specific hand, blending his Japanese culture and education with classic Western aesthetics. Inspired deeply by the architecture he saw in Europe, Isozaki's buildings appear both grand and delicate, entirely aware of the space they occupy. Of his particular style Isozaki tells us, "Even though my buildings look very Western and not Japanese, conceptually and fundamentally, I feel that I have been very influenced by Japanese traditions, both in architecture and in traditional concepts of time and space." (Arata Isozaki) Arata Isozaki: Early Work in Japan takes a detailed look at the architect's pieces, exploring applauded projects such as the EXPO '70 Osaka Festival Plaza, Gunma Prefectural Museum of Modern Art and Kitakyushu Municipal Library. The extraordinary series of architectural breakthroughs made during this time contributed significantly to the evolution of contemporary architecture worldwide, and eventually gained him his first foreign commission: The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
- A light-hearted, toe-tapping portrait of the well-known 8 Oscar winning Hollywood costume designer filmed in her opulent house and garden. Edith Head presents some of her famous designs using glamorous models to impersonate Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Dorothy Lamour, Ginger Rogers, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly. They move to the music of the films for which she was the designer as Head recalls the times and places that served as inspiration for the famed looks.
- While guiding us through her retrospective exhibition "Zaha Hadid Has Arrived", the renowned architect recalls her career from its beginning, discussing her education, inspiration and technique. The exhibition, located at The MAK in Vienna, features a new sculpture from Hadid entitled "Ice Storm" that serves as the centerpiece of the show and captures her sleek signature. From her famed Bergisel Ski Jump to Rome's Museum of Contemporary Art, Hadid's architectural resume shines in its diversity and exploration. A Day with Zaha Hadid reviews Hadid's work of the last decade and celebrates her perpetually modern and daring designs.
- Joan Jonas, a pioneer of video and performance art, started exploring new media in the mid-1960s and quickly became a highly influential and entirely unique visual artist. In 2012 we followed her work on her latest installation and performance, "Reanimation" which she created for the dOCUMENTA(13) art exhibition in Kassel, Germany. Inspired by the novel "Under the Glacier" by the Icelandic writer Halldór Laxness, Jonas created a video installation piece, mixing footage of a trip to Norway, text, drawings, props, and reanimated videos from her previous work. Pairing her imagery with the music of Jazz pianist, Jason Moran, who Jonas has collaborated with on past projects, the artist creates a unique space of sound and scenery. Throughout the film, the artist also offers insights into her inspirations and her early work including "Wind", "Organic Honey", "Volcano Saga" and "The Shape, The Scent, The Feel of Things".
- As Isamu Noguchi walks us through his grand sculptures and gardens, the artist offers a unique insight into the way we, as individuals and as a collective society exist in time. Guided by his fascination with one's own reaction to time, Noguchi works to create pieces that emulate the non-linear narrative of life. Convinced that trapping oneself in a single time can be isolating in both existence and art, Noguchi stated, "If you are caught in time, immediate present time, then your choice is very limited, you can only do certain things correctly belonging to that time. But if you want to escape from that time constraint, than the whole world- I mean not just the most industrialized world - but the whole world is someplace where you belong." (Isamu Noguchi) Noguchi relates this interpretation of time to both his art and his experiences with the nature that tied into his work. While explaining how Michelangelo was told to collect his marble from Monte Altissimo di Nago, Noguchi dwells on the importance of recognizing the relationship between nature, art and technology. Much like his resistance to conform in the constructs of time, Noguchi is also persistent in his artistic freedom, rejecting the notion of a set genre or movement. He relies on intuition and passion to dictate his presence, and therefore his work's presence, in time and space. Reluctant to lock himself or his work into any preconceived notion, Noguchi stated the following, "I consider conceptual things as a base--that's where you start from. But the discovery is in the accidents and also the things that happen which make you change your mind. I'm never absolutely fixed about anything." (Isamu Noguchi) The fluidity of Noguchi's work led to a collection of stunning and diverse pieces that are, as he intended, timeless.
- "Sam Fuller: Writings with a Camera" takes us behind the scenes of the much discussed and highly controversial film, "White Dog". Directed by Sam Fuller in 1981, the film is based on the novel by Romain Gary which is centered around the theme of racism in American and conditionalized hatred. The central figure in the film is a white German shepherd, adopted by a young actress played by Kristy McNichol, who has been trained by previous abusive owners to attack any black person it sees. The actress enlists the help of Keys, a devoted animal trainer, to re-educate the dog and attempt to correct the conditioned racism taught to him from a young age. Due to its theme and subject matter, the film was not widely circulated at the time of its completion but was finally released on DVD in December, 2008. Director, Christian Blackwood visits Sam Fuller on set of "White Dog", observing him at work with the animals and actors as he explains his approach to filmmaking and his unique desire to "write with the camera."
- The Masters of Modern Sculpture series concludes with a look at post- World War II America, where sculpture became a deeply innovative art form. Using the objects at their disposal and the inspiration surrounding them, artists such as George Rickey, Claes Oldenburg, and Louise Nevelson cast sculptor in a new light. The New World observes the sculptors creatively utilizing wood, metals, and junkyard finds, bringing forth lively and shocking work. America's remote spaces, discarded objects and abundant materials enabled them to add to the concepts of European modernism in daringly unique ways.
- Filmed during a visit to the Spoleto Festival in Umbria on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, "Spoleto 1967" documents the vibrant celebration of culture. Featuring such productions as, "Don Giovanni" and "El Principe Constante", as well as poetry readings by Allen Ginsberg and Rafael Alberti, the Spoleto Festival continues to display an inviting variety of performances. From orchestra to ballet, the festival highlights the importance of the arts and its unwavering ability to bring people together.
- Japan's establishment as an economic superpower led to a Golden Age of Japanese architecture. Six innovators stand out particularly, fusing Japanese traditions with modern materials and technology.
- In 1968, we had the opportunity to spend time with Thelonious Monk and his musicians, following him in New York, Atlanta, and in various European cities. In New York his quartet plays at the Village Vanguard and at recording sessions for Columbia Records; in Atlanta they appear at a Jazz Festival organized by George Wein. The members of the quartet were Charlie Rouse, Larry Gales, and Ben Riley. The group was joined on the European tour by Ray Copeland, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, and Johnny Griffin, traveling as part of George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival road company.
- "Steven Holl: The Body in Space" explores the career of the innovative, highly renowned American architect. In this portrait Holl presents some of his most acclaimed works, including the Makuhari Housing Complex in Chiba, Japan and the Chapel of St. Ignatius in Seattle. Centered around the completion of Holl's Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, the film observes his process and reasoning throughout the duration of the project. Constantly creating through the concept of phenomenology, Holl infuses his work with his philosophy explaining, "Phenomenology, for me, is the study of essences, and I believe that architecture has the potential in the twenty-first century to put essences back into existence." (Steven Holl)
- Reclaiming the Body: Feminist Art in America features a collection of passionate, determined artists who have taken creation, performance and visual storytelling into their own hands. Loosely based on the two-part BAD GIRLS exhibition at The New Museum of Contemporary Art in Manhattan, Reclaiming the Body goes beyond the scope of the exhibition to include other significant contributors to feminist art. From sculpture to photography, the featured work challenges society's notion of the female form, femininity and gender identity. The film spans three generations of artists, from Louise Bourgeois to Janine Antoni, in order to give an overview of the history of this important movement from the 1960s to the present day.
- 4 Artists: Robert Ryman, Eva Hesse, Bruce Nauman, Susan Rothenberg acts as a collective portrait of creators linked only by their stated intention of expressing ideas through art. Unconnected to traditional concepts of beauty, storytelling or pictorial representation, the artists discuss the context of their art and how their work and the public's perception of it have changed over time. This film offers the rare opportunity to see a large body of work in their studios.