art and society

Examines the efforts of a number of community builders who are using the arts to create beautiful neighborhood gathering places for their communities, as well as re-purposing old buildings and scrap metal for community centers.

Provides a general introduction to the history of women's involvement in the visual arts from the Middle Ages through the early twenty-first century, focusing on women who have chosen to work professionally in painting, sculpture, or related media, and studying the intersection between women as artists and women as subjects of art.

Explores the world of art through the perspective of the marketplace, including museums, galleries, dealers, investors, and the media. The first program examines how money affects art, focusing on the collectors and consultants who see modern art less an an aestethic pursuit and more as an international commodity. The second program contains interviews with artists, including Jeff Koons, the Starn Twins, William Wegman, and the duo David McDermott and Peter McGough, addressing how fame, the media, agents, and money affect the creative process. The third program examines the changing role that art plays in contemporary culture, featuring interviews with artists, curators, conservationists, and collectors.

Explores art in the United States through a cultural context, discussing how art has been influenced by figures, events, and products in American history, including European colonial settlement,Disney World, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.