This week we meet with Jesse Sugarmann, whose artwork considers how the automotive industry shapes the way we live and construct our identities. His assignment asks you to think about the way car consumerism, and the aesthetic choices...

Should art be beautiful? Revisit ancient philosophers' thoughts on beauty and consider why we might be skeptical of beauty today.

Do you see Graffiti or Street Art? Explore the "pioneering era" of graffiti that took place during the years 1969 through 1974, as well as its enduring appeal today.

In this video I break down Arthur Danto's belief that Art ended in the 1960's when he saw Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes. He approaches the theory of art through classical philosophy and uses frameworks established by Plato and Hegel, among...

Today we are talking about art and aesthetic appreciation. What makes something an artwork? Can art really be defined? Is aesthetic value is objective or subjective? Can taste be developed? How?

You might have heard about the debut of Hologram Tupac at the music festival Coachella earlier this year. But with Queen's recent announcement of a Hologram Freddie Mercury and TLC's plans for a Hologram Lisa Left Eye Lopes, it looks...

How do art and morality intersect? Today we look at an ethically questionable work of art and discuss R. G. Collingwood’s view that art is best when it helps us live better lives. We’ll go over Aristotle’s concept of catharsis and how it...

Round 2 of The Art Assignment Book Club features John Dewey's Art As Experience, which certainly was an experience to read - congratulations to you if you did it! If you didn't, we understand. We read it for you, and we'll discuss some...

Ellen Winner is Professor and Chair of Psychology at Boston College, and Senior Research Associate at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education. She directs the Arts and Mind Lab, which focuses on cognition in the arts in...

Since the time of the ancient Greeks, there was a belief in the divine property of numbers. Some held that number held the secret to aesthetics and the very nature of the universe itself. Let’s learn about the golden ratio.

In this video, the instructor guides viewers through the process of painting an aesthetic food table, including a pizza, napkin, wooden tray, and various fruits and dishes. They provide step-by-step instructions and tips on using...

A video entitled "Defining Art" which discusses the difficulty of defining art.

Piercings are one of the most common forms of body modification. The process involves puncturing or cutting body tissue to insert ornamental pieces. This art and cultural practice dates back at least 5000 years. Discover different...

Explore how a lifelong artist incorporates her creative vision into the daily rhythms of a small family farm. Learn about the synergy between her art and agricultural practices, which enhances both the farm's productivity and its visual...

We meet with Brooklyn-based artist Diana Shpungin. Diana's work and her assignment for you are both based on empathy -- it's a feeling we usually have for other people, but Diana wants you to direct your empathy towards objects instead.

"Surrealism" has become shorthand for the bizarre, the irrational, the hallucinatory. But what IS it? Or what WAS it? Today we delve into the history of Surrealism, as it formed in post-World War I Europe and as it has infiltrated our...

PBS Digital Studio's The Art Assignment visits artist collective Dignicraft during their residency at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Omar Foglio, José Luis Figueroa, and Paola Rodriguez give us the...

Today we’re talking with Jesse Sugarmann about the way car consumerism, and the aesthetic choices behind it, has been a part of your life and your families. Learn more about Jesse's workref='http://www.jessesugarmann.com/'...

On the Japanese mending practice of Kintsugi. To discuss this further, follow me on tumblr and use the Ask Me Anything feature hereref='http://thenerdwriter.tumblr.chere target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>here And you can follow me on...

Haruo Shirane, Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature and Culture, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University Presented as part of the Sunday at the Met series, this is the first talk in a series of lectures...

Sarah Lewis describes how photography and music are often the catalyst for radical societal change. Lewis is a curator and historian based in New York. She is the author of The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for