What does a cultural Big Bang look like? For Amit Sood, director of Google's Cultural Institute and Art Project, it's an online platform where anyone can explore the world's greatest collections of art and artifacts in vivid, lifelike...

In standard notation, rhythm is indicated on a musical bar line. But there are other ways to visualize rhythm that can be more intuitive. John Varney describes the 'wheel method' of tracing rhythm and uses it to take us on a musical...

In 1982 at the age of just 22 years old, Jean-Michel Basquiat would produce this painting. A powerful and dazzling image that mixes text, colour, symbolism and mark-making in a raw and uncensored explosion.



In a single...

This assignment comes to you from Chicago based artist Geof Oppenheimer. Geof's work reflects personal experience and the social and political atmosphere they were created in, and he wants you to make an object that does the same. John...

We come to you from San Francisco's Exploratorium, where we met with artist-in-residence Zarouhie Abdalian. For her assignment, she wants you to focus on boundaries and the relationships between the spaces they separate. Sarah Green then...

Women were excluded from almost all cultural and social resources in the centuries from 1400 to 1900 when so much of the world's great art was created. And visual art was almost entirely a male industry before modern times. Having...

"Thoroughly researched and cleverly presented, with stunning visuals, Great Art Explained makes you realise that familiarity with a work of art sometimes makes us indifferent to its power" - Forbes Magazine, 9 July 2020

"What a brilliant series this is" - Stephen Fry on Twitter 12 December 2020



"Thoroughly researched and cleverly presented, with stunning visuals, Great Art Explained makes you realise that familiarity with a work of art...

"Thoroughly researched and cleverly presented, with stunning visuals, Great Art Explained makes you realise that familiarity with a work of art sometimes makes us indifferent to its power" - Forbes Magazine, 9 July 2020

This week we kick off The Art Assignment Book Club with Dave Hickey's "Air Guitar: Essays on Art & Democracy." We discuss everything from John geeking out in a library to Michael Jackson's chimpanzee - Bubbles. Oh, and we discuss the...

Jon Cozart talks to us about classical music, internet videos, Lord of the Rings, and of course, musicals. Here are Jon's five favorite works of art: 1) Spring Awakening 2) Mozart's Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 3) The Lord of the Rings:...

An explanation of Ekphrasis: the art of describing a visual experience in words. This is done through a look at Sophie Calle's art works "Last Seen" and "What do you see?"

Pupil outcome: I can respond to different sources and share my ideas to identify themes and connections. Key learning points: - Sources in art can be found in multiple places. - A variety of sources such as art pieces, photographs, or...

This video is an art historical analysis of Lorna Simpson's photograph "Waterbearer", but it's also about why and how we engage with art.

Comics are a form of illustrated storytelling that combines pictures, text, and visual elements to tell stories and convey ideas. From classic comic strips to modern graphic novels, comics have a rich history that spans across different...

Mercer Hall has been teaching for over sixteen years at an independent school on Long Island, New York. He is a five-time honoree as Teacher Of The Year, and he has been awarded both the Thomas J. Reid Excellence In Teaching Award and...

Was da Vinci an artistic genius? Sure, but he was also born in the right place at the right time -- pre-Renaissance, Western artists got little individual credit for their work. And in many non-Western cultures, traditional forms have...

Visual artist Helen Marriage stages astonishing, large-scale public art events that expand the boundaries of what's possible. In this visual tour of her work, she tells the story of three cities she transformed into playgrounds of the...

Sound waves vibrate more than just our eardrums, they can also make visual art!

Can art save lives? Not exactly, but our most prized professionals (doctors, nurses, police officers) can learn real world skills through art analysis. Studying art like Rene Magritte's Time Transfixed can enhance communication and...

Using found materials and mesmerizing structures that unearth deep-rooted emotions, Wangechi Mutu's visual creations celebrate our collective history and explore how art communicates into the future. From ancient rock carvings in the...

Amanda Williams shares her lifelong fascination with the complexity of color: from her experiences with race and redlining to her discovery of color theory to her work as a visual artist. Journey with Williams to Chicago's South Side and...

* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. In this quick talk, visual artist Dread Scott tells the story of one of his most transgressive art installations,...

There is a question that has been tossed around by philosophers and art critics for decades: how much should an artist's intention affect your interpretation of the work? Do the artist’s plans and motivations affect its meaning? Or is...