Jane Sloan Media Librarian jsloan@rci.rutgers.edu May 2006

Research Resources: Subject Research Guides: Media Collections:
Art, United States

This guide is a browsing aid to selected titles in the video/DVD collections at Rutgers Libraries. The most up-to-date, accurate, and complete information regarding the libraries' holdings is available only through IRIS, our online catalog.

Against the odds the artists of the Harlem Renaissance 1994

Documents the story of a group of black visual artists working during the 1920s and 1930s, who for the most part were unable to show their work in mainstream museums and galleries. Highlights the influential role the Harmon Foundation played in the development of African American art in the United States.

1 videocassette (57 min) :

MEDIA 2-4002

The age of anxiety 1997

An eight part series presenting American history through its visual art, painting, sculpture, architecture and monuments. This final segment explores how American art has reflected the upheavals of the last 25 years. Hughes traces the evolution of abstract art and minimalism and considers the spiritual richness of earth works, in which nature is the artist's medium. He ends the series by profiling a wide range of contemporary artists including Edward Kienholz, Donald Judd, Richard Serra, Walter De Maria, Robert Smithson, Bruce Nauman, Richard Diebenkorn, Philip Guston, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Susan Rothenberg, Eric Fischl, Louise Bourgeois and James Turrell.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

MEDIA 2-4085

Alan Bean art off this earth 1990

A documentary about the 9th astronaut on the moon, Alan Bean, which focuses on the paintings he created from his memories and experiences on the moon and in space.

1 videocassette (26 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1689

Alfred Stieglitz, photographer 1864-1946 1998?

With striking portraits of Stieglitz, his own images, and the works of other photographers he influenced, this film celebrates the achievements of this seminal figure in modern art and photography in America. Content is drawn from Stieglitz' own observations and reminiscences of people who know him well, including Ansel Adams, Mary Steichen Calderone, Harold Clurman, Aaron Copland, Arnold Newman and Isamu Noguchi.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

DANA 1476

Alfred Stieglitz the eloquent eye 2001

Examines the achievements and legacy of photographer Alfred Stieglitz. Includes an interview with Georgia O'Keeffe as well as film footage of other artists he inspired including Edward Steichen and John Marin.

1 videocassette (ca. 90 min.)

MEDIA 2-6698

Allen Houser 1976

Follows Allen Houser, the first contemporary Native American sculptor, through the complex creation of a bronze image, from selection of stone in the desert to the casting at the foundry. Houser's major source of inspiration is revealed as his mother tells stories of Geronimo and life on Fort Sill Reservation in Oklahoma.

1 videocassette (ca. 29 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1360

American Indian artists II Jaune Quick-To-See Smith 1982

Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, a Shoeshone French Cree painter, discusses her abstract paintings, which depict her Indian heritage with scenes of early Plains lifestyles. During a visit to her Flathead Reservation home in Montana, Smith explains her feelings about her people and her own Indian upbringing. She reveals herself as an artist who happens to be Indian and who draws upon this heritager in her work.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1331

American photography a century of images 1999

v.1. The developing image, 1900-1934 -- v. 2. The photographic age, 1935-1959 -- v.3. Photography transformed, 1960-1999Presents the whole range of photography in the United States in the 20th century. The range of topics include artistic photography, photojournalism and home photography. The series mentions the technological change and the impact that photographs have whether they are personal or newsworthy.

3 videocassettes (ca. 161 min.) :

MEDIA. MEDIA. MEDIA 2-4314 cassette 1 2-4315 cassette 2 2-4316 cassette 3

Andy Warhol A profile of Andy Warhol's life and work. This video, completed after his death in Feb. 1987, examines a career that included painting, film, television, rock music, and publishing. Includes excerpts from interviews filmed over a period of 25 years, and footage taken in London shortly before his death.

1 videocassette (79 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1645

Ansel Adams, photographer 1991

Ansel Adams shows the places he has photographed, and talks about his work and techniques. Highlights include a working session with the photographer and his assistants.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

DOUGLASS 152

Art city making it in Manhattan 1996

Presenting a cross-section of artists, status, age, sex, and ethnic backgrounds. The film moves into lofts, studios and galleries for intimate scenes of artists at work. They discuss inspiration, aesthetic issues, the meaning of success, and how they overcame hardship to pursue a lifetime in art.

1 videocassette (58 min.) :

DANA. MEDIA 951 2-3598

The Art of Navajo weaving ; The Durango collection 1987

Pt. 1. The Art of Navajo weaving (16 min.) -- pt. 2. The Durango Collection (40 min.)Features two complete programs. The first, The Art of Navajo weaving, beautifully documents the state of Navajo weaving, looking at its origins and, through a visit with a contemporary weaving family, its current state. It features Isabel and Geanita John, award winning pictorial weavers. The second program is an interesting and educational tour through the Durango Collection, the most complete private collection of Navajo and Southwestern weaving in the world. The collection is presented as it was seen in a recent exhibition at the Denver Museum of Natural History.

1 videocassette (56 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2647

Artists at work a film on the New Deal art projects 1983

An in-depth survey of the federal programs for support of visual artists during the depression. Several artists recount experiences with WPA's art project and other programs. Shows works of art created during the New Deal era and discusses the destruction and loss of many works of art produced then.

1 videocassette (35 min.) :

DANA 317

Arts 1987

An optimistic look at the role of the arts in revitalizing the city of Newark. Discussion includes ambitious plans for the future of arts in Newark, including opening a performing arts center, and how it would be financed. Economically, socially, and politically, developing the arts in Newark will be beneficial to both the city and the State of New Jersey. Featured guests are the Chairman/CEO of Mutual Benefit Life Robert Van Fossan, Rutgers University-Newark Dr. Clement Price, Music critic for Star Ledger Michael Redmond and Assistant Secretary of State Alvin Felzenberg.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

DANA 161

Beatrice Wood mama of Dada 1993

Documentary about the life, loves, and influences of artist Beatrice Wood, first presented on her 100th birthday, March 3, 1993. Combines archival photographs, original artwork, commentary by art historians such as Anne d'Harnoncourt, and interviews with the artist herself.

1 videocassette (55 min.) :

DANA 573

Benny Andrews, the visible man 1996

Benny Andrews, African-American artist, talks about his life and art. Includes critical commentary by various art historians and others.

1 videocassette (28 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3178

Betye and Alison Saar conjure women of the arts 1994

Mother and daughter artists demonstrate collaborative art, and the use of found objects in their work, and reflect on their relationship, motivation and role as African American women.

1 videocassette (ca. 28 min.) :

DOUGLASS 166

Black women on: the light, dark thang 1999

Explores the politics of color within the African-American community. Afro-American women, representing a variety of hues, speak candidly about the longstanding "caste system" that permeates black society and share personal stories about how being too light or too dark has profoundly influenced their life and relationships.

1 videocassette (52 min.)

MEDIA 2-7333

Bright like a sun 1999

Discusses the creative visions of African-American artists such as singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson, who uses his fame and artistry to fight for social justice; sculptor Augusta Savage, who builds an art school in Harlem to nurture African-American talent; jazz musicians Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, playing the bebop that will become a recognized musical genre.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

MEDIA 2-4292

Carmen Harrera 1994

A documentary about the life and work of Carmen Harrera, a painter born in Cuba in 1915 and living in New York since 1939, who gained renown as an abstract minimalist while working in Paris in the 1940's and 1950's, but who has yet to be widely accepted in the U.S. The film includes an extensive interview with Herrera, interspersed with images of her works and commentary by critics such as Guilio Blanc, Alejandro Anreus, and Marta Gutierrez.

1 videocassette (26 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2470

Chris Burden a video portrait 1989

During the early '70's, Chris Burden's shockingly simple, unforgettable performances took the jaded art world by surprise. In this documentary, Chris Burden talks about his works of the past twenty years: from the performances of the '70's to the sculpture and installations of the '80's.

1 videocassette (28 min.) :

DANA. MEDIA 1560 2-1614

Chuck Close eye to eye 1998

On this program we look at the extraordinary career of Chuck Close, an artist who, working from photographs, has had a passionate interest in making portraits of his family and friends.

1 videocassette (35 min.) :

DANA 1670

Claes Oldenburg 1996

"Claes Oldenburg's over-scaled sculptures based on food and other domestic items brought him to prominence in the 1960s as one of the foremost exponents of the Pop Art Movement. In this film viewers visit the artist's New York studio, the Guggenheim Museum, and Petaluma, California, for the construction of Giant Houseball, and contemporaries Jim Dine and Roy Lichtenstein discuss the man and his art."--Container.

1 videocassette (54 min.) :

DANA 891

Days of waiting the life and art of Estelle Ishigo 1990

Documentary about artist Estelle Peck Ishigo, a Caucasian woman interned during World War II with her Japanese American husband at Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Wyoming. Portrays through her words and drawings and through film and photographs, the deprivations and humiliations of camp life, and the difficulties of readjustment at war's end.

1 videocassette (28 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3935

Diego Rivera the age of steel 1998

Considered by the artist to be the most successful creation of his career, Diego Rivera's fresco cycle in the Detroit Institute of Arts is the finest example of Mexican muralist work in the United States. The film documents Rivera's painting of the "Detroit Industry" frescos, one of the few modern works to successfully incorporate representations of machines being transformed into dynamic, sensual forms.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

DANA 1473

Dorothea Lange 1965-1966

Performer Note: Narrator: Richard MooreUnder the trees: Discusses her involvement in her work, her philosophy as a photographer and the reasons and emotions which moved her to photograph particular scenes. Closer for me: Presents photographs which portray various periouds such as the depression, World War II, and growth or urban sprawl in contemporary California.

1 videocassette (ca. 60 min.)

MEDIA D-382

Drawing the line a portrait of Keith Haring 1989

Keith Haring was an artist who graduated from graffiti to being hailed as the successor to Warhol and Lichenstein. He attempted to break the boundaries between the old and the new, while incorporating social issues into his art work.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

DANA. DOUGLASS 1481 144

East coast/West coast 1969

Artists Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson, a married couple until Smithson's death in 1973, filmed their 1969 discussion of contrasting lifestyles and approaches to artistic creation. Smithson championed a relatively loose, free-wheeling approach; Holt argued for a greater degree of order and conceptualization in life and art.

1 videocassette (ca. 23 min.) :

MEDIA 2-5640

Eat 1919

A film or artist Robert Indiana eating mushrooms and playing with a cat.

1 videocassette (ca. 25 min.)

MEDIA D-228

Edward J. Steichen 1995

"Edward J. Steichen was considered by many 'the greatest portrait photographer of the 20th century.' He was world famous, creating the Family of Man exhibition, seen by over 9 million viewers....He was a major cultural force of the modern age, presenting Picasso in his own NY Gallery and reinventing modern fashion and war photography"--Container.

1 videocassette (55 min.) :

DANA 1479

The Eighteenth century woman 1982

Looks at an exhibit at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art entitled The eighteenth century woman, a vast collection of costumes, accessories, and objets d'art that reveal the unique ways in which fashionable eighteenth-century women made their presence felt in the society, art, and politics of their time.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

DANA 767

Eliot Porter's world 1988

Traces the development of Eliot Porter's career from his childhood on an island in Maine through his recent trips to Antartica and China. Porter himself speaks about various aspects of his way of seeing, including how he developed his own personal aesthetics for color, which went against many of the best photographers of his time.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

DANA 295

The empire of signs 1997

An eight part series presenting American history through its visual art, painting, sculpture, architecture and monuments. In this seventh segment, after the post-war era, Hughes traces the development of abstract expressionism and the life of Jackson Pollock, and explores how artists as different as James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, David Smith, Willem De Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Romare Bearden, Joseph Cornell, Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns reacted to the new consumer culture.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

MEDIA 2-4084

Everything is photograph profile of André Kertész 1989

Explores the life and work of Kertesz who discusses his art and reminisces, as he is filmed in his adopted city, New York.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

DANA 743

Faith Ringgold 1991

"Share an insider's look at how one African-American woman, through patience, perseverance and education fulfilled her dream of becoming an artist....A painter by profession, she has moved away from traditional framed canvases to 'tankas,' paintings on quilted canvas with frames of quilted fabric."--Container.

1 videocassette (28 min.) :

DANA. MEDIA 760 2-3177

Faith Ringgold paints Crown Heights 1995

Faith Ringgold details the creation of the quilt she created to represent the diverse cultures and traditions comprising the area of Crown Heights in New York City.

1 videocassette (ca. 28 min.) :

DOUGLASS 163

Faith Ringgold the last story quilt 1991

Faith Ringgold discusses aspects of her childhood, incidents from her life, and her art education. She talks about her artwork and shows it to the viewer.

1 videocassette (28 min.) :

DOUGLASS 153

"First of May" a profile of artist Dorothy Gillespie 1984

Dorothy Gillespie discusses her life and work as an artist. Critics comment on her style and her importance to the women's art movement.

1 videocassette (ca. 30 min.) :

DOUGLASS 44

Frank Lloyd Wright Motion picture 1962

Presents events in the life of Frank Lloyd Wright. Discusses his philosophy that design should be natural and appropriate to the place, describes various buildings which he designed, tells about the Taliesin Fellowship which he established to teach apprentice architects the principles of organic architecture, and describes the building of Taliesin West in the Arizona desert.

1 reel, 30 min. :

MEDIA 4-97

The Frescoes of Diego Rivera 1986

Explores Rivera's evolution as an artist, his use of the fresco technique, and his politics. Looks at the murals Rivera created for public buildings in the U.S. and Mexico. These frescoes unite themes of nature and revolution, drawing a parallel between the evolution of life and the struggle for human dignity.

1 videocassette (36 min.) ;

DANA. MEDIA 381 2-3107

From these roots a review of the "Harlem Renaissance" 1974

Uses still photographs and filmed sequences to recreate the social and political climate of the Harlem renaissance--a period of great artistic and cultural activity in the 1920's which had, and still has, a profound influence on black American art and self-awareness and life-style.

1 videocassette (ca. 30 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1703

Georgia O'Keeffe 198

Documentary that looks behind the Georgia O'Keeffe legend, showing her paintings, environment, and philosophy of the artist.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1460

Georgia O'Keeffe 1978

Artist Georgia O'Keeffe is interviewed and photographed at her home in Abiquiu, New Mexico where she talks about her life and work. Old photographs, scenes of the New Mexico countryside and displays of her paintings are interspersed with the narrative.

2 reels, 60 min. :

MEDIA. MEDIA 4-353 reel 1 4-354 reel 2

Georgia O'Keeffe 1978

Artist Georgia O'Keeffe is interviewed and photographed at her home in Abiquiu, New Mexico where she talks about her life and work. Old photographs, scenes of the New Mexico countryside and displays of her paintings are interspersed with the narrative.

1 videocassette (60 min.)

MEDIA D-25

Golub 1996

Focuses on what happens when art meets current events head-on, in the work of American artist Leon Golub. Follows the artist as he creates one of his largest canvases -- from its early sketches to its first major exhibition, over a year later, in Derry, Northern Ireland.

1 videocassette (56 min.) :

DANA. DANA 1597 1597

Guerrillas in our midst 1992

Gallery owners comment on the actions of a group of anonymous women artists who call themselves the Guerrilla Girls. Also interviewed are members of the Guerrilla Girls, who, dressed in gorrilla masks, work to promote greater representation of women and minority artists in art exhibitions.

1 videocassette (36 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3102

Hidden heritage the roots of Black American painting 1990?

Traces the work of Black American artists from the American Revolution to World War II. Places the artists' individual achievements in the context of social change, abolition of slavery, Jim Crow laws, racial violence and segregation.

1 videocassette (52 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2231

In and out of Africa 1992

Story about Gabai Baaré, a merchant who brings wood carvings from West Africa to sell in the United States.

1 videocassette (59 min.) :

DANA 1695

Jackson Pollock 1987

Combines archival footage of Jackson Pollock's life and work with reminiscences from his contemporaries, and explores the truth and legends surrounding this controversial painter.

1 videocassette (52 min.) :

DANA 730

Jackson Pollock love and death on Long Island 1999

Documentary tracing the life of the shy, brooding American abstract artist Jackson Pollock through interviews and archival footage. His controversial work and defiant attitudes made him at once a star and the scourge of the art world. In the end, his tragic death at the top of his career, cemented his image forever as the James Dean of artists.

1 videocassette (46 min.) :

DANA 1818

Jacob Lawrence an intimate portrait 1993

Documents the life and work of Jacob Lawrence, through interviews with the painter, his wife Gwendolyn Knight, colleagues and critics interwoven with examples of his work.

1 videocassette (25 min.) :

DANA 738

Jacob Lawrence the glory of expression 1993

"A documentary about the life and work of one of America's great living painters, the first African-American to be represented by a New York gallery. Emphasis is placed on the epic narratives he painted about the struggles of the African-American people."--Container.

1 videocassette (28 min.) :

ART. DANA. MEDIA 2 761 2-3180

Jasper Johns take an object 1998?

A look at Jasper Johns at work in his Houston Street studio in New York, 1972, where he was re-doing a painting that he had done for the Montreal Fair; and in 1989, creating an etching from one of his works.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

DANA 1821

Jean-Michel Basquiat an interview 1989

A rare interview with the 21 year old Basquiat in his studio on Crosby Street in 1981 by art historian-curator, Marc H. Miller. Basquiat describes his working process and comments on his art world persona.

1 videocassette (34 min.) :

DANA 1611

John Cage 1997

A conversation between avant garde composer and philosopher of aesthetics, John Cage and Jack Kroll, senior arts editor at Newsweek. In this far ranging conversation Cage discusses his life and work, the purpose of his music, his experiments.

1 videocassette (27 min.)

DANA 2023

John Cage talks about cows 2002

First work: John Cage speaks from Crown Point Press about his experiences at Black Mountain College, his initial encounter with the I Ching, and his prints and music. Second work: Cage performs his composition One p7 s.

1 videocassette (41 min.)

DANA 2022

Joseph Beuys' public dialogue 1974

"Video of the famed German artists's first public appearance in the U.S. during which he outlines his political and artistic philosophies"--Cassette label.

1 videocassette (120 min.) :

DANA 918

Kiki Smith 1994

An interview with Kiki Smith, an innovative sculptor in New York City. Covers two of her exhibits held at the Fawbush Gallery, New York City, in 1992 and 1993. Also includes interviews with her dealers, Joe Fawbush and Thomas Jones, and Claudia Gould, director of Artist Space, also in New York.

1 videocassette (28 min.) :

DANA 1675

Large-scale projects Claes Oldenburg, Coosje van Bruggen 1998?

Claes Oldenburg and his wife and artistic collaborator, Coosje van Bruggen, explore the mystery and power of everyday objects by changing their sizes, shapes, and textures in surprising and unsettling ways. The film shows various works from conception to installation.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

DANA 1689

Latino artists pushing the boundaries 1995

The first segment of the program, "Poets' cafe," visits the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe on the lower east side of Manhattan. Poets Ed Morales, Carmen Bardequez, Willie Perdamo, Pedro Pietri and Miguel Piñero read from their works. The second segment, "ASCO," describes the development of the 1970's Los Angeles visual arts/performance group of that name (Spanish for nausea) through interviews with its four members: Harry Gamboa, Patssi Valdez, Gronk and Willie Herron.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

DANA 707

Lorna Simpson 1996

Lorna Simpson explores the ambiguous ways words and images function together to create meaning.

1 videocassette (25 min.) :

MEDIA 2-6044

Louise Nevelson in process 1977

"Louise Nevelson was in her seventies before art critics recognized her contributions to sculpture in America. Since for years she had little money for materials, Nevelson improvised with "trash" found in the streets of New York to construct her special enviromental art....Nevelson creates two new sculptures on camera, providing a rare opportunity for viewers to share in the unfolding of her unique sculptural process."--Container.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

ART. DANA 8 755

Man Ray prophet of the avant-garde 1999

A profile of the life and art of Man Ray from his youth in Brooklyn, his struggle for acceptance in the New York art scene, his move to the Paris Dada/Surrealist arts community, and his influence on later artists and photographers. Includes archival stills and films with excerpts from interviews with Man Ray and some of his contemporaries.

1 videocassette (56 min.) :

DANA 1520

Mary Cassatt 1977

Focuses on the life and work of the American Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

ART 9

Max Ernst 1991

Documentary about the life and work of Max Ernst. Includes a segment about the time Ernst lived in the United States, 1941-1952, and the influence of the Arizona desert and the Hopi Indians on his work. Also includes original photographs, archival film footage, tape recordings made by Ernst, and interviews shot by Werner Spies.

1 videocassette (101 min.) :

DANA 993

The "New Negro" arts movement 1998

Between WWI and WWII nearly 2 million blacks migrated to Harlem making it an exciting and culturally rich neighborhood. Although there was still much bigotry directed towards blacks it was the first time that America saw the potential for major art to come out of a great black community.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

MEDIA 2-5111

Not a rhyme time 1999

Between 1963 and 1986, a cultural revolution began as black artists challenged mainstream aesthetics, identity and power, and ultimately defied the very notion of a mainstream.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

MEDIA 2-4294

Not for sale feminism and art in the USA during the 1970s 1998

Presents the art, artists, and activities of the feminist art movement of the 1970s. Includes interviews, slides, and archival footage.

1 videocassette (88 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3565

Paul Cadmus enfant terrible at 80 1984

A documentary on American painter and printmaker Paul Cadmus.

1 videocassette (57 min.) :

MEDIA 2-6210

Portrait of Imogen 1987

A glimpse of one of the twentieth century's most famous photographers and her career spanning 75 years. Imogen Cunningham presents and comments on more than 250 of her photographs in a series of informal interviews recorded when she was in her late eighties.

1 videocassette (28 min.) :

ART. DANA 4 759

Post no bills 1992

A film about painter Robbie Conal, showing him in the process of creating his politically-oriented paintings and displaying his paintings on city streets. Includes recorded speeches by the political leaders he satirizes, along with his statements about his art.

1 videocassette (ca. 57 min.) :

DOUGLASS 151

The Promised land 1997

An eight part series presenting American history through its visual art, painting, sculpture, architecture and monuments. In this second segment early settlers in the "Promised land" strive to carve out an identity in a virgin land while in the West, Spanish missions use art to convert the natives. In the East, plain Protestant settlers are suspicious of art's pleasures while in Virginia, an exiled aristocracy, strives to recreate its ideal of England.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

MEDIA 2-4079

Red Grooms sunflower in a hothouse 1987

Presents an in-depth study, set to an original jazz score, of the work of Red Grooms who is a prolific artist who combines painting and sculpture elements into a form he calls "picto-sculpturama.".

1 videocassette (21 min.) :

DANA 272

The Republic of virtue 1997

An eight part series presenting American history through its visual art, painting, sculpture, architecture and monuments. This first segment examines some of the first images made in America which resemble ancient ones. Jefferson and the founding fathers felt that classicism gave the young nation power and authority. In Washington, D.C. architects adopted and transformed the classical style to serve a new, democratic ideal. Hughes explores the work of artists and architects, Benjamin West, John S. Copley, Charles W. Peale, Thomas Cole and Charles Bulfinch.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

MEDIA 2-4078

Robert Colescott the one-two punch 1992

Robert Colescott's artwork is viewed and discussed. Robert Colescott discusses aspects of his life as well as his artwork. Gallery owner Phyllis Kind, two art historians and an editor of ARTS Magazine discuss Colescott's artwork also.

1 videocassette (ca. 28 min.) :

ART 1

Robert Motherwell and the New York School storming the citadel 1990

This program from the PBS American masters series explores the Abstract Expressionist movement and presents a portrait of its most important artist: Robert Motherwell (1915-1991). Featured are Motherwell's last major interview, archival footage and photographs of other maverick artists (Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline), of Greenwich Village where they lived, and of events that shaped their lives.

1 videocassette (56 min.) :

DANA 744

Robert Rauschenberg man at work 1997

A look at Robert Rauschenberg, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. For the last fifty years his art has encompassed all manner of experimentation and a vast array of media. The highlight of this program is Rauschenberg's autobiographical work, the multi-paneled 1/4 Mile or 2 Furlong Piece, begun in 1981, seen here for the first time in its entirety.

1 videocassette (58 min.) :

DANA 1593

Romare Bearden : visual jazz 1996

A bold brilliant artist, Romare Bearden created collages and paintings of stunnning humanity in which he aimed to do nothing less than to redefine the image of man in terms of the African-American experience.

1 videocassette (28 min.) :

DANA. MEDIA 733 2-3175

Roy Lichtenstein 1991

A profile of American Pop Art artist Roy Lichtenstein's life and work.

1 videocassette (ca. 55 min.) :

DANA 1833

Roy Lichtenstein reflections 1993

This video features one of the great pop artists of our time, discussing his work, his artistic process and the sources of his inspiration. Also featured are the artist's large-scale murals, his Relections Series and his Interior Series.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

DANA. MEDIA 932 2-3179

Running fence 1978

Follows the artist, Christo, through the concept, building, and showing of his objet d'art; a 24 mile long, 18 foot high fence of white fabric stretched across the hills of California. The project was conceived as a work of art for Sonoma and Marin counties and took nearly four years to complete. Once finished and after a period of time, the fence was taken down and the materials were given to the people whose land the fence was built on.

1 videocassette (59 min.) :

DANA 909

Ruth Orkin frames of life 1995

Discusses the career of photographer and filmmaker Ruth Orkin.

1 videocassette (18 min.) :

DANA 812

Schön ists im Labyrinth George Grosz in Amerika 199-

George Grosz left Germany for New York in 1933 and remained working as an artist and teacher until shortly before his death in 1959. His paintings and drawings from these years are shown along with a portrait of his life through his own words and commentary by his sons, his Art Students League pupil Robert Cenedella, and various other contemporaries.

1 videocassette (90 min.) :

DANA 1605

Sight and insight photographer Sam Abell's art of simplicity 1992

Abell relates the pictures he takes to his visual thinking: what he sees and how he interprets his impressions, finally translating them into pictures. He identifies stylistic qualities in his work, reveals the rewards of patience during the shoot, and explores the value of pictures that transcend their literal meaning.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2298

Spirit catcher the art of Betye Saar 1978

Profiles the life and work of assemblage artist Betye Saar. Shows how her fascination with the mystical and the unknown merges with her social concerns as a Black American.

1 videocassette (28 min.)

MEDIA D-17

Strand under the cloth 1992

A documentary portrait of the photographer Paul Strand which demonstrates his profound contribution to modern photography. Includes many of his most famous photographs, clips from his films, and interviews with friends and collaborators including Fred Zinneman, Cesare Zavattini and Georgia O'Keefe.

1 videocassette (81 min.) ;

DANA 314

Strand under the dark cloth 1992

A documentary covering Strand's life and work from his early associations with Stieglitz and O'Keeffe through his last years when, in failing strength, he continued to use his camera. It includes extensive display of his most well-known photographs, clips from his films, and interviews with friends.

1 videocassette (81 min.) :

DANA 737

Streamlines and breadlines 1997

An eight part series presenting American history through its visual art, painting, sculpture, architecture and monuments. This sixth segment examines the mythic images of the 1920's and 30's as skyscrapers rise in New York and the rural heartland is idealized by Regionalists like Thomas Hart. Artists of the WPA celebrate the worker as hero, while Jacob Lawrence tells stories of black America, and ambitious New Deal projects like Hoover Dam project self-confidence in hard times. Also examines the work of Raymond Hood, Edward Hopper, Stuart Davis, and Grant Wood.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

MEDIA 2-4083

Style wars 1983

Focuses on the graffiti subculture of New York City. Includes interviews with graffiti artists and break dancers, along with documentary footage.

1 videocassette (69 min.) :

MEDIA D-397

This is Edward Steichen 1989

A biographical sketch of the octogenarian photographer, humanist, and scientist, who discusses his personal philosophy and reminisces about celebrated friends and photographic subjects.

1 videocassette (30 min.) :

DANA 746

Three women artists Anna Sokolow, Alice Neel, Muriel Rukhauser [i.e. Rukeyser] 1998

Anna Sokolow, choreographer (18 min.) -- Alice Neel, painter (18 min.) -- Muriel Rukeyser, poet (18 min.)Describes the careers and lives of three American women artists. Follow the outstanding choreographer of the twentieth century, Anna Sokolow, and famous figure painter Alice Neel, along with poet Muriel Rukeyser as they explain their interesting, yet diverse careers as artists.

1 videocassette (56 min.) :

DANA 1633

Voices in celebration 1991

Provides a witty and often idiosyncratic journey into the workings of a major museum, revealing its history, its dedication to building and conserving a permanent collection, and its commitment to creating a lively center in which people can see, study, and most importantly, enjoy great works of art.

1 videocassette (45 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3248

A wave from the Atlantic 1997

An eight part series presenting American history through its visual art, painting, sculpture, architecture and monuments. In this fifth segment waves of immigrants in the early 20th century bring both their old culture and a thirst for the new. The tenements are documented by photographer Jacob Riis and the socially conscious Ashcan School. Then, after the historic 1913 Armory show, artists like Joseph Stella, Paul Strand, Alfred Stieglitz, forge a modernism that is uniquely American. Also presents the work of Robert Henri, George Bellows, Marcel Duchamp, Charles Demuth, Arthur Dove, Georgia O'Keeffe, Mabel Dodge Luhand, Marsden Hartley and Frank Lloyd Wright.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

MEDIA 2-4082

The wilderness and the west 1997

An eight part series presenting American history through its visual art, painting, sculpture, architecture and monuments. In this third segment as majestic primal America fosters the idea of landscape as God's fingerprint, landscape painting holds deep religious and patriotic connotations. Soon, the belief in Manifest Destiny is embodied in art. Traveling from Yellowstone to the Hudson Valley, Hughes explores the artists Thomas Cole, John Audubon, Albert Bierstadt, John Gast, Currier & Ives, Emanuel Leutze, George Catlin, Frederick Church, Frederic Remington, Thomas Noran and William Jackson. In their work he finds the conflicting impulses to worship the land and to conquer it, to create a myth of the West just as the frontier is closing.

1 videocassette (60 min.) :

MEDIA 2-4080