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1. E4

   4. Consumption

   Finale 25 years ago

   Mel Chin, Matthew Barney, Michael Ray Charles and Andrea Zittel, artists "who raise questions about the things we consume every day," says tennis great John McEnroe, who introduces the hour. Marshall explores racial stereotypes; filmmaker Barney approaches themes of sex and conflict elliptically; Zittel lives in---or wears---her utilitarian "installations"; and Chin's art has found its way into everything from a burned-out Detroit house to TV's "Melrose Place."

2. E3

   3. Identity

   25 years ago

   Bruce Nauman, Maya Lin, Louise Bourgeois and Kerry James Marshall, "four contemporary artists who deal in notions of identity," says Steve Martin, who introduces the hour. Marshall uses black themes in his paintings and installations; 90-year-old Bourgeois, a sculptor, frequently fashions hands; Lin, known for the Vietnam War Memorial, is seen at work in Grand Rapids, Mich. And Nauman makes psychologically infused videos and installations, including an outdoor stairway.

3. E2

   2. Spirituality

   25 years ago

   Ann Hamilton, who works with textiles; impish multimedia artist John Feodorov; miniaturist Shahzia Sikander; and James Turrell, whose medium is light itself. Linking them: spirituality, "a thread that connects us all," says host S. Epatha Merkerson. "I think ambiguity is where the spiritual lies," says Feodorov, who combines Navajo and Christian themes provocatively. Turrell explains how he designs his projects "to bring the cosmos closer."

4. E1

   1. Place

   25 years ago

   Sculptor Richard Serra, "street artists" Margaret Kilgallen and Barry McGee, photographer Sally Mann and installation artist Pepon Osorio. Serra, seen installing one of his massive steel-plate structures in the atrium of an office building, needs a big place for his works. McGee and Kilgallen make gallery art but prefer grafitti. Mann, known for nude photos of her children, is now doing landscapes. And, says Osorio: "I need to create a space. That is overpowering."

1. E4

   4. Humor

   Finale 23 years ago

   Conclusion. Humor is the theme grouping the four artists profiled here. Among them: Eleanor Antin, who finds room for a wink or two in her social commentary; Raymond Pettibon, whose comic-book art is for adults only; Elizabeth Murray, whose paintings are vibrant and zany; and Walton Ford, whose watercolors unite the natural and political worlds. Comedian Margaret Cho hosts.

2. E3

   3. Time

   23 years ago

   Part 3 (of four): Time is the theme grouping the four artists profiled here. Among them: Martin Puryear, who's known for his large installations; Paul Pfeiffer, whose installations and video projects play off pop culture and sports; Vija Celmins, who specializes in natural forms; and Tim Hawkinson, whose installations have been as big as a football field. Choreographer Merce Cunningham hosts.

3. E2

   2. Loss and Desire

   23 years ago

   Part 2 (of four) connects photographer Collier Schorr, and multimedia artists Gabriel Orozco and Janine Antoni with the theme of loss and desire. Schorr describes her pictures of high-school wrestlers and the teenage boys in a German family (who pose dressed as soldiers). The objects Orozco has worked with include ping-pong tables and a Citroen, while Antoni works with such things as soap, chocolate and her own body. Jane Alexander introduces the film.

4. E1

   1. Stories

   23 years ago

   Stories (in one form or another) is the theme linking the four artists profiled in Part 1 of four: Kara Walker, Kiki Smith, Do-Ho Suh and Trenton Doyle Hancock. Walker explores her African-American heritage in silhouettes that are at once genteel and macabre. Smith, a sculptor, often deals with death. “We were like the Addams family,” she says of her childhood. So-Ho Suh, a native of Korea, is concerned with space, individual and collective. One project is a “house” he made of transportable fabric. “I want to carry my home with me all the time---just like a snail,” he says. And painter Trenton Doyle Hancock looks to combine “comic-book narratives with the history of abstraction” in his mythical creatures. Filmmaker John Waters introduces the film.

1. E4

   4. Play

   Finale 21 years ago

   “Play” is the theme as artists Jessica Stockholder, Ellen Gallagher, Arturo Herrera and Oliver Herring are profiled. Stockholder's sharp-colored works frequently incorporate plastic objects, and Gallagher's paintings and films offer “a way of constantly looking for home.” Herrera makes collages and wall paintings from drawings and abstract photos. And Herring's work ranges from somber knitted sculptures to fanciful video works and photographic “statues” of people. The NBA's Grant Hill hosts.

2. E3

   3. Structure

   21 years ago

   “Structure” is the theme as artists Matthew Ritchie, Fred Wilson, Richard Tuttle and Roni Horn are profiled. “Modern art is a gift,” says Ritchie, whose room-sized installations are rooted in line drawing. Wilson's installations are formed by “putting things together,” not making them. Tuttle, a veteran painter-sculptor, likes to explore “the part which I can't see,” as does Horn, a sculptor-photographer. “The unknown,” she says, “is where I want to be.” Introduced by Sam Waterston.

3. E2

   2. Memory

   21 years ago

   Memory is the theme as artists Susan Rothenberg, Mike Kelley, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Josiah McElheny are profiled. McElheny, a glassblower, often puts his own spin on works of the past. Kelley looks for “materialist ritual” in his video art, paintings and sculptures. Sugimoto calls his photographs “fossilizations of the time.” And Rothenberg, a Southwestern painter, says “I don't want to get too literal. I want the viewer to do the work, too.” Isabella Rossellini is the host.

4. E1

   1. Power

   21 years ago

   Power and its victims is the theme of this episode, which profiles artists Cai Guo-Qiang, Laylah Ali, Krzysztof Wodiczko and Ida Applebroog. Guo-Qiang, whose materials include gunpowder, talks of “the aesthetic of pain”; Ali, whose round-headed figures appear cartoonish (but are quite serious) is seen working with choreographer Dean Moss; Wodiczko's video projections honor victims of violence; and Applebroog explores “how power works” in paintings, drawings and sculptures.

1. E4

   4. Paradox

   Finale 18 years ago

   Paradox is the theme. Profiled: painter Robert Ryman, filmmakers Mark Bradford and Catherine Sullivan, and media artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla.

2. E3

   3. Ecology

   19 years ago

   Ecology is the theme. Profiled: photographer Robert Adams, and sculptors Mark Dion, Ursula von Rydingsvard and Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle.

3. E2

   2. Protest

   19 years ago

   “Protest” is the theme. Profiled: painter Nancy Spero, photographer An-My Le, media artist Alfredo Jaar and conceptual artist Jenny Holzer.

4. E1

   1. Romance

   19 years ago

   The fourth season begins with romance as the theme grouping the artists profiled here, including photographer Laurie Simmons, media artist Pierre Huyghe, and painters Judy Pfaff and Lari Pittman.

1. E4

   4. Systems

   Finale 17 years ago

   Artists who tackle projects that are complex and/or vast in scope are featured, including Ethiopian-American painter Julie Mehretu, who's shown creating a large work about the history of market-based capitalism; John Baldessari, who mixes photomontage, painting and language in his pieces; Korean-born Kimsooja, whose art combines techniques of video, performance and installation; and Allan McCollum, who creates large quantities of almost identical objects.

2. E3

   3. Transformation

   17 years ago

   Artists who observe and satirize society are featured, including Yinka Shonibare, who's shown creating a piece about the 2008 economic meltdown; Cindy Sherman, who creates photographic series and films in which she portrays various characters; and Paul McCarthy, who pokes fun at cultural icons ranging from Disney characters to Queen Elizabeth II.

3. E2

   2. Fantasy

   17 years ago

   Artists who mine the world of fantasy are featured, including Jeff Koons, who explores notions of taste and pleasure; abstract artist Mary Heilmann; German-born landscape photographer Florian Maier-Aichen, who spices photographs with computer-enhanced imagery; and Chinese artist Cao Fei, who explores perception.

4. E1

   1. Compassion

   17 years ago

   The Season 5 premiere highlights artists who seek to reconcile past with present, expose injustice and celebrate tolerance in their works, including South African native William Kentridge, who creates poetic allegories on stage and film. Also: visual artist Carrie Mae Weems, who reflected on how the 1960s influenced the 2008 presidential election in a photo-video series, and Doris Salcedo of Colombia, who honors her country's marginalized peoples through sculptures and installations.

1. E4

   4. Balance

   Finale 14 years ago

   The Season 6 finale focuses on oil painter Rackstraw Downes, minimalist painter Robert Mangold and sculptor Sarah Sze. Their works explore the space that lies between art and existence, the seeing and the knowing.

2. E3

   3. History

   14 years ago

   Glenn Ligon, Mary Reid Kelley and Marina Abramovic, whose works examine historic events and often challenge assumptions about them, are profiled.

3. E2

   2. Boundaries

   14 years ago

   Examining the works of sculptor David Altmejd, Japanese animation artist Tabaimo and avante-garde sculptor Lynda Benglis, which explore the shape-shifting potential of the human figure through taboo subjects and the innovative use of media.

4. E1

   1. Change

   14 years ago

   The Season 6 premiere focuses on Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei, Ghanian sculptor El Anatsui and American photographer Catherine Opie, whose works often share thematic similarities, including a focus on transformation.

1. E4

   4. Fiction

   Finale 11 years ago

   What makes a compelling story? How do artists disrupt everyday reality in the service of revealing subtler truths? This episode features artists who explore the virtues of ambiguity, mix genres, and merge aesthetic disciplines to discern not simply what stories mean, but how and why they come to have meaning.

2. E3

   3. Legacy

   12 years ago

   A look at artists inspired by life experiences and family heritage. Included: Wolfgang Laib, who connects the ephemeral and eternal; Tania Bruguera, who explores art, activism and social change; and Abraham Cruzvillegas, who focuses on transformation and decay.

3. E2

   2. Secrets

   12 years ago

   Elliott Hundley, Arlene Shechet and Trevor Paglen are featured. Hundley creates collages that both reveal and hide their meanings; Shechet's ceramic work obscures its nature behind surface effects; and Paglen documents the American surveillance state.

4. E1

   1. Investigation

   12 years ago

   The Season 7 premiere features Thomas Hirschhorn, who creates an installation with help from public-housing residents; photographer Graciela Iturbide, who focuses on Mexico; and Leonardo Drew, who continually experiments with materials and processes.

Season 8 provides unparalleled access to the most innovative artists of our time, revealing how artists engage the culture around them and how art allows viewers to see the world in new ways. For the first time in the show’s history, the sixteen featured artists are grouped into four one-hour episodes by their unique and revealing relationships to the places in which they live—Chicago, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Vancouver.

1. E4

   4. Vancouver

   Finale 10 years ago

   By recreating historical moments, staging photos of vernacular scenes, and crafting intricate sculptures that trick the eye, artists in Vancouver reveal how everyday images and moments from the past are not always what they seem.

2. E3

   3. Los Angeles

   10 years ago

   While sprawling Los Angeles has world-class museums and art schools, artists working in the shadow of the entertainment industry are more "under the radar," affording them the space and time to imagine.

3. E2

   2. Mexico City

   10 years ago

   Mexico City artists exit their homes and studios to use the growing megalopolis as their canvas. The artists present everyday materials as artworks, mine recognizable images for their poetic potential, and take their art to the streets.

4. E1

   1. Chicago

   10 years ago

   The Season 8 premiere spotlights artists in Chicago, including Nick Cave, who creates "Soundsuits"; installation artist Theaster Gates; photography-based, multi-medium artist Barbara Kasten; and Chris Ware, who's known for his New Yorker magazine covers.

Season 9 charts art-making in three urban centers across three continents: Berlin, Johannesburg, and the San Francisco Bay Area. From the post-Cold War cultural and economic rebirth in Berlin, to the dramatic fall of apartheid in South Africa and the technological boom in the Bay Area, the twelve artists and one non-profit art center highlighted in this season respond to the forces that have shaped the places where they live and work, while pursuing their personal visions for a better future.

1. E3

   3. San Francisco Bay Area

   Finale 8 years ago

   See why the San Francisco Bay Area is a magnet for artists who are drawn to its experimental atmosphere, countercultural spirit and history of innovation, and who are united by their steadfastness and persistence in creating. This episode features Creative Growth Art Center, Katy Grannan, Lynn Hershman Leeson, and Stephanie Syjuco.

2. E2

   2. Berlin

   8 years ago

   Berlin has become a haven for artists from all over the world—a free zone where experimentation, individual expression, and international influences converge. The artists in this hour demonstrate the diversity of practice and sensibilities in the German capital. This episode features Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg, Olafur Eliasson, Hiwa K, and Susan Philipsz.

3. E1

   1. Johannesburg

   8 years ago

   Since the dramatic fall of apartheid in 1994, Johannesburg has emerged as the artistic capital of sub-Saharan Africa. Collectively, the artists in this hour use their work to empower marginalized communities, reexamine history, and pursue their visions for South Africa’s future. This episode features David Goldblatt, Nicholas Hlobo, Zanele Muholi, and Robin Rhode.

In season 10, twelve artists and one collective are presented across three episodes, charting artmaking in London, Beijing, and regions around the United States-Mexico border.

1. E3

   3. Borderlands

   Finale 6 years ago

   Learn how contemporary art can challenge preconceived notions of the U.S.-Mexico border. Today's artists see the border as an open wound, theatrical stage, political podium, studio and contradictory landscape that features both ugliness and beauty. Featuring artists Tanya Aguiñiga, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Richard Misrach, and Postcommodity.

2. E2

   2. Beijing

   6 years ago

   Witness the maturing of this unique contemporary-art hub and meet the artists who call it home. Beijing's recent economic boom makes it fertile ground for art, and artists have responded to its relentless evolution with urgency and ambition. Featuring artists Guan Xiao, Liu Xiaodong, Song Dong, Xu Bing, and Yin Xiuzhen.

3. E1

   1. London

   6 years ago

   See how British history and modern upheaval collide in the works of today's London artists. Their art rethinks the past, subverts tradition, and is as layered, diverse and dynamic as the centuries-old city in which these artists live. Featuring artists John Akomfrah, Phyllida Barlow, Anish Kapoor, and Christian Marclay.

1. S11 E3

   E3

   3. Friends and Strangers

   3 years ago

   Four contemporary artists look inside and outside their immediate circles to find emotional connections and build community. This film showcases playful and poignant sculptures, performances, and more. Includes celebrated filmmaker Miranda July.

2. E2

   2. Bodies of Knowledge

   3 years ago

   Finding inspiration outside the studio, a group of acclaimed contemporary artists use history, science, and politics as the raw material to create potent sculptures, paintings, drawings, and public works.

3. E1

   1. Everyday Icons

   3 years ago

   Four contemporary artists breathe new life into some of humanity's oldest artforms, icons and monuments, creating paintings, sculptures, and films out of everyday objects and popular culture. Featuring Michelle Obama portrait painter Amy Sherald.

Season 12 of Art in the Twenty-First Century features twelve of today’s most acclaimed contemporary artists as they use art to address the pressing questions of our time. Viewers observe the artists at work, watch as they transform inspiration into art, and hear how they struggle with both the physical and aesthetic challenges of achieving their visions. This landmark season builds upon a quarter century of shaping how audiences experience art and artists today.

1. S12 E2

   E2

   2. Realms of the Real

   9 months ago

   The internationally acclaimed artists in “Realms of the Real” conduct extensive historical research, examine the nuances of culture and identity, and explore the boundaries of art and science to create worlds of fantasy and fiction that expand our understanding of ourselves and our world. Features artists Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Ragnar Kjartansson, Candice Lin, and Tomás Saraceno.

2. S12 E1

   E1

   1. Between Worlds

   1 year ago

   The internationally acclaimed artists in “Between Worlds” work at intersections and crossroads, using their artistic practices to make sense of complex histories of colonization and migration, find common ground between cultures, and break down divides that otherwise seem fixed. Features artists Sophie Calle, Lubaina Himid, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, and Dyani White Hawk.