Education & Statewide Partnerships title

O F F I C E O F S T A T E W I D E P A R T N E R S H I P S

FILM, VIDEO, DVD: ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Film, Video, DVD: I

I Can Fly: Kids and African-American Art
28 min/2006/ DVD
Middle school through college
Six bold artists paint and speak of the Black experience in America: Faith Ringgold, Jacob Lawrence, Alison Saar, Benny Andrews, Elizabeth Catlett, and Romare Bearden. Hosted by teenager Austin Eve Irving and with performances by internationally acclaimed musical teams, STOMP! and De La Guarda.

I Can Fly: Kids and Creativity ED-500
25 min / 2000 / L&S / VHS / DVD
“For kids of all ages”
We defy anyone to watch and not be inspired to find and ignite their own creativity. Hosted by a teenager, this exciting video highlights and pulls out the art in all of us by exploring the creative processes that go into painting, music, song, pottery, and dance. A plethora of art stars help out: Faith Ringgold, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, Blue Man Group, de la Guarda, and Stomp!

Icons WA-147
14 min / color / 1980 / IFB / 16mm
High school through adult
Fearing that icons would foster idolatry, the early Eastern Christian Church ordered all representations of holy figures destroyed. By the 15th century, however, these popular paintings were again so prevalent that the church, reversing its earlier edict, established rigid rules for their production. During the next 4 centuries, iconic art gradually changed. By showing religious icons preserved in Czechoslovakia, this film traces the evolution of an important ecclesiastical art form from the 15th to the 19th century.

I’ll Make Me a World series
6-parts- 60 min ea / 1999 / PBS / VHS
High school through adult
This PBS series celebrates the extraordinary achievements of 20th-century African-American writers, dancers, painters, actors, musicians, and other artists who forever changed us as a nation and a culture. Prominent scholars and creators give fascinating commentary: Alice Walker, Ben Vereen, Julie Dash, Melvin Van Peebles, Cornel West, Wynton Marsalis, and many others.

Lift Every Voice 1900-1924     IW-1
The trials and triumphs of the first generation of African-Americans born into freedom. The minstrel tradition is racist but is the first widely viewed entertainment form to advance genuine elements of black culture, best exemplified by Bert Williams and George Walker. In New Orleans, Buddy Bolden and Jelly Roll Morton create ragtime and jazz music. Oscar Micheaux depicts blacks respectably in a powerful new medium-motion pictures.
Without Fear or Shame 1920-1937     IW-2
This episode focuses on the Harlem Renaissance. Southern blues singers such as Gertrude “Ma” Rainey bring their music north. Community leader W.E.B. Du Bois proposes art be employed in the struggle for racial justice. Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston writings reflect real-life experiences.
Bright Like a Sun 1935-1954      IW-3
The Great Depression and World War II challenge African-American artists to revise, adapt, and expand their visions and dreams. Paul Robeson uses his acting and singing talents to fight for social justice. Sculptor Augusta Savage turns to building community institutions where the talent of young black artists, such as Jacob Lawrence, is nurtured. Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker create Bebop and helps upgrade jazz music to art status.
The Dream Keepers 1940-1965      IW-4
At mid-century, racial barriers are gradually breaking down and a stunning series of African-American “firsts” in all fields of artistry rolls along though some fields remain closed. Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun crosses the races in popularity. But ballerinas Delores Browne and Raven Wilkinson have a tough time. James Baldwin exiles himself to Paris to launch his literary career.
Not a Rhyme Time 1963-1986     IW-5
In this era of the Black Arts Movement, black artists more than ever challenge the mainstream and even reinvent it. Poet Gwendolyn Brooks writes about black pride and self-determination. Among others, Romare Bearden, Faith Ringgold, and Benny Andrews offer alternative visions of African-American culture.
The Freedom You Will Take 1985-Near the Present      IW-6
Spike Lee broadens the range of black character-types portrayed in film. Bill T. Jones stages “The Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, his first play that overtly explores the black experience in America. Artist Kara Walker and Saul Williams represent a younger generation who continue the challenge to convention.

I’m Michaela’s Friend ED-140
10 min / color / 1978 / PFI / 16mm
Preschool through adult
Michaela is a young child who lives between fantasy and reality. One day, as she watches television, something incredible happens. Right before her eyes, one of the monkeys from the nature show she is watching leaps through the TV screen and lands beside her. Surprised and pleased, she cheerfully befriends him. But the mischievous monkey causes trouble for Michaela. He also gets very homesick for the jungle, and his friend Michaela must help him return home.

Images: 150 Years of Photography
26 min each / color / 1991 / FFH / VHS
High school through adult
This 6-part series was occasioned by the 150th anniversary of the invention of photography. The programs take the form of film essays that look at varying aspects of photography throughout its history. The series draws from over 20 different collections of photographs in museums, archives, and private collections in the United States, Canada, Britain, and France.

1. The Pencil of Nature IM-1
The wonderful invention of Daguerre and Fox Talbot fascinated the Victorians as a new art form and a new way of looking at the world. This program follows the technical and aesthetic strides made by the early, often amateur, practitioners.

2. Domestic Memories IM-2
This program is about how people reflect their own reality, both in the formal photographs for which they pose and those that they themselves take. The amateur documentary tradition is seen through the eyes of 2 photographers from northern Britain, Jack Hulme and Jimmy Forsyth.

3. The Best or Nothing IM-3
The private collector of photography has emerged relatively recently. Only in the last 20 years have photographs been traded through auction rooms. As the value of photographs increases, so does their status as art. This program examines the passions of the private collector.

4. The Eyes of Empire IM-4
Photography in the 19th century was often a tool of imperial science and exploration, with the photograph being considered a scientific document or an expression or documentation of colonial life. This programs draws on the anthropological photographic collections of several British museums to explore the photograph as document.

5. The Real Thing IM-5
This program looks at the results achieved when photographers, cast in the role of documentarians, were commissioned to record the real world, as it appeared to them. The work of the Farm Security Administration, which set out to document America in the 1930s, is the focus of this program.

6. The Magic Mirror IM-6
Using only the words of some of the great photographers, this program seeks to trace “the lifeline of the species” (in the words of John Szarkowski of the Museum of Modern Art, New York). Selecting their favorite photos from 1839 through contemporary works, the producers of the series, Geoff Shepherd and Barre Gavin, visually trace the lineage of photography as art and present a glorious parade of outstanding photographs.

Imagining America: Icons of 20th Century American Art
120 min / 2005 / DVD
High school through adult
America in the 20th century was moving so fast that the artists during this time were coping with it in radical ways. This film with a fabulous soundtrack highlights the who's who of American artists, critics, inspirations, politics, and more. Some artists highlighted: Warhol, O'Keefe, Rauschenberg, Stella, Pollock, Basquiat, Smithson, and loads more. Limited to school classroom showings only.

Imogen Cunningham at 93 WA-286
13 min / color / 1976 / CSF / 16mm
Middle school through adult
Imogen Cunningham’s photograph of a male nude shocked the public in 1915, but this response did not keep her from continuing to explore the beauty of natural form, especially as epitomized by the human figure and plants. Aided by a candid interview with Cunningham, the film explores the conflicts faced by a female photographer in the early 1900s.

The Impact of Television ED-133
20 min / color / 1980 / EBEC / 16mm
Middle school through adult
Featured in this lively look at the impact of television are sequences from popular shows, and interviews with such TV personalities as John Chancellor, Dick Cavett, and Edward Asner, and media critics John Culkin and Linda Kahn. In illustrating the ways in which television affects the behavior and attitudes of the viewing public, the film provides revealing studies of 2 communities-one experiencing television for the first time, the other living without it for a month.

Impasse ED-100
10 min / color / 1978 / PFI / VHS
Elementary school through adult
An aggressive red arrow attempts to remove a little white dot from a space they both share. The dot triumphs, however, through passive resistance and the ability to adapt to other forms. The images for this animated film were created entirely of self-adhesive labels. Produced and directed by Caroline and Frank Mouris.

I.M. Pei: The Museum on the Mountain WA-637
52 min / 1998 / VHS
High school through adult
Architects have a way of building structures that brings out the best utilization of functionality and form. I. M. Pei took it to another level when he was commissioned to build the 150,000 square foot Miho art museum atop a mountain right outside of Kyoto, Japan. Throughout this film you see the demolition, construction and execution of this monumental structure that becomes one with the landscape.

I.M. Pei and the Mathematics of Architecture AR-4
54 min / 2000 / FFH / VHS
Middle school through adult
This video presents a retrospective of Pei's career beginning with his design of the Louvre in the 1980s and retracing the evolution of his personal style. While the title states that it shows Pei's use of mathematical concepts, the video presents him more as a sculptor who develops his personal style from the influence of Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier. The video introduces Pei's major works including the east building National Gallery of Art.

Imperial Tombs of China
60 min/ 1995/ VHS
Middle school through adult
This exquisite and exclusive video reveals amazing artifacts from tombs of Chinese emperors spanning seven dynasties and over 2,000 years. See a burial suit made of 2,007 individual pieces of jade, a shroud of solid silver mesh, a mask of solid gold, the brilliant blue crown of an Empress encrusted with hundreds of precious stones, and the actual throne room of the emperor of the last Imperial Dynasty. And finally the famed 8,000 terra cotta soldiers buried to protect the emperor are explored in detail.

Impressionism and Beyond ED-582
22 and 27 min / 2007 / DVD
Middle school
This multi-featured disc includes a 22 minute overview of Impressionism and a 27 minute focus on Vincent van Gogh. Other features are: Video Index to quickly find the desired content segments; Curriculum Units access curricular segments that include pre- and post-viewing questions in a format for integration into classroom instruction; Standards Links that show correlations to national standards; and Teacher Resources’ online addresses.

Impression: Painting Quickly in France 1860-1890 AT-81
22 min /2000/ VHS
High school through adult
Many French Impressionist paintings appear to have been made with unusual rapidity. This video explores the role played by speed of execution and includes works by Manet, Monet, Morisot, Sisley, Pissarro, Van Gogh, and Renoir. Close-up details show individual brushstrokes and explain how the paint was dragged, jabbed, or laid onto the canvas.

Impressionism and Post-Impressionism MAM-1
25 min / color / 1982 / LF / VHS
High school through adult
What is an Impressionist? And how much does one Impressionist have in common with another? This is an attempt to explain how categories such as these come into being and asks if we aren’t distorting reputations of artists when art historians assume they share techniques.

The Impressionists: Their Lives, Times and Works series
50 min ea, 6 disks/1999/ DVD
High school through adult
This 6-part series chronicles the life and times of each of these artists: Monet, Degas, Renoir, Pissarro, Seurat, and Manet placing each in historical context, highlighting events that inspired his work and providing clear understanding of their creative processes.

Monet           TI-1
Degas           TI-2
Renoir           TI-3
Pissarro           TI-4
Seurat           TI-5
Manet           TI-6

The Impressionists (8 parts)
25 min each / color / 1995 / VHS / DVD
High school through adult
In the mid to late 1800s, Impressionism marked a radical break from traditional painting with its new vision using the fleeting effects of color and light on nature and everyday scenes of everyday people. This series explores Impressionism by highlighting eight of the most famous painters in that movement. To reflect the mood of Impressionism, all aspects of the artists’ lives are covered: their methods and styles, their characters, and their friendships. Paintings shown are from collections in Britain, Paris, and Amsterdam.

Paul Cézanne
Edgar Degas
Paul Gauguin
Edouard Manet
Claude Monet
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
Vincent van Gogh

IMP-1
IMP-2
IMP-3
IMP-4
IMP-5
IMP-6
IMP-7
IMP-8

Impressionists on the Seine WA-548
30 min/ 1997 / WETA / VHS
High school through adult
This High Definition video captures the beauty and atmosphere of the River Seine and the Parisians who worked and played along its banks in the 1870s, a period of intense creativity when the Impressionists used the river as their inspiration. Archival photos and over 45 masterpieces by Renoir, Monet, Manet, Sisley, Pissarro, Morisot, and Caillebotte are featured. Based on a major exhibition held at the Phillips Collection and narrated by Jacqueline Bissett.

Impressionist Paintings from the Collection of Mr. And Mrs. Paul Mellon VM-3
30 min / 2000 / VM / VHS / DVD
College through adult
This video is an intimate look at the Mellon Collection of Impressionist Paintings at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Learn how the Impressionists came to exhibit together and why their paintings created a critical uproar. See how photography affected the eye of Degas, and how Monet’s fascination with light came through his brush onto the canvas. Study the daring compositional techniques of Manet and the simple yet controversial subject matter of Morisot. Hosted by Malcom Cormack, curator of the Paul Mellon collection, and Holly Shimizu, Managing Director of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

In a Brilliant Light: van Gogh in Arles WA-249
57 min / color / 1984 / FI / VHS
High school through adult
This video program tells the story of Vincent van Gogh’s days in the south of France, shot on location in the Netherlands and Provence and using van Gogh’s own canvases. The 15 months van Gogh spent in Arles-from February 1888 to May 1889-represent the climax of the artist’s career. Focus is placed on the works of art rather than the life of the artist.

In and Out of Africa WA-441
59 min / color / 1993 / UC / VHS
High school through adult
This extraordinary documentary explores with irony and humor issues of authenticity, taste, and racial politics in the international trade in African art. Interweaving stories of Western collectors, Muslim traders, African artists and intellectuals, and the filmmakers themselves, the film focuses on a remarkable art dealer from Niger. It shows how (through occasionally hilarious and frequently fantastic tales about the art objects) he adds economic value and changes the meaning of what he sells by interpreting and mediating between the cultural values of African producers and Western consumers. (French with English subtitles.)

In Open Air: A Portrait of the American Impressionists WA-158
29 min / color / 1982 / BFA / 16mm, VHS
High school through adult
This is a film about the growth of Impressionist painting in America in the late 19th century, beginning with the first visits to Europe by young American artists such as Childe Hassam, William Merritt Chase, and John Twachtman. The film explores their exposure to the pioneering light and color experiments of the French Impressionists, notably Monet, Degas, and Renoir, and shows how many of the Americans adapted the style and techniques of Impressionism to their own work once they returned home.

In Our Own Words: Voices of Virginia Indians ED-480
37 min / 2002 / TRV / VHS
Elementary school through adult
Virginia’s Indian Tribal leaders trace their own history from Colonial contact to modern-day life and discuss who they are as a people. This video features interviews with Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Upper Mattaponi, Monacan, Nansemond, Pamunkey, and Rappahannock tribal chiefs. Includes historic photographs and music and dance scenes from powwows.

In Search of Rothko WA-161
22 min / color / 1982 / DC / 16mm, VHS
High school through adult
The film explores the life and art of Abstract Expressionist painter Mark Rothko as seen through the eyes of a student trying to understand Rothko’s work. The film is based on a spectacular retrospective held at the Guggenheim Museum.

Inspiring Journey: Lewis and Clark Through the Eyes of the Artist
45 min / 2003 / DVD
Upper elementary through high school
This video in 2-segments engagingly integrates art with the study of American history. First, it follows the Lewis and Clark expedition as vividly depicted by artist renderings, both paintings and sculptures, complete with details and facts from the actual journals. Then the program focuses on current day, historical artist Ron Ukrainetz and his working methods and techniques.

In the Beginning WA-191
27 min / color / 1976 / PFP / 16mm, VHS
Middle school through adult
This film examines the art, architecture, and hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt. The beginnings of civilization are explored as Lord Kenneth Clark leads this journey to the major monuments of Egypt and the Nile Valley, including the temples at Karnak and Luxor and the pyramids of Giza. This is an excellent introduction to the study of ancient civilizations.

In the Path of the Gods
26 min each / color / FFHS / VHS
High school through adult
This series tells the stories of the Greek gods and heroes, vividly narrated by Sir Peter Ustinov. Filmed in Greece at Mount Olympus, Athens, Delphi, Olympia, and on the islands of Delos and Samathras, these programs retrace the origins of Greek mythology and explain the rivalries between the gods. Exploring the human search for meaning in the chaotic forces of nature, these programs remind contemporary audiences of the relevance of myths and legends for our own time.

1. Zeus: King of the Gods PATH-1
In the beginning was chaos, then Burynome divided the seas from the sky, set the wind in motion, and released the forces of nature. Out of the Universal Egg emerged the sun and moon, the planets, the stars, the earth, and all living things, including the first family (Gaea, Uranus, and Cronos). The program then focuses on Zeus and his many adventures, from his birth on Crete to his many amorous liaisons and the resulting offspring.

2. Athene and Aphrodite: Wisdom and Love PATH-2
In this study in contrasts, we discover that Athene sprang full-grown and fully-armed from Zeus’s head, while Aphrodite emerged from the sea. The stories of Aphrodite are love stories: the myths of Neritis, Anchises, Pygmalion, and Galatea, of the contest for the most beautiful woman in the world, of Ares and of Adonia. Athene gave mortals the olive tree and became patroness of Attica, giving its city her name. Renowned for her wisdom, Athene invented the chariot, the potter’s wheel, and the plow. In the Trojan War, Aphrodite favored the Trojans, while Athene used her wisdom to help the Greeks. Throughout these rivalries, Zeus mediated between the goddess of wisdom and the goddess of love.

3. Poseidon: Master of the Seas PATH-3
The Greeks prayed to the god of the sea, Poseidon, before embarking on a sea journey, offered him the first fish caught, and attributed their naval victory over the Persians to him. In this program, we learn how Poseidon was saved by his mother, Rhea, how he got his trident and used it to help his brother Zeus in the struggle against the Titans. We see some of the places where Poseidon was worshipped and hear some of the Poseidon stories, including why he sided with the Greeks in the Trojan War and how he punished them for their cruelty to their defeated enemy.

4. Demeter: The Miracle of Fertility PATH-4
This program begins in Eleusis, one of the oldest sanctuaries dedicated to Demeter, and the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries. There we learn about Triptolemus, who taught mortals the art of agriculture. Next, we hear the Greek version of Noah’s Ark (The myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha), which leads to the story of Persephone and her reunion with her mother, Demeter, at Eleusis.

5. Apollo: Light and Harmony PATH-5
Apollo is known as the god who is perpetually reborn and the one who shoots the darts from afar-all different characteristics of the radiant sun. He is also associated with the concept of spiritual cleansing. From his birth on the island of Delos, we follow Apollo in stories with Python and Pythia, the oracle of Delphi, Daphne, Hyacinthus, Marsyas, Asclepius, and the centaur Chiron.

6. Dionysus: The Joy of Life PATH-6
In this program, we learn of the birth of Dionysus, and the efforts of Hermes and Apollo to save baby Dionysus’ life. Other stories include the purification of Dionysus; how mortals received the gift of the grape and the dangers it can cause; how Dionysus freed Hera from Hephaestus’ golden net; and Ariadne and the labyrinth and the marriage of Ariadne and Dionysus. The Greeks honored Dionysus, and the great Dionysian celebrations evolved into the beginning of Greek drama.

7. Artemis: The Forces of Nature PATH-7
Artemis was Apollo’s twin sister, and the beauty and cruelty of nature were her province. She protected the flora and the fauna, especially wild animals, and punished those who acted against nature. In this program, we visit the temple at Brauron, Arcadia, Mount Cithaeron, and other Artemisian haunts. In these sacred ruins, we learn of Artemis’ birth and youth, and the stories of Orion, Niobe, Callisto, Echo and Narcissus, and Actaeon.

8. Ares and Eris: Quarrels of the Gods PATH-8
The main event in Greek mythology was the Trojan War, where thousands of mortals died as the gods watched and bet on the outcome. Among the war’s prime movers were Ares, god of war, and his sister Eris, whose name means discord. This program focuses on Troy, where Zeus banished Poseidon and Apollo, and on the war, which began with the golden apple. As in myth, so in life: free to create, mortals live happily, but when Ares and Eris are present, disaster ensues.

In the Street ED-121
15 min / b&w / CS / 16mm
Elementary school through adult
This silent film was made in the streets of East Harlem, New York, during the 1940s by the renowned still-photographer Helen Levitt, with her friends Janice Loeb and James Agee. The film poetically captures a parade of people who stroll, laugh, cry, fight, flirt, or just quietly exist. The clowning and costumes of the characters, filmed on Halloween and other holidays, suggest a deep, humorous, sometimes macabre view of humanity caught unaware. An excellent film for the study of art, social studies, film, and photography.

The Incredible San Francisco Artists’ Soap Box Derby ED-141
24 min / color / 1977 / PFI / 16mm
Mature audiences, high school through adult
A celebration of the imagination and energy of 104 bay area artists who created an artist-built “car” exhibition/derby for their community. Originally intended as a fund-raising event for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the derby proved to be more than that, for both on-lookers and participants. Artists gained new insight into engineering and racing, while everyone else gained a new perspective on artists and art. (Note: A small portion of this film contains images that might be considered objectionable to some audiences. The film should be previewed before showing it to students or other sensitive audiences.)

Ingmar Bergman ED-43
55 min / color / 1973 / FI / 16mm
High school through adult
This documentary studies the relationship between the director-in this case the great Swedish director Ingmar Bergman-his actors, and his cameraman. Bergman’s refined filmmaking process is revealed as we see him at work. Interviews with Bergman and his actors amplify the director’s intentions, frustrations, goals, and vision, while selections from his films illustrate many facets of movie-making. The result is an engrossing study of the complex professional and personal character of the famous film director.

Ingres: Slaves of Fashion WA-248
50 min / color / 1982 / FI / VHS
College through adult
In his own day, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1781-1867) was admired for his scrupulous attention to detail, and he won respect as a champion of Neoclassicism against the rising Romantic tide. Many of Ingres’s paintings belie his strict teachings, especially The Turkish Bath, in which the female nude is anatomically distorted to increase its sensuous elegance. This video shows many of Ingres’s works, especially his female nudes, which are compared with actual nude models.

The Inland Sea OA-22
57 min / color / 1991 / FI / VHS
Middle school through adult
Lucille Carra re-creates the lyrical vision of old Japan captured by Donald Richie in his classic travel memoir. Richie, one of the foremost Western authorities on Japanese cinema and culture, juxtaposes the ongoing conflict between traditional and modern values with the serene beauty of the area known as the Inland Sea. The result is a rewarding personal journey for the heart, the mind, and the senses. The Inland Sea documents a centuries-old way of life that is rapidly disappearing.

Inner Visions: Avant-Garde Art in China OA-27
28 min / color / 1993 / FL / VHS
High school through adult
This documentary gives us a rare opportunity to meet young artists and intellectuals in Beijing and hear how they steer a course between survival and artistic expression. This new generation of artists does not paint scenes of nature like the classical painters. Nor do they produce the oversized socialist-realist canvases that were popular during the Mao years. These young men and women, influenced by Western modern art and ideas, have turned inward for inspiration, expressing emotions through art. How do they fare in post-Tiananmen Square China? They have not had an official exhibit since the student rebellion, nor is there a market for their work. But most have jobs that enable them to support themselves. Since painting and sculpture are considered less threatening to the regime than the printed word, their art is tolerated.

The Innocent Eye: Henri Rousseau WA-164
25 min / color / 1968 / PFP / 16mm
High school through adult
This film about the life and work of French naive artist Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) presents dozens of his greatest paintings, together with still photographs, cartoons, and sketches. In his work, Rousseau’s absurd imagination was given visual reality by a manner of seeing that was both direct and magical.

Inside China: Off the Beaten Path OA-32
60 min / color / 1996 / CTC / VHS
Middle school through adult
In this documentary, Americans Jeff Schiro and Bob Demyan travel to remote areas of China to gain a true picture of this vast country. After a stop in Hong Kong, Schiro and Demyan cruise from the port city of Guangzhou to the province of Gwangui and experience town life in the beautiful city of Yangshoo. There they view Chinese farmers working the land by hand, as they have done for thousands of years. They also journey on a bamboo raft to the village of Xingping and trek to the summit of Moon Hill. The next stops are Leshan in the Sichuan province and Mt. Emer, a holy Buddhist site that is now a favorite stop for tourists.

Interior Designs ED-92
5 min / color / 1980 / JA / 16mm
Middle school through adult
This work by New York filmmaker Jane Aaron presents a profusion of animated images within live-action sequences. The sounds and sights of an apartment interior are enlivened by this unique and personal fusion of film techniques. Especially recommended for the study of filmmaking and drawing.

An Introduction to the Italian Renaissance WA-565
29 min / 1998 / FFH / VHS
High school through adult
This video re-creates a talk between Giorgio Vasari, author of Lives of the Artists, and an eager student. The discussion reveals the innovations of Giotto, Ghiberti, Donatello, Uccello, Masaccio, della Francesca, Botticelli, Leonardo, Raffaello, and Michelangelo. Images of selected masterpieces illustrate the Roman influence on Renaissance art and introduce the concepts of perspective, balance, chiaroscuro, composition, and realism.

Isabel Bishop: Portrait of an Artist WA-138
29 min / color / 1979 / FI / 16mm
High school through adult
Twentieth-century master of romantic realism, Isabel Bishop produced a style uniquely her own through her preoccupation with the ordinary. The people of New York City were an endless source of inspiration for the artist’s paintings, prints, and drawings. Scenes from her work and her life portray the personality of this highly individual woman and expand our understanding of how she transferred her experiences and inspirations to the finished work.

Isamu Noguchi: Stones and Paper
56 min / 2004 / DVD
High school through adult
Isamu Noguchi's elegant, minimal sculptures are among the most recognizable of the entire modernist project. This documentary details the Japanese-American artist's life and career from his apprenticeship with Brancusi to his prolific ability to excel in ceramics, furniture, interiors, and gardens.

Isamu Noguchi WA-318
30 min / color / 1989 / BPI /VHS
High school through adult
Filmmaker Michael Blackwood marks the passing of a delightful man who also happened to be one of the most influential and respected sculptors of the 20th century. The story begins with Isamu Noguchi standing in the UNESCO garden in Paris, one of his commissioned works. Here, drawing upon his years of experience, the artist discusses the Japanese garden as an art form and its relationship to other arts. Then, in a well-equipped studio, he recounts the story of his impoverished student years and his apprenticeship to the extraordinary sculptor Constantin Brancusi, “who taught me how to use tools.”

Islamic Art OA-19
30 min / color / 1982 / FFH / 3/4"vc, VHS
High school through adult
Forbidden by Islamic law to represent the human form, Moslem artists instead create decorative patterns in the style we know as “arabesque.” This program discusses the architecture and sculpture of mosques and Koranic schools, the illumination and calligraphy of sacred texts, the religious music, the art of the garden, and the influence of the arabesque motif on Western art.

Islands WA-292
58 min / color / 1987 / MAY / 16mm / DVD
Middle school through adult
Restriction: Copyright restrictions allow this film to be loaned only to non-university audiences.
“You will never catch any person you know waking up his wife and kids early in the morning, saying, ‘Let’s go see if the painting’s still there in the museum.’ But that’s what they’ll do with Christo’s Islands.” Thus spoke Jeanne-Claude Javacheff, the wife of the Bulgarian-born artist Christo, during the early negotiations preceding the artist’s Surrounded Islands project, the wrapping of the islands in Biscayne Bay, Florida. This film by Albert and David Maysles, chronicles Christo’s earnest and persistent efforts to get 3 of his projects-Surrounded Islands, the wrapping of the Pont Neuf in Paris, and the wrapping of the Reichstag in Germany-past bureaucratic obstructions and into reality.

It Ain’t City Music ED-41
15 min / color / 1973 / DAVT / 16mm
Middle school through adult
This light-hearted celebration of grass-roots America and its music was produced by Virginia filmmaker Tom Davenport at the National Country Music Contest at Whipoorwhill Lake, Warrenton, Virginia. Especially recommended for programs about Southern culture.