FILM, VIDEO, DVD: ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS
A B C D E F G H I J K L MN O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Film, Video, DVD: P
Pablo Picasso's Guernica WA-598
35 min / 1998 / VHS
High school through adult
This video deciphers many of the mysteries of what is one of the
best-known modernist paintings in history. The monumental work
was made by Picasso driven by his revulsion to the infamous
German bombing of a Spanish village under the watch of Fascist
dictator Francisco Franco in the 1930s civil war.
Painters Painting WA-234
116 min / color / 1971 / AFA / 3/4"vc, VHS
College through adult
Just before the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened its historic centennial exhibition New York Art 1945-1970, only filmmaker Emile de Antonio was permitted to enter the museum's galleries. His view of this major collection of paintings, accompanied by his interviews with the artists in their studios, stands as a unique record of a vital and continuing movement of art and ideas. Willem de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Henry Geldzahler, Barnett Newman, Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, and others discuss the artistic developments that characterize 25 years of the New York art scene.
The Painter's World
30 min each / color / 1989 / CORF / VHS
Mature audiences, high school through adult
This 6-part video series explores how and why paintings are made, as each 30-minute program examines a different aspect of art: the themes, conventions, pictorial and social norms, and institutions that influence both the artist and his work. Each program traces a topic from the Renaissance to the present, providing an evolutionary, organic treatment of each, and showing how artists can act either conventionally within or radically against constants, always responding to existing norms and conditions. (Note: Some material in this series may be inappropriate for high school audiences. Instructors should preview these tapes before showing them to the students.)
- 1. Portraits PW-1
The challenge of a portrait is to evoke a person's character in a single image. In this program, viewers learn from a comparison between portraits by artists from the Renaissance through the 19th century-Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Goya-and works by artists of this century-painters Philip Pearlstein and Yolanda Sonnabend and photographers Joel Meyerowitz and Jo Spence.
2. Abstraction PW-2
Much 20th-century art has found its basis in the abstract. This program investigates the roots and meanings of abstraction in landscape painting, in music, and belief in a reality that exists beyond appearance. A candid and revealing interview with Frank Stella is combined with archival footage of Wassily Kandinsky, Jackson Pollock, and Barnett Newman.
3. The Training of Painters PW-3
Few painters have become major artists without training. But can art be taught? This program examines how artists have been taught and why, from the Renaissance to the present, and the relationship between prevailing styles in art and corresponding art school doctrines of the day.
4. The Artist and the Nude PW-4
Sinners and saints, men and women, young and old, have all been depicted nude in art over the centuries. The nude has been used both as a vehicle to convey ideals of beauty and to portray independent visions of reality. This program outlines the nude's changing roles in art and examines why this form has remained both popular and elusive through the ages.
5. Painting and the Public: Patronage, Museums, and the Art Market PW-5
How does one determine the value of a work of art? Who buys works of art and why? This enlightening program begins at an auction at Sotheby's and then traces the development of patronage, museums, and the art market from the Renaissance to the present through interviews with painters, collectors, dealers, and museum directors.
6. The Arrested Movement PW-6
How does the artist capture movement and convert it to a still image, telling a complete story in a single frame? This program, featuring artist and photographer David Hockney, looks at some of the methods artists have devised to show movement in space and time, and discusses the effects that perspective, photography, and Cubism have had on these methods.
Painting a Mural AT-68
14 min / color / 1988 / FFH / VHS
Preschool through elementary school
Part of the Art's Place series, this is a colorful and gentle lesson for children on making murals. Children are instructed in arranging and reproducing objects in groups and using balance and unity by both puppet and human characters interacting in a neighborhood artist's studio. A painting by Cézanne is used to explain still life.
Painting in the South:
Artists and Regional Heritage WA-177
27 min / color / 1983 / PM / 16mm, 3/4"vc
High school through adult
This film, directed by William Ferris and narrated by James Earl Jones, was produced in conjunction with the Virginia Museum exhibition Painting in the South: 1564-1980. Featured are the work and philosophies of 10 contemporary Southern artists: Benny Andrews, William Dunlap, Ed McGowin, Sam Gilliam, Maud Gatewood, William Christenberry, Rebecca Davenport, Julien Binford, Carroll Cloar, and Romare Bearden. The film explores both the Southern narrative tradition and the roots of American Abstraction that developed at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. A sensitive investigation of the role of art in Southern life.
Painting the Town:
The Illusionistic Murals of Richard Haas WA-379
56 min / color / 1989 / DC / VHS
Middle school through adult
This exuberant portrait introduces the work of architectural muralist Richard Haas, whose mammoth murals have caused double takes in cities across the United States. A graceful flight of stairs, a cast-iron facade, a bridge, an arched entranceway-even the famous Fontainebleu Hotel in Miami Beach-are, at second glance, not what they appear. Using painted architecture to transform environments, Haas humanizes the stark and sometimes brutal geometry of contemporary cityscapes.
Painting the Unconscious: Clerio Demoraes WA-446
27 min / color / 1993 / CTC / VHS
Middle school through adult
Clerio Demoraes is an exceptional artist, and he is also an exceptional human being. This program, filled with examples of Clerio's imaginative Surrealist works of art, introduces us to a man who works with people with special needs at the Exceptional Children's Foundation Art Center. Here we see how Clerio, by working in an environment that is itself surreal, discovered painting that comes from the unconscious mind. Because his fellow artists at the Center are unaware of making mistakes, Clerio has learned from them to become less afraid and more imaginative in his own art.
Painting with Acrylics AT-55
24 min / color / 1994 / Lucerne / VHS
Elementary school through adult
Beginning artists learn the essential techniques of painting with acrylics-direct painting, scumbling, dry-brush, wet-in-wet, underpainting, glazing, and transparent washes. Easily understood step-by-step demonstrations are reinforced by discussions with major contemporary artists. Every technique is explained in detail, and problems, such as blending even tones, developing form with color and hue, and creating thick impasto, are discussed.
Painting with Watercolors AT-59
23 min / color / 1994 / Lucerne / VHS
Middle school through adult
The basic skills of watercolor painting are demonstrated in this lively program for beginning artists. This medium is sometimes perceived as difficult to master. By following the step-by-step instructions, however, viewers learn how to handle this fast-drying medium with ease. Different techniques such as an even wash, a graded tone, wet-on-wet, dry-brush, and masking demonstrate effective methods of painting with watercolors to make this an exciting experience for artists to re-create.
A Palette of Glass WA-143
25 min / color / 1978 / PFI / 16mm
Middle school through adult
The essence of stained glass, inspired by the hand and vision of 20th-century artist Marc Chagall, is the theme of this colorful film. Here we see in detail the intricate process by which Chagall created new stained glass windows for the Art Institute of Chicago. Shown in the film is the antique glass factory where the glass was manufactured, as well as the world-famous glass atelier of Charles and Brigitte Marq, where the windows were assembled.
Palettes: Great Artists and their Paintings
14 part series / FFH
- 1. Pablo Picasso PAL-1
33 min / color / 1998 / VHS
High school through adult
The painting, Crucifixion, was rather uncharacteristic to come from Picasso's brush. He had little interest in religion or depicting religious themes. This program explores the reasons why he might have placed a number of strange, indecipherable figures within this classical representation of what took place on Calvary.
2. Paul Cézanne PAL-2
30 min / color / 1998 / VHS
Middle school through adult
The video concentrates on Cézanne's series of painting of Mont Sainte-Victoire. It examines his paintings, drawings, and watercolors of this subject. It compares his work with both historic and contemporary photographs. It also draws comparisons between this series and Cézanne's still-life paintings.
3. Claude Monet PAL-3
32 min / color / VHS
Middle school through adult
The video provides a brief biographical overview of Monet and then concentrates on his work at his Giverny garden. It demonstrates how Monet's series of paintings of the Japanese bridge with the waterlilies was an attempt to render every variation of light over the bridge, water, foliage, and flowers consistent with the season and time of day. It traces the inspiration of both the garden and this series painting to the Japanese engravings collected by Monet.
4. Eugene Delacroix PAL-4
29 min / color / VHS
Middle school through adult
Delacroix's painting Liberty Leading the People is an important statement about the social, political, and literary currents in nineteenth-century Paris. This video examines how the artist draws from classical, eighteenth-century, and Victorian models to create this allegory. The video also examines how the painting went in and out of favor during Delacroix's lifetime mirroring the political turmoil of France.
5 Georges Seurat PAL-5
32 min / color / 1998 / VHS
Middle school through adult
At the last Impressionist Exhibition in Paris in 1886, Georges Seurat exhibited the painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The painting caused a sensation because of its technical daring and lack of concern for the accepted conventions of painting. Seurat used a multitude of small dots to create the work. This technique became known as Pointillism. The video explores the development of Seurat's style and provides in-depth analysis of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
6. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec PAL-6
32 min / color / 1998 / VHS / DVD
High school through adult
This video explores how Toulouse-Lautrec captured the nightlife of Paris in two panels painted for a carnival booth, partly to promote La Goulue, the celebrated cancan dancer from the Moulin Rouge, and in part to celebrate her illustrious career. The artist also placed other famous people in the panels, including Oscar Wilde. This video tells about life during the Belle Epoque, using photographs and archival film footage. Photographs include some nudity.
7. Jan van Eyck PAL-7
28 min / color / 1998 / VHS
Middle school through adult
This video examines van Eyck's, The Virgin and Chancellor Rolin. It is both an exploration of van Eyck's development as a painter and a study of the social and political history of Burgundy. The video demonstrates how the painter combines a Roman gallery with a rich landscape to provide an allegorical statement about Nicolas Rolin, the Duke of Burgundy's minister of finance. In analyzing the painting, the video demonstrates both van Eyck's innovations in composition and his contribution to the development of the use of oil paints.
8. Jan Vermeer PAL-8
28 min / color / 1998 / VHS
Middle school through adult
Vermeer's lifetime production of 34 paintings was dominated by a series of variations on rooms, perhaps based on his house. The composition of these paintings is ruled by strict perspective that indicates that the artist may have used a camera obscura to layout the elements in his paintings. The video discusses the creation and use of the camera obscura in Vermeer's time, as well as the impact of the instrument on painting.
9. Leonardo da Vinci PAL-9
30 min / color / 1998 / VHS / DVD
Middle school through adult
This video provides a brief biographical sketch of Leonardo before concentrating on his painting, The Virgin, the Infant Jesus, and Saint Anne. The video uses this painting to demonstrate how the artist used the elements of darkness and light, volume and color, figure and setting, distance, proximity, movement, and rest. The video also examines the possible symbolism present in the painting and describes various theories developed by Freud and prominent art historians.
10. Marcel Duchamp PAL-10
32 min / color / 1998 / VHS
High school through adult
The Armory Show in New York City with Duchamp's painting, Nude Descending a Staircase, is credited with revolutionizing the art world in the twentieth Century. This video begins with the Armory Show and traces Duchamp's variations on his famous painting. It explores possible influences for this work and identifies precedents for the paintings in the work of French and English painters.
11. Peter Paul Rubens PAL-11
32 min / color / 1998 / VHS
Adult
The video explores Rubens' paintings of his wife, Helene, who served as his model before their marriage. The video concentrates on two paintings which are at the Louvre. In these paintings, she appears in superb apparel, which suggests her voluptuous figure. These paintings are examples of how Rubens treated the sexuality of his wife and may suggest her treatment in a series of nudes executed by Rubens, which were destroyed by his wife after the artist's death.
12. Piero della Francesca PAL-12
61 min / color / 1998 / VHS
Middle school through adult
The video examines Piero's painting, The Flagellation of Christ, in context of architectural, political, social, and art theory of the Renaissance. It summarizes prevalent theories about the allegorical meanings present in the painting and demonstrates its importance in Renaissance painting. It also provides a good summary of the mechanics of painting in the Italian Renaissance.
13. Rembrandt van Rijn PAL-13
30 min / color / 1998 / VHS
Middle school through adult
This video explores Rembrandt's self-portraits and examines the processes used by the artist to create these paintings and to create different personas. It explores the question whether the self-portraits were merely an indication of the artist's self-absorption or whether his self-portraiture was part of a genre influenced by the Dutch vanitas paintings.
14. Titian PAL-14
33 min / color / 1998 / VHS
Middle school through adult
The video uses the question of the artist who painted Le Concert Champêtre to examine the works of Titian and separate his technique from Giorgione, who also has been credited with painting this work. Following this discussion, the video ties the pastoral setting to the cultural context of sixteenth-century Venice and shows how Titian's paintings of pastoral scenes became a basis for reinterpretations of pastoral settings by subsequent paintings, including the nineteeth-century painter, Manet.
Paolo Uccello WA-349
30 min / color / 1989 / ARTSA / VHS
High school through adult
Paolo Uccello (1397-1475) belonged to a small group of Florentine artists who extended the boundaries of painting during the 15th century. His surviving works span the range of Renaissance commissions: from public monuments to enchanting images created for private enjoyment. A student of the influential sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, Uccello ranked along with his contemporaries Masaccio, Donatello, and Brunelleschi as one of the pioneers of early Italian Renaissance art.
Paper and Silk:
The Conservation of Asian Works of Art WA-351
28 min / color / 1982 / ARTSA / VHS
High school through adult
This program begins with a brittle 18th-century Chinese scroll painting that had fallen into hundreds of fragments as a result of deterioration and improper handling. With Asian curator Robert Jacobsen (The Minneapolis Institute of Arts) and conservators David Dudley and Downey Rugtiv (Upper Midwest Conservation Association), we can follow the restoration process: from the initial piecing together of the fragments, to securing them against a firm backing panel, to in-painting, and to eventual remounting on a paper panel. The special conservation tools and techniques for Asian works of art are explained, as well as the rationale for the procedures: which objects deserve repairing, and why.
Paper Camera ED-335
25 min / color / 1992 / NDV / VHS
Elementary school through adult
This is the story of a 10-year old Asian immigrant student and his transition into an English-speaking school. Kwok speaks no English, but he befriends Eric by exchanging his Chinese folded paper toys for baseball cards. Kwok and Eric develop a significant friendship that is filled with caring and humor, one that transcends the verbal language barrier of the moment. Recommended for classes in multicultural studies and language arts. CINE Gold Eagle; Silver Apple, National Education Film and Video Festival.
Paper Wings ED-201
12 min / color / 1983 / CF / VHS
Elementary school through adult
A young girl, fascinated by things that move through the air, meets an older woman, an artist who is also entranced by birds and planes. Eventually, they come to be friends, drawn together by their common interest. In a fairy-tale-like ending, they climb into the balloon's gondola and float off into the sky. This nonnarrated film is for general audiences and is especially appropriate for writing classes and for science or physics classes studying air and the principles of flight.
Suggested Classroom Activity: Discuss the kinds of things that move through the air in this film, (birds, airplanes, paper planes and whirligigs, helium balloons, hot-air balloons, a Frisbee) and consider what allows each of them to move through air.
Papier-Mâché Pop Art ED-581 NEW!
21 min/2000/ VHS
Elementary school through high school
In this primer, the teacher demonstrates clearly how to make three-dimensional papier-mâché pop art using a candy package as a model for an oversized version and other examples. Materials are assembled, a large bag is formed from newspaper, and strips of white paper are dipped in paste and applied to the form. Then the paint and lettering are applied.
Paradise ED-211
16 min / color / 1985 / DC / VHS
Elementary school through adult
A little blackbird learns that fine feathers alone cannot bring happiness, even in a brilliantly colored fantasy kingdom. Dazzling animation and haunting music combine to tell this gently humorous moral tale that will enchant audiences of all ages.
Parthenon: Design and Architecture
ED-511
51 min / 2002 / DSC / VHS
Middle school through adult
This well-produced Discovery Channel video, reveals the building techniques of the ancient Greeks, from the quarrying of huge blocks of marble in the mountains surrounding Athens to the intricate carvings of magnificent sculptures that once adorned the Parthenon. It also explores the true purpose of the colossal statue of Athena that once stood inside as well as the replica that stands in Nashville, Tenn.
Pas de Deux PE-12
14 min / b&w / 1969 / LCOA / 16mm / DVD
Middle school through adult
Norman McLaren's Pas de Deux is considered a classic in film artistry. By combining optical printing with stroboscopic effects, McLaren enlarges a simple and beautiful pas de deux into a thrilling cinematic experience. Multiple images of balletic movement capture the tension of a man and woman reaching out to one another. Much more than a "dance film," Pas de Deux is a work of art that blends sound and motion into a visual poem.
Pastel Painting AT-60
20 min / color / 1994 / Lucerne / VHS
Elementary school through adult
Dating from the 15th century, pastel chalks were originally used in creating studies for paintings. As the medium became more popular, however, pastel painting became valued for its intrinsic qualities. Choice of paper influences the finished work, and examples of the variety of papers are shown. Pastels by artists such as Toulouse-Latrec and Whistler are used as examples. Such techniques as applying fixatives, blending colors, creating a wide variety of textures and tonal nuances, and layering are demonstrated for the beginning pastel painter.
Patchwork Quilt ED-183
28 min / color / 1985 / GPN / VHS
Elementary school through adult
"A quilt won't forget. It can tell your life story." In this sensitive tale by Valerie Flournoy, a young black girl, Tanya, learns the secret ingredient in her grandmother's special quilt of memories. The film captures the trust and sharing between the young girl and her beloved grandmother. After the story of the patchwork quilt is told, film host LeVar Burton visits children learning to make their own brightly colored patchwork quilt at the Boston Children's Museum. This program is part of the well-known Reading Rainbow series; it is especially good for encouraging storytelling in young children and for design activities in art classes.
The Pattern of Beauty OA-36
25 min / color / LF / VHS
High school through adult
This film concentrates on the arts of architecture and abstract decoration of the Islamic world showing how, from an Islamic point of view, these are approached and understood. Other sequences show the arts of calligraphy and painting, and the magnificent art and buildings of three great cultures which flourished three centuries ago: Saffavid Iran, Ottoman Turkey, and Mughal India.
Paul Cadmus: Enfant Terrible at 80 WA-188
64 min / color / 1984 / AFA / 16mm
Mature audiences, college through adult
When a straight-laced admiral rejected Paul Cadmus's satiric painting of rowdy sailors from a Works Projects Administration exhibition in 1934, it was only the first scandal in the artist's unusual career. In this film portrait, Cadmus draws from the nude figure, demonstrates his mastery of painting in egg tempera, and candidly recalls his role as a prominent painter on the American scene and controversial social commentator and satirist.
Paul Gauguin: The Savage Dream WA-310
45 min / color / 1988 / AA / VHS
College through adult
Paul Gauguin abandoned family, country, and civilization to escape to the beautiful Pacific paradise of Marquesas, one of the most remote islands in the world. There, Gauguin began to paint with pure color, to apply paint in a sensuous new way, and to develop a new image vocabulary. This film, which chronicles the last 2 years of this innovative artist's life, includes comprehensive footage of both well-known and rarely seen works by the artist.
Paul Klee: Child of Creation WA-103
7 min / color / 1970 / BFA / 16mm
Middle school through adult
"Some people say that my pictures resemble the scribbles of children. I hope they do. The pictures that my little boy, Felix, paints are often better than mine because mine are filtered through the brain." Fusing paintings by Paul Klee and quotations from his diaries, this film explores the relationship between Klee's aesthetic theories and children's art.
Paul Mellon: In His Own Words ED-573 NEW!
48 min/2007/ DVD
College through adult
This film celebrates the life, spirit, and philosophy of Paul Mellon using film footage from his life and narration read from his writings. Mr. Mellon’s magnanimity and gentle nature are evident in his lifelong dedication as art collector and benefactor to the National Gallery and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. His genuine love of horses and British sporting art are apparent. Mr. Mellon’s legacy lives with the art he has given to all people for pleasure and education.
Paul Revere Is Here ED-79
7 min / color / 1976 / SBC / 16mm
Middle school through adult
Mary Beam's work focuses on Boston's equestrian statue of Paul Revere. The images in the film are presented through rotoscope animation;
the soundtrack comprises comments by Boston residents, who discuss everything from silver polish to American history. The film captures the spontaneity and real-life humor of the residents of a New England town.
Paul Taylor and Company PE-7
32 min / color / 1968 / PFP / 16mm
Middle school through adult
Paul Taylor, a prominent dance master and one of America's leading choreographers, talks about dance and his troupe. The camera captures Taylor at work-on new dance routines, grueling rehearsals, and glorious costumed performances. This exciting documentary shows the intense concentration and personal commitment of the man and his company, both on stage and off.
Pearl's Diner ED-333
15 min / color / 1993 / LUC / VHS
Elementary school through adult
Award-winning animator Lynn Smith offers a thought-provoking observation on the human condition in this video. Pearl is a waitress in a small, all-night restaurant. Although she tries to maintain an emotional distance from her customers, she can't help imagining what their feelings and thoughts are. A situation arises when she is tempted to speak out in order to help two people who seem to be reaching out to one another. She wrestles with a decision: should she get involved, or will she be interfering in their private lives?
Pencil Dance ED-318
3 min / color / 1989 / EE / VHS
Elementary school through adult
The elements of this dance are simple: white shapes, a black background, and an updated, upbeat rendition of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. This is a ballet of organic and geometric shapes that prove that energy, excitement, humor, and spirit can be evoked by a purely abstract black and white film. This video by Chris Casady can be shown with the 1962 black-and-white film A Line Is a Line Is a Line, by Swiss animator Urs Graf.
Perception: The Art of Seeing ED-416
24 min / color / 1997 / IM / VHS
Middle school through adult
This interactive video shows that perception is a creative, active process. We do not so much record reality as a camera, but we actually direct it. A variety of visual effects and distortions are employed to show us how we construct our reality.
Perfect Crimes: Gardner Museum Heist ED-455
24 min / 2001 / VHS
High school through adult
From the A&E Channel's series "Perfect Crimes" this
episode details a 300 million dollar art theft at the Gardner
Museum in Boston in 1990. 13 works were stolen including a Rembrandt,
Vermeer, Degas, and a bronze Chinese vase.
The Perils of Priscilla ED-200
14 min / color / 1980 / CF / VHS
Elementary school through adult
This film by Carroll Ballard tells the hair-raising adventures of a cat who endures the indignities of a busy family and the dangers of being lost in a big city. From Priscilla's point of view, we share her encounter with speeding traffic, flashing lights, and hurrying people. How does her adventure conclude? Viewers are free to make up their own endings.
Suggested Classroom Activity: Have students describe, using colorful words and phrases, Priscilla's feelings about what happened in the house, the fields, and the city; have students write their own ending for the story.
Permutations ED-113
7 min / color / 1968 / PFP / 16mm
High school through adult
Generated on a digital computer, Permutations features harmoniously evolving free forms and spherical dot patterns in constant graceful motion. This film has been called by its creator John Whitney a "vocabulary of shapes and rhythms." This animation of non-representational computer images intends to create a motion so free that the viewer is attracted by the movement itself rather than by the object that is moving.
Persian Miniatures: The Gardens of Paradise WA-657 NEW!
31 min/1997/ DVD
College through adult
The Five Poems by 12th-century poet, Nezami, were interpreted in the 17th-century by Haydar Qoli Naqqash, a painter of the Safavide School, and calligrapher Abd al Djabber. These works are revealed in great detail as an outstanding example of Persian miniature.
The poetry is explained clearly as are the techniques and art tools that were employed.
Persistent Women Artists WA-525
28 min / color / 1996 / CG / VHS
Middle school through adult
International artist and art educator Betty LaDuke presents a dynamic new look at three American women artists of diverse heritage: Lois Mailou Jones, Mine Okubo, and Pablita Velarde. Their powerful personal paintings, drawings, lithographs, and murals reflect their experiences as Native, Asian, and African-American women. These remarkable artists, in their 7th, 8th, and 9th decades, discuss the political and social obstacles they encountered while continuing to create vivid images expressing both the pain and the beauty of their lives.
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese
Through American Movies ED-435
On 3 cassettes: #1: 72 min, #2: 79 min, #3:
74 min / b&w and color / 1996 / IM / VHS
High school through adult
Acclaimed movie director, Martin Scorsese, uses clips from classic masterpieces and lesser known cult favorites to explain directors' very intensive roles in the creation of feature motion pictures. Mr. Scorsese breaks his analysis into five parts: the creative process, storytelling, the technical process, embedding a personal vision, and the mavericks who challenged the conventional rules of Hollywood filmmaking to expand the art form.
A Personal Search WA-403
24 min / color / 1993 / PFP / VHS
College through adult
John Whitney, one of the best known film and computer artists of our time, uses the concept of complementarity to make sense of the confusion that exists between fine art and technology in the late 20th century. In this autobiographical documentary, Whitney describes current developments that foretell radical and exciting new ways viewers will soon be experiencing music and art. With examples from his own work, we are shown how high-definition TV and hi-fi sound will fuse together naturally in a completely new art form. Finally, Whitney shows how other artists can apply complementarity to their own work.
Perspective Drawing AT-56
18 min / color / 1993 / Lucerne / VHS
Elementary school through adult
Drawing to create the illusion of depth and space has always been intriguing but somewhat intimidating to the beginning artist. Now this video makes it easy! A brief introduction to the history and use of perspective principles offers many examples of how the masters accomplished this technique. Demonstrations show 1- and 2-point perspective in a series of simple, easy-to-understand steps. Even a beginner will be able to create a drawing that is scaled correctly.
Petroglyphs: Stone Pictures WA-517
16 min / color / 1993 / LUC / VHS
Middle school through adult
Throughout North and South America there are symbols and designs carved on stone by ancient peoples. These images are called petroglyphs (images on stone), and some date back 20,000 years. The exact meanings of the petroglyphs remain unclear, but all represent the ancient cultures who roamed these lands thousands of years ago. Included in this video is a suggested project to create your own petroglyph.
Philadelphia Stories: A Collection of Pivotal Museum Memories NEW!
60 min /2000/ VHS
College through adult
In this program, twenty-four museum professionals describe their personal museum experiences, good and bad, moving and humorous, demonstrating the importance of engaging visitors. The areas examined include “Powerful Objects,” “Memorable Exhibits & Programs,” “Engaging Relationships,” and “Museums Changing Lives.” This film is ideal for museum studies programs, docent and volunteer training, as well as employee and volunteer orientation.
Philip Guston: A Life Lived WA-586
59 min / 1981/1998 / BPI / VHS
High school through adult
Philip Guston talks about his paintings and career, replete with stories of artists such as Jackson Pollock, a fellow art student in 1930s Los Angeles. Mr. Guston provides insight into his switch from pure abstraction to the deeply personal, cartoon-like style he is best known for and the social concerns intended. He also walks through and comments on his charming upstate New York town.
Philip Johnson: Diary of an Eccentric Architect WA-569
55 min / 1996 / IM / VHS
College through adult
One of America’s greatest architects, the often feisty but gentle Johnson takes the viewer on a tour of his pastoral New Canaan, Conn. estate. He shows-off and explains his famed glass house, special guest quarters, pavilion, and galleries for his art collection. In closing, he goes through the design and construction of his final masterpiece: a postmodern, abstract sculpture that is also a house.
Philip Pearlstein Draws the Artist's Model AT-39
90 min / color / 1985 / AA / VHS
Mature audiences, college through adult
In the course of a workshop, artist Phillip Pearlstein discusses and demonstrates his approach to rendering the nude in pencil, watercolor, and oil. Pearlstein critiques 4 historical styles of drawing the nude. All demonstrations are presented with the aid of a state-of-the-art computer system that allows for successive layers of shading to be laid one over the other, a technique that is integral to Pearlstein's method. A discussion of the artist's life, work, and educational background is included, during which Pearlstein talks about the dignity of the artist's model and his own philosophy of viewing the model as a fascinating landscape. (Note: This program contains extensive nudity; recommended only for mature audiences.)
Phonemaster 9000 ED-332
8 min / b&w / 1990 / PFP / VHS
High school through adult
This program is a hilarious satire on modern technology run amok. Taking the impersonal options of phone mail to the extreme, Phonemaster 9000 imagines a world in which personal calls are returned by machine and unsuspecting callers are faced with a dizzying list of intrusive questions, key pad options, and no way out. This film is perfect entertainment for anyone who has ever left an encounter with the mystifying world of phone mail with the question, "Isn't there anyone alive on the other end?"
The Photographer's Eye:
Creativity with Bill Moyers ED-286
30 min / color / 1989 / TBSV / VHS
High school through adult
In order to discuss the creative possibilities available to modern photographers, Bill Moyers profiles 2 very different artists-Emmet Gowin of Virginia and Garry Winogrand of Los Angeles (who died in 1984). Gowin photographs large expanses of rural landscape and carefully balances composition, tone, and detail to create photographs of remarkable complexity evoking a sense of the eternal. Winogrand, in contrast, said, "...when things start to move, I get interested." He loved to shoot pictures of parades, women, and conspicuous consumption. These 2 artists, although diametrically opposed in style, technique and subject matter, both explore the art and mechanics of a fascinating medium.
The Photographer, His Wife, Her Lover NEW!
79 min /2005/ DVD
O. Winston Link (1914-2001) passionately documented the last of the steam locomotives in 1950s western Virginia. His dramatically composed and lit nighttime photographs captured not only the beloved behemoth machines but the surrounding landside, people, and rural culture to become iconic pieces of 20th century Americana. This documentary delves into the unfortunate tale of deceit, lust and greed that involved his younger wife/business manager, Conchita. Eventually she went to prison for embezzlement and stealing original photos. Also see our video: O. Winston Link: Trains that Passed in the Night.
Photographers of the
American Frontier: 1860-1880 WA-206
58 min / color / 1980 / BFI / 16mm
High school through adult
Until photographers began to record the American West in 1860, no one other than the eye-witness traveler knew how the frontier actually looked. The evolution of photography between 1860 and 1880 coincided with the exploration and settlement of the vast territories beyond the Mississippi. Prints taken with an 8-by-10-inch view-camera revealed a new and exotic world: great forests, mountains, lakes, primordial canyons, deserts, geysers, glaciers, and the remnants of lost Indian civilizations. This film chronicles the work of several important 19th-century frontier photographers: Carleton Watkins, Eadweard Muybridge, A. J. Russell, William Henry Jackson, and Timothy H. O'Sullivan.
Photography as an Art WA-144
29 min / b&w / 1960 / IU / 16mm
High school through adult
Photographer Ansel Adams demonstrates his photographic techniques in Yosemite National Park. He also discusses his teaching methods and his indebtedness to other photographers. The film also includes a large selection of Adams's photographs.
Photography as Art CF-1
29 min / 2000 / FFH / VHS
College through adult
This BBC production charts the history of photography as it evolved from technical craft to a fine art medium of self-exploration and expression. Works and commentary by Tim Macmillan, Catherine Opie, Suky Best, Alison Jackson, and Caroline Molloy are highlighted along with archival clips of Eadweard Muybridge, Man Ray, Henri-Cartier Bresson, Robert Mapplethorpe, and others.
Photography in Virginia AT-33
30 min / color / 1972 / VM / 3/4"vc
High school through adult
A brief history of photography sets the scene for a step-by-step demonstration by Ronald Jennings, chief photographer of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Mr. Jennings shows how a photograph is created, from the time the camera clicks until the finished print is dried. Non-traditional aspects of photography are further explored in interviews with Dale Quarterman, who uses photography as sculpture, and Gerald Donato, who employs photography in his printmaking.
Picasso WA-341
81 min / color / 1985 / FI / VHS
High school through adult
The opening of the Musée Picasso in the Hotel Salé in Paris gave filmmaker Didier Baussy a rare opportunity to capture on film the Museum's superb collection of Picasso's work, mostly paintings the artist kept for himself-the ones he felt were his personal legacy to the world. Picasso offers an in-depth look at these important works, with footage of the places that inspired them.
Picasso: The Man and His Works NEW!
45 min ea; 2 parts/1990/ DVD
College through adult
A definitive biography in two parts enhanced by DVD technology contains bonus features including over 600 of his works with narrator and rare archival film footage and intimate home movies and stills.
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Part 1 (1881-1937) PP-1
Picasso’s artistic development is traced from age 15 on exploring his work as a youth, from the Blue period to the Pink period and his steps into Cubism in 1906 to the Chrysteline and Neoclassical periods. Includes “Guernica”.
Part 2 (1938-1973) PP-2
Picasso’s ever so energetic maturity is explored from the WWII years, his life on the French Riviera, until his death at 90. Fancifulness abounds as his paintings become more playful. Ceramics, pottery, sculpture, and etchings become a major portion of his output.
Picasso: A Painter's Diary
Varied; see below / color / 1981 / PER / 16mm
High school through adult
This film is a diary in 3 chapters, with intimate revelations by Picasso, his children, his friends, his fellow artists, and the women in his life. We see Picasso's residences throughout Europe, and a wealth of his drawings, paintings, and sculptures. "My works are a form of diary," Picasso wrote. "For those who know how to read, I have painted my autobiography."
- 1. The Formative Years (35 minutes) PIC-1
2. From Cubism to Guernica (34 minutes) PIC-2
3. A Unity of Variety (21 minutes) PIC-3
Picasso is 90 WA-502
49 min / color / 1971 / CSF / VHS
High school through adult
Filmed in 1971 on the occasion of Pablo Picasso's 90th birthday, this biography traces his life from childhood to old age, with a retrospective of his paintings and sculpture. Commentaries are provided by his son, Claude Picasso, his former wife, Francoise Gilot, and Don Luis Miguel Dominguin, the classic Spanish bullfighter.
Pictures Out of My Life WA-368
13 min / color / 1973 / NFBC / VHS
Middle school through adult
This program presents a collection of works and comments from one of the most celebrated Inuit graphic artists, Pitseolak Ashoona. Her prints and drawings, rendered in a simple and almost primitive style, explore the cycle of life in the Arctic, from birth to death. Pitseolak speaks about the old days of living in camps on the frozen tundra, before the advent of such modern luxuries as indoor heating, television, and snowmobiles. Especially recommended for printmaking and social studies classes.
Pictures to an Exhibition:
Morris Louis Goes to Milan ED-436
57 min / color / 1991 / RP / VHS
College through adult
An eye-opening look behind the scenes of the extraordinary efforts and care taken to transport major works of art from one location to another. In this case, a Milan, Italy museum is staging a retrospective of the works of modern abstract artist, Morris Louis. It is a remarkable step-by-step view of how art handlers, conservators, curators, and shippers all work together to ensure the paintings arrive safely.
Pierre Bonnard: In Search of Pure Colour WA-257
55 min / color / 1984 / FI / VHS
College through adult
Inspired by Gauguin and Cézanne, befriended by Renoir and Matisse, and scorned by Picasso, Pierre Bonnard managed to create his own very personal style. He was, in his own words, "in search of pure colour." An occasion to examine Bonnard's work was afforded by a major retrospective exhibition at the Pompidou Center in Paris. What emerges is a fascinating portrait of man and his lifelong search for light in painting.
Pies ED-202
13 min / color / 1985 / DC / 16mm, VHS
Middle school through adult
This surprising, animated short filled with humor, warmth, and color, shows how understanding can overcome prejudice. A fastidious German housewife objects to the droppings that her Polish neighbor's cow leaves on her lawn. In revenge, the German invites her to tea, serving a pie with a "secret ingredient." During the course of the conversation, mutual problems are discovered and the seeds of friendship are begun; this situation forces the German woman to taste some of her own mischief, and to do so with a smile on her face! Pies uses offbeat humor to introduce discussions of ethnic stereotyping, contrasts between urban and rural lifestyles,
problem solving, and interpersonal relationships.
Piet Mondrian WA-101
16 min / color / 1973 / VRI / 16mm
High school through adult
This sensitive study of 20th-century Dutch artist Piet Mondrian's life and artistic development includes biographical photographs, a visual review of his stylistic evolution, and a discussion of the philosophical foundations of his paintings. Elementary problems of abstraction are defined and clarified as they relate to Mondrian's work.
Pigs ED-84
11 min / color / 1967 / CF / 16mm, VHS
Preschool through adult
The sun rises over the fields and houses of a farm. A timid sparrow discovers bulky shapes. There is a sound of heavy breathing. The blimp-like shapes begin to stir and arise. They are pigs! This mini-documentary by Carroll Ballard is a classic study of pigs and their world.
Suggested Classroom Activity: Have students list descriptive adjectives that are suggested by the film's images.
Pissarro: At the Heart of Impressionism WA-166
14 min / color / 1983 / MOMA / 16mm, VHS
High school through adult
This film explores the art and life of French Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. Like Monet, Pissarro sought to capture fugitive light and movement in outdoor scenes, although his primary focus was on Paris street life. Looking at many of his works, we get to know both the painter and the artistic milieu in which he worked.
Play It Again, Nam ED-371
26 min / color / 1995 / FFH / VHS
Middle school through adult
Nam June Paik, born in Seoul in 1932, lives in several New York City lofts that more closely resemble Ali Baba's cave than artists' studios. Some of the performances that made him famous, or infamous, include his dragging a violin attached to a string, breaking a violin, and playing the piano with a camera. More currently, in his Cincinnati factory, he builds cutting-edge video robots and audiovisual sculptures. Paik plays with images and mixes them to create new images. Artist, engineer, musician of images, he is interested in everything. Featured in this video is his visit to Korea.
Pompeii: Once There Was a City ED-271
25 min / color / 1975 / LCOA / VHS
High school through adult
Are we so different from the ancients? Pompeii: Once There Was a City suggests parallels between the famous city before its fiery destruction in A.D. 79 and today's great American cities, facing the threat of destruction through earthquakes and nuclear attack. The results of archaeological
excavation and scholarly interpretation bring the ruins of Pompeii to life, and the clever use of intercut segments of modern life-merchants, political campaigns, and boxing matches-provide an eerie sense of similarity to the long-dead citizens of this tragic Roman city.
Suggested Classroom Activity: Have students discuss what their city or town might look like 1,000 years from now. Have them consider what changes might occur over time; how these changes affect people, buildings, the landscape, economics, and other aspects of life; and whether these changes are positive or negative. Then have them draw a picture or write a short story or description to illustrate their future city.
Portrait Drawing POR-2 NEW!
28 min/1990/ DVD
Middle school through adult
This program begins with historical introduction to portrait drawing and continues with straightforward demonstrations of the three basic poses: frontal, profile, and ¾ view that are appropriate for the beginner. Then, artist Carroll Erlandson is featured drawing a portrait, step-by-step, of a young girl.
Portrait of Grandpa Doc ED-144
29 min / color / 1977 / PFI / 16mm
Elementary school through adult
Filmmaker Randal Kleiser explores the relationship of the young to the very old, and the special grief that death brings. As a young artist prepares his first one-man exhibition, he struggles to complete a portrait of his grandfather, who died several years earlier. In his search for the image that will best portray his grandfather, he recalls that it was Grandpa Doc who first encouraged him to express himself through art. Red Ribbon, American Film Festival.
A Portrait of Maya Angelou:
Creativity with Bill Moyers ED-323
60 min / color / PBS / 1989 / VHS
Middle school through adult
Host Bill Moyers accompanies poet and actress Maya Angelou on her return to her hometown, where they make note of the ways that memory and experience impinge upon art. "The truth is that you can never leave home. You take it with you everywhere you go. It's under your skin. It moves the tongue or slows the colors; it impedes upon the logic." These are Angelou's words upon her return to Stamps, Arkansas, her hometown.
Portrait of Two Artists WA-195
29 min / color / 1982 / BEA / 16mm, VHS
Middle school through adult
The work of contemporary painters Hughie Lee-Smith and Jacob Lawrence reveal the contributions of black artists to the American cultural scene today. In addition to visual sequences of the artists' work, the program includes an insider's look at a class taught by Lee-Smith at New York's Art Students League, as well as views of both artists working in their studios, a ferry ride to an island in Puget Sound where Lawrence works on a mural commission, and an animation sequence of the illustrations from Lawrence's children's book Harriet and the Promised Land.
Portraits, People POR-3 NEW!
20 min/1995/ DVD
Elementary through middle school
This video introduces young folks to art masterpieces as they learn how and why artists arrange shapes and lines, the vocabulary they use, and how they create a center of interest. As well, we see how mood is created when painting portraits and styles and techniques.
Portraits & Still Lifes POR-1 NEW!
30 min/1980/ DVD
Elementary through middle school
This classic video explores portraiture from the old masters, Rubens and Rembrandt, to the more modern expressions of Matisse, Miro, and Braque. Style, interpretation, light source, warm and cool colors, and poses are also discussed.
Positively Native ED-485>
15 min / 1992 / CHA / VHS
Elementary school through adult
A ten-year-old Native American, Martin, produces a videotape with a friend to promote the perks of the Native American culture, and also to dissuade society from misrepresenting his ethnicity. Martin shows an interview with his mother about being put down for being different, a Native American drumming ceremony, and the local reservation where his family lives. The tape is a success, and the children even get the community center’s baseball team name, the Tomahawks, changed because it was offensive.
Possum O'Possum ED-119
28 min / color / 1981 / CEN / 16mm
Elementary school through adult
Filmed in Clanton, Alabama, this film investigates how residents feel about North America's only native marsupial. Possum O'Possum is an
informative and highly entertaining documentary that takes a witty and affectionate look at the town and the people who dispense possum lore with remarkable seriousness. A "Miss Possum" contest, possum pets, and possum fashions add to the fun. This captivating slice of Americana was created by filmmaker Greg Killmaster.
The Post-Impressionists: Henri Rousseau
50 min / 2001 / VHS
College through adult
Henri 'Le Douanier' Rousseau was the eccentric, self-taught artist
known best for his 'jungle' paintings begun in the 1890s. Rousseau
found himself taken up by the turn-of-the-century avant-garde
who admired the non-academic and 'naive' qualities in his work.
An outsider who craved acceptance by the art world, his use of
color and dreamlike elements gave his work an originality and
modernism that prefigured surrealism by many years.
Postmodernism CF-2
29 min / 2000 / FFH / VHS
College through adult
Reaction against Modernism? Cultural pastiche created by today’s electronic, digital age? Hybrid of styles? Liberation for designers? Potpourri of images? New vocabulary of wit and amusing decorative kitsch? Coined by architectural historian, Charles Jencks, Postmodernism seems to describe the era of art and architecture that we live in. A hodge-podge of experts weigh-in on this multi-faceted term complete with many colorful examples. As Frank Gehry states, “Pluralism, chaos, and warmth.”
The Potters of Buur Heybe, Somalia ED-311
25 min / color / 1991 / FL / VHS
High school through adult
In Buur Heybe, a small village in southern Somalia, only the men make pottery. Skillfully coordinating their hands and feet, the men transform mounds of clay into beautifully proportioned drinking and cooking vessels. It is the women's job to mine the clay. Produced under the supervision of archaeologist Dr. Steven Brandt of the University of Florida, this visually striking program reveals the entire process of turning rough soil into
elegantly decorated pottery. It shows their unique outdoor, above-ground firing method and explains the meaning of the designs that embellish the vessels. It also describes the role of pottery in the village economy.
Potters of Oaxaca ED-486
45 min / 1981 / CRYS / VHS
College through adult
The pottery of this region of Mexico is distinctive and made using age-old methods. Artesanos are shown going through all the steps to construct their pots but their designs evolve and remain fresh. Traditional styles of green-glazed ware and black ware are shown. Video taped in Atzompa and Coyotepec villages outside of Oaxaca using local music.
Pottery Basics
10 min each / color / 1996 / LUC / VHS
Elementary school through adult
Professional potter Judith Weber presents this series of four instructional videotapes that cover the rudimentary steps in making pottery. Ms. Weber provides step-by-step guidance, gives helpful hints and tips, and offers examples of finished work to inspire the beginning crafts person to create beautiful pieces.
- 1. The Slab POT-1
2. Pinch Pot and Coil POT-2
3. The Wheel POT-3
4. Glazing and Firing POT-4
The Power of the Past with Bill Moyers:
Florence ED-316
90 min / color / 1990 / PBS / VHS
College through adult
The great art of the Florentine Renaissance grew out of the economic ferment among the rising merchant class, which became the financial backbone for a cultural and artistic revolution. What does a beautiful city in Italy have to do with the birth of our modern world? Journalist Bill Moyers travels to Florence to explore how the city's rich Renaissance legacy affects the way people think and feel today. He examines the power of the past through conversations with people for whom the Renaissance is a living presence, from an architect searching for the construction secrets of a cathedral to author Umberto Eco and film director Franco Zeffirelli. Recommended for Renaissance, art history, and architecture classes.
Powerhouse for God ED-508
58 min / 1989 / BI / VHS
College through adult
This documentary is a stunning portrait of an old-fashioned Baptist preacher, his family, and their church in the mountains of Virginia’s Page County. The filmmakers achieve a deep intimacy with the subject matter. With trusting candor, the church members reveal themselves as sincere, complex human beings, not as stereotypes. Complementing the contemporary footage are old photos and the gospel music that intertwines with their lives.
Powers of Ten ED-88
9 min / color / 1978 / PFP / 16mm, VHS
Middle school through adult
First focusing on a one-square-meter view of a picnicking couple, the camera zooms outward. Time and distance increase in increments of 10 until we reach the outer galaxies. Returning swiftly to Earth, we proceed from the human scale into the micro-world of cells, DNA molecules, and the nucleus of a carbon atom. This is an entirely new color production by Charles and Ray Eames of the 1968 film classic of the same title.
Prairie School Architecture WA-235
28 min / color / 1984 / AFA / 3/4"vc
High school through adult
This program traces the beginnings of modern American architecture in the banks and residences built in America's Midwestern heartland, in a style we now refer to as the Prairie School. Sparked by the architectural vision of Louis Sullivan and crystallized through the genius of Frank Lloyd Wright, this radical new approach to design revolutionized American architecture and decorative arts at the turn of the century.
The Pre-Raphaelite Revolt WA-130
30 min / color / 1972 / FI / DVD / 16mm
High school through adult
In 1848, the Pre-Raphaelite movement was founded by a group of young English artists that included John Millais, John Ruskin, Ford Maddox Brown, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Reacting to the outmoded conventions of the English Academy, painters were interested in restoring to art the naturalism of Italian Renaissance painting before Raphael. Although the Pre-Raphaelite movement itself lasted less than a decade, its influence was felt well past the turn of the century. Red Ribbon, American Film Festival.
Preserving the Past ED-349
26 min / color / 1993 / FFH / VHS
Middle school through adult
This program, one of the Innovation television productions, focuses on the conservation of murals, paintings, and other works on paper, as well as the preservation of historic buildings. Conservators at Winterthur Museum and Princeton University explain their projects, and we see a century-old court-house whose stone, wood, and marble are being restored. A portion of the restoration of Leonardo's Last Supper is viewed, and the effect of air pollution on sculpture and architecture is discussed.
Preventive Conservation in Museums
Varied times / color / 1995 / UQ / VHS
High school through adult
This series of videotapes gives a basic set of measures to prolong the life of cultural objects and works of art by preventing, to the extent possible, their natural or accidental deterioration. Each videotape deals with a specific topic and presents concise, clear, and practical techniques and advice for everyone who works with collections, including curators, architects, designers, technicians, archivists, and volunteers. The information and numerous demonstrations help to illustrate the practice of preventive conservation.
- 1. Introduction to Preventive Conservation (20 min) PCM-1
2. Light and Lighting (20 min) PCM-2
3. Relative Humidity and Temperature (20 min) PCM-3
4. Pollutants (17 min) PCM-4
5. Integrated Pest Management (23 min) PCM-5
6. Packing and Transportation of
Museum Objects (21 min) PCM-6
7. Storage (20 min) PCM-7
8. Protecting Objects on Exhibition (23 min) PCM-8
9. Emergency Contingency Planning (21 min) PCM-9
10. Closing a Seasonal Museum (15 min) PCM-10
11. The Condition Report (12 min) PCM-11
12. Handling Museum Objects (25 min) PCM-12
13. The Care of Paintings (25 min) PCM-13
14. The Care of Works on Paper (24 min) PCM-14
15. The Care of Sculpture (22 min) PCM-15
16. The Care of Metal Objects (20 min) PCM-16
17. The Care of Furniture (22 min) PCM-17
18. The Care of Textiles (19 min) PCM-18
19. The Care of Museum Objects (28 min) PCM-19
Pride of Place: Building the American Dream
58 min each / color / 1988 / FFH / VHS
American architect Robert Stern hosts this comprehensive series that explores American architecture from its beginnings with the humble Puritan saltbox house to the exuberant palaces built by America's aristocracy, from the Prairie School architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright to modern skyscrapers of steel and glass.
- 1. The Search for a Usable Past POP-1
This segment explores America's architectural debts to older classical and European traditions, introduced by the earliest settlers and master builders. Examples range from the classical structure erected over Plymouth Rock to a multitude of contemporary styles.
2. The Campus: A Place Apart POP-2
The very appearance of many college and university campuses across the United States reflects a centuries-old fascination with the origins of organized education and its alluring promise of power. Because the campus is considered such a lofty place, host Robert Stern finds it fitting that America's universities should resemble ancient Greek temples, Gothic cloisters, and weathered medieval halls.
3. Dream Houses POP-3
This program shows us the dream homes of America's wealthiest builders. Included are William Randolph Hearst's San Simeon, Mark Twain's land-locked Mississippi paddleboat in Hartford, Connecticut, and Peter Eisenman's House 6, which literally turned architecture on its ear.
4. Suburbs: Arcadia for Everyone POP-4
The American middle-class dream: to work in the big city but to live in the peace of Arcadia. The solution to this yearning is the suburb, where single-family dwellings are available to all, and greenery and quiet abound. This film explores both the successes and failures of suburban planning.
5. Resorts: Paradise Reclaimed POP-5
For hundreds of years, what have hard-working Americans done to recuperate from the daily grind? Vacation, of course! And where better to vacation than in a place that looks like the wilderness but has all the amenities of home. For the exhausted city dweller who can't leave town, there is the beautiful downtown park, or the newest mall with an interior that resembles a forest or the tropics.
6. The Place Within POP-6
What does the exterior of a building reveal about its interior? This film explores how the facades of buildings are treated to reveal, and sometimes to conceal, the activities inside. Stern discusses the appropriately sober and calculated Classical facade of the Capitol, which houses the turning wheels of government.
7. Proud Towers POP-7
Once, the church spire was the tallest structure of a city's skyline. Today, churches are dwarfed by soaring cathedrals of free enterprise. What has changed in the skyscraper architect's mind between the first "proud towers" of the late 19th century and today's metal boxes of steel and glass?
8. The Garden and the Grid POP-8
Is Williamsburg America's shining example of urban planning? Robert Stern thinks so. Other examples are compared with this Colonial masterpiece to explain why some attempts to combine urban living and refreshing, beautiful gardens have succeeded, while others have failed.
The Primal Mind ED-356
57 min / color / 1984 / CG / VHS
Middle school through adult
Written and hosted by Jamake Highwater, a world-renowned author on American Indian culture, this documentary examines the differences between Native American and Western cultures. Contrasting views of nature, time, space, art, architecture, and dance are explored. Language also plays a crucial role, since each language reflects fundamental differences in human perception, differences that for centuries have led to serious misunderstandings. Western artists such as Martha Graham, Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, and Henry Moore have sought to incorporate Native American philosophy and vision into their art to the mutual benefit of both cultures.
Primary Colors: The Story of Corita
60 min / 1993 / VHS
High school through adult
This video reveals the life of Corita Kent, the artist, nun, activist
and teacher best known for both world's largest painting (the
Boston Gas Co. gas tank) and the smallest (the original 'Love'
postage stamp). As a nun teaching at the Immaculate Heart College
in Hollywood in the 1960s her classes were described as a 'wild
free-for-all' where the boundaries between religious and secular
art, image and text, esthetics and politics were broken down.
Corita's own words are spoken by noted actress Eva Marie Saint.
Principles of Design AT-77
29 min / 1996 / VHS
Middle school through adult
Artists Gerald Brommer shows how the elements of design are combined
and used in developing the seven principles of design-balance,
movement, rhythm, contrast, emphasis, pattern, and unity. Clear
explanations with diagrams and demonstrations. Complements Elements
of Design.
Public Places WA-201
17 min / color / 1980 / AFA / 16mm
Middle school through adult
This film about SITE, an innovative New York-based architectural firm, documents 7 SITE projects and structures designed to look like they tilt, crumble, peel, and grow. These surprising edifices, located in otherwise monotonous commercial shopping centers across America, challenge our expectations of how buildings should look and function. The controversy surrounding each of these unconventional structures is apparent as local citizens express their opinions.
Puerto Rico: Art and Identity WA-438
56 min / color / 1991 / CG / VHS
High school through adult
This survey of Puerto Rican artists of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries focuses on the artists' expression of national identity. This video reveals these artists' concern for the people, culture, and natural beauty of Puerto Rico through illustrations of hundreds of art works and interviews with a dozen major contemporary artists and commentary by art critics.
Pulcinella ED-40
11 min / color / 1974 / CONNF / 16mm
Elementary school through adult
Pulcinella, a lazy rascal, has a marvelous dream filled with color and excitement. To the music of Rossini, he runs, flies, and dances through
imagery from the circus, the theater, and the ballet-first bright and joyful, then dark with magical woods and monsters. This delightful animated film is suitable for all ages.
Putting Up the Pickles ED-204
29 min / color / 1981 / DC / VHS
Elementary school through adult
What is it really like to perform in a circus? What kinds of jobs do you do? Is it as much fun as it looks? This delightful film documents the on- and off-stage antics of the Pickle Family Circus. Viewers will be caught up in the spectacular juggling acts and the infectious fun, and will come away with a new understanding of the circus world. This is an exciting film for general audiences and is especially appropriate for students of art and creative writing.
Pyramid ED-404
60 min / color / 1988 / PBS / VHS
Middle school through adult
Author David Macaulay explores the grand site of the Great Pyramid of Giza and, with a combination of live action and animation sequences, examines what life was like in ancient Egypt. Macaulay was given unprecedented access to the historic sites of Egypt. The live action segments include a rare look at the mummy of Ramses II, the buried treasure, and the many beautifully decorated tombs in the Sacred Valley of the Kings. The animated segments tell the story of the Egyptian Kings Sneferu and Khufu (also known as Cheops), their courts, their heirs, and their jealous queens.
Pyramids and Hieroglyphs ED-406
14 min / color / 1991 / MCNC / VHS
Elementary school through adult
The first segment in this 2-part program discusses some theories behind the building of the pyramids. It explores the ways ramps may have been employed in the construction of the Great Pyramid and utilizes computer generated animation to demonstrate the various theories. The second segment introduces the basic principles of deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs. Viewers learn that hieroglyphs are symbols of sounds from the ancient Egyptian language and that the Egyptians viewed hieroglyphs as words of the gods.
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