The Art Assignment

Culture Series / 6 Seasons

The Art Assignment is a weekly PBS Digital Studios production hosted by curator Sarah Green. We take you around the U.S. to meet working artists and solicit assignments from them that we can all complete.

Watch Latest: S6 E32

5m 25s

The Case for Nudity

S5 E6 / 7m 14s

The naked and the nude have been frequent subjects for art throughout the history of human creation, and also the frequent subject of censorship. What's wrong with seeing the unclothed human body? And what is its place in art?

Why You Don't Like Art History

S5 E5 / 8m 15s

Was your Art History class an endless succession of names and dates and movements? Art History doesn't have to be that way! We discuss new (and much more compelling) approaches the study of art.

Better Know: The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

S5 E4 / 7m 35s

This kissing couple is one of the best loved paintings in history, but what do we really know about it? Let's learn about its creator (Gustav Klimt), the historical moment it sprang from (turn-of-the-century Austria), and what it means when we look at it today (dubious consent?).

Art Trip: Utah

S5 E3 / 11m 26s

We ventured into the Utah countryside to visit some of the best loved Land Art works of the 1970s, Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty and Nancy Holt's Sun Tunnels, and check out the art that is happening there now. Also featured: William Lamson's Mineralogy, The Center for Land Use Interpretation, and lots and lots of salt.

Do Not Try to Eat This

S5 E1 / 9m 17s

Dada was a movement known for collage, upturned urinals, and its radicality--a reaction to the horrors of World War I. It was NOT known for its food, but in 1961 artist Man Ray offered this "Menu for a Dadaist Day," and we cooked it for you.

Supported by