PBS_TheArtAssignment

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.

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?).

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.

It's tax season in the United States, and the art market is one of the many ways rich people game the system to save billions of dollars in taxes each year. Here's how it's done.

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.

Over the past 3 years, 60 artists have offered art assignments, and thousands of artworks have been made in response. Here's a brief glimpse of what we've all made together over the course of this series so far. So KEEP ASSIGNMENTING!

The powerful and privileged have hoarded precious artifacts in museums for centuries, and it's only recently that these treasures were made available to the rest of us. What purpose did museums serve? And why does every city have one today?

We met with experimental musicians Mark Stewart and Julia Wolfe.

We ask what the title "curator" really means, both traditionally and as it is used today.

We've spent quite a bit of time exploring art in other people's cities, so we figured it was time to come back home and try being tourists in our own town.

Ai Weiwei has been called an iconoclast, a radical, a voice for the voiceless, and was once named the most powerful artist in the world. Who is Ai Weiwei? And why is he considered one of the most renowned artists of our time?

What is white? What is any color? Philadelphia-based abstract painter Odili Donald Odita talks with us about his work and offers us an assignment about color.

If you were a shape, what shape would you be? This week we meet with Tschabalala Self, whose work explores ideas surrounding the black female body, and her assignment asks you to consider your own body as a symbol too.

The Art Assignment visits Chicago-based artist Deb Sokolow.

We review some of the best responses to the 'Intimate, Indispensable GIF' assignment.

Douglas Paulson and Christopher Robbins offer a creative challenge.

Toyin Odutola challenges you to create a GIF!

Rectangles after rectangles after rectangles.

We review some of the best responses to the 'Never Seen, Never Will' assignment.

The Art Assignment visits artist David Brooks in his Brooklyn studio.

Jace Clayton challenges you to explore the world in a new way.

We review some of the best responses to the 'Quitest Place' assignment.

We review some of the best responses to the 'Psychological Landscape' assignment.

We review some of the best responses to the 'Stakeout!' assignment

What's the deal with Warhol, and is he worth your time and consideration?