This DVD collection of six presentations filmed in studios, laboratories, and museum galleries provide rare behind-the-scenes experiences. It introduces art elements, such as color and perspective; demonstrates artistic techniques ranging from sculpture to printmaking; and addresses conservation issues that relate to art objects. Artists interviewed include Sam Gilliam, Roy Lichtenstein, and Sean Scully.
The Making Art DVD compilation includes the following titles:
- Seeing Color: Object, Light, Observer
Focusing on works by Titian, Turner, Monet, and Matisse, this film asks, "What is color?" and turns for answers to artists, curators, conservation scientists, and science students. Filmed in studios, laboratories, and museum galleries, Seeing Color looks at its subject as both an aesthetic and physical phenomenon.
27 minutes
- Masters of Illusion
While Columbus and Copernicus were changing humans' understanding of the world, Renaissance artists were dramatically transforming the way in which it was seen and depicted. This film examines the discovery of one-point perspective and the perfection of visual techniques that create convincing illusions of space.
30 minutes
- Art + Science = Conservation
The film introduces the concepts of art and science in museum conservation and takes viewers behind the scenes of the Gallery's conservation lab. Discussion is focused on the effects of light on works on paper, environmental conditions on outdoor sculpture, and the use of varnish on oil painting.
19 minutes
- Introduction to Sculpture
This orientation to the art of sculpture surveys major stylistic periods in Western art—from the medieval, renaissance, and baroque to the twentieth century. Additional footage shows a sculptor demonstrating techniques: carving marble, molding clay, casting bronze, and welding steel.
19 minutes - James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings
Whistler worked extensively with etchings. This film shows the changes in his art and style over the years, focusing on the effects he achieved by experimenting with inking and printing techniques.
22 minutes - Roy Lichtenstein: The Art of the Graphic Image
Renowned pop artist Roy Lichtenstein discusses his printmaking career over the course of two decades. This is an intimate glimpse of the artist at work, both in his own studios and at two of the most innovative printmaking workshops in the United States: Gemini G.E.L. in California and Tyler Graphics Ltd. in New York.
20 minutes
Artists included: Sam Gilliam, Roy Lichtenstein, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Nardo di Cione, Sean Scully, Titian, Joseph Mallord William Turner, and James McNeill Whistler.
All programs are closed captioned.