ART 101: Art Appreciation course: Documentaries & Videos

Incorporates user-generated content to follow a 31-day scavenger hunt that took place in October, 2013, on the streets of New York City at the hands of Banksy, a British street artist.

In four one-hour episodes, Season 7 of Art in the Twenty First Century will present documentary profiles of 12-14 of today's most inspiring visual artists, at work and in their own words.

Examines the dawn of the comic book genre and its progenitors, as well as the evolution of the characters that leapt from the pages over the last 70 years and their ongoing worldwide cultural impact. It chronicles how these 'disposable diversions' were subject to intense government scrutiny for their influence on American children and how they were created in large part by immigrants whose fierce loyalty to a new homeland laid the foundation of a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Follows contemporary artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest landfill of the day, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Here the catadores, who number in the thousands, work under the hot sun collecting recyclable materials such as bottles, plastic, and metal to be sold to wholesalers. Muniz invites the catadores to add refuse to his art, photographing the work from overhead. The finished artwork will then be on display in museums and auctions around the world

In the years that follow a devastating car accident in 1976, Dale Chihuly's talent for leading a team flourishes as he orchestrates glassblowing of a complexity previously unthinkable. His 2001 exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum.