Art21 News
February 11, 2010
 
Pierre Huyghe, production still


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  In this issue, we highlight some of the recent activity from Art21. We premiered two new exclusive videos featuring William Kentridge and Julie Mehretu, published a handful of new topics and commentaries on the Art21 Blog, and partied with Mary Heilmann--and you!--at our first ever Culture Wars trivia event.

Educators: Now is your last chance to apply for the Art21 Educators initiative. The application process ends in two weeks, so if you have not yet submitted an application, please visit art21.org for more information.

In this issue: 

Exclusive Videos: William Kentridge and Julie Mehretu

Highlights from the Art21 Blog

The Culture Wars Shall Go On!

Art21 Educators 2010-2011: Two Weeks Left to Apply

Support Art21

Shop Art21

Banner: Paul Pfeiffer. Art in the Twenty-First Century, production still, 2003. Season 2, Episode: Time. © Art21, Inc. 2003. Left: Pierre Huyghe. Art in the Twenty-First Century, production still, 2007. Season 4, Episode: Romance. © Art21, Inc. 2007.
 Exclusive Videos: William Kentridge and Julie Mehretu
Our most recent Exclusive videos peer into the studios of two artists with African roots: South African artist William Kentridge (whose retrospective opens at this month at MoMA) and Ethiopian-born painter Julie Mehretu (whose exhibition of recent works opens at the Guggenheim in May).

Wilam Kentridge, "Breathe"   William Kentridge | Breathe
Shot in his Johannesburg studio, William Kentridge reveals the process behind the video work Breathe--a component of the larger project (REPEAT) from the beginning / Da Capo (2008) that debuted at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice and at the nearby Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa in San Barnaba, Italy.
 
Julie Mehretu | Workday   Julie Mehretu | Workday
Filmed in her Berlin studio, Julie Mehretu discusses the ups and downs of her daily studio practice. Mehretu is shown working on the painting Middle Grey (2007-2009), one work in a suite of seven paintings commissioned by the Deutsche Guggenheim as part of the exhibition Julie Mehretu: Grey Area.

Keep up with the Exclusive series on the Art21 Blog, or subscribe to the series via RSS or iTunes (note: link opens in iTunes). A blend of newly-shot original filming and previously unreleased archival footage, videos from the weekly Exclusive series focus on singular aspects of an artist's process, significant individual works and exhibitions, provocative ideas, and biographical anecdotes.

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 Highlights from the Art21 Blog
Ann Hamilton. "Accountings," Photo: Richard Nicol.   Flash Points
Join us for our latest Flash Points topic, The Ethics of Art, as we explore the question, "Must art be ethical?"
 
Flash Points   Don't miss: The wrap up of previous Flash Points topic, Art and the Environment
 
Flo McGarrell   Post of the Week
Remembering artist and friend Flo McGarrell
Inside the Artist's Studio columnist Georgia Kotretsos pays tribute to artist Flo McGarrell, a victim of the earthquakes in Haiti
 
Letter from London: Chris Ofili, A Mixtape   From our columns
Letter from London: Chris Ofili, A Mixtape
Looking at Los Angeles: Hollis Frampton Revival
Gastro-Vision: The Fruit of Experience
Teaching with Contemporary Art: A Little Heads-Up
 
Guest blogger Leanne Gilbertson, Professor of Art History   Guest Bloggers
Now: Leanne Gilbertson, Professor of Art History
Previously: Karthik Pandian, Artist; Joel Holmberg, Artist; Nova Benway, Curator
 
Think you have what it takes to write for us? Email interest and writing samples to blog [at] art21 [dot] org.

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 The Culture Wars Shall Go On!
Culture Wars: A Night of Trivia with Art21
The first Culture Wars: A Night of Trivia with Art21 event took place on January 28 at the 92YTribeca in New York City. In addition to teams formed by the general public, there were also teams representing institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim, BOMB Magazine, and 20x200. By 6:30 p.m. eighteen teams were registered, seated with beers in hand, and ready for the first round of questions.

To find out the theme of each round, who has first place bragging rights (at least for now), and which museum team was "getting butts kicked," read a detailed account of the evening on the Art21 Blog.

Prizes for the evening were generously provided by 20x200 and the Phaidon Store in SoHo, and music was generously provided by artist Mary Heilmann. The Heart as Arena blog, representing second place team Glenn Lowry's Apartment, documented a piece of their 20x200 winnings.

If you want to be part of the action, go head-to-head against Glenn Lowry's Apartment, and compete for greatness or just great prizes, start assembling your team because the next Culture Wars is set for March 24 at the 92YTribeca. This is ONLY the beginning!

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 Art21 Educators 2010-2011: Two Weeks Left to Apply
Art21 Educators 2010-2011
Art21 is taking applications for the second year of Art21 Educators, an intensive, year-long professional development initiative designed to cultivate and support K-12 art educators interested in bringing contemporary art, artists, and themes into their classrooms.

This program provides a unique professional development opportunity for educators to: spend an intensive year working with Art21 and a network of peers which kicks off with a 6-day institute in New York City; share innovative ideas, resources, and strategies with educators from across the country; and use video and other media to document and reflect on your teaching practice.
 
This round of Art21 Educators will be accepting applications from K-12 art and media teachers from across the United States. Emphasis will be placed on creating a diverse group of participants who reflect urban, rural, and suburban communities as well as distinct student populations.

Join a national group of educators to explore, design, and implement curriculum utilizing the visual art of our time. For more information and an application form, please visit art21.org.

Applications must be received by the Art21 Education Staff by Monday, February 26, 2010. Questions? Check out our FAQs or if you're still stumped, email education [at] art21.org

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 Support Art21
Support Art21
Donations to Art21 go directly toward costs for filming artists, producing videos and education materials, and making our work accessible online.                  
 
Every dollar donated helps us to make more of the films you love and bring them to millions of people each year, including students in schools with a limited budget for the arts, as well as lots of ordinary folks who wouldn't otherwise be invited for a private tour or behind the scenes glimpse of an artist's studio or exhibition.

Please consider making a donation to Art21 today!

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 Shop Art21
Season 5 Products
Season 5 Companion Book:
At 224 pages, with more than 400 illustrations, the Season 5 Companion Book features interviews with the artists and an essay by Art21 Executive Producer and Curator Susan Sollins. Edited by Marybeth Sollins. Visit the Art21 Shop for more information.

DVD and Blu-ray:

Season 5 is now available in both standard-definition DVD and high-definition Blu-ray disc formats. Visit ShopPBS.org to view products from all 5 seasons.

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