Television Programs of Interest for the Week to Come

• THIS IS CIVILISATION: UNCERTAINTY - EP 4 OF 4

Forty years on from Kenneth Clark's landmark series Civilisation, art critic Matthew Collings offers his own interpretation of Western art history for a modern audience, at a time where contemporary art and tastes reflect our own lack of belief in anything at all. In each episode, Collings chooses key moments when there was a fundamental shift in attitudes towards, and the objectives of art. From Greek and Roman classicism glorifying man, through to religious art and art as a saviour of the soul, and on to the nihilism of modern art.
Saturday 20 December 2008 3.30pm
SBS Rating: (G) *Final*
Duration: 60 mins

• MESSAGE STICK: SIGHTS UNSEEN - EP 2 OF 2

Episode two focuses on Michael's filmmaking - its inspiration and impact. Friends reflect on him as a friend and professional, and talk about his tragic early death from renal failure, which was triggered by childhood rheumatic fever, a common disease among the Aboriginal community.
Sunday 21 December 2008 1.30pm
ABC1 Rating: (G, Rpt)
Duration: 30 mins

• 13 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF PICASSO: EP 1 OF 2

Focusing in on 13 key events in Picasso's life, this meticulously researched 2-part documentary explores the life and career of one of the world's most significant artists. Through deconstructing Picasso's canvasses, viewers discover how his style and subject were shaped by his tumultuous life. Through interviews with his contemporaries as well as newsreel footage, viewers enjoy a rare and fascinating insight into the life of a true master.
Sunday 21 December 2008 6.05pm
Ovation Duration: 55 mins

• FACE PAINTING WITH BILL LEAK: EP 6 OF 6

This week for his final portrait, Bill is painting Australian swimming legend Andrew 'Boy' Charlton and explores the theme of sport for sport's sake - not the big bucks.
Monday 22 December 2008 8.00pm
ABC1 Rating: (G) *Final*
Duration: 30 mins

• THE MUSEUM: PUTTING ON A BLOCKBUSTER - EP 5 OF 10

The BM is Britain's second most popular visitor attraction, only Blackpool Pleasure Beach receives more visitors. It takes a 200-strong team to look after everyone, and this week they're preparing for the Museum's major blockbuster exhibition of the year.
Tuesday 23 December 2008 8.00pm
ABC1 Rating: (G)
Duration: 35 mins

Recent conversions from video to DVD

The following titles have now been converted from video to DVD:

Tate Modern

• Objects in Odd Places - "Marcel Duchamp introduced the idea of the readymade. Michael Craig-Martin took this idea to its limit: can an artist do anything he likes? Rebecca Horn also uses pre-existing things to make us question the usual order of things."
• Different Dimensions - "Following the lesson of Duchamp, artists have used objects both as they are and in modified forms. Carl Andre explored the mathematical possibilities of 120 bricks in his minimalist work Equivalent VIII. There is also a mathematical basis behind Cornelia Parker's Thirty Pieces of Silver, although this is also layered with a variety of additional meanings."
• Pharmacy - "Damien Hirst is interviewed by Richard Stemp about his installation Pharmacy. The artist questions the way in which we put our trust in medicine in the light of our inevitable death. Perhaps we should put more trust in art, he suggests."

This is Modern Art. Program 3: Lovely, Lovely

"Is art no longer beautiful? Matthew Collings looks at the works of Matisse, Basquiat and Patrick Heron. He visits Elizabeth Peyton's world of MTV; 1998 Turner Prize-winner, Chris Ofili; and 60s easy rider turned art collector, Dennis Hopper."

This is Modern Art. Program 5: Hollow Laughter

"Explores the use of humour in modern art. Matthew Collings looks at Duchamp's 1971 urinal, American artist Sean Landers, surrealist Rene Magritte and the mysterious sixties artist Piero Manzoni."

Pictures of Piers

There was a fantastic article in the Weekend Australian (December 13, 2008) called Pictures of Piers. It is about an 11-year old autistic boy who has found a way to communicate with the world around him through photography. Let me know if you would like me to email you the article.

Andy Warhol

A new Andy Warhol book has come into the Learning Centre and is now available for loan. It is based on an exhibition held at the Queensland Art Gallery in 2007 in association with the Andy Warhol Museum in the U.S.A. You can view the website for the Andy Warhol Museum here:

http://www.warhol.org/

Eight Paintings by Karl Wiebke

A new book called Eight Paintings by the artist Karl Wiebke has come into the Learning Centre and is now available for loan. You can view more information about Karl Wiebke at the following website:

http://www.liverpoolstgallery.com.au/artists/artistpages/wiebke.html

Television Programs of Interest for the Week to Come

• THIS IS CIVILISATION: SAVE OUR SOULS - EP 3 OF 4

Forty years on from Kenneth Clark's landmark series Civilisation, art critic Matthew Collings offers his own interpretation of Western art history for a modern audience, at a time where contemporary art and tastes reflect our own lack of belief in anything at all. In each episode, Collings chooses key moments when there was a fundamental shift in attitudes towards, and the objectives of art. From Greek and Roman classicism glorifying man, through to religious art and art as a saviour of the soul, and on to the nihilism of modern art.
Saturday 13 December 2008 3.35pm
SBS Rating: (G)
Duration: 55 mins

• MESSAGE STICK: SIGHTS UNSEEN - EP 1 OF 2

The late Michael Riley is one of the most important contemporary Indigenous visual artists of the past two decades. Over his 20 year career he created an impressive body of work ranging from black and white portraiture, to film, video and large-scale digital photography. Sights Unseen, a two-part special, is an intimate account of Michael's short but prolific life. Riley not only looked at the world through a different lens, he wanted the world to view what he saw. His films and photographs challenge perceptions of Indigenous life, particularly in eastern Australia.
Sunday 14 December 2008 1.30pm
ABC1 Rating: (G, Rpt)
Duration: 30 mins

• FACE PAINTING WITH BILL LEAK: EP 5 OF 6

This week Bill is painting Sydney's notorious 'Queen of the night' - Tilly Devine. To find out more about his portrait subject Bill talks to Tilly's grand-niece Deirdre Devine and grandson Richard Twiss, who give an incredible insight into the colourful life of their 'infamous' grandmother and great aunt. Tilly's biographer Larry Writer gives Bill a tour of her old Sydney haunts and clears up some of the facts behind the myths and legends.
Monday 15 December 2008 8.00pm
ABC1 Rating: (PG)
Duration: 30 mins

• THE CLOSET TALES OF AUSTRALIAN FASHION: AKIRA - EP 4 OF 4

Celebrated designer, Akira Isogawa, is the consummate artist. In this episode, Isogawa takes us on a journey through the streets of Kyoto, Mumbai, Sydney and Paris, where prolific inspirations unfold, and artist integrity is paramount over all aspects of business.
Tuesday 16 December 2008 3.30pm
SBS Rating: (PG, WS) *Final*
Duration: 30 mins

• THE MUSEUM: BURSTING AT THE SEAMS - EP 4 OF 10

As well as caring for over 7 million historic treasures, the British Museum has a 250-year-old, grade one listed building to look after. From the top of the great glass roof to the pit beneath the main gates, this program tracks how the BM is constantly being fixed, restored and upgraded to keep London's history hot spot up to the mark.
Tuesday 16 December 2008 8.00pm
ABC1 Rating: (PG)
Duration: 35 mins

• ART MUSEUMS OF THE WORLD: BARGELLO MUSEUM - THE BATTLE THAT BEAUTIFIED FLORENCE, EP 9 OF 13

In 1401 Brunelleschi and Ghiberti were finalists in an art competition to decide who would create the bronze ornamentation on the doors of the Battistero di San Giovanni in Florence - then began a famous artistic rivalry.
Wednesday 17 December 2008 6.05pm
ABC1 Rating: (G, HD, Rpt)
Duration: 25 mins

• AS IT HAPPENED: HITLER'S MUSEUM - EP 2 OF 2

This two-part documentary shows how Hitler planned to celebrate his victory in Europe by transforming his boyhood town of Linz, Austria into the cultural centrepiece of his new German empire: the 'Fuehrer City'. Throughout WWII, Nazi looting squads plundered many of the great artworks of Europe in preparation for the construction of a 'Fuehrer Museum' at war's end.
Friday 19 December 2008 8.30pm
sbs Rating: (PG, WS) *Final*
Duration: 60 mins

Survey by Matthew Sleeth

A new book has come into the Learning Centre. Survey by Matthew Sleeth is a catalogue of an exhibition held by the Josef Lebovich Gallery. Matthew Sleeth is an Australian Photographer.

Viewpoint #23

The latest issue of Viewpoint has come into the Learning Centre and is now available for loan. Please let me know if you would like me to email the contents page to you.

Digital Photography + Design (December 2008/January 2009)

The latest issue of Digital Photography + Design has come into the Learning Centre and is now available for loan. You can also view some web content here:

http://www.yaffa.com.au/digital/

Artonview - Issue 56 (Summer 2008-09)

The latest issue of Artonview has come into the Learning Centre and is now available for loan. You can also view archived issues online.

http://www.nga.gov.au/artonview/archive.cfm

Joyce Evans - Photographer

For all those people interested in photography check out the website of Australian photographer Joyce Evans. This site includes both landscape and portrait photography.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/joyceevansphotographer/index.html

Australian Photography (December 2008)

The issue of Australian Photography is now available in the Learning Centre. Please let me know if you would like me to email you the contents page.

Australian Design Trends (Volume 24 No. 11 2008)

The latest issue of Australian Design Trends has come into the Learning Centre. This issue is focuses on Renovation Trends. Let me know if you would like me to send you the contents page.

Ragtrader (28 November 2008)

The latest issue of Ragtrader has come into the Learning Centre and is now available for loan.

Television Programs of Interest for the Week to Come

• REGULAR OR SUPER: VIEWS ON MIES VAN DER ROHE

In 1933, under pressure from the Nazis, architect Mies Van Der Rohe shut down the influential Bauhaus School of Art and Design where he was a director and teacher and migrated to Chicago in 1938. During his life he built a total of 22 structures and this program takes a look at several of his designs.
Saturday 6 December 2008 2.30pm
SBS Rating: (G, WS, Rpt)
Duration: 65 mins

• THIS IS CIVILISATION: FEELINGS - EP 2 OF 4

Forty years on from Kenneth Clark's landmark series Civilisation, art critic Matthew Collings offers his own interpretation of Western art history for a modern audience, at a time where contemporary art and tastes reflect our own lack of belief in anything at all. In each episode, Collings chooses key moments when there was a fundamental shift in attitudes towards, and the objectives of art. From Greek and Roman classicism glorifying man, through to religious art and art as a saviour of the soul, and on to the nihilism of modern art.
Saturday 6 December 2008 3.35pm
SBS Rating: (G)
Duration: 55 mins

• FACE PAINTING WITH BILL LEAK: EP 4 OF 6

This week Bill is painting the activist for Indigenous rights, Dr Charles Perkins AO. Charlie was an exceptional Australian who broke new ground in just about everything he turned his hand too. To find out more about his portrait subject Bill talks to Charlie's good friends John Singleton, Malcolm Fraser, Chicka Dixon, Gordon Briscoe and photographer Robert McFarlane.
Monday 8 December 2008 8.00pm
ABC1 Rating: (PG)
Duration: 30 mins

• THE CLOSET TALES OF AUSTRALIAN FASHION: LOVER - EP 3 OF 4

Nic Briand and Susien Chong of the label Lover make every effort to exist on the fashion fringe. This episode takes a look at their reluctant rise to fashion fame; from humble beginnings at Bondi Markets to the fashion pages of US Vogue, it explores the dynamic relationship between this creative duo.
Tuesday 9 December 2008 3.30pm
SBS Rating: (PG, WS, Rpt)
Duration: 30 mins

• THE MUSEUM: THE BM GOES EAST - EP 3 OF 10

The British Museum wants to bring some of China's Terracotta Army to London - but will they get the warriors they want, and how much will it all cost? They're also facing the challenge of shifting 30 tonnes of enormous, fragile and irreplaceable works of art from London to Shanghai and with remarkable access to a truly extraordinary set of events. Back in the BM, a delicate operation is underway. This episode of The Museum follows the BM's 'heavy mob' as they oversee the removal of some of the most precious objects in the collection, while trying to ensure that the ancient alabaster Assyrian reliefs reach the other side of the world intact.
Tuesday 9 December 2008 8.00pm
ABC1 Rating: (G)
Duration: 35 mins

• ART MUSEUMS OF THE WORLD: COURTAULD INSTITUTE OF ART GALLERY - SPIRIT OF IMPRESSIONISM ALIVE IN LONDON, EP 8 OF 13

Built on the private collection of Samuel Courtauld, an English industrialist who made his money in the textile industry, the Institute houses works by Manet, Cezanne, Renoir, Gauguin and van Gogh.
Wednesday 10 December 2008 6.05pm
ABC1 Rating: (G, HD, Rpt)
Duration: 25 mins

• THE MAKING OF MY FAVOURITE AUSTRALIAN

ABC TV in a collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra are taking a bold new approach to the "My Favourite" concept by commissioning 30 video portraits from video artists and filmmakers across Australia for My Favourite Australian. Early in 2008, ABC TV and the National Portrait Gallery asked the public to vote for My Favourite Australian. There were two categories - Popular, where you could vote for people in the public eye, and Unsung Hero, where you could nominate your personal hero from any walk of life. The Top 10 Popular heroes and the selected 20 Unsung Heroes will be revealed and celebrated in the My Favourite Australian exhibition of 30 video portraits across several platforms.
Wednesday 10 December 2008 10.05pm
ABC1
Duration: 30 mins

• AS IT HAPPENED: HITLER'S MUSEUM - EP 1 OF 2

Hitler's Museum tells how Hitler planned to celebrate his victory in Europe by transforming his boyhood town of Linz, into the cultural centrepiece of his new German empire - the 'Fuehrer City'. Throughout World War Two, Nazi looting squads plundered many of the great artworks of Europe in preparation for the construction of a 'Fuehrer Museum' at war's end in Linz, on the Danube River in Austria.
Friday 12 December 2008 8.30pm
SBS Rating: (PG, WS)
Duration: 60 mins

Television Programs of Interest for the Week to Come

• US ART IN THE 21ST CENTURY: PLAY - SEASON 3, EP 4 OF 4

The artists in Play improvise games, draw inspiration from dance and music, and employ color, pattern, and movement to elicit delight. Indulging in process, these artists transform naive impulses into critical statements about the nature of identity, creative expression, and pleasure. Introduced by Grant Hill, Program 12: Play was shot on location in Brooklyn, New York; Berlin, Germany; Santiago de Compostela, Spain; New Haven, Connecticut; Houston, Texas; and Austin, Texas.

Saturday 29 November 2008 2.30pm

SBS Rating: (G, WS, Rpt)

Duration: 55 mins

• THIS IS CIVILISATION: YE GODS - EP 1 OF 4

Forty years on from Kenneth Clark's landmark series Civilisation, art critic Matthew Collings offers his own interpretation of Western art history for a modern audience, at a time where contemporary art and tastes reflect our own lack of belief in anything at all. In each episode, Collings chooses key moments when there was a fundamental shift in attitudes towards, and the objectives of art. From Greek and Roman classicism glorifying man, through to religious art and art as a saviour of the soul, and on to the nihilism of modern art.

Saturday 29 November 2008 3.30pm

SBS Rating: (G) *New Series*

Duration: 60 mins

• THE LIFE AND TIMES OF FRIDA KAHLO

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter who became an international sensation in the world of modern art and radical politics during the early 20th century. Her life was a drama of personal extremes lived against a backdrop of political, social and artistic revolution. The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo is an intimate biography of a woman who gracefully balanced a private life of illness and pain against a public persona that was flamboyant, irreverent, and world-renowned.

Sunday 30 November 2008 3.00pm

ABC1 Rating: (PG, Rpt)

Duration: 85 mins

*The Learning Centre has this program available for loan on DVD*

• MESSAGE STICK: BETWEEN THE LINES - THE INITIATION OF ADAM HILL

Follows Adam Hill, an activist painter and musician defined by a mixed indigenous and white origin, as he goes on an artistic and personal journey of identity through his artwork.

Sunday 30 November 2008 1.30pm

ABC1 Rating: (G, Rpt)

Duration: 30 mins

• FACE PAINTING WITH BILL LEAK: EP 3 OF 6

A six-part series which will take viewers on an amazing journey as renowned cartoonist and portrait painter Bill Leak paints six well-known Australians. In this week's emotional episode, Bill paints AC/DC larrikin Bon Scott. To understand the essence of the character of Bon Scott, Bill spends time with Bon's ex-wife Irene. They separated before Bon became famous but always remained good friends. Irene has never been interviewed for TV about her relationship before and in this interview she shares her memories of Bon's earlier life and his off-stage persona.

Monday 1 December 2008 8.00pm

ABC1 Rating: (PG)

Duration: 30 mins

• THE CLOSET TALES OF AUSTRALIAN FASHION: WILLOW - EP 2 OF 4

The second episode reveals how one designer, with no formal fashion training, has managed to take on the international fashion set within three short years of launching her label. From Sydney to New York, we follow designer Kit Willow's meteoric rise as she is one of only 6 designers worldwide who is invited to show her designs on the world-stage of New York Fashion Week.

Tuesday 2 December 2008 3.30pm

SBS Rating: (PG, WS, Rpt)

Duration: 30 mins

*The Learning Centre has the entire series available for loan on DVD*

• THE MUSEUM: BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE - EP 2 OF 10

Iron Age bodies preserved in a bog, Sudanese sacrifice victims, and 40 or so mummies - they're just a few of the 8,000 plus body parts held in the British Museum. They all help tell us about the past, but do human remains belong in a museum? In this episode we meet two young Tasmanian Aborigines who have come to London to reclaim the remains of their ancestors that have been in the Museum's collection for 125 years. It's an historic occasion. The BM is the first national museum to hand back human remains since British law was changed in 2004. The debate about human remains and their place in museums is being driven by indigenous people who object to their ancestors' remains being held in museums around the world.

Tuesday 2 December 2008 8.00pm

ABC1 Rating: (G)

Duration: 35 mins

• ART MUSEUMS OF THE WORLD: GALLERIA BORGHESE - THE PURSUIT OF BEAUTY, EP 7 OF 13

The Galleria Borghese is a simple yet elegant mansion situated in a park on Monte Pincio in the north of Rome, which displays the heritage of the Italian noble family Borghese.

Wednesday 3 December 2008 6.05pm

ABC1 Rating: (G, HD, Rpt)

Duration: 25 mins

(inside): interior review - Issue 54 (2008)

The latest issue of (inside): interior review has come into the learning centre and is now available for loan. Let me know if you would like me to email the contents page to you.

The Hat Magazine Issue 39 (Oct/Nov/Dec 2008)

The latest issue of The Hat Magazine has come into the Learning Centre and is now available for loan. If you would like me to email you the contents page please let me know.

Aperture No. 192 (Fall 2008)

The latest issue of Aperture magazine is now available for loan. Please let me know if you would like me to email you the contents page.

Jim Flora - album cover artist

In today's Daily Heller there is a feature on Jim Flora (January 25, 1914-July 9, 1998), who was an album cover artist from the 40s and 50s. You can check out Jim Flora's work on the webpage http://www.jimflora.com/ which also includes a link to a blog about all things Jim Flora. His art is quite quirky. Check it out!