Courage, loyalty, justice, to name a few, are some of the abstract concepts expressed through associative images: a pining dog lying on his master's tomb, the blindfolded Justitia with her scales and sword. This program looks at a wide range of symbols, at allegory, and at larger symbolic works like a monument commemorating the victims of World War II.

As cuts in federal and state funding continue to erode support for public school fine arts programs and field trips, opportunities for children to experience the visual arts, music, dance, and theater are disappearing. In this documentary, Kerry Bennington, of the Krasl Art Center, and other concerned experts trace the evolution of the arts in America and enter into the debate over whether the fine arts are an educational asset or an elitist diversion...

Thanks to the efforts of dedicated visionaries, there is an intergenerational learning experience spreading across the country. This fine arts forum invites the creators and supporters of outstanding school and community programs to take center stage. Together they share the positive impact the programs are having on students and the public at large, promoting art education and helping to ensure that the nation's artistic reservoir will grow in vitality...

From the multiple perspectives in Jan van Eyck's The Arnolfini Marriage to the multiple soup cans of Andy Warhol, Western art abounds with examples of "double vision." This program looks first at duplication within works of art via mirrors, naturally reflective surfaces, and shadows and then at stylized repetition, whether it be through patterns integral to a work or through patterns that in themselves constitute the work. More esoteric aspects, such...

Prevalence of Kitsch Taste in Culture. The fad of Kitsch is based on the ability to mass produce art. They were made with a limited shelf life. This is marketed towards middle class.

In the second part of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," Mr. Collins arrives and proposes to Elizabeth who rejects him, to Mrs. Bennett's dismay. Elizabeth forms an acquaintance with militia officer Wickham, who relates his mistreatment by Darcy. At the Netherfield Ball, Darcy becomes aware of the expectation that Jane and Charles Bingley will marry. Mrs. Bennett is distraught when Mr. Collins proposes to Charlotte Lucas, who accepts, and the Bingleys...

Seven Canadian painters who helped define one country. ART FOR A NATION is a vivid and compelling testament both to the Group of Seven's beautiful art and their struggle against the critics and academic painters of their time. Frank Carmichael, Franz Johnston, Lauren S. Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley and J.E.H. MacDonald set out to create works that were distinctively Canadian. In so doing, they developed a reputation recognized...

Barbara literally dives into her work, the pool, to photograph images suspended in water, models magically moving in poetry in the clear atmosphere of H2O. Cole has been able to mix fashion and fine art to become a true maverick in her artistic approach, making her work both highly collectable and respected. Her work back on dry land is equally evocative.

From the executive producers of Super Size Me and Director Sara Sackner, this program examines the deplorable atrophy of arts education in America's classrooms by contrasting the crisis with the story of one very dedicated, inspiring high school drama teacher: Jay W. Jensen, who over a 50-year career touched the lives of many with the transformational power of the arts. Renowned pupils-actor Andy Garcia, film director Brett Ratner, songwriter Desmond...

Beginning with the classical and biblical subjects of Diana, Susannah, and Bathsheba, this program discusses female nudity as it relates to the act of bathing. Depicted as a chaste ritual, a sensual invitation, and a terrifying opportunity for violence, the act of bathing is deconstructed and scrutinized from an artistic point of view. Topics include the inherent dramatic tension of nudity; the thematic provocation of the gaze, as when a character...