The Art Assignment

The Art Assignment

@theartassignment · 718K subscribers · 230 videos · English

The Art Assignment is an educational video series hosted by curator Sarah Urist Green. We explore art and art history through the lens of things happening today.

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Videos

8:24

What Have I Been Doing?

96K views · 3y ago · 8:24

Find the full "HOW TO APPRECIATE ART" course here Also find Sarah here... and more generally... linktr.ee/sarahuristgreen Thanks to Mark Olsen for editing this video!

14:00

The Definition of Art

772K views · 6y ago · 14:00

What is art? How do we define art? In this episode, we explore some of the many ways that artists and writers and thinkers have defined and understood this thing we call art. Thanks to LEGO® ART for supporting PBS. For more information go to

7:48

Why I'm Slowing Down

175K views · 6y ago · 7:48

After more than 6 years and 220+ videos, it's time for The Art Assignment take a break, slow down production, and reassess what educational art content should look like in 2020 and beyond. Sarah Urist Green talks about what she's learned while making this channel and what she'd like to do next (after sleeping for a while).

9:42

Art That Was Never Finished

496K views · 6y ago · 9:42

Artists have abandoned artworks for many reasons throughout history. Guest host John Green shares some of his favorite unfinished artworks and explains why they resonate with him so deeply. Featuring work by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Edgar Degas, Alice Neel, Kerry James Marshall, and very many presidential portraits.

7:48

Make a Cut-Out with Cécile McLorin Salvant

30K views · 6y ago · 7:48

Guest: Cécile McLorin Salvant

1. Draw a simple outline of a human body 2. Do this until you find one you really like 3. Then draw variations of that outline playing with the limbs and proportions 4. Copy your favorite four outlines to stiff paper or cardboard 5. Cut them out, tape a piece of string to them, and hang wherever you like

6:46

Art Made in Adversity

63K views · 6y ago · 6:46

Artist and educator Allison Smith shares her thoughts and library of books about art made in adverse circumstances. Featured are Vladimir Arkhipov's project Home-Made, archiving Russian artifacts made during Perestroika, and Trench Art, or art and objects made during armed conflict, highlighting works from Trench Art: An Illustrated History by Jane A Kimball.

▶️ Mentioned videos: the art assignment Allison Smith devised, called The Muster

12:23

Art that brings me comfort

119K views · 6y ago · 12:23

What art that brings you comfort right now? What art do you want to be thinking about? In this episode, we make a book of art by Alec Soth, Miyoko Ito, Giorgio Morandi, Vija Celmins, Sam Gilliam, Sheila Hicks, and Wayne Thiebaud. Make your own art book and share it with #youareanartist.

9:38

What this painting tells us about Frida Kahlo

266K views · 6y ago · 9:38

The artist Frida Kahlo is a larger-than-life icon, known for the masterful self-portraits she made during her turbulent life (1907 - 1954). We take a close look at her painting The Two Fridas (Las Dos Fridas), and consider what it tells us (and doesn't) about her as a person and her wider body of work. Preorder You Are an Artist by Art Assignment creator Sarah Urist Green (available April 14)

13:28

The Case for Video Games

195K views · 6y ago · 13:28

Video Games are fun, but are they art? Heck yes. We explore the history and present of video games and what sets them apart as a means of artistic expression. To learn about many other alternative means of expression, preorder a copy of You Are An Artist

12:48

Art Therapize Yourself

97K views · 6y ago · 12:48

What is Art Therapy? How can you use aspects of it in your next art encounter? We explore these questions at the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art with art therapist Lauren Daugherty. #arttherapy #art #museums Learn more about the Art Therapy program at the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University Bloomington See more of El Anatsui's work

12:16

Why Is This Woman in the Jungle?

146K views · 6y ago · 12:16

Artist Henri Rousseau painted The Dream in 1910, and it's imagery of a woman lounging on a sofa in the middle of a jungle was as surreal then as it is today. What is it about this artwork that captivated audiences then and now? #art #henrirousseau #thedream

10:43

Why Do Corporations Buy Art?

263K views · 7y ago · 10:43

Corporate lobbies and board rooms are often graced with impressive art, but why? What's the rationale behind this expense, and what impact does it have on the rest of the art world? We look at the history of corporate collecting, starting with Chase Manhattan Bank in 1959, trace its meteoric rise since, and work through the reasoning behind it.

13:11

The Case for Impressionism

1.3M views · 7y ago · 13:11

Impressionism is one of the best known and loved movements in Art History, but why? We present a case for why Impressionism is interesting and worth your attention and admiration, beyond the famous names behind it of Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissaro, Gustave Caillebotte, Paul Cézanne, et al.

13:24

How to Sound like you Understand Art

189K views · 7y ago · 13:24

Do you question your ability to talk about art in a coherent way? Here are tips for how to sound like you understand art, even if you've never taken a class or set foot in a museum. And please take the PBS Digital Studios survey here!

22:01

What Did Monet Eat in a Day?

503K views · 7y ago · 22:01

This episode of Art Cooking explores the life, art, and eating habits of the great Impressionist artist Claude Monet. We prepare a menu based on the journals Monet kept during his years in Giverny, France, enjoying the freshest produce from the vegetable garden he kept along side the extensive flower and water gardens you recognize from his paintings.

6:50

You Are An Artist (a pep talk + book!)

203K views · 7y ago · 6:50

You Are An Artist is for sale now!: This book brings together a selection of assignments gathered during the course of making this series and a number of new ones, expanding on the ideas presented in our videos and creating a valuable resource for all, regardless of whether you call yourself an artist. #youareanartist #theartassignment #art

16:46

Art and Empathy

216K views · 7y ago · 16:46

Empathy is a term we hear a lot, but what does it mean and how does it work? Looking back through art history, we find many moments when art has allowed us to share in the feelings of others, from Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial, to representations of the Buddhist deity Jizō Bosatsu, along with the Röttgen Pietà, Guáman Poma's First New Chronicle and Good Government, the ink drawings of Chittaprosad and Zainul Abedin, the work of Ghana Think Tank, and more.

▶️ Mentioned videos: Video on youtube.com

11:19

Whose Migrant Mother was this?

741K views · 7y ago · 11:19

Dorothea Lange captured this iconic photo known as Migrant Mother in 1936. But who was the woman pictured? And how did she and her family feel about its existence in the world? Guest host John Green introduces you to Florence Owens Thompson, her family, and her story. #migrantmother #dorothealange #photography

16:31

How Climate Changes Art

114K views · 7y ago · 16:31

This week we tackle the intersection of art and our changing climate. Throughout history, art has helped reveal the climate around us and highlight our fragile relationship to it.

14:44

Art We Launched Into Space

74K views · 7y ago · 14:44

There is plenty of art ABOUT space, but this video explores art ACTUALLY IN space. Learn about cosmonauts sketching orbital sunrises, the Moon Museum, Carl Sagan's Golden Record, and the sculptures currently orbiting Earth today, among other works of space art. Journey over to It's Okay to Be Smart to watch their Summer of Space episode

▶️ Mentioned videos: Video on youtube.com

15:01

What Does Resistance Look Like?

106K views · 7y ago · 15:01

Resistance isn't always visible, but when we can see it in art, what does it look like? Step back through global art history and look at Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, Night Attack on the Sanjô Palace, Henry Oscar One Bull’s Custer’s War, Goya's Disasters of War, and Kara Walker's Darkytown Rebellion. Each revealing in disparate ways the experience of those who have struggled against systems of power.

15:40

What Art tells us about Gender

242K views · 7y ago · 15:40

There is a huge range of ways that gender has been understood and represented in the history of art. We look at a few examples that show us gender is a concept that has never been fixed: Hermaphroditos by the ancient Greeks, Titian's Venus of Urbino, Baule portrait masks, the photographs of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, and Maya stone carvings.

17:20

Art about Migration

113K views · 7y ago · 17:20

Migration is central to human experience, and art history reflects that. Skipping through time and geography, we explore Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series, Lapita pottery, the Akbarnama, and the Mexica codex "Tira de la Peregrinación," and also discuss contemporary art about migration.

9:40

What This Photo Doesn't Show

2.1M views · 7y ago · 9:40

This photograph of young farmers on their way to a dance was taken in Germany in 1914 by August Sander. Except they weren't farmers. And the dance they were on their way to was World War I. To learn more about Sun Basket, go to

10:25

Artists in Love

132K views · 7y ago · 10:25

Art History of full of amazing artist couples. Let's look at a handful of talented individuals who joined forces either for a lifelong collaboration or a finite but fruitful romance: Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, Merce Cunningham and John Cage, Lee Miller and Man Ray, Josef and Anni Albers, Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence, and Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

9:01

The Truth of the Tortured Artist

266K views · 7y ago · 9:01

Did you know we give out art assignments? It's true! Corrections Tumblr Response Tumblr and don't forget Reddit!

Topics: is not Roberto Matta but Nicolas Carone in his Rome studio, 1950 · this list originated with Sister Corita Kent!

8:10

Art You Can't Get To

822K views · 7y ago · 8:10

In 1958, scientists from Russia left a plastic bust of Vladimir Lenin at the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility, and as of 2007 it was still there. What does it mean? Guest host John Green ponders his fascination with this object and the changing nature of art.

7:01

Art I Can't Show You

573K views · 7y ago · 7:01

Agnes Martin's minimal paintings reproduce terribly. Their magic does not come though in photos or videos. Guest host John Green discusses Martin's art anyway, how it brilliantly captures emotion itself, and why you should seek it out.

12:05

Which is the Real Girl with a Pearl Earring?

483K views · 7y ago · 12:05

Explore Vermeer's masterpiece "Girl with a Pearl Earring" up close, and see how it's different (and not) from a high-res 3D print of the painting. We visit the Mauritshuis in The Hague and learn what happens when conservation scientists study the painting with today's most advanced technology.

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