Strokes of Genius: de Kooning on de Kooning

Samba, Popping, and Jazz. Through these dance styles and documentary interviews, Bodies That Tell Stories seeks to discuss the standardization and whitening of dances that had their roots in Black people.

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The Impressionists are the most popular group in art history – millions flock every year to marvel at their masterpieces. But, to begin with, they were scorned, penniless outsiders. 1874 was the year that changed everything; the first Impressionists, “hungry for independence”, broke the mould by holding their own exhibition outside official channels. Impressionism was born and the art world was changed forever. What led to that first groundbreaking show 150 years ago? Who were the maverick personalities that wielded their brushes in such a radical and provocative way? The spectacular Musée d’Orsay exhibition brings fresh eyes to this extraordinary tale of passion and rebellion. The story is told not by historians and curators but in the words of those who witnessed the dawn of Impressionism: the artists, press and people of Paris, 1874.

With loans from across the world, this major retrospective will bring together Vermeer’s most famous masterpieces including Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Geographer, The Milkmaid, The Little Street, Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, and Woman Holding a Balance. This film invites audiences to a private view of the exhibition, accompanied by the director of the Rijksmuseum and the curator of the show.

Everyone thinks that Bob Kane created Batman, but that’s not the whole truth. One author makes it his crusade to make it known that Bill Finger, a struggling writer, actually helped invent the iconic superhero, from concept to costume to the very character we all know and love. Bruce Wayne may be Batman’s secret identity, but his creator was always a true mystery.

Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.

Filmed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Tate Britain, London, the exhibition reveals Sargent’s power to express distinctive personalities, power dynamics and gender identities during this fascinating period of cultural reinvention. Alongside 50 paintings by Sargent sit stunning items of clothing and accessories worn by his subjects, drawing the audience into the artist’s studio. Sargent’s sitters were often wealthy, their clothes costly, but what happens when you turn yourself over to the hands of a great artist? The manufacture of public identity is as controversial and contested today as it was at the turn of the 20th century, but somehow Sargent’s work transcends the social noise and captures an alluring truth with each brush stroke.

Over time, Queen Marie-Antoinette, who was the most hated woman of her time, experienced a spectacular return to favor. Today, historians and curators show another character: an independent and loving woman in constant search of intimacy who knew how to keep her secrets; a woman with refined, feminine and modern taste who marked her time. At Versailles, in this sublime setting cut off from the world where she barricaded herself, Marie-Antoinette cultivated her own style and influenced, throughout Europe, the tastes of her time.

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The man who made glassblowing an American art form meets the challenge of a lifetime with Stephen Wynn's 1998 commission of the world's largest glass sculpture. Watch as Chihuly creates, for the lobby of the luxurious Bellagio Resort, Fiori di Como, an explosion of color and light featuring over 2,000 "flowers" hand-blown from molten glass.

This documentary features a kinetic artist who creates vibrant mixed media works that push the boundary between 2D and 3D.

The female breast has been a motif for as long as there has been art. For centuries, people have been creating works that showcase this intimate and emotionally charged part of the body. Today, female artists are questioning traditional ideals of beauty and countering the male-dominated perspective of the breast with their own.

Death and the devil, nudity and eroticism, horror in blazing colours, Gothic art cast a spell over people 500 years ago. In these image-poor times, art deliberately and skilfully played with the emotions of the viewer, triggering fear, devotion, but also rapture. Art documentary on German gothic art of the late-middle ages.

Take a seat with us at FIRE’s first-ever classical music concert in support of free expression: “Outspoken: Music for Free Speech.” At the podium is conductor Rebecca Bryant Novak, a former doctoral student at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. Taking the stage for the first time since she was expelled without due process after speaking out about alleged harassment, Rebecca leads an all-volunteer orchestra in an unforgettable evening of music. Internationally acclaimed musicians, violinist Lara St. John and oboist Katherine Needleman, bring the stage to life with works by composers who themselves faced censorship, from Mozart to Shostakovich. Between performances, FIRE staff and special guests reflect on why free expression is essential for artists, and for all of us. The arts cannot thrive without free expression. Thank you to everyone who made this night possible!

This film explains what James Ensor (1860-1949) meant for the development of art and makes palpable where he got his inspiration from.

Tarology follows Enrique through the streets of New York City as he shows us how to see the tarot - not superstitiously, but through the eyes of an artist - and how we are surrounded everyday by both the beauty and the symbolism of this ancient and often misunderstood tradition.

In 1847, British writer Emily Brontë (1818-48), perhaps the most enigmatic of the three Brontë sisters, published her novel Wuthering Heights, a dark romance set in the desolation of the moors, a unique work of early Victorian literature that stunned contemporary critics.

In 1940, the German artist Charlotte Salomon (1917-43) undertook an extraordinary artistic adventure, during which she combined painting, text and music: in only eighteen months, she painted more than a thousand paintings. In 1943, she was arrested by the Nazis and sent to the Auschwitz extermination camp.

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Lizzie Lovejoy’s mini-documentary explores the world of non-traditional performance spaces, especially in the Tees Valley and celebrating the fantastic work they do. Lizzie spoke to Bobby Benjamin, artist and curator of Pineapple Black in Middlesbrough, about the exciting range of work the gallery has housed over the past couple of years during festivals, exhibitions and events. And from Redcar Palace Art Gallery, director James Beighton and curator Beth Smith of Tees Valley Arts discuss how the venue is used to create works as well as share them, and why accessibility has become one of their main focuses. People connect to performance in different ways than visual art, but both can be incredibly powerful and influential. Using local creative spaces to pull both together highlights how fantastic our local cultural community really is. This is an Art Mouse film for NARC. TV, written and directed by Lizzie Lovejoy.