How Art Made the World

Too often students in classrooms wonder, why am I learning about this? What good does it do to me? This is much more so when learning about something so subjective and changing as art. In this series we are shown exactly why art is not only relevant, but a cornerstone of what we, as humans, are. It shows us in a tangible way how we have built our civilizations with art, as well as brick and stone.

This series has a masterful narrative, not too complex for those who know nothing about art, or too simple for the learned. It will take you through ages and different fields of knowledge, shedding light on fundamental subjects like death, power, and the human condition itself. Dr. Nigel Spivey shares the spotlight with other specialists to explain these subjects, accompanied with beautiful shots and images literally from around the world.

How Art Made The World is, in my humble opinion, what teaching should be: interesting, intriguing and fun. After every episode we are left with the strange sensation that there's a bigger world out there, which is at the same time beautiful and haunting. This is something to think about, enjoy and share.

I found the series compelling, informative and moving. The authors and presenter focus on the present with its political and material preoccupations by using a powerful lens from the past. Events as troubling as 9-11 or as profound as our contemplation of death are shown under a new light that leaves one wanting more. There is an unflinching quality to the series - magnified by the seemingly upper class presence of Cambridge professor Dr. Nigel Spivey - that takes for granted the viewer's intelligence, curiosity and willingness to challenge their preconceptions. Best of all, perhaps, the series dares to state not only the historic importance of art in human development, but arts vital role in every aspect of daily life. The series is an example of educational programming of the highest order, dealing with complex subjects in a manner that is both accessible and demanding, inciting the viewer to investigate a wide range of subjects. At that same time, the series never loses sight of its central concern - the joys and sorrows of being human as traced through art in its myriad forms.

Here is a strange idea for a documentary.

Make a movie about why movies work, why we cling to them and how they invent our humanity.

Tell a story about storytelling.

It is put together by a man who himself is a good storyteller; he is presumably a good teacher. Teaching is just storytelling with the point of inciting a deeper story that can be applied as a framework elsewhere. It starts with people in a theater watching a movie and our storyteller figuratively steps out of the screen to begin an introspective journey with film about film. This soon becomes a story about the grammar and power of image; the applicability to art stops there.

This is crackling good storytelling, though if you are inclined to do to him what he does to us, there is a structure that will grate. He makes an observation ("We are obsessed by death"), extends that to a big question, devises a series of smaller questions and then gives us small episodes unfailingly prefaced by "The answer lies in...."

So lets dispense with why that ruins this as real science, deep discovery. We don't understand what art is; it always will elude logic until we finally decide to go the other way and define logic in terms of art. There never was anything close to "an answer" and there never will be. There is only data, experience, around which you can weave something that makes sense.

What this fellow weaves is profoundly shaped by the sad realities of TeeVee. Things have to be simply episodic. They have to be wrapped up by each break with an absolute conclusion. The only things that are allowed to exist are those we can clearly be shown visually. The only logical constructions allowed are the simplest correspondences. ("Decorated skulls were made to be seen in ordinary houses, so therefore...")

Many essential details must be left out in a way that supposes they do not exist. All investigators are treated not as flawed humans, but noble warriors for truth (as so you the audience are complemented). Formative factors in pre-modern humans don't really matter.

That said, there can be no deeper subject for an overt essay than this. And it can be hardly handled better than by using the power of image to tell the story of explorers and researchers who dig into the mysteries of this. No deeper mystery exists, nor can. No higher calling comes from seeking and communicating insight.

So, supposing that you understand storytelling well enough to scrape all of the storytelling compromises off of this, and if you have the ability to ignore his "answers" and fabulate your own, this is something of a great project. See it if only because it collects a great many events and their subsequent discoveries and unifies them somewhat.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

This series is only one of Dr. Spivey's television presentations for the BBC. His ability to utilize the English language properly plus his great depth of knowledge make his work not only of great value, but also interesting to watch and learn while enjoying the process. If only we had more Nigel Spivey's, education would be an adventure that few would deny themselves. His easy manner and friendly focus make the camera and the observer appreciate him and his abilities.

A handsome and learned man, Spivey is an international treasure for those who would enlarge both their world view and their understanding of man --- his strengths, weaknesses, triumphs and sorrows.

Hats off to Dr. Spivery! How fortunate is the Emmanuel College of Cambridge, England, to have his services; and fortunate indeed are his students who experience the magic of his teachings in person.

Cast: Dr. Nigel Spivey, David Attenborough, George Miller, and individual experts.

This is a BBC production, so it has to be good from the beginning. There is some nice background music that sometimes drowns out the narrators, so it is a good idea to use the subtitles.

Divided into logical chapters or episodes, this program explains more about where art came from than what art did for us. However, it does show the various uses of art along with an understanding of how people perceive art.

This program is not objectively neutral and is not a broad shot at the subject of art. It is very opinionated and focused on the theory that art is somehow tied to the way our brains operate. This program is more of a presentation of this theory. In the process, it brings up many things that were not thought about or haven't been thought about by most people. Whether you buy this theory or not the presentation is excellent and well worth watching.

You may want to follow up with some programs by Joseph Campbell which pretty much parallels this program; this especially applies to the cave paintings.

It takes a little while to get through this presentation because you will want to stop and think about what is being said while you are looking up individual details on the net before going on with the program.

How Art Made the World: More Human Than Human The Day Pictures Were Born The Art of Persuasion Once Upon a Time To Death and Back.