The Gaudi Code • 2015

45:39

As founder of toy company Heroes Will Rise, Cas Holman crafts tools and objects designed to inspire kids (and adults) to play creatively.

S2E4 • Abstract: The Art of Design • 2019 • Design

99:09

A showcase of top animation from the UK's finest new talents. British animator Osbert Parker presents the TV premiere of exciting short films. All were recipients of grants under BBC Four and the British Film Institute's Animation 2018 initiative, which called out for new and emerging talent from around the country. The films take a variety of approaches, using styles and techniques ranging from hand-drawn images to live-action puppetry, stop motion, CG, 2D and 3D, covering a diversity of genres from science-fiction to documentary. Though richly varied in tone and content, they have been curated into four groups on the themes of animals, other worlds, obsession and love. Morris dancing badgers, a noir fairy tale, a heartening tale of love beyond the grave and an alien coming-of-age story are just some of the treats in store from some of the nation's most-imaginative and talented new animators.

2018 • Design

49:43

Monet, Cezanne, Degas and Renoir are some of the world's most popular artists. Their works, and that of their contemporaries, fetch tens of millions of dollars around the globe. Who were they and how exactly did they paint? To help answer these questions, this film focuses on the man credited with inventing impressionism as we know it - 19th-century Parisian art collector Paul Durand-Ruel. It was his brave decision to back these radical artists and then, on the verge of bankruptcy, to exhibit them in New York in 1886 that created impressionism as we know it. Thanks to his sales to enlightened wealthy Americans that subsequently filled US galleries with impressionist masterworks, Durand-Ruel kept impressionism alive at a time when it faced complete failure. This film tells his remarkable story, along with that of the impressionists themselves.

S1E2 • Great Art • 2018 • Design

22:21

Industrial designer Helen Kerr works on everything from soap pumps to geo-mapping the island of Manhattan. Her team uses materials that can be broken down at the end of an object’s life, so each piece can be put back into the recycling stream.

S1E6 • Great Minds of Design • 2012 • Design

49:33

The spectacular sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo seem so familiar to us, but what do we really know about this Renaissance genius, and who was this ambitious and passionate man? A virtuoso craftsman, Michelangelo's artistry is evident in everything that he touched. Spanning his 89 years, this episode takes a cinematic journey from the print and drawing rooms of Europe through the great chapels and museums of Florence, Rome and the Vatican to explore the tempestuous life of Michelangelo.

S1E3 • Great Art • 2018 • Design

28:36

Professor Sir Roger Penrose is more than just a fan of MC Escher's mind-bending art. During the course of a long creative collaboration, the British mathematician and the Dutch artist exchanged ideas and inspirations. Some of Escher's most iconic images have their origin in Penrose's mathematical sketches - while the artist's work has served as a starting point for the professor's own explorations of new scientific ideas. To coincide with the first ever Escher retrospective in the UK, Penrose takes us on a personal journey through Escher's greatest masterpieces - marvelling at his intuitive brilliance and the penetrating light it still sheds on complex mathematical concepts.

2015 • Design