Art and Visual Culture: Medieval to Modern - for iPod/iPhone

The Open University

Have you ever wondered about the visual remains of past centuries that still survive in our cities and countryside today? Are you baffled by modern art? This collection provides you with insights into different aspects of art and visual culture between the Middle Ages and the present day. You will discover the wonders of medieval stained glass and learn how East meets West in a Byzantine icon. You will be introduced to the splendours of Baroque architecture and be taken on a tour of a spectacular display of Neo-classical sculpture in an English country house. And you will find out about a key movement in modern art, Abstract Expressionism, and take a look at some iconic works in Tate Modern. This material forms part of The Open University course A226 Exploring art and visual culture.

Episodes

People once thought stained glass windows were “the bible of the poor”, but looking more closely at their function reveals something far more endearingly human.

Mar 16, 2016

16 min

Transcript -- Stained glass

People once thought stained glass windows were “the bible of the poor”, but looking more closely at their function reveals something far more endearingly human.

Mar 16, 2016

Unraveling an icon

Experts reveal the hidden history and cross-cultural complexity of the icon “St George and the Boy from Mytilini” in London’s British Museum.

Mar 16, 2016

17 min

Transcript -- Unraveling an icon

Experts reveal the hidden history and cross-cultural complexity of the icon “St George and the Boy from Mytilini” in London’s British Museum.

Mar 16, 2016

Christ Church Spitalfields

This film looks at the urban development of Spitalfields, London, revealing the artistic and political messages encoded in Hawksmoor’s monumental church.

Mar 16, 2016

11 min

Transcript -- Christ Church Spitalfields

This film looks at the urban development of Spitalfields, London, revealing the artistic and political messages encoded in Hawksmoor’s monumental church.

Mar 16, 2016

Kendleston Hall

What lies behind a façade? Studying the influences on the once-radical design of Kedleston Hall reveals social and intellectual preoccupations that play out to this day.

Mar 16, 2016

5 min

Transcript -- Kendleston Hall

What lies behind a façade? Studying the influences on the once-radical design of Kedleston Hall reveals social and intellectual preoccupations that play out to this day.

Mar 16, 2016

Salcedo installation

Can a crack in the floor be considered as art? This slideshow peers into Doris Salcedo’s C21st installation in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall, “Shibboleth”.

Mar 16, 2016

5 min

Transcript -- Salcedo installation

Can a crack in the floor be considered as art? This slideshow peers into Doris Salcedo’s C21st installation in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall, “Shibboleth”.

Mar 16, 2016