Art Safari

This informative and engaging introduction to cutting-edge art compiles eight half-hour BBC programs hosted by Ben Lewis, an amiable documentary filmmaker and enthusiastic art critic. In seven of the episodes, Lewis seeks out contemporary artists whose works are considered particularly influential on the international scene and attempts to interview them. In the eighth, Lewis takes on what may or may not be a movement or school—so-called relational art, in which viewers are expected to interact with the piece being contemplated. The artists are a slippery lot—even when they grant interviews they reveal little that is definitive. But they are a fascinating bunch, nevertheless: Italian Maurizio Cattelan, creator of odd sculptures that are both gruesome and funny; Spaniard Santiago Sierra, whose work combines conceptualism and minimalism with a confrontational revolutionary message; German Gregor Schneider, who turned his childhood house into a traveling exhibit; New York's Matthew Barney, famed director of the weird Cremaster series of films; Belgium's Wim Delvoye, whose mechanical installation Cloaca is “fed” food and then produces “feces”; and Japan's Takashi Murakami, who describes his style as a rejection of the infantilization of his country's culture. The episode on France's Sophie Calle consists of a long game in which she resists being interviewed, which itself reveals her work's playfulness. Lewis' palpable enthusiasm for the “hunt” makes this safari an enjoyable trip, even if the answers he's seeking often prove elusive. DVD extras include a bonus booklet with essays on each artist. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)