Moscow: Treasures And Traditions

Originally broadcast on King 5, a local television channel in Seattle, WA, this absorbing program was made to coincide with the state's exhibit co-organized by the Smithsonian Institution and the Seattle Art Museum. Hosted by Brian Tracey and Penny LeGate, the program features interviews with Jay Gates, Director of the Seattle Art Museum, as well as on-location interviews with Muscovites, and a look at a service in the Russian Orthodox Church. The framing material gives a context for the numerous examples of the 250 art works which are on exhibit. Religious icons from the medieval period lean heavily on the image of St. George, while some of the jewel-encrusted weaponry from the period is literally worth its weight in gold. Beautiful tea service sets, and gorgeous china depicting 18th-century peasant life are included in the exhibit, as are modern abstract works by Kandinsky. Overall, people will see that Russia has had a variegated and impressive art history, and they will be amazed at the devotion to art in Moscow (every weekend Muscovites bundle up to trudge down to an outside art gallery of sorts--a two mile stretch where artists line the road, painting and selling their works.) An excellent program, offering sights that few Americans will actually have the chance to witness in person. Highly recommended. (Available from: Wehman Video, 2366 Eastlake Ave. E., Suite 420, Seattle, WA 98102.)