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Reveals how the first big artistic discoveries were made and how they have cascaded down the centuries to define the look of the present day. Encompassing everything from cave paints to ceramics and pyramids to palaces, this film explores the global trend for unrealistic depictions of the human body; the secret powers of the feature film; how politicians manage to manipulate people so easily; visions of the afterlife; and why we use imagery at all.

Disc 1 includes:
Ep.1: More Human than Human
Why have humans felt the need to create visual representations of themselves and specifically why indulge in distortions of the human form? Is this hardwired in the human brain? What can we learn from modern studies in neuroscience?

Ep.2: The Day Pictures Were Born
What might have been the reasons for the Paleolithic cave paintings of Altamira and Lascaux? What can the the more recent cave paintings left by the San bushman in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa tell us? What have studies into altered states of consciousness taught us and how is this applicable to our understanding of the cave paintings?

Ep.3: The Art of Persuasion
The role of visual art throughout human history to organise and mobilise society; to persuade, to propagandise, to lie. From its earliest use by Darius of Persia, through Alexander the Great, to Caesar Augustus, to the modern spin-meisters of Bush and Blair. 

2 videodiscs (290 min.) : sd., color ; 4 3/4 in.
Audio: English with optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Each episode runs approximately 58 minutes.

 

Films on Demand:

https://digital-films-com.swcproxy.swccd.edu/p_Collection.aspx?seriesID=206459