Tomás Saraceno in "Realms of the Real" – Season 12 | Art21
The video profiles Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno, exploring his philosophy that spider webs are metaphors for planetary and cosmic connectivity, and his practice of merging art, architecture, and science. Saraceno’s studio operates as a multilingual, multicultural hub of 32 cultures, fostering collaborations that produce works like “Sounding the Air,” which amplifies spider silk vibrations, and “Particular Matter(s),” an immersive 30‑meter web sculpture that uses light, subsonic frequencies, and bodily vibration to alter perception of space. Notable examples include the Aerocene project, which transforms single‑use plastic bags into solar‑heated, buoyant structures that fly without fossil fuels, and a ritual with Pachamama that enabled a successful lift, symbolizing the union of indigenous belief and technological innovation. By turning ecological waste into kinetic art and giving voice to marginalized communities, Saraceno challenges conventional notions of architecture, sustainability, and cultural hierarchy, suggesting a future where artistic practice drives environmental justice and interdisciplinary problem‑solving.
Artist Always Wanted to Play with Her Food #CandiceLin
Candice Lin recounts a childhood memory of spotting a chicken head in a Chinese restaurant and yearning to take it home, a desire that now fuels her artistic practice. As an adult, she channels that impulse into installations that repurpose...
Artist's Mother Spits on Him Every 5 Years
The video centers on an eccentric ritual in which an artist recounts that his mother spits on him every five years, a practice he has turned into a symbolic act of renewal. He explains that the five‑year interval creates a mantra‑like...
Candice Lin in “Realms of the Reals” – Season 12 | Art21
Candice Lin, visual artist and UCLA professor, uses sculptural installations to turn everyday and historically loaded materials into immersive, often non‑visual experiences that engage smell, sound and touch. Her work interrogates the colonial histories of pigments and ceramics—cochineal, yellow ochre, bone...
Artist Decides to Be Relentless. #MirandaJuly #Art21Archive
The video captures an artist reflecting on the psychological barrier that kept her from fully committing to projects, describing how early attempts felt exciting yet were cut short by fear of reaching 100 percent. She likens the hesitation to a car...
Artist Creates Portals Within Her Work #NjidekaAkunyiliCrosby
In a recent interview, Nigerian‑American artist Njideka Akunyili‑Crosby explains how she builds “portals” into her paintings, using layered collage to turn visual noise into a controlled, immersive experience. She describes the cacophony of overlapping images—family photographs, CD covers, television screens, posters—as...
Ragnar Kjartansson in “Realms of the Real” – Season 12 | Art21
The Art21 interview spotlights Icelandic visual artist Ragnar Kjartansson, exploring his belief that visual art is essentially a word for freedom—a concept inherited from early 20th‑century innovators like Marcel Duchamp. He frames his practice as a way of living, creating moments...