EGG the arts show

EGG the arts show is smart, entertaining, unpretentious—and not infrequently—funny. It treats art playfully without dumbing it down. One installment, focused on uses of water in the arts, examines the work of underwater photographer Connie Imboden, visits an ice carving competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics and offers spectacular footage by photographers Leroy Grannis and Scott Aichner who “get inside” huge waves with daring surfers. Another program, “Gimme Shelter,” looks at the work of architect Samuel Mockbee, who builds in impoverished rural areas, surveys the history of skyscrapers,and documents the work of architect Paolo Soleri, who seeks to restructure buildings and cities. “Freedom” examines Joe Sacco”s graphic novels, Shirin Neshat’s multi-media explorations of the plight of women in Iran, and the news-parody periodical, The Onion. These and other programs offer a huge eclectic mix of perspectives defining the broad social roles and varying cultural appeals of art in its most expansive definitions. More than 150 educators have incorporated EGG into their classrooms, across all grade levels and course disciplines. Executive Producer Jeff Folmsbee, Series Producer Mark Mannucci, Coordinating Producer Julie Shapiro Thorman, and Associate Producers Micah Cormier, Stephanie Daniel and Jenny Ho help us to realize that art is fun to think about, play with, and understand. They have worked with Production Supervisor Cindy Linnell, Director of Special Projects, Jan Gura, and Director of Culture and Arts Programming for Thirteen/WNET, Jac Venza, on one great big experiment on how to deal with the arts and with television. Elaine Stritch’s narration proovides one more teriffic layer of interest in the topics, projects and visions. For creating a new sensibility and format, inspiring creativity and spreading the word that art can indeed enrich everyone’s life, a Peabody Award goes to EGG the arts show.