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Arts in the Archive

Highlights from the Â鶹Éç Archive

Friday 11 – Sunday 13 April | 11am – 6pm | CCA, Cinema

The Â鶹Éç maintains one of the largest archives of any broadcaster in the world, managing millions of hours of TV, Radio and Online content, encompassing over 90 years of broadcasting. The archive is constantly growing and the Â鶹Éç is dedicated to exploring the ways it can bring the archive back out of the vaults and on to our screens.

This unmissable collection of highlights looks back at television arts documentary making at the Â鶹Éç, throughout its history. With a number of titles to choose from, specially selected from landmark Â鶹Éç series like Monitor, Arena, Omnibus and the Culture Show, this is a unique opportunity to relive key moments, revisit forgotten places and get face to face with some of the most popular people and practitioners in the arts.

The Culture Show: Jeremy Deller

Friday 11. April

11:00-11:40 / Arena: My Way

A remarkable investigation into the enduring legacy of Paul Anka’s hit song ‘My Way’, which has been covered by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, and Sid Vicious.

Director: Nigel Finch, 1979, 40mins

11:55-12:50 / Graham Greene On The Orient Express

Graham Greene travels from Paris to Istanbul on the Orient Express, talking about his life and novels. Greene was happy to be recorded on audio tape but refused to be filmed.

Director: Christopher Burstall, 1968, 55m

13:05-13:55 / Imagine: Who Cares About Art?

Alan Yentob visits museums around the globe to examine the relationship between five museum workers and the treasured works of art they care for.

Director: Sam Hobkinson, 2006, 50m

14:10-15:15 / Omnibus: The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong

The remarkable story of jazz genius Louis Armstrong.

Director: John Akomfrah, 1999, 1h05m

15:30 – 16:35 / The Eye Hears, The Ear Sees, Normal McLaren

Animator, Norman McLaren, discusses his ground-breaking films which combine his love of music, dance and animation. This screening coincides with the centenary of his birth.

Director: Gavin Millar, 1970, 1h05m

16:50 – 1735 / Francis Bacon, Fragments Of A Portrait

Francis Bacon gives a legendary interview from his Kensington studio.

Director: Michael Gill, 1966, 45m

Related Link

Francis Bacon in His Own Words
Bacon memorably describes his work as 'one continuous accident'.

Saturday 12. April

11:00-11:25 / Release: J.R.R. Tolkien

A rare TV interview with J.R.R. Tolkien as he discusses his epic saga 'Lord of the Rings' and his life in Oxford.

JRR Tolkien

Director: Leslie Megahy, 1968, 25m

11:40-12:20 / Ways of Seeing: John Berger

A programme about the way we look at paintings. John Berger looks at how art can be manipulated and obscured by false religiosity.Director: Michael Dibb, 1972, 40m

12:35-13:25 / Two Melons And A Stinking Fish

A frank portrait of controversial British artist, Sarah Lucas. Her work is often deeply personal, intertwined with her views on identity and sexuality.

Director: Vanessa Engle, 1996, 50m

13:40-14:25 / Monitor: Pop Goes The Easel

Ken Russell directors a fascinating glimpse of the most influential pop artists Peter Blake, Peter Phillips, Derek Boshier and Pauline Boty at the beginning of their careers.

Director: Ken Russell, 1962, 45m

14:40-15:30 / Dreamgirls: The Photographs of Guy Bourdin

Guy Bourdin's erotic and often disturbing images appeared in Vogue for almost 30 years. Dreamgirls presents Bourdin through the eyes of people who worked with him through his own personal archive of 8mm film.

Director: Nicola Roberts, 1996, 50m

15:45-16:45 / The Culture Show: Jeremy Deller, Middle Class Hero

Turner Prize-winner, Jeremy Deller, reminisces over his early influences as he prepares for his first major retrospective at the Hayward Gallery.

Director: Jack Cocker, 2012, 60m

17:00-1800 / Arena: Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois lets loose in this frank portrayal of her life and work filmed on location in her studio.

Director: Nigel Finch, 1994, 55m

Sunday 13. April

11:00-11:30 / Scope: Joan Eardley

A touching overview of the painter John Eardley who dedicated her life to documenting children living in the Gorbals area of Glasgow and the Aberdeenshire coast.

Vivian Maier

Director: W. Gordon Smith, 1973, 30m

11:45-12:15 / Barbara Hepworth

Sculptor Barbara Hepworth discusses her life against the background of the Cornish coast.

Director: John Read, 1961, 30m

12:30-13:40 / Imagine: Vivian Maier

Alan Yentob investigates the life of Vivian Maier, a reclusive nanny who took over 150, 000 photographs that were never published until after her death in 2009.

Director: Jill Nicholls, 2013, 1h10m

13:55-15:35 / Â鶹Éç Archive Shorts

An eclectic selection of short films from the 1960s featuring rarely-screened interview with cultural icons such as: Andy Warhol; Susan Sontag; Philip larkin; Rene Magritte; Henri Cartier-Bresson; Madame Marie Rambert, and Shelagh Delaney.

Directors: various, 1h35m

15:50-16:30 / Lost Highway: The Story of Country Music

A documentary exploring the history of American country music, looking at the influence of mountain & Bluegrass styles upon contemporary musicians and audiences alike.

Director: Sally Thomson, 2003, 60m

16:45-17:45 / Otis Redding: Soul Ambassador

First-ever TV documentary about the legendary soul singer Otis Redding, following him from childhood and marriage to the Memphis studios and segregated Southern clubs where he honed his unique stage act and voice.

Director: Jeremy Marre, 2013, 60m