Taking Craft to the Limit: Nikolas Weinstein
SPARK visits glass artist Nikolas Weinstein in his studio and travels along as he installs 2.5 tons of glass panels in a bank lobby in Berlin, Germany designed by architect Frank Gehry. This Educator Guide introduces glass as an art medium, historically situating glass work.
Technology Enabled Art: Pamela Z
SPARK visits with San Francisco-based composer/performer and audio artist Pamela Z who works primarily with voice, live electronic processing, and sampling technology, including the BodySynth, a device that allows her to manipulate sound with physical gesture. This Educator Guide addresses the role ...
Technophiles: Ken Goldberg
Conceptual artist Ken Goldberg combines robotics and the social behavior of internet communities in a series of whimsical artistic "experiments" where strangers use the internet to jointly control and monitor real life events and activities together. This Educator Guide is about tele-robotics and other ...
Telling Stories: Larry Reed
Master storyteller Larry Reed is dedicated to the study and practice of the ancient Balinese art of shadow puppetry. This Educator Guide explores the history of Balinese shadowpuppetry, Wayang Kulit and Reed's innovations.
Telling Stories: Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Four-time National Poetry Slam winner Marc Bamuthi Joseph is a modern day griot (African storyteller) who tells his original stories through a combination of acting, spoken word, movement and rap. This Educator Guide addresses spoken word, autobiography, and performance art.
The Art of Improvisation: Rova Saxophone Quartet
SPARK gets an insider's look at the Rova Saxophone Quartet, a vanguard musical group that has improvised its way along the cutting edge of the music and sound art scene for 25 years. This Educator Guide explores improvisation in music, jazz and free jazz.
The Art of Interpretation: A.C.T.
SPARK goes backstage at the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT), as Artistic Director Carey Perloff takes on one of the 20th century's most important and challenging plays – Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot." This Educator Guide explores Beckett's work and absurdism in literature.
The Bleeding Edge: Loren Chasse
Sound artist Loren Chasse seeks out unusual acoustic environments and teaches a class of students about fundamentals of sound. This Educator Guide explores sound and the history of sound as a musical form, extending back to the early 1900s.
The Business of Art: Klein International String Competition
SPARK charts the progress of the young competitors in the 2003 Irving M. Klein International String Competition as they vie for the $10,000 grand prize and a series of prestigious concerts. This Educator Guide traces the history of stringed instruments as well as the history of string competitions.
The Fine Art of Collecting: John Held Jr.
SPARK spends the day with pioneering Mail Art collector John Held Jr. as he continues to build his collection, one piece at a time. This Educator Guide explores the history and many forms of Mail art and stamps.
The Jet Set: Alonzo King
Choreographer Alonzo King has created contemporary ballets for more than fifty international dance companies as well as dozens of pieces for film, television, opera and his own company, LINES Ballet. This Educator Guide tracks the history of modern-contemporary ballet and the contributions of King and ...
The Long Run: New Conservatory Theatre Center
Artistic Director Ed Decker celebrates the uniqueness of New Conservatory Theatre Center as a populist community theatre whose productions speak to and for diverse audiences, especially the gay community of San Francisco. This Educator Guide explores the history and programs of the New Conservatory ...
The Next Generation: Youth Speaks
SPARK follows several local teens as they make their way through the final tension-filled rounds of the Youth Speaks spoken word competitions, and get a glimpse of their lives and thoughts in their emotion-packed poetry. This Educator Guide is about the history of spoken word.
Threads: Consuelo Jimnez Underwood
SPARK takes a look at textile artist, weaver and teacher Consuelo Jimenez Underwood, who constructs histories of indigenous and non-indigenous conflict through her works on exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Art. This Educator Guide explores the history and traditions of textiles in various cultures, ...
Through the Lens: Kerry Laitala
SPARK watches experimental filmmaker Kerry Laitala's painstaking process as she works on her ongoing tribute to the film medium itself, The Muse of Cinema. This Educator Guide is about the history of experimental and avant-garde filmmaking.
Trailblazers: Joe Goode
SPARK follows Joe Goode as he and the dancers of the Joe Goode Performance Group develop, rehearse, and perform a dance theatre work called Folk. This Educator Guide addresses the history and form of dance-theatre as an artistic genre.
Transplanting a Tradition: Li Huayi
Li Huayi, a painter of propaganda posters during the Cultural Revolution, reinvigorate the centuries-old tradition of Chinese landscape painting with his own, wholly contemporary vision. This Educator Guide explores the Chinese Cultural Revolution and Landscape Painting as well as contemporary painting.
Transplanting a Tradition: Orquesta la Moderna Tradicin
Roberto Borrell's band, Orquesta La Moderna Tradicin, is one of the only musical ensembles in the world dedicated exclusively to the performance of classic Cuban dance music. This Educator Guide explores the history of danzn and the many music and dance forms it inspired.
Up from the Street: Tommy Guerrero
SPARK meets Tommy Guerrero, world famous street skateboarder and musician, whose music evokes the sounds and rhythms of San Francisco. This Educator Guide is about street culture in San Francisco, including skateboarding and its culture, as well as contemporary, instrumental music.
Works on Paper: Enrique Chagoya
Mexican-born Enrique Chagoya is one of America's best-known printmakers, an artist whose work takes aim at establishment religion and politics, in works that are designed to both provoke and amuse. This Educator Guide is about the history and traditions of printmaking and political humor in Mexico and ...
