art21 - Season 7 (2014)

The Season 7 premiere features Thomas Hirschhorn, who creates an installation with help from public-housing residents; photographer Graciela Iturbide, who focuses on Mexico; and Leonardo Drew, who continually experiments with materials and processes.

Elliott Hundley, Arlene Shechet and Trevor Paglen are featured. Hundley creates collages that both reveal and hide their meanings; Shechet's ceramic work obscures its nature behind surface effects; and Paglen documents the American surveillance state.

A look at artists inspired by life experiences and family heritage. Included: Wolfgang Laib, who connects the ephemeral and eternal; Tania Bruguera, who explores art, activism and social change; and Abraham Cruzvillegas, who focuses on transformation and decay.

What makes a compelling story? How do artists disrupt everyday reality in the service of revealing subtler truths? This episode features artists who explore the virtues of ambiguity, mix genres, and merge aesthetic disciplines to discern not simply what stories mean, but how and why they come to have meaning.