The Way I See It

Summary

30 leading cultural figures choose an artwork from the Museum of Modern Art's collection, and discuss the response it provokes in them

Art critic and broadcaster Alastair Sooke, accompanied by some of the world's leading creative thinkers, takes an in-depth look at the outstanding exhibits in New York's MoMA, exploring how the way we 'see' art is shaped by our experiences and perspectives. His guests include some of the sharpest minds of our time - artists, writers, designers, comedians, musicians and scientists, among them Steve Martin, Margaret Cho, John Waters, Roxane Gay, Fiona Shaw, Orhan Pamuk and Stanley Tucci.

Each guest selects a piece of art that speaks to them - one that's inspiring, startling, intriguing or challenging. Some pick familiar works, others ones they've never seen before, and their choices range from paintings and sculptures to photographs, films and even symbols. Drawing on their personal history and expert knowledge, they share their thoughts, insights and observations.

How does a cosmologist view Van Gogh's The Starry Night? What does a jazz pianist see in Mondrian's Broadway Boogie Woogie? What will a top fashion designer decode from the clothes painted by an artist in Harlem in the 1930s? And what will a psychologist make of Picasso's unflinching depictions of man's inhumanity, The Charnel House and Guernica?

These questions, and many more, will be answered in this eye-opening series. Revealing, surprising and perceptive, it deconstructs the gallery experience, bringing us a new way of looking at, and appreciating, art.

Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Produced by Paul Kobrak and Tom Alban
The Way I See It is a co-production of the BBC and the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Tracklist:
1. Starry Night and Janna Levin
2. Steve Martin and the Lonely Synchromists
3. Jason Moran and Piet Mondrian
4. Neri Oxman and the Endless House
5. Steven Pinker and Picasso
6. Steve Reich on Richard Serra's Equal
7. Margaret Cho and Lady Vengeance
8. Duro Olowu on William H Johnson's 'Children'
9. Michael Bierut on Ed Ruscha's OOF
10. John Waters on Lee Lozano's Untitled 1963
11. Roxane Gay and Christ's Entry into Journalism
12. Es Devlin on Felix Gonzalez-Torres's Perfect Lovers
13. Hisham Matar with Man Sleeping Along the Seine
14. Renee Fleming chooses Colors for a Large Wall
15. The Director's Choice
16. Fiona Shaw on Georgia O'Keeffe's Lake George, Coat and Red
17. Bryan Stevenson on Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series
18. Richard Serra on Jackson Pollock
19. Madeleine Thien on Vija Celmins' Bikini
20. Zac Posen on Constantin Brancusi's Bird in Space
21. Mark Morris on Florine Stettheimer's Costume Design for Orphée
22. Sarah Sze and Siddhartha Mukherjee on Louise Bourgeois's Quarantania, I
23. Orhan Pamuk on Taglioni's Jewel Casket by Joseph Cornell
24. Liz Diller on Marcel Duchamp's Network of Stoppages
25. Isabella Boylston on Maya Deren and Talley Beatty
26. Stanley Tucci and Giacometti's Head of a Man on a Rod
27. Lady Ruth Rogers on Henri Rousseau's The Dream
28. Yves Behar and the IEC's Power Symbol
29. David Henry Hwang on Martin Wong's Stanton near Forsyth Street
30. Alastair Sooke