How Art Made the World

How Art Made the World
GenreDocumentary
Presented byNigel Spivey
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes5
Production
Executive producerKim Thomas
ProducerMark Hedgecoe
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release26 June (2005-06-26) –
24 July 2005 (2005-07-24)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

How Art Made the World is a 2005 five-part BBC One documentary series, with each episode looking at the influence of art on the current day situation of our society.[1][2]

"The essential premise of the show," according to Nigel Spivey, "is that of all the defining characteristics of humanity as a species, none is more basic than the inclination to make art. Great apes will smear paint on canvas if they are given brushes and shown how, but they do not instinctively produce art any more than parrots produce conversation. We humans are alone in developing the capacity for symbolic imagery."[3]

  1. ^ "How Art Made the World". BBC Science & Nature. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  2. ^ "How Art Made The World – part of a rich summer of arts on BBC Television". BBC Press Office. 31 March 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  3. ^ "How Art Made the World: About the Series". PBS. Retrieved 12 June 2012.