This week:

Close Encounters with Josephine Halvorson
In this 2012 New York Close Up film, Josephine Halvorson shares her extremely personal and contingent process of choosing a subject to paint.

“How do you make the conditions to have a really long uninterrupted time with something?” posits the artist.

“I would never spend twelve hours just standing in front of something. But I do because of painting. It’s the experience which feeds the painting, but it’s the painting which also feeds the experience.”

ABOUT ART21

Art21 is a celebrated global leader in presenting thought-provoking and sophisticated content about contemporary art, and the go-to place to learn first-hand from the artists of our time. A nonprofit organization, Art21’s mission is to inspire a more creative world through the works and words of contemporary artists.

Art21 provides unparalleled access to the artist’s voice to diverse audiences around the world, using the power of digital media to introduce millions of people to contemporary art and artists. For over two decades, Art21 has changed the paradigm for teaching and learning about the creative process.

In addition to its Peabody Award-winning PBS-broadcast television series Art in the Twenty-First Century, Art21 produces the digital film series New York Close Up and Extended Play; and special artist projects including the Peabody Award-winning feature William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible. Art21 also creates educational resources and professional development programs; annual public programming; an online publication featuring guest contributors; and a comprehensive website at Art21.org.