A Piece of Work

A Piece of Work episodes:

• 08.09.2017

  The Writing on the Wall

  There are new paintings and drawings by Sol LeWitt being made all the time -- even though the artist died in 2007. That’s possible because LeWitt’s wrote instructions for creating his works  art, for other people to make. Abbi and...

  
• 08.07.2017

  Questlove Hearts Emojis

  Emojis, video games, even the humble “@” symbol -- all these staples of digital life have been as carefully designed as the most sleek furniture or fancy architecture. But do they belong in a museum? Hell yes, says Abbi’s friend...

  
• 08.02.2017

  Andy Warhol’s Art of Self-Promotion

  Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” has got to be one of the most famous images of the 20th century. But at the time, Warhol’s use of advertising and imagery from consumer culture was super controversial. So was his unabashed desire...

  
• 07.31.2017

  You’ve Got to Watch This!

  Way before viral videos, since the invention of the medium in the 1960s, artists have made video to critique the culture around them. Howardena Pindell delivers a direct-to-camera account of the racism she experienced coming of age as a black...

  
• 07.26.2017

  If It’s Got Naked People, RuPaul Is In

  A dozen dancers rolling around in their underwear, rubbing raw chickens and fish on each other. No, it’s not some weird ‘60s porn, it’s a performance -- Abbi talks with the feminist artist behind the piece, Carolee Schneemann. Performance art...

  
• 07.24.2017

  Minimalism to the Max

  Some artworks seem crazy simple -- like a stack of metal boxes or a group of white paintings. Minimalism rejected the idea that art should express the artist’s feelings or depict the visible world, or even be made from traditional...

  
• 07.19.2017

  Samantha Irby Gets High on Light

  Abbi brings her friend the hilarious essayist Samantha Irby to MoMA PS1 to see one of the trippiest works they’ve ever experienced: “Meeting” by James Turrell. Turrell’s work is immersive, mind-blowing, deeply moving -- and made entirely of light. Turns...

  
• 07.17.2017

  How Questlove Learned to Love Silence

  Ahmir Thompson (a.k.a. Questlove of The Roots) is a very busy dude. He was feeling stretched thin, until he discovered the power of silence to let his creativity cut through the noise. To help him find that silence, he’s got...

  
• 07.12.2017

  Tavi Gevinson Wonders When It’s Done

  When you look at abstract art, what are you supposed to see among all those splatters and blobs? Abbi sorts out her feelings about Jackson Pollock’s monumental action paintings with a little help from the dancer and choreographer Mark Morris,...

  
• 07.10.2017

  Hannibal Buress Really Wants to Touch the Art

  Does art have to be beautiful, or can everyday stuff be made into art too? Abbi Jacobson brings her friend comedian Hannibal Buress to look at sculptures by Dada and Surrealist artists, who upended the definition of what art could be....

  
• 07.06.2017

  Presenting: A Piece of Work

  Yes, she’s the hilarious co-creator of Comedy Central’s “Broad City.” But before discovering her gift for comedy, Abbi Jacobson went to art school. Now she’s getting a refresher on everything from Jackson Pollock to Marcel Duchamp, from Pop art to...