2007 - This Is Civilisation ep.4
6 videos • 2,691 views • by CollingsShrine Episode 4 - Uncertainty In the final episode of Matthew Collings' epic sweep through the history of art and civilisation, Collings brings the story from the birth of modern art around the turn of the 20th century right up to the present day. What are we now? What can we still believe in? Are we nearing the end of civilisation? Collings argues that modern art is fundamentally different from the art of the earlier periods of history he's been exploring in this series in one fundamental respect. Instead of offering us a heroic vision of humanity, and reflecting back to us the higher values we might aspire to, modern art has always tried to show us as we really are: unheroic, free, confused, and above all uncertain. This series has looked at some of the greatest works of art and architecture the civilisation of the past has produced. When we look at the art that our times have produced, should we feel optimistic or pessimistic about the future of civilisation?