Alastair Sooke

Over the last 29 editions art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, has dived into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art. In this final edition, Alastair makes his own selection. And, as with several of his guests in the series, he goes for two choices. The first, a painting that bowled him over as a young visitor to MoMA, Matisse’s Red Studio, but what will the second be, and has making this series changed the way he sees art?Producer: Tom AlbanMain Image: Henri Matisse, The Red Studio, 1911. Oil on canvas, 71 1/4" x 7' 2 1/4" (181 x 219.1 cm). Mrs. Simon Guggenheim Fund. Museum of Modern Art, NY, 8.1949.© Succession H. Matisse/ DACS 2019

Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, continues his deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art. Today's edition features playwright, librettist and screenwriter, David Henry Hwang. He chooses a painting by the artist Martin Wong - Stanton near Forsyth Street (1983).Producer: Tom AlbanMain Image: Credit: Martin Wong, Stanton near Forsyth Street, 1983. Acrylic on canvas, 48 x 64" (121.9 x 162.6 cm). Courtesy of the Estate of Martin Wong and P.P.O.W Gallery, New York, NY. Museum of Modern Art, NY, 863.2011

Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, continues his deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art. Today's edition features Swiss designer Yves Behar, whose choice is a powerful one - literally. He chooses the internationally recognised power symbol, the circle broken with a vertical line. Is it really art? That is how he sees it.Producer: Paul KobrakMain Image: International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)’s Power Symbol (2011)

Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, continues his deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art. Today's edition is the choice of award-winning chef, Ruth Rogers: The Dream, by Henri Rousseau.Producer: Tom AlbanMain Image: Henri Rousseau, The Dream, 1910. Oil on canvas, 6' 8 1/2" x 9' 9 1/2" (204.5 x 298.5 cm). Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller. Museum of Modern Art, NY, 252.1954

Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, takes us on a deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art. Leading cultural figures in the series include Grammy- and Emmy-award-winning Hollywood actor and comedian Steve Martin, one of the founders of minimalism – composer Steve Reich and stand-up comedian Margaret Cho. Each episode introduces us to an important art work in the collection, but asks how our own perspective affects our appreciation of the piece. In this edition, American actor Stanley Tucci chooses Alberto Giacometti's "Head of a Man on a Rod" from 1947.Producer: Tom AlbanMain Image: Alberto Giacometti, Head of a Man on a Rod, 1947. Bronze, 23 1/2" (59.7 cm) high, including bronze base 6 3/8 x 5 7/8 x 6" (16.0 x 14.9 x 15.1 cm). Gift of Mrs. George Acheson. Museum of Modern Art, NY, 595.1976. © 2019 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, continues his deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art. Today's edition features the choice of American ballet dancer Isabella Boylston, currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. It's a short Black and white film: A Study in Choreography for Camera by Maya Deren and Talley Beatty, made in 1945Main Image: A Study in Choreography for Camera (film still), 1945. 16mm film (black and white, silent), 4 min. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase from the Estate of Maya DerenProducer: Tom Alban

Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, continues his deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art. Today's edition features the choice of leading American architect Liz Diller. How will the designer of New York's High Line and MoMA's new galleries see conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp's 1914 painting Network of Stoppages.Main Image: Marcel Duchamp, Network of Stoppages, 1914. Oil and pencil on canvas, 58 5/8" x 6' 5 5/8" (148.9 x 197.7 cm). Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Fund and gift of Mrs. William Sisler. Museum of Modern Art, NY, 390.1970. © 2019 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris / Estate of Marcel DuchampProducer: Tom Alban

Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, continues his deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art. Today's edition features the choice of Nobel Prize winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk. He picks American artist Joseph Cornell's jewellery box - a homage to Marie Taglioni, an acclaimed 19th-century dancer.Main Image: Joseph Cornell, Taglioni's Jewel Casket, 1940. Velvet-lined wooden box containing glass necklace, jewellery fragments, glass chips, and glass cubes resting in slots on glass, 4 3/4 x 11 7/8 x 8 1/4" (12 x 30.2 x 21 cm). Gift of James Thrall Soby. Museum of Modern Art, NY, 474.1953Producer: Tom Alban

Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, continues his deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art. Today's edition features the choice of husband and wife Sarah Sze and Siddhartha Mukherjee. Sarah is an award-winning sculptor and Siddhartha Mukherjee is a Pulitzer Prize winning oncologist. Will the artist and the scientist see Louise Bourgeois’s "Quarantania, I" sculpture differently? Main Image: Louise Bourgeois, Quarantania, I, 1947-53. Painted wood on wood base, 6' 9 1/4" (206.4 cm) high, including base 6 x 27 1/4 x 27" (15.2 x 69.1 x 68.6 cm). Gift of Ruth Stephan Franklin. Museum of Modern Art, NY, 1076.1969. © The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NYProducer: Paul Kobrak

Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, takes us on a deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art. Leading cultural figures in the series include Grammy- and Emmy-award-winning Hollywood actor and comedian Steve Martin, one of the founders of minimalism – composer Steve Reich and stand-up comedian Margaret Cho. Each episode introduces us to an important art work in the collection, but asks how our own perspective affects our appreciation of the piece. In this edition, American dancer, choreographer and director Mark Morris casts his gaze on painter and set designer Florine Stettheimer's painting of her costume for her ballet Orphée.Main Image: Florine Stettheimer, Costume design (Procession: Zizim of Persia, Agnes of Bourganeuf, the Unicorn, and Pierre d’Aubusson) for artist's ballet Orphée of the Quat-z-arts, c.1912. Oil, fabric, and beads on canvas, 17 1/8 x 35 1/8" (43.5 x 89.2 cm). Gift of Miss Ettie Stettheimer. Museum of Modern Art, NY, 83.1947.6. © Estate of Florine StettheimerProducer: Tom Alban