The Art Show Episode Guide

Episode Guide

• The A-Z of Now

  Dazed and Confused editor Rachel Newsome introduces an alphabetical guide to contemporary culture. She investigates how mainstream and underground fashions have merged and asks whether a new breed of musicians, writers and performers will ultimately banish banality from modern art-forms

• Beware Live Art!

  An insight into the resurgence of live art, which cannot be sold and often involves peculiar acts that might only be seen by a couple of people. The work of nine artists is examined, from a man who hangs from buildings and rolls himself up into a ball of wool, a woman who parades naked through a city on horseback and another who gets chased in a wedding dress by a giant cardboard tank

• Billy Childish, Confessions of a Sunday Painter

  Profile of Kent-born artist, writer and musician Billy Childish, who has been acclaimed by many even though he refuses to embrace the art world and remains an outsider. His determination to avoid compromising his ideals has even seen him shun the Stuckists, a movement he helped establish

• Confessions of a Sheep Sh*gger

  Profile of cult author Niall Griffiths, whose gritty novels set in Wales' rural backwaters have earned comparisons with Irvine Welsh. The writer discusses his years travelling with the crusty rave scene, why he has turned his back on city life and the literary establishment, and the forthcoming film and TV adaptations of his books Stump and Grits

• David Peace : Hunter Joker Ripper Writer

  Profile of novelist David Peace, who has made his home in Japan for the last 10 years, but whose three books loosely based on the widespread fear surrounding the Yorkshire Ripper case have catapulted him into the spotlight. He recalls life in West Yorkshire at the time, from his setting up a detective agency as a child to help catch the killer to the sense of paranoia that pervaded everyday life, and his desire to write a fourth book on the subject

• Err : Shrigley

  Profile of contemporary artist and author David Shrigley, a reluctant celebrity who counts Will Self among his many devotees. His art has been exhibited recently on the London Underground and he has also turned his hand to pop videos for chart stars Blur. Despite being in such demand, Shrigley clings to his status as an ordinary, anonymous bloke

• Extreme Puppets

  Jacques Peretti's collaboration with marionette company the Little Angel Theatre, resulting in five short stories using mannequins to offer an insight into facets of modern British life. The tales include a menopausal male frog, a stressed female executive, a branding visionary played by a parrot and two gay puppets. Last in series

• Fin

  An insight into contemporary culture, exploring the modern art scene

• Four Posh Dinners and a Curry

  Wayne Hemingway examines the controversy surrounding Britain's food culture, as audiences lap up TV programmes featuring recipes for exotic cuisine, yet content themselves with unappetising and fat-filled microwaveable dinners. He discusses the levels of guilt and anxiety associated with indulgence foods, and attempts to discover why people cook for themselves less and less

• Gursky World

  Ben Lewis attempts to discover what makes influential photographer Andreas Gursky tick, and finds himself on a bizarre journey from Reading to Dusseldorf. When he finally meets his hero, he gains a fuller understanding of what it means to live in a Gursky World

• How Sick is Your Art?

  New series of films exploring contemporary culture, beginning with Turner Prize nominee Jake Chapman questioning the true value of young British art. He examines his own work, which has shocked the establishment, and talks to contemporaries including Tracey Emin and his brother Dinos Chapman to discover if new art can significantly alter people's perceptions of the world

• How to Watch Television

  Charlie Brooker's tongue-in-cheek documentary offering a guide to watching TV, using the format of a public information film and blending live action with animation. Viewers are led through the complex series of actions needed to watch the box : starting with buying a set

• I Am, Unfortunately, Randy Newman

  Journalist Jon Ronson's documentary profile of his long-time hero, singer-songwriter Randy Newman, in which he draws parallels with the star's life and his own. The pair meet at Newman's home, where they discuss life and play a selection of songs

• I Love Carbuncles

  Journalist Tom Dyckhoff defends the National Gallery's modern extension - famously described by Prince Charles as a 'monstrous carbuncle', a comment that causes resentment among the architectural world to this day

• If

  The enduring appeal of Rudyard Kipling's famous 1910 work If, which was written at the tail-end of the British Empire and was recently voted the nation's favourite poem. The programme follows contemporary writers Bunmi Ogunsiji, Sophie Wooley, Owen Sheers and Selima Hill as they attempt to create their own 21st-century versions of the celebrated work

• The Late George Shaw

  One of the art world's unlikely stars, George Shaw, presents his own obituary, explaining why he creates pictures of garage doors and municipal parks using model-making paint and sharing his obsession with the exoticism of mundane suburban landscapes

• London Sucks

  The final episode in the series sees Jacques Peretti use a hidden camera to test the behaviour of Londoners toward things abandoned in the street - a cute dog and an old lady in need of help

• Not All Bricks and Mortar

  Architect and broadcaster Charlie Luxton argues that lacklustre buildings in Britain's cities are bad for morale, leading to stress and depression among their inhabitants. Would a concerted effort to improve their design and make them appealing to the eye result in a better quality of life?

• Portrait

  Documentary chronicling the nine-month creation of a new National Gallery portrait. Subject and gallery director Charles Saumarez-Smith poses for artist-trustee Tom Phillips, but as the project unfolds, a power struggle breaks out between the two men, putting the portrait in jeopardy - will the finished painting justify the turbulent sitting?

• Revolt in Fashion

  Fashion designer Wayne Hemingway describes why he believes people are paying far too much money for big-name clothing and calls for an end to the industry's elitist image, examining how style magazines and advertising executives appear to work together to ensure they sell their products to a public willing to part with a large amount of money. Visiting a designer catwalk show in London, Hemingway asks why such outlandish, unusual clothing is given a high price-tag, when everyday shoppers would never consider wearing such garments

• Revolt in Homes

  Following last week's attack on over-priced designer clothing, Wayne Hemingway returns to offer his forthright opinions on elitist objects available for the home, contrasting the modern desire to conform to fashion standards with the traditional attitude that home is a place for relaxation. He suggests that, rather than charging huge sums for outlandish decoration, many modern designers would be better off using their skills on social housing projects. Last in series

• The Spoils of War

  Documentary examining the work of war photographer Simon Norfolk, who specialises in images which reflect the aftermath of conflict. The film features a selection of his pictures and follows him as he visits battered landscapes

• St Richard of Austin

  Ben Lewis presents a profile of Richard Linklater, director of cult movie Slacker, who has recently enjoyed mainstream success with School of Rock and Before Sunset. The film-maker discusses his views on American culture, specifically his hatred of religion, consumerism, fast food and corporate greed, and why he refuses to let wealth compromise his principles. Featuring contributions from Jack Black, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey Jnr and Julie Delpy

• Stepford Lives

  Stepford Lives, film-maker Jacques Peretti's short comedy drama charting a day in the lives of three characters living in the fictional village of Harton Wick : a frightening place which offers little opportunity for residents to express their individuality

• Tom Phillips

  An insight into contemporary culture, exploring the modern art scene

• Vincent Gallo : 48 People Who Should be Dead (In Hollywood)

  Jacques Peretti's fictional interview with the controversial and quixotic Vincent Gallo, a cult figure in Hollywood despite his criticism of Tinseltown's elite. Based on Gallo's own writings and real interviews with the man himself, Peretti seeks to explode the self-created myths surrounding the one-time author, director, hustler and motorcycle courier

• War Photographer

  Profile of photojournalist James Natchwey, who has witnessed a number of world crises from famine and terrorism to genocide in Rwanda and poverty in South East Asia. The film follows Natchwey on some of his most challenging assignments and visits him in his Brooklyn home, where he talks about his continuing effort to document war and injustice around the world

• West Side Stories

  Profile of leading black author Courttia Newland, whose works describe growing up with little money on a London council estate. The film offers an insight into how the writer's background has influenced his work, and features dramatised reconstructions of key experiences

• What Age Can You Start Being an Artist?

  Documentary exploring the creation of Room 13, an internationally renowned art department run for and by the pupils of Caol Primary School in Scotland. Ten-year-olds Rosie and Amy reveal how the school shot to fame when they won last year's Barbie Art Prize, and chart their journey to Tate Modern to accept yet another award

• Why Do People Buy Art?

  New series about the contemporary art scene, in which Ben Lewis visits America in a bid to find out why people buy paintings. He meets collectors and dealers at The Armory Show in New York, one of the world's biggest art fairs, and discovers the potential financial rewards that can be made from building up a collection