What Is Art Good For?

Explore art in the age of revolution, war and profound scientific change and consider the question: Should art create a separate realm, a place of escape, or should it plunge into the chaos, transforming the way we see and live in the world?

In December 1942, a Jewish teacher brings art supplies to children held by Nazis. They created art that would give them a momentary escape, if only in their imaginations.

In the autumn of 1914, Mondrian had an epiphany that would bring true abstraction into the world.

Some of the strongest contemporary art has the magical power of transformation, turning the ephemeral and destructive into something more enduring.

For artist Ai Weiwei, the calamity of our time is the disaster of the multitudes of displaced. Those who are uprooted, through no fault of their own, and cast adrift on an infinite ocean of terror and despair.