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Watch Civilizations
Survey the history of art, from antiquity to the present, on a global scale. Civilizations reveals the role art and creative imagination have played in forging humanity, and introduce viewers to works of beauty, ingenuity and illumination across cultures.
Watch Video from Episode 2 of Civilizations
The Most Enduring Art Form
Our compulsion to create images of ourselves is one of the most intimate and defining statements on who we think we are.
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1m 39s
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Clip
The Most Enduring Art Form
1m 39s
Our compulsion to create images of ourselves is one of the most intimate and defining statements on who we think we are.
Show More
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Recording Social Norms
38s
Though it may have been an unintended consequence, Athenian vase painters recorded and then re-enforced ideas of what wive
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Preview
How Do We Look?
30s
Explore the many functions of the human image in art. Portraits, paintings and sculptures, both life-size and colossal, pe
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About the Author
Sam is the director of multiplatform discovery and production for PBS. When not geeking out about the latest Ken Burns documentary or Call the Midwife season, you can find him playing video games with the cool kids.