Culture Corner Recommendations: A doc about the 'painter of light ' plus 10 great shows on PBS
Art for Everybody considers the legacy of painter Thomas Kinkade
Art for Everybody
Even if you don’t know the name Thomas Kinkade, you know his art: idyllic paintings of woodland cottages, lighthouses, and gazebos rendered in pastel shades. The so-called “Painter of Light” became arguably the most successful visual artist in the United States by mass-producing these images and selling them to middle-class Americans willing to fork over a few hundred bucks for a print (or $35 for a collectible plate). Loathed by critics, Kinkade nevertheless became massively successful in the ‘90s by positioning his work as an alternative to the more confrontational art of the era. This documentary, currently in select theaters with a digital release expected soon, explores the contradictions of an artist whose wholesome (you might say ‘sanitized’) imagery appealed to Evangelical Christians, but who died in 2012 from alcohol and diazepam intoxication. It features intimate and surprisingly candid interviews with his wife and four daughters, as well as commentary from an array of critics, writers, and curators (including Susan Orlean, who profiled Kinkade for the New Yorker in 2001). Empathetic but not uncritical of Kinkade, Art for Everybody also raises important questions about the role that art should play: is it there to comfort us or to challenge us?
Last week, Trump issued an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to halt funding to PBS and NPR. The order immediately threatens the continued existence of hundreds of local PBS stations, which bring free, valuable programming to far-flung corners of the United States. One way to support PBS is by becoming a member of your local station and signing up for PBS Passport, a streaming platform where you can find news programs like News Hour and Frontline, along with hundreds of other shows and documentaries.
Here is a small selection of the current offerings, which may vary based on your local station. Let us know what you’re watching in the comments!
Miss Austen Austenphiles have plenty of offerings to choose from on PBS, including this series, currently airing on Masterpiece, a literary mystery about Jane Austen’s sister, Cassandra, played by the always fabulous Keeley Hawes.
The Durrells in Corfu If you find yourself wanting to see more of Ms. Hawes, and you probably will, then try this series, based on the autobiographical books by Gerald Durrell, about an eccentric English family relocating to the Greek island in the 1930s. (It co-stars Josh O’Connor, of The Crown and Challengers fame.)
Finding Your Roots In each episode of this series, Henry Louis Gates Jr. sits down with a celebrity to explore their family history, often finding unexpected connections. If only he’d do a version with regular people, and let me be the first participant, it would be a perfect show.
The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick The Vietnam War ended 50 years ago last month, a milestone the Trump administration chose not to commemorate. All the more reason to watch this series, from the master himself.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror & the Light Anne Boleyn is out of the picture, but Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) still has his hands full advising King Henry VII (Damian Lewis) in this adaptation of the third novel in Hilary Mantel’s series. Spoiler alert: it won’t end well for ol’ Tom.
Call the Midwife The current season of this long-running drama about midwives in London’s East End in the ‘50s and ‘60s -- as unflinching as it is heartwarming. -- is currently available to stream on Passport.
Nolly Ever wanted to see Helena Bonham Carter play Noele “Nolly” Gordon, a wrongfully fired soap opera star in a series written by Russell T. Davies, the guy behind Queer as Folk? Well now you can!
Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office This series tells the harrowing story of the U.K.’s Post Office scandal, a bureaucratic nightmare in which hundreds of everyday Britons were prosecuted for financial crimes they didn’t commit thanks to faulty software.
No Passport Required Chef Marcus Samuelsson travels to American cities and explores local cuisine, with an emphasis on the contributions of immigrant communities.
Free for All: The Public Library A documentary about the history of public libraries in the U.S.? Yes, please.
Finally, while I generally use this space as a place for recommendations, I am going to wrap things up this week by encouraging everyone not to watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey, specifically seasons 7 and 8, which starred Siggy Flicker, the MAGA zealot appointed by Trump to the board of the Holocaust Museum this week. I have nothing against Bravo and am usually watching several Real Housewives at any given time. But Flicker, whose stepson stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, is widely considered one of the worst cast members in the history of Real Housewives—a franchise that has featured numerous actual criminals. If she’s too awful for basic cable, she shouldn’t be anywhere near the Holocaust Museum.
Meredith Blake is the Culture columnist for The Contrarian
I have been a proud contributor to my PBS station for 40+ years. In addition to everything else--news, music, cultural commentary--these stations are the emergency warning system for this entire rural state of Maine. Now more than ever, with NOAA compromised, we can't do without PBS. Support public broadcasting or lose both your connection to the world and your safety net.
Thank you for the PBS suggestions. We always need ideas.
Can you write something about tyrants in culture and arts? Wolf Hall is an example. It does not seem possible to watch Henry VIII and not think about Trump and his court.
Playhouses see this as a good time to focus on tyrants and instability. We’ll see two different productions of Winter’s Tale this year. We saw MacBeth last year. Saw the Madness of King George in Trump’s first term.
Where do we see tyrants rendered in our popular culture? Do we have to rely on plays and stories that focus on the times of kings?
Seems like a promising topic, one that someone could have fun with.