Watchification

Alan Yentob presents an overview of the state of light art – mainly composed of pieces in London last year (UVA’s Volume at the Southbank centre, Anthony McCall at the Serpentine, Liliane Lijn at Riflemaker), but with interesting forays around the world to see other artists – notably James Turrell, and his amazing 30 year installation at Roden Crater. Yentob does his normal gormless wandering schtick, but he really does seem interested in the pieces, and does pass on the sense of wonder that pieces like Roden Crater can inspire.

I think I can justify another Imagine so soon after Beeker’s contribution last week because the films in the series are all so different. Imagine is more like a documentary strand than an arts series—and they don’t all have Yentob in them. Anyway, this one is gorgeous: a really tender portrait of a woman I’d always assumed to be a kind of Wicked Queen, a member of the terrifying New York cultural aristocracy ruled for decades by her late partner Susan Sontag. The film was made by Barbara Leibovitz, Annie’s older sister, and is totally gripping from beginning to end (and made me want to go off and be a proper photographer).