The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
Looking more like a skip than a boat, the LCVP, or Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel, won't win any prizes for beauty. Yet the craft did more to win World War II than any other piece of machinery. There were once over 20,000 of these little boats, but only a handful remain. Sailor and writer Tom Cunliffe puts one of them through its paces and finds out how the boat was developed for one momentous day in 1944.
The Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square is the competition in the art world that everyone is talking about. How do you choose between a car covered in pigeon droppings, wooden cruise missiles and a disabled pregnant nude? Ben Lewis interviews the artists including Sarah Lucas and Marc Quinn, critic Brian Sewell and the art world mandarins who are running it to try and answer the questions that are troubling him. The programme was originally shown in 2004.
Fifty years after the village of Six Bells in Abertillery was hit by a tragic coal mining disaster killing 45 local men, renowned artist Sebastien Boyesen has returned to the community. He wants to create an iconic 20-metre-high landmark sculpture for Wales to change the face of the area for generations to come. But it's a hugely complex piece of work and Sebastien and his team are working against the clock to complete this enormous modern masterpiece in time for the memorial ceremony on 28th June 2010.
Alongside the tensions surrounding the building and installation of this giant sculpture, the film follows the moving true stories of the families who lost loved ones in the disaster, and we hear the experiences of some of those who were actually there at the time of the accident.
Alastair Sooke reveals the astonishing range of our medieval sculpture, from the imposing masterpieces of our Gothic cathedrals to the playful misericords underneath church stalls.
He shows how the sculpture of the era casts a new light on medieval Britain, a far more sophisticated, fun-loving and maverick place than we in the modern world commonly believe. But despite the technical and emotional power of these works, the notion of a 'sculptor' did not even exist; most carving of the time was done by teams of itinerant masons and artisans working for the Church. The names of some, like William Berkeley, are known but most are lost to history.
This first golden age came to an end with Henry VIII's Reformation of the Church, unleashing a wave of destruction from which it would take centuries to recover.
Mark Lawson talks to the influential sculptor Sir Anthony Caro about his life and career in art. In this thoughtful interview Caro reflects on his time as Henry Moore's assistant, his groundbreaking shift from figurative to abstract sculpture, his position on public art and his dream of working 'until I drop'.
Since his pioneering show at the Whitechapel London Gallery in 1963, Anthony Caro became recognised as one of the most important and prolific sculptors in the world. His innovative approach to scale, form and materials to 'expand the language of sculpture' has not only won him international plaudits but has revolutionised the field of three-dimensional art.
THURSDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2011
THU 19:00 World News Today (b00ydp36)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 South Africa Walks (b00s8fxz)
The Drakensberg
Having tackled treks across the UK, Julia Bradbury embarks on a grand adventure in South Africa, setting out on four different walks that explore its claim to be 'a world in one country'.
Julia is a regular visitor to the Rainbow Nation, but this is her chance to go far beyond the normal tourist destinations to a series of increasingly remote locations. However, these are walks that any reasonably adventurous walker could embark on and they offer a fresh and personal perspective on a friendly and fascinating country that is often misunderstood.
Julia moves to the interior for her second walk and the grandest mountain range in southern Africa, the Drakensberg. The 3,000m Cathedral Peak is the ambition for Julia and her Zulu guide Zee. As she quickly discovers, even the fittest and most experienced walkers need luck on their side when it comes to the dramatic weather of these mountains. With Zulus, Brits and Boers to provide the history, this is an outing filled with drama and fascination, set against a backdrop sometimes described as the most beautiful on Earth.
THU 20:00 Timeshift (b00nnm7k)
Series 9
The Men Who Built the Liners
Many of the most famous passenger liners in history were built in the British Isles, several in the shipyards along the banks of the Clyde. Timeshift combines personal accounts and archive footage to evoke a vivid picture of the unique culture that grew up in the Clyde shipyards. Despite some of the harshest working conditions in industrial history and dire industrial relations, it was here that the Queen Mary, the Queen Elizabeth and the QE2 were built. Such was the Clyde shipbuilders' pride in their work, and the strength of public support, that in 1971 they were able to defy a government attempt to close them down and win the right to carry on shipbuilding.
THU 21:00 Fig Leaf: The Biggest Cover-Up in History (b00ydp38)
Writer and broadcaster Stephen Smith uncovers the secret history of the humble fig leaf, opening a window onto 2,000 years of western art and ethics.
He tells how the work of Michelangelo, known to his contemporaries as 'the maker of pork things', fuelled the infamous 'fig leaf campaign', the greatest cover-up in art history, how Bernini turned censorship into a new form of erotica by replacing the fig leaf with the slipping gauze, and how the ingenious machinations of Rodin brought nudity back to the public eye.
In telling this story, Smith turns many of our deepest prejudices upside down, showing how the Victorians had a far more sophisticated and mature attitude to sexuality than we do today. He ends with an impassioned plea for the widespread return of the fig leaf to redeem modern art from cheap sensation and innuendo.
THU 22:00 Balmoral (b00mqg2c)
Documentary telling the story of Balmoral, the royal family's most private residence. For over 150 years this Scottish castle has been home to royal traditions of picnics, stag hunting and kilts. From prime ministers to Princess Diana, life at this tartan-bound holiday home has not appealed to everyone.
But there is another story of Balmoral, of how the royal family has played a role in shaping modern Scotland and how Scotland has shaped the royal family. Queen Victoria's adoption of Highland symbols, from tartan to bagpipes, helped create a new image for Scotland. Her values, too, helped strengthen the union between Scotland and England. Ever since, Balmoral has been a place that reflects the very essence of the royal family.
THU 23:00 Behind the Scenes at the Museum (b00sftd3)
Freud Museum
The Freud Museum in Hampstead, London is where the father of psychoanalysis lived his final year after escaping the Nazis in Austria. Sigmund Freud managed to smuggle out all his possessions, including the famous couch where his patients lay. This iconic piece of furniture is now a shrine to therapists and Freud fans from all over the world.
But despite its gravitas this small museum is struggling to stay relevant. In recent years Freud's thinking has fallen out of fashion and theories like Penis Envy and the Oedipus Complex have been discredited by many in the psychology world. Now the museum is appointing a new director with the mission to make Freud less elitist and more appealing to ordinary people.
One of the first things the museum does is to hold a dating evening. A number of games are created for the night, based on Freud's obsession with human sexuality. Another activity seizes on Freud's groundbreaking theory of dream interpretation, with scholar Ivan Ward getting partygoers together to discuss their dreams with one another.
But the process of making change is slow because no one can agree. Everyone has an opinion on how best to serve Freud, including the caretaker Alex who has lived at the museum since its beginning.
THU 00:00 Fig Leaf: The Biggest Cover-Up in History (b00ydp38)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THU 01:00 Omnibus (b007bnlv)
Antony Gormley - The Iron Man
Profile of the sculptor Antony Gormley, well known for his monumental public sculpture outside Gateshead, The Angel of the North, as he prepares to unveil an even more gargantuan work. Quantum Cloud is one-and-a-half times the size of the Angel, and overlooks the Thames at Greenwich in London.
THU 01:45 Timeshift (b00nnm7k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
THU 02:45 Fig Leaf: The Biggest Cover-Up in History (b00ydp38)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2011
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00ydp3g)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Sergei Rachmaninoff: The Harvest of Sorrow (b00ydp3j)
Tony Palmer's documentary, shot in Russia, Switzerland and America, which profiles the great composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, features music conducted by Valery Gergiev and was made with the full participation of the composer's grandson, Alexander Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff's romantic, passionate music has been used in films such as Brief Encounter and Shine and includes some of the most famous melodies of the 20th century. The film features Rachmaninoff's letters and other reminiscences spoken by Sir John Gielgud.
FRI 21:00 Reggae Britannia (b00ydp83)
The acclaimed BBC Four Britannia series moves into the world of British reggae. Showing how it came from Jamaica in the 1960s to influence, over the next 20 years, both British music and society, the programme includes major artists and performances from that era, including Big Youth, Max Romeo, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jerry Dammers and The Specials, The Police, UB40, Dennis Bovell, lovers rock performers Carroll Thompson and Janet Kay, bands like Aswad and Steel Pulse and reggae admirers such as Boy George and Paul Weller.
The programme celebrates the impact of reggae, the changes it brought about and its lasting musical legacy.
FRI 22:30 BBC Four Sessions (b00ydp85)
Reggae Britannia
An all-star cast celebrates the influence of reggae on the UK's music and culture in a live concert coinciding with BBC Four's Reggae Britannia documentary season.
Expect to hear hits from the 1960s to the present day telling the story of the musical evolution from ska, through rocksteady, roots, dub, lovers rock and beyond. Music director Dennis Bovell assembles a big band featuring some of the most important reggae musicians in the British scene to back up a star cast of singers and toasters including Big Youth, Ken Boothe, Neville Staple, Ali Campbell, Dave Barker, Brinsley Forde, Dennis Alcapone and Winston Reedy, Pauline Black, Janet Kay, Carroll Thompson and Rico Rodriguez.
The concert celebrates the journey that captured the turmoil and channelled the dreams of Jamaicans who came to Britain, those who were born here and the white kids who grew up alongside them and embraced their culture and their roots.
FRI 00:00 The Old Grey Whistle Test (b00yl487)
Reggae Concert from the Edinburgh Festival
Live performance specially recorded for Whistle Test from the Reggae Concert at the Edinburgh Festival in 1973, featuring The Cimarons, Winston Groovy, Dennis Alcapone, The Marvels, Nicky Thomas and The Pioneers.
FRI 00:45 Rock Goes to College (b00yk22l)
The Specials
The student-taunting Specials perform at the Colchester Institute in 1979, playing hits such as Rat Race, Too Much Too Young and Gangsters, throwing tambourines at the bouncers and indulging in a little moon-stomping during a stage invasion.
FRI 01:30 Reggae Britannia (b00ydp83)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 03:00 BBC Four Sessions (b00ydp85)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:30 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
Abraham Lincoln: Saint or Sinner?
23:00 TUE (b00y5kdx)
Angel of the Valleys
20:30 WED (b00szzhv)
Angel of the Valleys
01:55 WED (b00szzhv)
BBC Four Sessions
22:30 FRI (b00ydp85)
BBC Four Sessions
03:00 FRI (b00ydp85)
Balmoral
22:00 THU (b00mqg2c)
Behind the Scenes at the Museum
23:00 THU (b00sftd3)
Birth of the British Novel
21:00 MON (b00ydj1p)
Birth of the British Novel
01:55 MON (b00ydj1p)
Britain by Bike
20:00 TUE (b00t9r0n)
Britain's Park Story
00:55 SAT (b00t9qv8)
Canoe Man
21:00 TUE (b00rs2kc)
Canoe Man
02:40 TUE (b00rs2kc)
Cattle Queen of Montana
19:30 SUN (b00786nd)
Coast
19:00 SUN (b08blhtv)
Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood Live at Madison Square Garden
01:10 SUN (b00k9cbz)
Fig Leaf: The Biggest Cover-Up in History
21:00 THU (b00ydp38)
Fig Leaf: The Biggest Cover-Up in History
00:00 THU (b00ydp38)
Fig Leaf: The Biggest Cover-Up in History
02:45 THU (b00ydp38)
Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop
22:40 SUN (b00nq7q9)
How TV Ruined Your Life
22:55 SAT (b00ybzjr)
Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders
22:00 TUE (b00wmpc0)
In Their Own Words: British Novelists
00:55 MON (b00tg2jk)
Justice
20:30 TUE (b00ydkfd)
Justice
04:10 TUE (b00ydkfd)
Mark Lawson Talks To...
22:00 WED (b00ydp30)
Nixon in the Den
01:40 TUE (b00spjnp)
Not Cricket
23:30 MON (b00byf78)
Omnibus
01:00 THU (b007bnlv)
Peter Green: Man of the World
23:40 SUN (b00k92x1)
Reggae Britannia
21:00 FRI (b00ydp83)
Reggae Britannia
01:30 FRI (b00ydp83)
Rock Goes to College
00:45 FRI (b00yk22l)
Romancing the Stone: The Golden Ages of British Sculpture
21:00 WED (b00ydp2y)
Romancing the Stone: The Golden Ages of British Sculpture
00:55 WED (b00ydp2y)
Sergei Rachmaninoff: The Harvest of Sorrow
19:30 FRI (b00ydp3j)
South Africa Walks
19:30 THU (b00s8fxz)
South Pacific
19:00 SAT (b00kwdqr)
Storyville
21:00 SUN (b00ydg7t)
Storyville
02:10 SUN (b00ydg7t)
Storyville
22:00 MON (b00ydj1r)
Storyville
00:00 TUE (b00ydg7t)
Storyville
02:25 WED (b00ydj1r)
The Beauty of Books
20:30 MON (b00ydj1m)
The Beauty of Books
00:25 MON (b00ydj1m)
The Beauty of Books
03:55 MON (b00ydj1m)
The Boats That Built Britain
19:30 WED (b00sfsqw)
The Children Who Built Victorian Britain
19:30 MON (b00t6t3r)
The Children Who Built Victorian Britain
02:55 MON (b00t6t3r)
The First Men in the Moon
23:25 SAT (b00vfgcw)
The Killing
21:00 SAT (b00ydg68)
The Killing
21:55 SAT (b00yl5yy)
The Killing
23:00 WED (b00ydg68)
The Killing
23:55 WED (b00yl5yy)
The Old Grey Whistle Test
00:00 FRI (b00yl487)
The Secret Life of Waves
20:00 SAT (b00y5jhx)
The Secret Life of Waves
02:55 SAT (b00y5jhx)
The Sky at Night
19:30 TUE (b07jlb1n)
The Sky at Night
03:40 TUE (b07jlb1n)
Timeshift
20:00 THU (b00nnm7k)
Timeshift
01:45 THU (b00nnm7k)
Trafalgar Square: Carry On Plinthing
20:00 WED (b0074q3r)
Who Killed the Honey Bee?
01:55 SAT (b00jzjys)
World News Today
19:00 MON (b00ydj1k)
World News Today
19:00 TUE (b00ydj20)
World News Today
19:00 WED (b00ydp2w)
World News Today
19:00 THU (b00ydp36)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b00ydp3g)