The Art Assignment is an educational YouTube series that premiered in 2014 with the mission to bring art and its history to the digital masses. It combines the talents of its hosts Sarah Urist Green, a former art curator, and her husband, John Green, an author and vlogger. Beginning with the goal of introducing viewers to a new artist with each episode, the series allows each creator to give an art assignment that can be replicated at home and shared with others through a hashtag on social media.
Emphasis is continually placed on pushing the boundaries of what is and isn’t considered art. For example, is action in itself art? The Art Assignment proposes it is through their first episode titled “Meet me in the Middle,” where it encourages viewers to draw a line between themselves and another participant then meet exactly in the middle. For some this was meeting in a room in their house, while for others it meant meeting on an island between countries.
While The Art Assignment celebrates the classics of art, it also doesn’t stick up its nose at contemporary work. It promotes the creation of art beyond what viewers expect in terms of mediums like paint and sculpture; it makes art more accessible and erases boundaries. Not everyone can be the next Van Gogh, but most people have the ability to perform the assignment featured, learn something new, and become part of a community that documents it for others to see.
There are 60 art assignments spanning over three years of video content. But, as the times have changed so has the channel. In mid-2017 it was announced that The Art Assignment would be halting assignment videos and expanding to include episodes on art history and content outside of just artist spotlights. This led to really unique content like a sub-series called “Art Cooking” that replicates dishes eaten by the likes of Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, and Picasso as well as meals that appear in still lifes. It brings art to life in tangible ways that’ll delight any foodie while also stimulating academics.
This change in content was also marked by a departure from low-production, down-to-earth interviews with lesser known creators to more heavily edited, animated videos. This elevation in quality appeals to a wider audience but diminishes the charm seen in earlier episodes and the sense of community that seemed to permeate them. Nevertheless, the change is understandable as it establishes the channel as a source of professional, serious art commentary.
In a way, the new content of the channel is a smart move to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving digital media landscape. Although they could have stuck to rehashing the importance of older, classic works, which is of interest to a niche group of people, their array of current topics helps ground the discussion firmly in the present. The channel’s most recent videos range from questioning if modern art is pretentious, to exploring how Instagram is changing art, to showing what revolution and resistance looks like in art. These pertinent topics are delivered in short, punchy packages along with catching visuals, combining to create content that’s able to compete with clickbait titles and stylish thumbnails that seduce viewers away from information-heavy videos. It’s the metaphorical equivalent of sneaking in your veggies by loading them with cheese.
The Art Assignment is thoughtful and provoking art journalism disguised in visually appealing, bite-sized videos. Although its content has gone through two eras, it’s hard to be upset with the changes that occurred after 2017. Both types of content are freely available and thoroughly entertaining, showing that, at its heart, The Art Assignment has stayed true to its mission of providing accessible and educational art content to a wider audience.
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.
