The Summer Exhibition: BBC Arts at the Royal Academy
- TV Movie
- 2014
- 1h
YOUR RATING
Photos
Storyline
Featured review
Knowledgeable Presenter Occupying the Screen Too Much
Alistair Sooke has become the BBC's resident art and history critic - a younger version of Andrew Graham-Dixon, he bounds about the screen with a coltish enthusiasm, positively reveling in the opportunity to share his knowledge with viewers.
For the most part, he is an engaging presence - someone who obviously knows a lot about his subjects, and who can talk about them with authority. On the other hand, perhaps he is almost too obtrusive a presence - especially in programs about art, such as this one or the documentary about John Constable (first broadcast in September 2014), the viewer needs time to contemplate the camera close-ups of individual paintings, to take in the visual complexities of the artists' work and to make judgments for themselves.
However this process of assimilation is rather held up by Sooke's incessant chatter. While we are grateful for his knowledge, we do need some time to reflect on what we see. Graham-Dixon is very good at this strategy; perhaps Sooke should learn it as well. Moreover, Sooke is a little inclined towards delivering unsubstantiated opinions about individual works: perhaps he ought to let viewers make up their own minds about what they see, rather than metaphorically leading them by the hand.
For the most part, he is an engaging presence - someone who obviously knows a lot about his subjects, and who can talk about them with authority. On the other hand, perhaps he is almost too obtrusive a presence - especially in programs about art, such as this one or the documentary about John Constable (first broadcast in September 2014), the viewer needs time to contemplate the camera close-ups of individual paintings, to take in the visual complexities of the artists' work and to make judgments for themselves.
However this process of assimilation is rather held up by Sooke's incessant chatter. While we are grateful for his knowledge, we do need some time to reflect on what we see. Graham-Dixon is very good at this strategy; perhaps Sooke should learn it as well. Moreover, Sooke is a little inclined towards delivering unsubstantiated opinions about individual works: perhaps he ought to let viewers make up their own minds about what they see, rather than metaphorically leading them by the hand.
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- l_rawjalaurence
- Sep 15, 2014
Details
Box office
- Budget
- £100,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
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