The question, what is civilisation, often arises – what defines it and what is the root of it? And to add to the debate around this topic comes BBC Earth’s nine-part series titled Civilisations – a genre-defining series that explores the global history of art as the driving force for civilisation.
Specialist filming techniques
Examining one central theme in each episode, and hosted by the nation’s best historians – Simon Schama, Mary Beard and David Olusoga, this epic blockbuster shows how art defines the human experience. From the first Chinese Emperor’s Terracotta Army, to the glittering Byzantine mosaics at Ravenna, discover how different cultures have expressed themselves through the ages. Specialist filming techniques capture the majestic scale of the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, and pick out the exquisite detail of Michelangelo’s Basilica of St Peter.
Until now, these illuminating creations have been remote. Now you can immerse yourself in their awe-inspiring craftsmanship, as they are brought closer and made clearer than ever before.
The series encompasses six continents to find answers to fundamental questions about creativity. The series examines what makes a civilisation. It looks at paintings, sculptures and architecture that have enriched, challenged and unsettled human beings across the world and reveal the artists who made them and the cultures that produced them.
Tony Hall, Director-General of the BBC, says: “In a complex and fast changing world, Civilisations is a landmark BBC Arts series which asks us to question what lies at the heart of our identity and what makes us human. We want it to inspire the public to take their learning further, and we want the Civilisations Festival to allow them to do just that by engaging with museums and galleries across the UK. Above all, we want to leave a powerful legacy of lifelong cultural enrichment and bring a whole new generation of people together through the arts in a way that only the BBC can.”
Enthralling things creativity can achieve
“We live in a time of raw power, the swagger of money, brutal poverty and hard reckonings; precisely the moment when it can’t be bad to contemplate again the most enthralling things that human creativity can achieve, because, for the most part, they are our common possession. Look at the crowds thronging any great art show from one end of the world to the other and you know that it is felt as much a necessity as the air we breathe and the food we eat. All we and the BBC have done with Civilisations is to answer to that need as richly as we can. It’s taken three years of thinking, writing, filming and editing, every shoot, every encounter with great art, a daunting challenge and an immense satisfaction. We hope you enjoy the feast,” Simon Schama adds.
Mary Beard says: “It has been a really exciting (and, I confess, humbling) experience to work as part of the Civilisations team. I hope that people will be dazzled by the wonderful works of art we have been able to show; but even more I hope that the programmes will prompt all kinds of discussions and debates about what we now think ‘civilisation’ is… and our stake in the very idea of it.”
“It’s been an incredible honour to work alongside Simon and Mary, two of the nation’s greatest historians and broadcasters. I’m also thrilled to be a presenter on a series that’s part of a great tradition of arts programming on the BBC. When I was growing up on a council estate my family didn’t have the money to visit galleries or museums, but my mother was able to open up the worlds of art and culture to me through documentaries on the BBC, programmes that broadened my horizons and transformed my view of the world. Civilisations is the next chapter in that tradition of TV with the power to change lives,” David Olusoga comments.
BBC augmented reality app
The BBC is launching its first augmented reality app, as part of a major collaboration between the BBC and more than 30 museums from across the UK and to mark the launch of this landmark arts and culture series, Civilisations.
Civilisations AR is being developed by BBC Research & Development and Nexus Studios, enabling people in the UK to explore some of the most important exhibits from UK museums in the comfort of their living rooms. A range of fascinating artefacts have been digitally scanned and are available to view as part of a new virtual exhibition. The app features exhibits like an ancient Egyptian mummy from the Torquay Museum, Rodin’s The Kiss from the National Museum of Wales, The Umbrian Madonna and Child from the National Museum of Scotland, as well as shining a light on treasures from smaller UK museums. At the heart of the experience is a core ‘magic spotlight’ feature, allowing users to uncover annotations, audio and imagery that enrich to the story of each exhibit.
Other features include:
- X-ray – users will be able to see through or inside an object, such as seeing through a sarcophagus to the mummy within
- Restoration – this feature can be used to rub through the layers of history, bringing lustre to a metal chalice or colour to a faded sculpture
- Navigation – users can browse the exhibition geographically using an AR globe or thematically via the themes of the series
What: Civilisations
Date, time: From Monday 14 May 2018, 8.30pm
Channel: BBC Earth, DStv Channel, 184
BBC South Africa: https://www.bbcsouthafrica.com/channels/earth/
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