Art Attack
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) |
| Art Attack | |
|---|---|
 Art Attack logo |
|
| Genre | Art/Crafts |
| Created by | Neil Buchanan Tim Edmunds |
| Directed by | Tim Edmunds Jeremy Cross Nick Bigsby Peter Eyre Clare Michel Richard Bradley Jeremy Swan |
| Presented by | Neil Buchanan |
| Opening theme | "Mr Miller & Mr Porter" |
| Country of origin | UK |
| No. of episodes | 291 (+ 'Scrapbooks' & 'Mini Makes') |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | J Nigel Pickard Sandy Ross Elizabeth Partyka Adrian Edwards Neil Buchanan Tim Edmunds |
| Producer(s) | Tim Edmunds Helen Dawson Nic Ayling Helen Evans Driana Jones Louise Lamb |
| Running time | Various |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3, 16:9 |
| Original run | June 15, 1990 – July 13, 2007 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
Art Attack was a British children's television series revolving around art. It was one of ITV's longest running programmes, running from 1990 until 2007. It was presented throughout by Neil Buchanan. The show involves Buchanan producing three or four works of art, taking the viewer through its production step by step.
Contents |
[edit] Format
Before certain art attacks like the "DIY T-Shirt design", art students introduce themselves and show their piece of work and give a short explanation on how they did it.
Buchanan often introduces a particular segment by showing the finished piece, then the litany "Come have a look at this!". When a piece involves painting or gluing or anything else that requires time to dry or set, he puts the piece — with a few slops of paint or such over it — to one side and says, "and then you'll have something that looks like this". Often the part of gluing with tissue paper or loo paper is primarily called "The Messy Bit" or secondarily called "The Good Bit".
His works are designed so people can follow his technique and make their own copy of his piece, and they are generally pictures with some quirk added to them, e.g. "Lolly Lettering" (a type of calligraphy using lolly sticks) and using cardboard squares as paint palette knives to create a painting of a ship. In several episodes he makes something that included lots of torn-up newspaper and papier-mâché (using a solution of PVA glue and water), like the "Dinosaur Banks".
Once he has finished explaining his work, he says the famous "Try it yourself" line to the viewers. Sometimes he also shows additional models and examples of the art attack, like in addition to the explained Brachiosaurus design of the "Dinosaur Banks" he also shows a Stegasaurus design and a Triceratops design. And in the "Papier Mache balloon trousers", he shows other kinds of trousers to keep crisps, art materials and Buchanan's favourite, sweets.
[edit] Big Art Attack
One of Art Attack's most famous inclusions is the Big Art Attacks. These are pieces of art done by Buchanan on a huge scale, often on a playing field, tarmac ground and similar.
One of his most well-known is a 'picture' of Queen Elizabeth II made up of £250,000 worth of £10 banknotes. In a special Christmas episode of Art Attack in 1996, Buchanan arranged for a big art attack on the skyline of New York City, having specific apartments turn their lights on and off to pixelate a Christmas scene. Most often, the big art attack has a musical soundtrack playing over the top of it, and in more recent series, Neil himself has provided amusing voiceover for the art attacks. The art attacks are often filmed with one camera and are often shot looking down on the picture from a great height like a crane. In more recent series, Neil tends to do big art attacks in the studio more than outside.
[edit] The Head
Also memorable is "The Head", an animated stone bust who laughs at his own jokes and recaps the steps needed to produce the last art piece made. Although he follows Neil's instructions, he always gets it hilariously wrong.
From Series 2, "The Head" appears in an art gallery. From series 3 onwards, "The Head" often has a little easel with spring legs that flies up at a moment's notice, usually ruining The Head's work. One of the greatest examples of this is when Neil had just finished his Big Art Attack of the Chinese Dragon out of Lentils. When "The Head" showed his, the board flew up, and the lentils flew in all directions. "The Head" at once burst into tears.
In series one, "The Head" was played by Jim Sweeney, in series 2, Andrew O'Connor - and from series 3, having been redesigned as a puppet, "The Head" was voiced and operated by Francis Wright. "The Head" did not appear in series 12 or 13 and from series 17 to 19.
[edit] Mini Makes
In 2003 Art Attack Mini Makes was produced and featured a make from 1999/2000 series and a few top tips in making perfect pictures.
[edit] History
The programme was originally a TVS production, devised by two TVS employees, Neil Buchanan and Tim Edmunds. Buchanan and Edmunds met each other at Southern Television in 1978, and worked together on No.73 and Do It. The Art Attack pilot was shot on location at a disused swimming pool in Gillingham, Kent in 1989, and the series began the following year. When TVS lost its franchise, Edmunds and Buchanan produced the programme through their company, The Media Merchants. The Media Merchants produced the show for STV Productions (then known as "SMG Productions"). At this time (1992) another ex-TVS employee, Peter Urie set up a production management company, Television Support Services. Television Support Services managed all of the Media Merchants productions. The show was filmed from The Maidstone Studios, Maidstone, Kent. In 1998, The series began airing on the Disney Channel. However, the programme still runs on TVO in Canada and has since 1995. It ran on ITV / CITV on weekdays at 11am and weekends at 12pm.
Since the programme's demise, many of the production team have transferred to Finger Tips and Mister Maker (both recorded at The Maidstone Studios).
[edit] Cancellation
ITV announced the cancellation of the series in July 2007.[1]
[edit] Series guide
- Series 1: 7x15' First shown 15 June 1990 - 27 July 1990
- Series 2: 7x15' First shown 4 April 1991 - 16 May 1991
- Series 3: 7x15' First shown 16 March 1992 - 11 May 1992
- Series 4: 7x15' First shown 10 September 1992 - 22 October 1992
- Series 5: 7x15' First shown 10 May 1993 - 28 June 1993
- Series 6: 10x15' First shown 10 January 1994 - 14 March 1994
- Xmas special 1 : 1x20' First shown 13 December 1994
- Series 7: 10x20' First shown 9 January 1995 - 13 March 1995
- Xmas special 2 : 1x20' First shown 12 December 1995
- Series 8: 10x20' First shown 8 January 1996 - 19 February 1996
- Xmas special 3 : 1x20' First shown 18 December 1996
- Series 9: 12x20' First shown 6 January 1997 - 17 March 1997
- Xmas special 4 : 1x20' First shown 17 December 1997
- Best of Art Attack: 2x20'
- Art Attack : Scrapbooks 8x20' First shown 22 October 1997
- Series 10: 13x20' First shown 5 January 1998
- Series 11: 16x20' First shown 7 September 1998 - 14 December 1998
- Art Attack Twice Weekly (Series 12: 30x15') First shown 6 September 1999
- Art Attack Twice Weekly (Series 13: 30x15') First shown 4 September 2000
- Series 14: 20x20' First shown 5 November 2001
- Series 15: 15x20' First shown 6 September 2002
- Series 16: 15x20' First shown 10 September 2003
- Xmas special 5: 1x15' First shown 22 December 2003
- Art Attack : Mini Makes 15x5' First shown 31 August 2003
- Series 17: 18x20'First shown 7 September 2005
- Series 18: 26x20'First shown 8 March 2006
- Series 19: 26x20' First shown 17 February 2007
(Source: ITV/Hit Entertainment/BFI)
[edit] Specials
Special Videos of art attack were released upon thousands of written letter requests to show the best art attacks.
1. Most Wanted - In this video art attacks are divided into three parts: Scary Art Attacks, Unusual Effects and Hideous Little Beasts. At the end of the video is a quick scene of Neil doing a Big Art Attack by piling soil and mud to form a dinosaur.
| # | Art Attack | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Horror Hanger" | Neil shows you how to make a horror hanger using a cardboard frame, the Messy Bit stage and a coat paint to make the head and hands. The head revises the step with an extra step of his own. |
| 2 | BIG ART ATTACK: Castle Dracula | Neil sprinkles a can of Garlic Powder on the floor to form a picture of Count Dracula. By the time he's finished, he has no Garlic Powder left to ward off the approaching vampire. The head isn't scared of a vampire, but his not-so-scary picture of a ghost terrifies him. |
| 3 | "A Fantasy Castle" | Neil shows you how to make a fantasy castle out of toilet and kitchen rolls, the Messy Bit stage and a coat of paint with details. The head revises the steps and shows his result of a fantasy castle which doesn't resemble one. |
| 4 | "Folded Paper Plants" | After a single design is shown by an art student, Neil shows you how to make folded paper plants out of card, using scissors to score places so that they are effectively folded. |
| 5 | "A Screaming Bookmark" | Neil shows you how to make screaming bookmark by folding a long strip of card into a Z shape. On the front he draws the top half of the face above the fold and the bottom half othe face below the fold. Within the fold, the mouth with an explosion box is drawn. The head says a joke after revising the steps. |
| 6 | "DIY T-Shirt Design" | After two art students show their examples, Neil shows you how T-shirts can be designed with materials like poster paint (no good at all), felt tip pen, nail vanish and acrelic paint. For the instructed design Neil uses a permanent marker and a gold pen. |
| 7 | "An ancient Warrior's Mask" | Neil shows you how to make an ancient warrior's mask starting with an A3 sheet of paper, making a cardboard cut out mask and covering the mask with tissue paper and black kite paper and finally finishing it with a rough coat of gold and silver paint. The head revises the steps and shows his finished result but he has forgotten the cardboard box. |
| 8 | "An Ancient Stone Freeze" | After posing in Indiana Jones' costume, Neil shows you how to make an ancient stone freeze, using modelled letters, bits and pieces to decorate and the messy bit stage. Finally while the freeze is still wet, sand is poured on and left for 2 minutes resulting in a finished stone freeze. The head says a joke after revising the steps. |
| 9 | "A Dinosaur Bank" | Neil shows you how model a Dinosaur Bank with a balloon, toilet rolls and srunched up paper, plus a drawn slot on the balloon. In the messy bit all but the slot is covered in glue and paper. Finally Neil slops on a coat of paint on the dinosaur. The head revises the steps and shows the shambled result of a crude dinosaur. |
| 10 | "A Vicious Fishious" | Neil shows you how to model a fish with a folded newspaper and cardboard pieces. Next comes the messy bit. As a result the vicious fishious is painted and detailed. In addition to the fish Neil also shows you how to make a tank for the fish. To add to the tank and fish, the fish can be tied to the tank so it would seem like it was swimming. The head revises the steps and shows the result of a tiny gleeful fish he calls "A terrible tiddler". |
4. Top 20 - This video was made as a lot of people have asked Neil what his favourite art attack is. To keep it simple Neil had put a gallery his top 20 personal art attacks that he'd done throughout series 1 - 8, including "Plop Art" the very first art attack that he ever did. In between every 5 art attacks Neil shares some commentary about what he thinks about his personal favourites. The head doesn't appear in this video.
| # | Art Attack | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Plop Art" | Neil shows you how to do Plop Art by dropping a paint-filled eggshell on a sheet of paper. |
| 2 | BIG ART ATTACK: "The Ultimate Plop" | Neil performs The Ultimate Plot by dropping paint-filled balloons from the top of truck crane onto a giant sheet of paper. |
| 3 | "A Dinosaur Bank" | Neil shows you how model a Dinosaur Bank with a balloon, toilet rolls and srunched up paper, plus a drawn slot on the balloon. In the messy bit all but the slot is covered in glue and paper. Finally Neil slops on a coat of paint on the dinosaur. |
| 4 | "Lolli Lettering" | Neil shows you how to write fancy letters with nothing more than a lolli stick and ink to create beautiful calligraphy. |
| 5 | BIG ART ATTACK: Football Field | Neil assembles lots of football players and cheerleaders to form a giant football player kicking a ball. |
| 6 | "Shadow Effects" | Neil shows you how to put some shadows in your pictures. |
| 7 | "New York Newspaper Attack" | Neil shows you how to make a 3D city with newspapers for buildings and roads, glitter for stars and chalk for water on a black surface. |
| 8 | BIG ART ATTACK: Bicycle Course | Neil assembles lots of traffic cones to form the frame of a bike. He gets lots of black cars to drive in circles on both corners to form animating wheels, a single black car for the saddle and a white umbrella for a bike bell. |
| 9 | "Paint Smearing" | Neil shows you without any instructions only a few starting tips, how to smear paint with cardboard pieces onto some paper to paint a good picture. |
| 10 | "3D Stuffed Pictures" | Neil shows you how to make 3D stuffed pictures glueing cotton wool with coloured kite paper and finished off with detail. |
| 11 | "Comicstrip cards and envelopes" | Neil shows you how to make comicstrip envelopes and cards. |
| 12 | BIG ART ATTACK: The Queen of England | Neil assembles out of £250,000 worth of £10 banknotes the face of Queen Elizabeth II, crumpling whats left of the money to form the crown. |
| 13 | "Chalk Smudging" | Neil shows you how to smudge lines and dots of coloured chalk on a black paper to form an effective picture. In addition he shows how to make picture smudging powder paint off the edge of a cut out shape. |
| 14 | "An Ancient Treasure Map" | Neil shows you how make an A4 sheet of paper look like an old document. A stock cube mixed with a bit of water makes the paper like parchment and the square imprint on the paper is made by a small piece of bread painted with red paint. The writing is done with permanent marker and a gold pen. |
| 15 | "Papier Maché Balloon Trousers" | Neil shows you how to make a papier-mâché trouser-shaped bowl. It starts off with layers of newspaper glued on a balloon, followed by papier-mâché glued onto polystirine cups attached to either side of the bowl. Finally comes a coat of paint and details. |
| 16 | "Splat Attack" | After making a messy paint splat, Neil shows you how to do a splat attack making paint-soaked cotton ball for a fly and splatting it with a fly swat. In addition Neil splats a paint-filled balloon with a giant fly swat. |
| 17 | "A Space Attack" | Neil shows you how to make a space scene from the cockpit of a spaceship. Flicking white paint on black paper forms the starry galaxy. Water paint on circles forms the planets. Cut out pieces of foil form the cockpit of the ship. After everything is positioned and glued down, detail is added. |
| 18 | "A Crazy Jigsaw Pattern" | Neil shows you how to make a crazy jigsaw pattern with a crazy jigsaw piece. Making the jigsaw piece requires accuracy. The rest is just drawing round the piece and sloting it into the drawn shape to draw another bit of the pattern. |
| 19 | "Snake Hooks" | Neil shows you how to make a snake hook, drawing an S shape on cardboard, fattening it with newspaper taped to the shape, strengthening it with the Messy Bit and giving it a coat of paint with permanent marker details. |
| 20 | BIG ART ATTACK: Chinese Lentil Dragon | Neil sprinkles Lentils on the floor to form a Chinese dragon with some Mandarin Chinese symbols at the side of the picture. |
[edit] International release
[edit] Rumours
An internet rumour was being spread that in the hand shots of Neil from the above camera, it was supposedly someone else doing the item but this was clarified to be un-true.
[edit] See also
- SMart - similar BBC progamme
[edit] References
- ^ "Art Attack axed after 18 years". Digital Spy. (2007-07-13). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/programming/a65632/art-attack-axed-after-18-years.html. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
