Introduction: Memory (00:51)

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Isabella Rossellini introduces the topic of the video. Featured artists discuss how memory and tradition influence and inspire their craft.

Susan Rothenberg: Looking-Down Perspective (03:32)

Since moving to a remote area, Rothenberg establishes a looking-down point of view in contrast to looking up at buildings in cities. She takes what she learns outside and brings it into the interior.

Susan Rothenberg: Solitude (03:35)

Rothenberg creates with the same brushes and strokes for every piece. She spends 80% of her time alone, in a white room, working. At a young age, Rothenberg found her identity in the silhouette of a horse and experienced success creating a series.

Susan Rothenberg: Necessity of Work (02:39)

"If you are not in your studio every single day, you deny the possibility of anything happening." Rothenberg must work, making even a single stroke, before ending her day. During long walks, she discovers items of inspiration.

Susan Rothenberg: The Art of Review (02:31)

Rothenberg examines and reviews her work religiously to make it "what it should be." She implies in her work and wishes to avoid the literal; a hand on a table implies a human being. Truth not beauty is her goal.

Mike Kelley: Materialist Ritual (03:51)

Kelley's affinity with rituals emerges in his work. His interest in art is an attempt to develop a "materialist ritual." Kelley's work is reactive; he embraces emotional inspiration.

Mike Kelley: Transforming Tropes (01:34)

In the process of "working through things," Kelley transforms tropes. His work attempts to communicate to the "lazy" and "sophisticated" viewer. Sublimity and humor are intended effects when he blurs the lines of reality.

Mike Kelley: High School Rituals (02:34)

Kelley creates videos depicting high school rituals inspired by earlier work. He does not distinguish memories between books, plays, writing, and real experiences; he mixes all of it into fiction.

Mike Kelley: Performance Work (02:57)

As a self-taught musician, Kelley generates music by sound recognition. His dream is to perform rituals live during a 24 hour period; a passion play with a purpose.

Mike Kelley: Critical Joy (01:52)

Kelley's work depicts "mean humor," defining his art. Without a negative aesthetic, art loses its social function.

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Traditional Methods (04:03)

Sugimoto is against the evolution of technology and its use in contemporary art. His traditional methods are hard to control, but "make the best picture."

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Honoring the Past (02:52)

Sugimoto honors early creation of life by preserving a 450 million year old fossil. Sugimoto pays homage to a Duchamp piece in Philadelphia, 30 years after his first visit.

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Duchamp's Influence (03:14)

Sugimoto honors Duchamp's influence in his work by creating a three-dimensional Duchamp Large Glass presentation. Using machines, Sugimoto represents the mechanical movements of a student learning.

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Making Imagination Possible (02:05)

Puzzling is the first thought Sugimoto wants his viewers to experience in his presentation. Creating a show is like transforming his vision into reality for others to experience.

Josiah McElheny: Memory of Objects (03:17)

McElheny studied glass manufacturing in Europe to uncover an oral tradition, learning skills unaltered for hundreds of years. He defines his work as a memory of objects; derived from a previous source.

Josiah McElheny: Community of Ideas (03:09)

McElheny finds pleasure in making pieces and working with others; you can't stop in the middle. He entered the art world to join a community of people interested in ideas.

Josiah McElheny: A New Way of Seeing (04:27)

McElheny generates a new way of seeing by exploring the reflective properties of glass. They symbolize a type of "utopia, where everything is connected." Art is an infusion of yourself and the object.

Josiah McElheny: Infinite Narcissism (01:11)

McElheny symbolizes the narcissistic tendencies of the modern person by creating self-reflecting objects in a reflective environment. Seducing the interest of the viewer fascinates him.

Credits: Memory (03:39)

Credits: Memory