American Masters: Creative Spark
How do today’s masters create their art? American Masters: Creative Spark presents narrative interviews that go in-depth with an iconic artist about the creation of a single work. Each episode offers a unique window into the world of art and the creative process of artists and cultural icons across a wide range of disciplines, from music and comedy to poetry and film.
Explore more at www.pbs.org/creativespark
- Update frequency
- every 12 days
- Average duration
- 29 minutes
- Episodes
- 92
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2025
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Searches for Truth Through Acting
Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is one of the busiest people in Hollywood. His recent films include “Aquaman,” “The Matrix Resurrections,” “Ambulance,” and “Candyman.” But most recently, he made his Broa…
00:19:34 |
Thu 20 Apr 2023
Kelly Reichardt Breaks Down Her Filmmaking Process Behind "Showing Up"
In her eighth feature film, “Showing Up,” Kelly Reichardt takes pleasure in thinking about “life on the level outside of commerce.” Her films often explore working-class characters living life on the…
00:27:18 |
Thu 06 Apr 2023
Jennifer Egan Writes to Experience a Life Outside Her Own
A compelling novel can transport us into worlds unknown. Novelist Jennifer Egan has mastered this inventiveness of fiction with her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "A Visit from the Goon Squad," and in…
00:30:08 |
Thu 23 Mar 2023
Al Nelson’s Sound Design Journey From “Jurassic Park” To “Top Gun: Maverick”
“Top Gun: Maverick” is filled with booming jet engines and layered sonic storytelling. Since this publication, it won the award for Best Sound at the Oscars, largely due to the work of Al Nelson, sou…
00:29:14 |
Thu 09 Mar 2023
Jason Kim Goes Inside the World of K-pop
K-pop is a genre full of catchy music and elaborate choreography. It’s a natural fit for the Broadway stage. As a lifelong fan of K-pop, writer Jason Kim (“Girls,” “Barry,” and “Divorce”) was interes…
00:23:51 |
Thu 23 Feb 2023
Ruth E. Carter Designs Costumes to Stand the Test of Time
What does it mean to create futuristic costumes from the past? Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter’s Afrofuturistic designs imagine the fictional African nation of Wakanda without the influ…
00:27:26 |
Thu 09 Feb 2023
John Waters on the Fine Art of Bad Taste
John Waters loves to break the rules and make you laugh along the way. The iconoclast has been doing just that over the past six decades with provocative and perverse films like “Pink Flamingos,” “Ha…
00:18:32 |
Thu 26 Jan 2023
John David Washington Explores his Past for his Broadway Debut
Actor John David Washington loves to talk about his craft. The star of films like “BlacKkKlansman,” “Tenet” and “Amsterdam” has now set his sights on Broadway with August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson.”…
00:30:33 |
Thu 12 Jan 2023
One more short scene from the life of Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie is one of the most prolific singer-songwriters of the past century. For 60 years her music has quietly reverberated throughout pop culture, and provided a touchstone for Indigenous…
00:04:45 |
Mon 19 Dec 2022
New season of American Masters: Creative Spark!
How do the world’s finest artists – from actors to musicians and beyond – create work that moves audiences? What challenges do they overcome in their creative process? American Masters: Creative Spar…
00:02:42 |
Mon 12 Dec 2022
How Buffy Sainte-Marie Made Her Most Triumphant Song Yet
Buffy Sainte-Marie, a Cree musician, artist and activist, has always been ahead of the pack. For six decades, she has fought for Indigenous rights and visibility through her work. She spoke out again…
00:22:45 |
Tue 22 Nov 2022
Jo Firestone Proves Comedy Has No Age Limit
Comedian Jo Firestone was leading a weekly remote comedy workshop with a group of senior citizens from New York’s Greenwich House when something magical happened. Through in-person sessions, one-on-o…
00:21:14 |
Thu 02 Dec 2021
Don Hertzfeldt Animates Stick Figures Into Existential Masterpieces
Two-time Oscar-nominated animator, writer and filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt is considered one of the most influential figures in animation. In his first-ever formal podcast interview, he breaks down the l…
00:31:59 |
Thu 18 Nov 2021
Atsuko Okatsuka Jokes Around
Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka does everything. The touring comic, actress, writer, dancehall dancer and podcast host is everywhere and works tirelessly. She even famously performed a stand-up set in the m…
00:16:56 |
Thu 11 Nov 2021
How Kim Gordon Makes Music
Musician and artist Kim Gordon is known for being the coolest person in the room. She is one of the co-founders of Sonic Youth, the band that pioneered alternative rock for 30 years with albums like …
00:16:58 |
Thu 04 Nov 2021
Making Movies with M. Night Shyamalan
For decades, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan has been telling original stories with movies like the Oscar-nominated hit, “The Sixth Sense” (1999), “Signs” (2002) and “Split” (2016). In today’s Hollywood…
00:22:30 |
Thu 28 Oct 2021
Jericho Brown Takes on Tradition
Poet Jericho Brown won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his collection “The Tradition.” The poems are vivid works of beauty and agony - each word delivered with a strong sense of urgency. Brown…
00:24:40 |
Thu 21 Oct 2021
Understanding the History and Mystery of Michael R. Jackson
“A Strange Loop” has a lot to say in a one-act show. The metafictional musical is playwright, lyricist and composer Michael R. Jackson’s meditation on self-perception, race, sexuality, art, faith, id…
00:26:41 |
Thu 14 Oct 2021
Errol Morris vs. Steve Bannon
Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris broke open the documentary form with his early embrace of re-enactments and stylized lighting and music. His film, "The Thin Blue Line" (1988), put this reputatio…
00:31:53 |
Thu 07 Oct 2021
Introducing – American Masters: Creative Spark
How do today’s masters create their art? American Masters: Creative Spark presents narrative interviews that go in-depth with one iconic artist about the creation of a single work. Whether it is Osca…
00:02:20 |
Thu 23 Sep 2021
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