Visual arts/museums

Since establishing himself as a creative force at the age of 23, painter Frank Stella has explored several different styles and techniques. Among his most famous and controversial works are his black paintings.

Larry Rivers began his career as a jazz saxophonist before becoming a painter at twenty-three. He says he was drawn to the solitary nature of making art and how art could draw from a broader range of experiences than jazz.

Michael Ochs maintains an exhaustive collection of photographs and records documenting the history of rock music. His brother was political folk singer, Phil Ochs.

The multidisciplinary artist's work will soon be featured at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His pieces, ranging from installations to sculptures to doodles, draw inspiration from dreams, counting, war, and gender differences.

WHYY arts reporter Julie Burstein talks with Philadelphia gallery owner Marian Locks about supporting up-and-coming artists.

Japanese-American sculptor has been commissioned to build public art around the world. A new piece, Bolt of Lightning, which celebrates the life Benjamin Franklin, will soon be installed in Philadelphia. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about his early success and his gradual process of unlearning his formal training to develop his own unique style.

Maya Lin's concept was accepted while she was still and undergrad at Yale. She has recently worked as a set designer and is studying to be an architect.

Folk artist Howard Finster was born in 1916, but did not start painting until 1976 when he had a vision that told him to devote his life to making sacred art. Finster has been working as a preacher since the age of 16. Finster has spent 20 years working on "Paradise Garden," a two-and-a-half acre mixture of sculpture, painting, vines, vegetables, and discarded objects. "Howard Finster, Man of Visions: The Garden and Other Creations: A One Person Show" is opening at the Philadelphia Art Alliance.

Emile De Antonio is regarded as one of the most important political filmmakers of the American Left. His films include "Point of Order," about the McCarthy hearings; "Rush to Judgement," about the Warren Report; "In the Year of the Pig," about the history of Vietnam, and "Underground," where he interviewed members of the Weather Underground. One of De Antonio's biggest influences is John Cage.

After relocating to England and publishing a book documenting Chinese life, Eve Arnold returned to her home country to capture different facets of the American experience, including Native Americans, biker gangs, Jerry Falwell, and the Ku Klux Klan,