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Art Attack
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Art Attack | |
|---|---|
 Art Attack logo |
|
| Genre | Art, Children's |
| Creator(s) | Neil Buchanan Tim Edmunds |
| Presenter(s) | Neil Buchanan |
| Opening theme | Mr Miller & Mr Porter |
| Ending theme | Mr Miller & Mr Porter |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Tim Edmunds, Helen Dawson, Nic Ayling, Louise Lamb |
| Executive producer(s) | J Nigel Pickard, Sandy Ross, Elizabeth Partyka, Adrian Edwards, Neil Buchanan and Tim Edmunds |
| Running time | 20 mins |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV1 |
| Original run | 1989 – 2007[citation needed] |
| Links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Art Attack is a British children's television series about art. It is one of CITV's longest running children's programmes, running from 1989 it has been 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. It was originally fifteen minutes long but this was extended to twenty minutes from series 11.
He 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". His works are designed so children 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.
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 holiday special episode of Art Attack, Buchanan arranged for a big art attack on the skyline of Manhattan, having specific apartments turn their lights on and off to pixilate a Christmas scene. Also memorable is 'The Head', an animated stone bust who laughs and recaps the steps needed to produce the last art piece made. In series one, The Head was played by Steve Sweeney, in series 2, Andrew O'connor and from series 3, it was voiced and operated by Francis Wright. It did not appear in series 13 and from series 17 to date.
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 in 1988, 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 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.
On 4 October 2006 it was revealed in Broadcast Magazine that Art Attack alongside many other Children's ITV shows were being axed as ITV announced they're to stop making children's programmes in house as ITV's Director of Television Simon Shaps said that he wanted the network to be more adult viewing. http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/
- During its 17 year run Art Attack has been recorded at The Maidstone Studios from when the show started in 1989,with exception of series 3 in 1992 when it was recorded in studio one at the Television South's Northam studios in Southampton.[citation needed]
- When Television South lost their licence to broadcast Art Attack was produced by The Media Merchants for Scottish Television.[citation needed]
- In 1997 there was a one off series of eight programmes entitled Neil Buchanan's Art Attack Scrapbook a look back at all the Art Attacks that Neil had made during the 8 years he had been hosting the show for.[citation needed]
- Art Attack won the 1992 BAFTA award for Best Children's Factual Show.[citation needed]
- In 1995 the show was voted Best overall programme on Children's ITV.[citation needed]
- Neil's shirt supposedly cost £600 to make as it contained a special pigment inside. This is because TV cameras make normal red pigment have a glowing effect.
- In Latin America it is retitled "Disney's Art Attack" and is broadcast on "Latin Disney Channel", first with Rui Torres then with Jordi Cruz and Buchanan only appearing in the second part of the show, in the segment where he creates "Big Art Attacks" on the floor.
- In Taiwan it is dubbed in Mandarin. Neil does the entire show.