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Stories (in one form or another) is the theme linking the four artists profiled in Part 1 of four: Kara Walker, Kiki Smith, Do-Ho Suh and Trenton Doyle Hancock. Walker explores her African-American heritage in silhouettes that are at once genteel and macabre. Smith, a sculptor, often deals with death. “We were like the Addams family,” she says of her childhood. So-Ho Suh, a native of Korea, is concerned with space, individual and collective. One project is a “house” he made of transportable fabric. “I want to carry my home with me all the time---just like a snail,” he says. And painter Trenton Doyle Hancock looks to combine “comic-book narratives with the history of abstraction” in his mythical creatures. Filmmaker John Waters introduces the film.

Part 2 (of four) connects photographer Collier Schorr, and multimedia artists Gabriel Orozco and Janine Antoni with the theme of loss and desire. Schorr describes her pictures of high-school wrestlers and the teenage boys in a German family (who pose dressed as soldiers). The objects Orozco has worked with include ping-pong tables and a Citroen, while Antoni works with such things as soap, chocolate and her own body. Jane Alexander introduces the film.

Part 3 (of four): Time is the theme grouping the four artists profiled here. Among them: Martin Puryear, who's known for his large installations; Paul Pfeiffer, whose installations and video projects play off pop culture and sports; Vija Celmins, who specializes in natural forms; and Tim Hawkinson, whose installations have been as big as a football field. Choreographer Merce Cunningham hosts.

Conclusion. Humor is the theme grouping the four artists profiled here. Among them: Eleanor Antin, who finds room for a wink or two in her social commentary; Raymond Pettibon, whose comic-book art is for adults only; Elizabeth Murray, whose paintings are vibrant and zany; and Walton Ford, whose watercolors unite the natural and political worlds. Comedian Margaret Cho hosts.