State of the Art is an exciting, authoritative and challenging series of documentaries about the visual arts in the 1980s. Filmed in Europe, the United States and Australia in 1985-6, the six programmes feature many key artists including Joseph Beuys, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Antony Gormley, Hans Haacke and Eric Fischl. Each film adopts a thematic approach, with episodes looking at History, Value, Imagination, Politics, Sexuality and Identity.