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Lenka Clayton in “Human Nature”Season 12
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The sound of striking keys echoes as artist Lenka Clayton improvises a drawing of a vase on a typewriter. This practice exemplifies her uniquely playful approach that runs through her video, sculpture, and public artworks. “Looking at things that are supposed to behave a certain way and purposefully misunderstanding how they should be used, it’s really important to me,” says Clayton. This documentary short tracks the artist as she transforms unexpected objects and encounters into art, whether it is creating new works using the experience of motherhood as a material or building a lighthouse hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean. Collaborating with her husband, artist Phillip Andrew Lewis, her children, and the members of her community in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood, Clayton uses art to highlight the beauty of human connection and the everyday.
Credits
Director: Ian Forster. Executive Producer: Tina Kukielski. Series Producer: Nick Ravich. Producer: Andrea Yu-Chieh Chung. Editor: Sebastián Díaz. Director of Photography: Sebastián Lasaosa Rogers. Associate Curator: Jurrell Lewis. Design & Animation: Momentist, Inc. Composer: Andrew Orkin.
Additional Cinematography: Michael T. Miller. Location Sound: Kelly Roofner.
Additional Art21 Staff: Makda Amdetsyon, Lauren Barnett, Hannah DeGarmo, Lolita Fierro, Grace LeCates, Emma Nordin, Jessica Svenson, Noor Tamari, Nora Wimmer.
Interns: Candice Cirilo, Emma Kanne, Billie Lam, Asante Marie Owusu-Brafi, Aarya Silwal, Maria Syville, Emilia Copeland Titus.
Video Post-Production Service: Cut + Measure. Video Post-Production Producer: Alex Laviola. Colorist: Chris Ramey. Online & Conform: David Gauff. Post-Production Coordinator: Mary Grace Duffy. Audio Post-Production Service: Post Romantic. Re-Recording Mixer & Sound Editor: Gisela Fullà-Silvestre. Assistant Sound Editor: Dan Weisselberg. Audio Description & Captions: Sasha Hecht & Andre Kelman. Quality Control: Adam Stout. Narration: Louise Eliasof. Additional Music: Trey Toy. Additional Video Editor: Regina Spurlock. Additional Animation: Christian Mroczka. Assistant Editors: Isabella Morelli Avilán, Stephanie Cen, Sarah Yi Fineman, Michelle Hanks. Legal Counsel: Donaldson Callif Perez.
Artwork Courtesy: Lenka Clayton, Phillip Andrew Lewis, Catharine Clark Gallery.
Additional Artworks By: Louise Bourgeois, Martin Creed, Roman Ondak, Roula Partheniou, James Price.
Archival Material: Carnegie Museum of Art.
Special Thanks: The Art21 Board of Trustees, Early Clayton, Otto Clayton, Jean Koch, Timothy Mohr, Evelyn Montileone, Hannes Ravic, Jon Rubin.
Filming Locations Provided By: Provident Charter School Central & Troy Hill Art Houses.
Series Created By: Susan Dowling & Susan Sollins.
Original Production Funding Provided By: The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Agnes Gund, Melony and Adam Lewis, National Endowment for the Arts, Teiger Foundation, Sarah Arison, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Dealer Tire, Arts, Equity, & Education Fund™, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Elyse and Lawrence B. Benenson, Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia, Tim and Lauren Schrager Family Foundation.
This program is a production of Art21, Inc. which is solely responsible for its content.
© 2026 Art21, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Closed captionsAvailable in English, German, Romanian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian
Through the Art21 Translation Project, multilingual audiences from around the globe can contribute translations, making Art21 films more accessible worldwide.
Interested in showing this film in an exhibition or public screening? To license this video please visit Licensing & Reproduction.
Descriptive Audio Segments from “Human Nature”
Season 12
Season 12
Season 12