It took Mike Leigh many years to perfect his dramatic technique and find the ideal actors to collaborate with, but he did. Ever since he discovered improvisation while training as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he has made it the core of his productions. Beginning without a script, Le

Chance, Dramatic, Event, Improvised, Young british/kitchen sink/free cinema

His photographs might capture an evanescent instant, but together -- in groups or pairs, assemblages or arrangements -- they stretch beyond the instantaneous. Communicating among themselves, Tillmans' images develop narratives, forming a world, a habitat, a social milieu out of their variegated reson

Bright, Elegant, Event, Quirky, Subculture, Technology

Elizabeth Streb is an extreme dancer. In her incredibly athletic works, dancers swan-dive from scaffolding, hurl themselves against primary-colored walls, and bounce vigorously on trampolines. This recipient of the 1997 MacArthur genius award describes her ideal move as "dangerous, hard, fast, wild,

Athleticism, Event, Implosive, Kinetic, Physical force

Fusing humanist concepts, shrewd observation, social commentary, and rather simple filming techniques, London-based artist Gillian Wearing unmasks the human condition in her clever but acutely poignant photographs and single-channel videos. Winner of the prestigious Turner Prize in 1997, Wearing expo

Erotic, Event, Improvised, Intense, Urban, Young british artists