Like many episodes in this series, the BBC's answer to the long- running SOUTH BANK SHOW, the intention is not to delve too deep into its subject's psyche, but to present a survey of their career and why they should be accepted for their contributions to the arts.
Antony Gormley began his career in the Seventies after a Catholic education at the Ampleforth boarding school and Cambridge University. Initially derided for being too 'recondite' in his art, he gradually became accepted as one of Britain's most influential sculptors with a particular interest in the human body. Ever since his early days he has been preoccupied with finding new ways of expressing the body's significance as a register of human behavior, as well as commenting - often critically - on humanity's insignificance in an often hostile world.
As an interview subject, Gormley carefully deflected a lot of presenter Alan Yentob's questions; quite clearly the sculptor believed that his work should so the talking for him. This is a perfectly legitimate idea to pursue; but the documentary subverted it somewhat by showing Yentob wandering among Gormley's works past and present with a kind of detached wonder on his face, almost as if unwilling - or unable - to accept the sculptor's place in the pantheon of British art history.
This strategy had the effect of undermining the subjects discussed in the interview; it seemed that while Yentob wanted to know about Gormley's life and inspiration, he seemed reluctant to appreciate the sculptor's products for what they are - significant interventions in our understanding of the modern world and its personal significances.