Exclusive Episode #049: In her Williamstown, MA studio, artist Laylah Ali discusses her system of organizing newspaper clippings, which includes photographs of swimmer Michael Phelps, soldiers, and American flags. Laylah Ali creates gouache-on-paper paintings that take her many months to complete. Ali meticulously plots out in advance every aspect of her work, from subject matter to choice of color, achieving a high level of emotional tension in her paintings as a result of juxtaposing brightly colored scenes with dark, often violent subject matter. In style, her paintings resemble comic-book serials, but they also contain stylistic references to hieroglyphics and American folk-art traditions. Learn more about Laylah Ali: http://www.art21.org/artists/laylah-ali VIDEO: Producer: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Interview: Susan Sollins. Camera: Joel Shapiro. Sound: Tom Bergin. Editor: Jenny Chiurco. Artwork courtesy: Laylah Ali.