How do we understand contemporary art today? Looking for answers, Matthew Israel explores ten contemporary artworks created by ten artists over a span of 15 years, revealing their stories while connecting them to larger social and artistic contexts. Drawn from the entire spectrum of what can be considered art, the works selected include from Andreas Gursky's large-scale color photograph Rhine II; Ai Weiwei's powerful Remembering, which uses children's backpacks to evoke the 2008 Sichuan earthquake; and Kara Walker's installation, A Subtlety, in Brooklyn's former Domino Sugar Refinery.