Work of Art Reality TV Show - Episode 5: Car Experience

The challenge this week made it possible for the artists to pretty much do anything they wanted. They were driven to the Audi Forum (essentially a new car showroom) in NYC and told to make a piece of art based on that driving experience. Pretty broad interpretation.

Abdi and Simon driving in an Audi getting a different point of view.

Work of Art is a reality show on Bravo where 14 artists were selected to compete for the title of the "Next Great Artist," $100K and a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum.

This episode looked like a giant advertisement for Audi, but they didn't ask them to create a print ad or anything that commercial. It was open to their own interpretation of the city. Six of the nine artists included car type theme's in their entries.

Show Host, China Chow in the Audi Forum

Miles said he felt overwhelmed in the showroom, so he immediately took a nap. But he woke up with a great idea - an empty doorway - and ended up in the top two. There's something to be said for not over thinking an idea.

Close up of Miles piece.

I really liked the simplicity of it, but wouldn't have selected it for the top two. Miles said it showed a quiet spot in an otherwise hectic environment.  I forget what the wooden signs are supposed to represent, but the judges said it made them feel part of the piece standing between them. They were very impressed.

Jaclyn looking at Miles's entry in the gallery.

We saw Ryan in the bottom three for the first time. He painted himself in a triptych looking cool while driving. He was criticized for not being creative enough and being "too literal." We watched him struggle to come up with any idea at all. I've enjoyed his work each week.

When Simon came around to check on Ryan's progress and noticed his painting included his face yet again, he asked if Ryan considered himself a narcissist. Ryan seemed surprised when he realized that yes, each of his entries included self portraits. I'd like to ask Simon, if anyone ever asked Van Gogh if he was a narcissist? Lots of artists do self-portraits. What's the big deal?

Mark was in the bottom three this week as well. His painting was criticized for being "hotel art" by one of the judges and by fellow contestant, Peregine. He painted a representation of a map of NYC.

Usually Mark uses graphics and photography, but this week, he bought some paint for the challenge. I think he's really talented. 

Guest judge, artist Richard Phillips, left, accused Mark of "painterbation" for painting the same grid ad nauseam. (That's host China Chow on the right.)

 Guest artist, Richard Phillips

 Abdi painted himself as a race car driver.  

I'm a big fan Abdi's work and love this one. The bright colors speak to me every week. He had a lot of fun painting this and it shows.

Jamie Lynn, the Christian from the Midwest, got sent home this week. She came up with a very strange piece of herself as a teenage girl dancing around a hubcap. She said her inspiration came from the hip hop music she was listening to during the drive. She said she had given up on trying to make something to please everyone else and really wanted to be herself this week.

One of the judges said it had "no sex, no speed and no status," all of the things driving in an Audi listening to music provides. She's a very good illustrator and painter and there's plenty of proof on her website here.

Bye bye Jamie Lynn.

Nicole was the only artist to create a  sculpture for her entry. She jotted down her thoughts during the drive, crumpled them up in a ball and balanced them on a structure she built. The judges were crazy for this piece. Again, I don't get it.

Nicole's piece

The winner this week was Jaclyn. She didn't take her clothes off this time, nor did she photograph herself. But her piece was about "catching" men looking at her.

She photographed men walking by the Audi Forum, looking in the window at her and making a photo album of it. Then she covered their faces with white paint and added some mirrors. I'm sure it never dawned on her that perhaps the men were looking at the beautiful cars.

Personally, I don't find this the least bit interesting or creative. It should not have won. I thought for sure Miles was going to win again. But I don't see what the judges see or I don't understand their version of art.

The judges on Work of Art for Episode 5.

When I watch the show each week, I wait for images to pop up in my head to determine what my entry would have been if I were a contestant. This week, all I thought of was making a cityscape. I'm sure that would have been considered too boring, not creative and way too literal. What would your interpretation have been?

You can read Jerry Saltz behind the scene's take of the show here.

You can watch this episode here. 

Work of Art Reality TV Show - Episode 2: Appliance Graveyard

Okay, so I'm behind on my reviews of the new reality show to find  "the next great artist." That's what Bravo TV is trying to do every Wednesday night with a group of American artists from all walks of life.The winner gets $100K and a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum. If you missed it, you can watch it here in three parts.

The cast from "Work of Art" on Bravo 

 As you know from my review of the first episode, I really enjoyed the show. But I have a love/hate relationship with it. The hour seems to fly by, because it's definitely entertaining. But some of the challenges aren't really my thing. 

 Adbi and Simon during the challenge.

The concept of creating art on demand isn't very realistic and failing that challenge doesn't mean the person isn't a good artist. If you're an artist you know there can be many, many failed pieces, before creating something great or special. One piece can take many hours, days, weeks or even years to create. But we must suspend that belief since it's a "reality" TV show and take what we get.

 Here's Ryan with his giant cart full of crap looking stressed.

Episode 2 gave contestants the challenge of creating a sculpture from things made from an "appliance graveyard." I prefer traditional sculpture made from things like marble and bronze, but I can appreciate the green concept of repurposing discarded electronics. The only image that came into my mind while watching the show was twisting together a lot of bright, colored wires and stapling them onto a canvas to look like an abstract painting. Pretty boring, huh.

That being said, pretty wires would look a lot better than Ryan's hot mess seen above. Yikes! It's very creative, but it's just ugly. Either you like a piece of art or you don't. No matter what the critics say, people know what they like.

Miles was the winner on week one with the portrait challenge and then again on week two with the above piece. While I find it fascinating to hear the artists describe their thought process of what goes into each piece, I didn't understand this one at all. When the judges looked at the pieces in the gallery, Miles was sleeping on the "bed." The two sacks on either side of the bed were supposed to be umm .. butts. What the hell? You can't even tell the pieces came from recycled appliances, so I really don't understand why this piece was judged as being the best of all of them. I like the red spot on the wall, although I don't know what it has to do with the rest of the piece.

Mark's entry, which is the only one I really loved!

I liked Adbi's piece a lot. It actually says something to me - that consumers of modern appliances are obsessed with their stuff. Plus, it's not ugly. I'm sure he would've painted it, had he been given more time.

John's piece looks like a window display on crack.

Peregrine's sculpture, seen above, was not imaginative at all, nor was it attractive. It looks boring and uncreative to me. I think this was the worst entry.

 Jamie's work, seen above, looks like a boring Good House Keeping magazine Ad. She's the conservative woman from the Midwest, so I suppose it suits her style.

 Jaclyn's entry wasn't bad. I liked the frame around it.

But why Tron was kicked off the island for this is beyond me! The two photo's above show different views of the losing entry. Yes, it was kind of boring too, but better than a few of the others.

 Tron at work

Jerry Saltz is one of the judges and a well respected art critique in the high brow, New York art scene. You can read his behind the scene's recap from this episode here.

What did you think of this episode? Who should have won and who should have been sent home? All opinions are welcome. If you aren't an artist, are you enjoying this show?

Read my reviwew of Episode 1: Portraits, here.

Read review of Episode 3: Book Covers, here

Work of Art Reality TV Show - Episode 1, Portraits

We've seen the neurotic lives of plenty of celebrities, the immaturity of The Jersey Shore crew, the horror of tiny girls in pageants -- so why not have a reality show about artists! I'm game.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the new reality show, "Work of Art," but I liked it more than I thought I would. I figured, anything had to be better than those insane, self-centered housewives; but hated the thought they might portray artists as a group of bitchy, self-obsessed, nitwits. Fortunately, that wasn't the case.

It airs on Bravo, Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. or you can watch the first episode here on Hulu.com. It's produced by Sarah Jessica Parker. She made a brief appearance on the first episode.

Work of Art, Producer, Sarah Jessica Parker

Each week, 14 artists are given a specific challenge to be completed in a certain time frame. They're judged by a group of critics, (never heard of any of them), with the winner landing a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum and $100,000 cash.

 The Cast of "Work of Art"

In the first episode, which aired last week, the artists were grouped in pairs and told to create a portrait of each other. Please click here to see the finished pieces. You can also add your opinion by rating each piece.

I found it fascinating to watch and learn about the thought process some of the artists went through as they made each portrait. I loved a few of the portraits, including the winning entry, done by Miles. He's a college graduate from the University of Minnesota, who also  suffers from OCD.

 Winning Portrait of Nao, by Miles

Winner of Week 1, Miles

Most artists know about "happy accidents," but Miles was really upset when his plans went awry. He said his OCD makes him plan every step, from start to finish. But he wouldn't have been able to finish in time, if he had stuck with his plan. So he made the best of the situation and created a beautiful portrait of fellow artist, Nao. 

 Contestant, Nao

So far, editing on this show is making Nao appear to be the villian. She was the only artist on week one who made disparaging remarks about some of the work done by her fellow contestants. I wasn't impressed with her portrait at all, although I loved her comment, "I'm not responsible for your experience of my work." The judges thought she sounded defensive. But no one would've known her finished piece was a portrait if she'd hadn't told them. I'm a big fan of abstract, it didn't work for this challenge.

While I loved the winning piece Miles did, I thought the prize should have gone to Adbi. His gorgeous, bright colors strongly appealed to me.

Adbi, with his Portrait

Hearing him explain, how his subject, Ryan, smoked a lot, was hot and sweating and had a very intense personality; helped explain the outcome. As you can see, it also looked like him.

Contestant, Ryan

I was not happy about the woman who was eliminated. It's true, her portrait lacked a focal point and looked like a background, but she worked in mixed media, my personal favorite medium. I was looking forward to seeing what else she had to offer.

Amanda's Portrait

Amanda, first contestant eliminated

What I loathed was the "pussy" painting theme from Judith. They showed images of her previous work with simple photo's of kittens, using the work pussy in the title. Zero creativity. She painted a large, ugly purple thing, which should have been insulting to anyone sitting for that portrait. She wasn't even among the bottom three contenders.

 Judith's Portrait

 Contestant, Judith

That just shows you how subjective art is. It's definitely in the eye of the beholder. I think Judith should have been eliminated.

I've learned a lot from painting with other artists and getting to learn about how they think by picking their brains about what went into their paintings. So, the opportunity to see it on the show was very encouraging. I'm not sure if anyone who isn't an artist will find this interesting, but I know other artists appreciate it.

Click here to read what judge, Jerry Saltz wrote about what really happened on the show. Gotta love behind the scenes action.

Judge, Jerry Saltz

Read my review of Episode 2, Appliance Graveyard, here.
Read my review of Episode 3, Book Covers, here.