Work of Art--Episodes 7 and 8--Miles Wears Thin

At first I thought Miles on Work of Art was cute, enigmatic, and soulful. Now I'm getting a bit tired of him. Every week he nails together some pieces of wood and the judges love it. And yes, Jaclyn has a beautiful body, but enough with the nudity. That's the main takeaway from Episode 8. I was too busy to write my reactions to episode 7 last week. Plus I'm getting headaches from being on the computer too much so I need new glasses, but they're not ready yet. So I'm trying to limit computer time. Also I'm too obsessed with the Fantastic Four to think about art and Project Runway starts soon. But where was I?

Okay, episode 7 was the childhood one, right? Peregrine's piece looked sloppy to me. but the idea was interesting. I thought Jaclyn's was totally undeveloped. She obviously did not want to think about her childhood. I wanted to see more of Mark's comic book. It looked really intriguing and was a departure for him and they only showed a few seconds. Miles bamboozled the judges once again with some abstract empty shit--a blank crossword puzzle and some rubber band balls. Give me a break. He should have gone home for that. Abdi made a bunch of logos. If he had taken them and done something more creative than just arraging them in rows that could have worked. Nicole had a really great idea, but I couldn't make out the individual pieces and what they meant. Ryan's piece was definitely not the worst--that was Jaclyn's. But we needed to see her breasts one more time, so she stayed.

Onward to episode 8--opposites. I really liked Peregrine and Mark's heaven and hell pictures and I don't care if the snooty judges thought they were too obvious. They were right about Abdi this time however. He really dropped the ball with that green coral painting. What is with that Socrates' cave crap?? Miles sailed by with some woodwork he punched. I will say that Jaclyn's painting was actually very pretty, even though it was the same subject--herself nude--that she's been doing week after week. I'm sure it excites the straight guys--particularly Miles. I would have eliminated Abdi rather than Mark. And why was everyone crying? Was China that upset and why did she wear a cocktail dress in the morning segment? Did she just get in after a night on the town?

They said there was one more challenge before the final three compete for the prize, so I guess two will be eliminated next week. Probably Abdi and I hope Jaclyn, but she'll probably stay to disrobe and pleasure herself publicly once again.

Work of Art--Episode 6--Eric Sulks, Peregrine Dresses Cute

The first team challenge on Work of Art resulted in predictable fireworks with novice artist Eric clashing with tortured "art-school pussy" Miles (Eric's assessment not mine). I can't really blame Eric for getting pissed off because the other three in his group--sleepy Miles, quirky Peregrine and sexy Jacklyn--shot down all of his ideas for their public-space sculpture. But he should have discussed it with them instead sulking like a child and getting all passive-agressive. Then that weird note from Jaclyn. Why not openly say to him in front of everyone, "Look, I'm sorry for not acknowledging your suggestion on my photo collage in front of the judges. I'm sure you have good ideas, I want to encourage you. We don't have a lot of time so can we quickly go over your suggestions and see what works. I'm willing to listen." Slipping Eric a note was kind of a way of relieving her guilt without directly contradicting Miles.

Eric really let his insecurities get the better of him. He's clearly unsure of himself and jealous of Miles' seemingly effortless way of coming up with minimalist stuff the judges love. He probably thinks, Who is this creep who can take naps in the middle of the floor and still win two challenges and makes nothing but homeless shelters. I don't think Eric is correct in believing it's all an act on Miles' part. That's how he really is. (BTW, Ryan's impression of Miles making coffee was a riot.)

I had to agree with the judges on the final results. The winning piece was intriguing and looked finished. I liked the separate little pebble pieces. The Miles-Eric thing had a certain grace, but the sheets of metal they stapled on at the last minute made it look like a sloppy patchwork.

Peregrine looked really cute in her aviator's cap. I'm loving the way she dresses, that red jacket really suited her and stood out in the crowd. I forgive her for the rabbit-ears headdress of a couple of weeks ago.

So Eric was kicked off for his non-cooperative attitude and it was great to see Miles in the bottom. He needs to be humbled. It will probably come down to Miles, Abdi, and probably Jaclyn--yes, the judges will be told by Bravo, keep the girl with the bare breasts on as long as you can. She'll attract what few straight guys we get.

Leaderboard
Miles--two wins--death portrait of Nao; sleep sculpture with concrete anuses
Abdi--one win--explosive heads
Jaclyn--one win--photo and mirror collage about how sexy she is
John (eliminated)--one win--Time Machine book cover
Nicole--one win--concept of the public sculpture with separate pebble pieces

Work of Art--Episode 5--Whores for Audi

If I were a contestant on Work of Art for this week's challenge I would have done a portrait of the judges as whores on Ninth Avenue in the 1970s with a big Audi car as their pimp. How do you like that, China Chow or whatever your name is? Such blatant product placement. The episode opens with Simon waking everyone up at 5:30 AM--with some gratuitous shots of the typically sleepy-eyed Miles getting out bed possibly naked--to meet him in front of the building for some shameless promotion. They will be driving through Manhattan in the sponsor's car to the sponsor's showroom to see how many times they can say the sponsor's name.

Once in the Audi Forum, which sounds like a letters column or the site of a debate society, they are given a half-hour to draw inspiration from a car! Miles promptly takes a nap and decided to take a photo of an empty space. Exciting (not)--and he almost wins--again. I will say his work is oddly beautiful but I didn't get the police barricade stuff. The promos showed him flirting with Nicole and touting him as a Casanova, when in fact it was just some brief silly talk. Yawn!

Once again Jaclyn uses males' fascination with her to create a meditation on how sexy she is. She spouts off on how difficult it is to be so attractive while the camera zooms in on her cleavage.

Ryan painted yet another self-portrait while Mark made a boring grid thing and Jamie assembled an art-school project while little figures of herself which belong on greeting cards for girls' 16th birthdays. I think she has a future at Hallmark. She deserved the boot this week.

Eric is beginning to display his jealousy of the others and it looks like it will explode next week. He still resents Jaclyn for not acknowledging his idea for her piece last week and is angry Miles always gets in the top two even though he takes naps at the drop of a hat.

My parnter watched the show for the first time last week and was fascianted with the interplay of the personalities.

Leaderboard
Miles--two wins--death portrait of Nao; sleep sculpture with concrete anuses
Abdi--one win--explosive heads
Jaclyn--one win--photo and mirror collage about how sexy she is
John (eliminated)--one win--Time Machine book cover

Work of Art --Episode 4--Shock Value

The challenge this week was a bit absurd--create a shocking work of art. Art should not intentionally set out to shock, it should just say what it wants to say and if
that shocks anyone, it's a by-product. If you deliberately mean to shock, you get self-conscious work which was the result of many of the submissions. And what was with Peregrine's rabbit-outfit? She should have been eliminated for that alone.

The episode opened with a tour of Simon's gallery and the graphic works of Andres Serrano. I recall his Piss Christ was the object of much hatred and derision when he received an NEA grant. Many conversatives used it as a reason for eliminating the government funding agency altogether. His point was the distortion of religion in the modern world--at least that's the explanation Jamie Lynn, the pretty Christian contestant, and Sister Wendy, the art critic nun, have given. Interesting when you think about what a free society we live in. If he had done such a thing in a Muslim country he would have been the object of a fatwa and been jihaded on the spot.

Erik and Jamie Lynn both identified with Serrano, but their work was hardly shocking. Jamie Lynn's Last Supper looked like a greeting card or a cartoon. Her concept of Christ being beset by trendy sluts and skanks looked so genteel and gentile it wasn't scary. Christ didn't even look like Christ, more like a surfer or Twilight actor. Erik's was too obvious while Mark made the same point much more subtlely with the bare, stark photos of blood stained panties and a burst balloon.

Once again Jaclyn couldn't wait to get her clothes off. I felt pretty dirty watching her second nude photo shoot in a row and I found it exploitative that the prettiest woman was once again baring her breasts. If Nao did something like that it would have been a lot more fascinating and she probably wouldn't have gotten the axe.

Back to Jaclyn--there is nothing wrong with taking an idea from another contestant if they offer a suggestion and nothing wrong with acknowledging it to the judges. From the tapes, it seemed pretty clear that it was Erik's idea to have gallery goers write on Jaclyn's photos. All she had to do was say, "It was Erik's idea." And they would have said, "Great."

Back to Nao--she really didn't have any idea what she was doing. I found it delightful that Serrano actually liked her performance and the other judge looked at him like he was crazy when he said so. Serrano made some good points, if Nao had a clear concept or focus to her piece it could have been very powerful. She could have been a homeless woman, smeared with her own filth and the crude teepee she built could have been her home. But she didn't think it through and it was a confusing mess. John was too timid and his self-gratification painting looked like bad porno from a 1970s Hustler magazine.

Despite the rabbit outfit, I loved Peregrine's anti-fashion statement and China's reaction to seeing her Dior dresses up for satire. Hated her hoop skirt, BTW.

Miles did not have to cum all over his Disney piece it was gross and shocking enough--and well drawn--and he did not have to tell us about pleasuring himself--EWWW! (This had to be the most gratuituously sexual Bravo episode ever.) Abdi's dynamite heads did deserve to win, but they didn't quite look young enough to get the total point across. I see the final three being Miles, Abdi, and maybe Ryan. Will they each have to make a ten-piece show and the judges pick a winner like on Project Runway?

Leaderboard
Miles--two wins--death portrait of Nao; sleep sculpture with concrete anuses
Abdi--one win--explosive heads
John (eliminated)--one win--Time Machine book cover

Work of Art--Episode 3--Cover Story

I'll just dispense with the cliche about judging a book by its cover when discussing the last episode of Work of Art. Most of those who failed at the assignment of designing a book jacket for a classic work of fiction concentrated on fulfilling their own vision rather than being subservient to the book itself. Jaclyn went off on her self-indulgent exhibitionist streak with her nude photo shoot. She keeps going on about what a shy person she is and then strips to the waist on a reality show. Is that overcompensating for a repressive childhood? Judith basically said "Fuck this Jane Austen shit, I'm doing what I want" and created a boring pretentious cover with the title spelled backwards and fingerpainted flowers. It would have made sense if it were by Kafka or some bizarre-reality author, but it wasn't. Then she repeatedly told us she was a "fine" artist and didn't feel comfortable doing assigned work. What the hell are on on the show for then?

Peregrine seemed to have confused H.G. Wells' stark future with C.S. Lewis' Narnia by creating a cutesy-poo cut-out valentine with sweet little teddy bears. Huh? There ain't no teddy bears in Wells' horrifying vision of the world thousands of years ahead. He was racist, you know. In another sci-fi novel called When the Sleeper Wakes, he fears African blacks being raised as an army to subjugate white Europe in the 22nd century. What an imperialist pig! But I digress. (Note: The Time Machine book cover is the one on the copy of the novel I read when I was a teenager.)

I had to agree with Judith's eviction. She didn't seem to get the concept of the show or her role within it. The idea is to maintai your own identity but serve the assignment as well. She kinda did it with her "proud pussy" portrait of Jaclyn and half-heartedly with the found-object sculpture, but totally missed the mark this time.

Miles was impressive again and proved he's a sort of mad genius. Since he hadn't read the book, he figured how long it would take him to read it (1 page a minute equals four hours) and then coming up with an original interpretation combining the lightning and electricity theme. If they had until midnight and they started in the morning or early afternoon, that didn't give him much time.

I liked John's winning design for the Time Machine which reminded of s-f book covers of the 1960s with its abstract simplicity made specific by the ladder leaning against the red, multi-faceted thing-ama-bob, and its sharp, jagged lettering. This really calls on the contestants to be graphic designers as well as artists. Mike--I think that's his name--did really well with Dracula. (I think the other Dracula cover by the young woman who constantly refers to herself as a Christian would have been better suited to Jane Austen.) But Ryan should have been in the top three with his Dr. Jekyll, I really liked the split-personality photos, even though the basic concept has been done before. He put a new twist on it. I guess the judges are not constrained to choose three top picks since they only did two this time.

Leaderboard
Miles--two wins--death portrait of Nao; sleep sculpture with two concrete anuses
John--one win--Time Machine book cover

Work of Art--Episodes 1 and 2

I've been bereft since the conclusions of the latest seasons of The Amazing Race and Project Runway as you can tell by the lack of blogs in recent weeks. So my curiosity was piqued when I read about Work of Art, the latest Runway variation from Bravo. The idea totally stunned me. I can see having a competition among fashion designers or cooks or interior decorators since you can pretty tell good from bad in those fields. But art is SOOOO subjective, how can one judge a painting, scultpure or print as so blah! someone should be eliminated. Also it seems ridiculous to crown a struggling artist as the next big thing since that is the judgment of the ages, not a panel of critics. Remember Van Gogh only sold one painting and that was to his brother. But this will give me a chance to play art critic. As one of the judges said in his blog (the art critic from New York magazine--interesting that they have an art critic, but no steady theatre critic, shows where their priorities are), he didn't have any art training, he was just making it up as he went along.

Given all these trepidations, the first episode was actually intriguing. The contestants were so different than the fashion people I was accustomed to. I don't want to sound dismissive of the Project Runway types, but these guys just seemed more complex and serious. Yet they fulfilled the by-now standard roles of these kinds of shows. Nao is the pretentious snob whom everyone finds obnoxious. Miles is the cute outsider. Erik is the rebel who argues with the judges. Jaclyn is the pretty girl out to prove herself. Trong is the above-it-all dead-pan insider who has already established his reputation and you wonder why he's even there. Judith is the irracisble older woman who is uncomfortable with being designated as the mother figure. And I have a feeling she is the type who would snap back "I've got problems of my own" at any of the younger artists who need a shoulder to cry on. The rest kind of blend together. As the weeks go on, we'll get to know them better.

The first challenge was to do a portrait of a fellow competitor. Miles' print of Nao was indeed fascinating. Her expression was ecstatic and I liked the dark splotches. On the other hand, Nao's abstract connect-the-dots chart was lazy. It could have been a portrait of a speck of dust or a fly in the studio flitting from place to place. You can be non-representational and still capture the subject's essence. Along the same lines, I would have maybe taken dozens of digital photos and cut them up and pasted them on the dots to represent Miles' hyperkinectic behavior. Or tried to do something with the exposure to make him look like he was in several places at once.

On the second episode, they had to take junk and make a sculpture of out it. I liked Nicole's TV set-tomb, especially the dirt in the picture tube. It reminded me of a real grave site with its gritty reality. I think she could have gone even further with more artifacts stuffed into the set's gaping maw. Miles' sleep-chamber altar was interesting and well-made but a tad forced. I thought Abdi's TV-head kid figure was the most captivating. Trong's piece was not the worst. I think they got rid of him because he was showing no emotion and boring the pants off of everyone with his finishing up quickly and not reacting to any criticism. Speaking of which, what was up with Miles and his nasty comment about Trong's three TVs? Miles definitely has behavior issues and needs a therapist. He was holding up his hand like a child in class needing to go to the bathroom. "Teacher, I think Trong's work is boring and I can make number one now?" (BTW, did you notice the gallery owner judge's intense sunburn? Was in Aspen over the weekend?)

Miles is a fascinating case and so are a lot of them. I found it really interesting that Erik said he was living with his parents and Miles had to sell his clothes to get by and now they are on national TV. What will happen to them once the show is over? Even if they win, that's no guarantee of any sort of income or opportunities to make a living from their art.

I actually am considering downloading episodes so I can take more time to look at the art. I can hardly wait to see the first team challenge.