Cast of Bravo's Work of ArtThe show just aired on Bravo recently and is called Work of Art. I hate to admit it, but I am entertained (but that does not take too much). There are a few artists whose process, which is recorded via interviews and other footage, is interesting and seemingly coming from a real place. And the end result are pieces of art that I appreciate and are accessible to me.
The access to the dramas of the studio and the critique process must be astonishing to someone outside the art community. If you have ever sat in on a critique or visited a studio---you know how quickly it can all turn into a therapy session. Overall, there is nothing truly new being explored here. It is actually quite tame compared to some of the scenes I have experienced.
If at the least, the American TV public gets exposed to some art outside the paintings they view from their hotel rooms--then this is a success. I guess. I am still torn about the commercialization of EVERYTHING. When I was visiting a former professor this spring she was talking about how disappointed she was in the ego-fest at the Marina Abramovic performance/installation at MoMA. She felt like Marina "sold out" and was presenting her work in a way it can never be truly appreciated. I had just gone to the show and was moved by her performance--- but it was the first time I ever saw her. I defended the work by saying that it exposed a whole new generation to the history of her performance work -- bla bla bla. Now that I think about it, I get my professor's point. It is one thing to cause a spectacle and it is an entirely different thing to talk about a spectacle that is placed nicely on a white wall. one is life changing, the other is just informative.
