346. June 24th…”Work of Art”…the latest reality show…with absolutely no reality…..unless you are a celebrity judge….looking for work because…the art business sucks…in this economy

“Seeds” 2010

“My aim in painting is to create pulsating, luminous, and open surfaces that emanate a mystic light, in accordance with my deepest insight into the experience of life and nature.” – Hans Hofmann

I watched for the first….and absolutely the very last time….a show last night call…”Work of Art”…. a group of “aspiring” young artists…meeting the everyday challenges of the art world….over seen by a panel of art curators…artists…art critics…a guest artist and…natuarally a mentor with a European accent…..give each of the contestants frying pans and chef hats and the show could have been a reality cooking show…..or sewing machines and anorexic models and it might have been a fashion show……no change in format…no change at all…..

The contestants……are all rather drab….each is a plastic wrapped artist….very fragile…full of horrid art babble….sanctamonious…and very “not worthy” sort of mind set…where as the judges….each with a cat turd strategically placed under their nose….are….celebrities…some in the art world by osmosis…wealth…association and profession….they too…are these horribly affected….people passing some level of judgement on the “artists” and their attempts at the many things they are asked to do…out side of their comfort box…..the host of the show makes certain…she calls critiques…..”Crits“…gives it that sort of in edgy…studio bohemian dialogue….rather than a beating by a bunch of well dressed middle-aged rich people who have nothing better to do than give young people who have been deluded into believing these judges have attained the “Art Guru” status….their art speak…..opinions…..

the show would be a wonderful show for aspiring refrigerator artists…..the untrained-self taught artist….the person that took a few drawing classes in high school and “My art teacher said I was good“….people that 100% of their work is always 100% successful…those that are on the tipping point of whether or not to pursue something that is unknown at the moment…..or for  those that dream of stardom on the same level as banking on retirement via the state lottery….

programs like this are as necessary…as a third and fourth nipple …there is no cultural…social…or educaional ingredient in this sort of format…basically it is a classic example of the …..”Haves“….telling the…..”Have Nots“….how valuable their opinion is…and that without them on the forefront of the art world…we’d still be trapped….painting nothing but the sacred…and fear losing our heads if we painted Christ a little shorted than John the Baptist…..

It takes a great deal of commitment to be a successful artist…and this program shows that again…artists are these “blind…idiotic…young…idealists” who are just basically lost on the plains roaming aimlessly…until they are discovered….when in reality…art is a personal endeavor…one that has a quality that transcends…..far beyond critique…the title of …The Next Great Artist” and certainly beyond the opinions of a group of attention starved….judges……

producing art is the pulse…the depth far beneath the imagery…and intention…..it is the voice of the artist…the idea deep within the soul…..