Art, PLEASE

So, things got interesting last night on Bravo TV’s Work Of Art. A team challenge. Team challenges always go awry at some point, and personalities and conflicts intensify. I’ve got mixed feelings about a team art project - how often do they really happen in real life outside of a sought-after collaboration? Even Jean Claude had to sue Christo at one point to get the recognition she deserved as a partner in his work.

I don’t think it mattered which team the artists and Erik were placed in; they were all screwed. Erik would always be the odd man out because he has such disdain for all his fellow competitors. After the second time he said something snarky about ‘art school educations’ I would have punched him in his untrained face. Erik, if you have so much hatred towards artists, why do you want to become one?!?!? I’m surprised Erik doesn’t have scoliosis because of that huge chip on his shoulder. I could go on and on. And on.

So, the teams were picked for an outdoor challenge “Open to the Public”

This is going to be a disaster. I was trembling with excitement having seen the previews of Erik being a jerk.

As I said, I don’t think it mattered who was on which team, everyone is about the same level, with the exception of Miles. (Who Erik thought was an actor for some reason….maybe it’s because he actually knows stuff about art? So, actor or not, he’s much more talented in conception and execution than Erik will ever be.)

The two teams immediately started talking about their ideas and my ears pricked up when Miles started to describe his idea. Miles’ idea was oddly a description of the style of my favorite James Turrell.

Erik wanted to include vines on the piece. Like it was a trellis for his tomatoes or something. Sure, some outdoor works include plants, etc, but for this piece vines would have really pushed it to the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse/fort realm. 

The result for Miles’ team was pretty interesting, but not as interesting as the insecurity filled rants from Erik throughout the challenge with his ‘I want to be heard, but I don’t want to participate’ approach. Mix in some derogatory remarks about people in art school, etc.  I would have kicked him out of the group and dealt with the consequences later - up to this point the three were working pretty well together, even Jackie wasn’t as bad (interestingly, she graduated from MICA in 2007.)

The end result was pretty cool, and I think fit into the surroundings nicely (if you noticed the greenery/boxes in the background.) I like how Bill Powers noticed the smell of cedar and beeswax as a curious side effect of the work. I like smells. It DOES seem a bit awkward to get into, and while a piece of public work is meant to be interacted with by many people, this was really a work built for two or three. I wouldn’t wait to get into it. I wasn’t really sure if the judges, specifically Jerry Salt, was happy that it faced the World Trade Center empty space or not. 

The winning piece seemed like a nod to some of the minimalist sculpture of Robert Morris (like his piece at the National Gallery) or even Martin Puryear (love.) Like Simon, I thought the large piece was interesting, but the smaller pieces were not so great and based on how soupy their plaster appeared, would probably crumble at any moment. They will be stepped on like they were rocks, and wouldn’t last but a day. Max.

I felt the color choice for the main piece was too cold and institutional and not very inviting. Would have been a bit more interesting if each side were covered in mirror to actually bring the sky down to the ground - I think they even alluded to their desire to do something like that, but I could be mistaken. It also bugs me that you can see under the piece as if it were resting on the gravel, not an integral part of it. I know they covered it with some sort of resin, but I would be worried about splinters. (on both pieces really)

In the end, the minimalist piece won, but I think only so that they could get rid of Erik. Even on Bill Powers’ blog he said that Miles’ team should have won.

Also, not shown on tv, but mentioned on Bill Powers’ blog was that above this space was a billboard piece by Felix Gonzales Torres. Look him up on google images…