"What are we supposed to do with this junk?!"
Did you see last night's "Work of Art"? The contestants were confronted with a warehouse full of discarded electronics, and then told to make it into art. Oh, I thought I'd die laughing. The typical response to the challenge:
The only "mixed-media artist," the Gray Panther, couldn't pull her piece together either.
Hilary Swank's Double, on the other hand, was KILLIN' the challenge!
The unfamiliar environment has his OCD working overtime -- can't get any rest. So he silkscreened and created a large pillow, which he placed on top of a makeshift bed. (Don't even ask about the pillows on each side.) The idea was to create the world's least restful spot to sleep. The clincher:
And guess who went home?
Most of the other artists went home without comment, which must've saved some of them last night. Sometimes in these competitions, it's enough to stay just above the worst contestant. What did you think?
Talk about a piece of "Work"...
Oh, it's on nao! Now. Whatever.
First challenge is for each artist to do a portrait of another artist in the group. Here's where you see each artist's style, but more importantly who fits which characterization. Besides the Arrogant B!@#$ mentioned above, there's the Tortured Artist...
You've also seen the host formula on other shows. Here, you get China Chow, Simon de Pury, and Sarah Jessica Parker. SJP apparently will make a 30-second cameo in each episode, because she's exec producer. China plays the Heidi Klum role -- no, "Switzerland" because she's icy and allegedly neutral -- and de Pury is the Designated Expert.
Surprisingly, I did actually like the art created in this first episode. Usually the color orange sets my teeth on edge, but Abdi's portrait was so vibrant that I actually liked the orange background. Miles' concept of a modern funeral portrait was captivating, and also made a nod to Nao's self-portrait. But someone had to go home because as Switzerland put it, "your Work of Art didn't work for us."
I could go on, but I want to hear what you thought about it! Which "Work of Art didn't work for you?" Comment and I'll put your name in the hat to receive a copy of a book in which my art appears, "Good Mail Day"!
Going big by thinking small
... everyone I've invited will have better things to do.
But everyone proved my inner critic wrong. Wrong wrong wrong!
My friends Don and Monikka came to see my first demo/mini-lecture -- which is saying something, because they had to find somewhere to stash their three daughters first. (I kid. Sort of. One's a newly-minted teenager, the next "has a hollow leg" as my dad used to say and is constantly starving, and the third is training herself to be a ninja.)
And guess who came all the way from Spokane? My Artfest buddy Nikki!
Many of my art friends teach, but I haven't. So it was a nice surprise to have people willingly stand for a half-hour to listen about my ideas on incorporating personal photos and items from your stash in your art. One woman told me my mind goes to weird places, but that she liked how my mind worked. And the woman next to her agreed.
I know I gave at least a couple of people some interesting ideas. The woman who bought the last copy was bubbling over with plans on how she'd use the book. I was told six or seven people specifically asked when I'd be presenting. And Lori Hall, my vendor neighbor at the show, said she thought artists like me are key to bringing in new people to the miniatures circuit. (Lori and her husband have been making miniatures since the 1970s.)
Huh. Someone so immersed in this scene thinks someone new like me is not only interesting, but even vital to their future. That kind of encouragement silences my inner critic quite nicely. It might not look like it from the outside, but having this experience under my belt feels like I'm going big with my goals.