Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

An Aura of Art Rather than Artfulness

August 23, 2010 by Marion Maneker

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel‘s Mary Louise Schumacher sums up her feelings about Bravo’s Work of Art (watch the short video above–it’s very good):

While 1.48 million viewers tuned in to watch Farah’s ascension to Next Great Artist, I watched with a small crowd of art world notables and a smattering of critics and bloggers who had shown keen interest in the series. The show’s cast, producer Sarah Jessica Parker and artists Will Cotton, Oka Doner, Richard Phillips and Andres Serrano were among those gathered at the Brooklyn Museum.

The last time I felt this kind of pep in a crowd I was wearing saddle shoes and pumping pompoms in school colors. […] Some chanted “Jer-ry, Jer-ry!” when art critic and judge Jerry Saltz appeared on screen, and every time the museum was referenced, always as “the world-famous Brooklyn Museum,” the institution’s venerable curators erupted like prepubescent girls.

It was desperate and beautiful and sad  — this palpable and genuine desire for a connection between an increasingly marginalized art world and the mainstream. I confess, I could relate to it. […]

When I emerged from the Warhol exhibit late in the afternoon, the sounds of a screaming mob echoed in the museum. I turned a corner to find people, many of them teenagers, queued up to meet the one-and-only Farah, who had come to see his show. For those who believe the museum sold its soul by staging this show, this simple fact was hard to ignore: Fans of a TV show had poured through the doors that day. […]

The best artists on “Work of Art” were eliminated early and late in the game, and the winner is among the least likely to be a great artist anytime soon. Perhaps even more revealing was that good art and truly ridiculous, non-art art got waved through with passing grades on the show.

The art world gets caught up in reality TV (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Jerry Justifies HimselfJerry Justifies Himself
  • Working Over 'Work of Art'Working Over 'Work of Art'
  • What's Jerry Saltz Talking About?What's Jerry Saltz Talking About?
  • The Fame GameThe Fame Game
  • Sotheby’s Renovations As Metaphor for New EraSotheby’s Renovations As Metaphor for New Era
  • Miró and Rembrandt Head Sotheby’s $193 M. London Hybrid Finale SaleMiró and Rembrandt Head Sotheby’s $193 M. London Hybrid Finale Sale

Filed Under: Critics Tagged With: Work of Art

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • Gorky, Kandinsky Works to Make First Public Appearance Since 1970s at Sotheby's
  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Calder, Miró, Léger and More Expected to Fetch $22 M. in Christie's London 20th Century Art Sales
  • Soulages First Owned by Senegalese Poet-Politician Léopold Sédar Senghor Sells in France
  • After Pandemic’s Rapid Change, Sotheby’s Has 8 Predictions for 2021
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • For 2020, Phillips Brought in Total of $760.4 million, Down 16 Percent from 2019; Asia Sales Up 24 Percent
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • A Season of Resilience: Fall 2020 Hong Kong Auction Analysis
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor