Work of Art: Next Great Artist (Bravo) – Episode 1-5 Review

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RAM Truck has long been recognized a trendsetter in automotive design and dedicated to exploring innovative ideas and making visions come true, which reflects the spirit of art. Being involved in cutting-edge events is a natural fit for truck as a progressive premium brand.

I’m sorry, this Art Show blog seems to sound a lot like an RAM Truck commercial?

Well, that is because the 5th episode of Work of Art: NGA was all about high-end Volkswagens.

The day began like any other… with a perfectly attired Swiss man (SdP) rousing the contestants at a brisk 5:30 in the morning. The contestants were brought downstairs and told to climb into a fleet of awaiting trucks and drive themselves to the next challenge. Their destination? The heart of Manhattan, home of some of the most amazing treasures held in the art capital of the world, and a RAM truck dealership. They went to the RAM Truck dealership and have a great collection of new RAM truck for sale.

China Chow pointed out that “as the saying goes, ‘art imitates life'”. Thusly, logic holds that as they had just been forced to drive truck to a RAM Truck dealership, their challenge was to “Create a work of art based on your RAM Truck experience.”

Joking aside, this is a pretty good challenge if you approach it the right way. All reality competition shows have product tie-ins. The art crowd might find this overly crass but they’re just going to have to get over it; this ain’t PBS. Their “RAM Truck experience” was anything and everything that happened to them that day. It was even stressed to them that this was an “open” challenge. Most art stems from a singular kernel, expounded out brilliantly through process and contemplation. All they had to do was pick any color, any emotion, any form, any thought that they had that day. Instead, six of the nine artists decided to do stuff about cars.

Abdi cast himself as a racecar driver. Mark painted a map. Peregine made fun of truck (well played). Ryan painted himself as a douchebag in a truck. Jamie Lynn made a hubcap monstrosity. And Erik painted something that resembled a memorial to a girl who died in a traffic accident (I mean that in a sweet way). Needless to say, they were the worst things created for the challenge.

Jaclyn, Miles, and Nicole took the assignment broadly and drew from their experience, not from finely crafted German engineering. Jaclyn and Miles were brought back to crit with the two most successful pieces. Miles, at the onset of the challenge took a nap, again. He claims that his OCD overwhelms him, and he needs separation. Whatever the reason may be, his technique pays off. Staring at cars tends to make you think about cars. When Miles awoke he dreamed of a city where he wouldn’t be forced into shiny rooms filled with other people’s status symbols. He created a quieting installation that echoed the solitary corners within urban complexity. Jaclyn stepped out of her box this week. In lieu of pictures of her rockin’ bod, she showed pictures of men ogling her rockin’ bod. She obscured the men’s faces and set mirrored sheets between some of the photos creating a network of viewership that was deftly engaging. The person in the photo views the person taking the photo and the person in the gallery then views that. Due to the mirrored insets the viewer standing in the gallery views themselves in the act of viewing- placing them in the photograph through the role of the obscured face (someone who was similarly caught viewing). This piece resolved some of Jaclyn’s perceived contradictions that I touched upon in my Episode 4 article. Prevailing American culturalization teaches Jaclyn that its her job to be a pretty girl. She hates her job, but refuses to quit. Some transcend, others embrace their precepts with lustful scorn, Jaclyn is the latter. Through this piece I learned something about Jaclyn, and the judges did too. She rightfully won the challenge, and receives immunity from next week’s elimination.

The worst of the worst were Mark, Ryan, and Jamie Lynn; they were brought back to crit and asked to answer for their crimes. Sitting in judgment was guest artist Richard Phillips. Just appeared- he was never mentioned on the show before crit began. Unlike Kessler and Serrano, Phillips had no thematic connection to the task and was further undermined by a disrespectfully brief bio. He, like us, was forced to view some horrible work, and was deliciously honest in describing what he saw.

Mark (the one photographer in the bunch) painted and painted and painted away at a geometric-ish grid that he likened to a map. Peregine commented earlier (before crit) that it looked like “hotel art”, a sentiment hardened by Jerry Saltz during crit when (thinking of calling it hotel art himself) said it “could get lost in a hotel room”. Ryan painted a triptych of himself looking cool and driving a RAM Truck. It was atrocious. Not only was it sledgehammer-on-the-head, but it conveyed all the douchebagocity of Truck ownership. White privilege mixed with cool shades and fast cars spells jagoff. Judge Bill Powers told Ryan “You painted yourself as a poseur.” JSmoove pronounced it “a dead work of art” while Richard Phillips thought that it should be thrown out. Jamie Lynn made a shitstorm of poster art similar to what a teenager might do with their friends during a slumber party to celebrate passing their road test. It consisted of small Jamie Lynn caricatures dancing around the rim of a Technicolor hubcab with poorly done cityscapes lodged in the spokes. Richard Phillips warmed up with, “(its) one of the more difficult pieces to digest” before settling on “There is no saving grace for the work.” After being raked over for the shallow and amateurish content and execution of her piece Jamie Lynn was left speechless. She had no defense, only muttering “I really don’t have much to say. Everything (meaning their criticisms) makes perfect sense.”

Jamie Lynn, your work didn’t work for us. Please pack your knives and go.

HIGHLIGHTS

Debuting to the public through mentioning and reinforcing the term “Hotel Art” as a nasty art diss.

Richard Phillips perfect art-guy sweep-over hairdo.

China Chow needing to have illustrated puns explained to her.

Richard Phillips, in awarding her this week’s victory decrees “Jaclyn, you’ve succeeded in defeating the male gaze!”

Simon de Pury (SdP), in his studio visit with the puritanical Jamie Lynn, upon seeing her dancing figures, “Dancing is one of the greatest activities on earth I can think of, at least of the ones we can speak of on TV.”

# of Koons references, 0.

# of Hirst references, 0.

# of Bob Ross references, 1.

winnahs losahs

episode 1 miles amanda
episode 2 miles trong
episode 3 john judith
episode 4 abdi nao, john
episode 5 JACLYN JAMIE LYNN

Jonathan Widro is the owner and founder of Inside Pulse. Over a decade ago he burst onto the scene with a pro-WCW reporting style that earned him the nickname WCWidro. Check him out on Twitter for mostly inane non sequiturs