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Work of Art: The Next Great Artist - Episode 8 Recap

Posted on 07/29/2010 by Gina in Work Of Art

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Work of Art: The Next Great Artist

 

by Mike Bandy

 

The eighth episode of Work of Art: The Next Great Artist began with the six remaining artists arriving at the work room, where China and Simon were waiting. They announce that there are only 2 more challenges left. China announced that this week's challenge would involve the artists working in teams to create a piece of art with opposing themes. They all drew paint tubes to determine the teams and the subjects they'd be working on. That went as follows:

 

Mark & Peregrine: Heaven & Hell

Abdi & Nicole: Order & Chaos

Jaclyn & Miles: Male & Female

 

The teams got to decide which members would tackle which challenge, and the judges announced that one team would win the challenge, but only one person would be eliminated. Simon said there was no point for any of the artists to hold back; he wanted to be blown away. They were given until midnight and a couple of hours the next day to complete the challenge.

 

The artists had half an hour to discuss ideas, and Abdi & Nicole were talking about having a piece with a mechanical element to it. Abdi said he was clueless as to how to make the collaboration work. Miles wanted to do something about a man losing control, and to have Jaclyn lose control. He wanted to build a wall and punch it, while Jaclyn talked about doing an "aggressive painting". She was very concerned about making their piece a combination of both of their ideas.

 

Mark was raised catholic, so the concept of heaven and hell is very important to him. He had an idea of incorporating lightness for heaven and darkness for hell. Peregrine wanted to do something subtle, but was unsure about what she wanted to do. Mark asked if she was comfortable being nuts, and she said that if he felt she should have to be in a state of undress, she'd do it, but she looked very uncomfortable with the idea. Meanwhile, Mark told us about his diverticulitis, which caused his stomach to explode and left him with a fairly large scar. Peregrine thought it would be an "intelligent movement" to document it, and wanted to do two portraits of him. Mark compromised and said he'd be the subject, and he wanted to take on the heaven part of the challenge.

 

Then, it was off to the hardware & art supply stores to purchase materials. Nicole said that she wanted her piece to deal with social order based off of predetermined rules, while Miles did his best to convince Jaclyn to go nude.

 

The artists came back to the work room, and the work began. Mark decided to take a topless photo of himself, but was very uncomfortable doing so. Nicole began working on a machine which would make a mouth move up and down. Abdi was working on an amorphous shape sculpture in the hopes of getting inspired.

 

Miles spoke to Jaclyn regarding making her piece about masturbation, as that is a way for a woman to gain control. Jaclyn agreed to it and went into the bathroom to take the photograph, while Miles build a canvas and began punching holes in it. Peregrine decided that she didn't have time to make a drawing of Mark's topless photo, so she worked directly on the photo itself, a photo that Mark once again expressed discomfort with.

 

Abdi had difficulty coming up with a concept, and Nicole tried to help him and give him ideas. He appeared confused and wasn't sure what to do. He eventually decided to make a painting based on Socrates' Allegory of the Cave.

 

Simon came to the workroom to critique the pieces, and began with Miles & Jaclyn. Miles talked about the wall he was building and his plans to punch it, while Jaclyn spoke about the painting of her masturbatory photograph that she was working on. Simon said that, as always, it was a pleasure to see Jaclyn, and seemed to like their piece.

 

Next up were Abdi & Nicole, who spoke first about her mechanical piece, which Simon called "interactive". He asked Abdi to explain his piece, a planned painting of his amorphous sculpture, and Abdi responded by talking about the Allegory of the Cave. Simon wasn't sure how Abdi's sculpture would translate onto a flat surface, and said that it was difficult to judge.

 

Simon then approached Mark & Peregrine, and Mark spoke about his photograph, while Peregrine talked about how she would make Mark's stomach exploding convey a feeling of hell. Simon wasn't sure that the piece would work, and that it might be too literal. Peregrine hoped that Mark could use Photoshop to make something amazing.

 

Simon left, and the artists had 3 hours until midnight. Abdi was concerned that he wasn't helping his team, but Miles had good comments about his painting. Jaclyn expressed thoughts about her painting being really good, and Mark and Peregrine were getting along as well as they could. Mark said that he thought his piece would be more focused than Peregrine's. Miles decided to coat one of his walls with tar to give it a shining effect, rather than using Jaclyn's original idea of using mirrors.

 

Back at the house, Miles carried Abdi over the threshold, and Mark moved into their apartment. Abdi said he thought that Mark felt ostracized, and wanted him to know that he had a friend in him.

 

The next day was the day of the gallery show. Peregrine called her husband because she felt freaked out; she remarked that she'd be crushed if she were eliminated.

 

The artists headed to the studio, where they had two hours left to complete their pieces. Jaclyn was skeptical of Miles' tar idea and didn't think it would work, but the crank that Nicole made was working just fine. Peregrine, trying to "push her own envelope", decided that she needed cigarettes to fill the holes in her photo, so she went outside with Miles to gather some. She then covered her photo with glitter and paint, which looked ridiculous to Mark.

 

Simon came to the work room to announce that the artists only had 30 minutes left. Jaclyn suggested that Miles build a structure to connect her piece to his. Nicole was racing to finish her piece. Miles finished building the structure, and then time was up. The artists were ushered to the gallery.

 

The star-studded gallery show (Kyra Sedgwick! Cynthia Rowley!) was underway! Here were the pieces:

 

Miles & Jaclyn: "Male and Female" - Miles made two walls; one of them was facing backwards and hand a hole punched through it, while the other faced towards the crowd and was covered in black tar, also with a hole punched through it. Jaclyn made a painting from a photograph she'd taken of herself, standing up, completely naked, and masturbating. The judges seemed to really like it, and Jaclyn said she was really proud of her piece.

 

Abdi & Nicole: "Order and Chaos" - Abdi made a painting of the sculpture he'd previously made, which was a light blue color and was supposed to represent Socrates' cave. Nicole made a wooden piece which consisted of a head, and the viewer could turn a crank to make the mouth move up and down. The judges didn't seem to enjoy their piece; one commented that both of the pieces looked like chaos.

 

Mark & Peregrine: "Heaven and Hell" - Mark used a photo of himself topless, looking upwards with his eyes closed. The entire photo was very light, and Mark made his scar a beacon of light that shined. Peregrine took a photo of Mark and covered it with glitter, holes, grommets, and old cigarettes, and made the background very dark. Mark felt more confident upon seeing their pieces together, while Peregrine felt that Mark's piece was too soft and hers was too aggressive.

 

All of the artists had to stay for the critique. Mark and Peregrine were up first. Peregrine said that she was afraid of Mark's scar when she first saw it, and as Mark was talking about his scar, one of the judges asked to see it. When Mark lifted his shirt, Miles covered his eyes. The judges said that their piece was very literal, and that for a theme as big as heaven and hell, they expected more; this felt like limbo. Mark said that he gave himself to Peregrine, but she said that it was hard and she felt he could have given her more to work with. The other artists were asked for their opinion, and Miles said that his problem with Mark's work is that he plays it safe, while Peregrine takes risks.

 

Miles & Jaclyn were up next. Miles said that they decided to address the concept of control, and Jaclyn said that her piece was about learning to accept her body and take control of her body. The judges said that the pieces worked great together and weren't literal. Miles was asked to elaborate more, and he said that he wanted to freeze the moment in time; he was asked if he ever put his hand through a wall, and he said that he had. Consequently, Jaclyn was asked if she had ever masturbated while standing up, and she hesitated before answering that she had.

 

Abdi & Nicole were the final team up for explanations. Nicole said that her piece was about being part of the machine and existing in preconditioned terms, and following a social structure. Abdi said that they interpreted their pieces through the Allegory of the Cave. The judges said that Nicole's piece was rinky dink, and they were having trouble getting the concept. They did not like how the cave in Abdi's piece was handled, and one of the judges said he was beginning not to trust Abdi's vision. Abdi asked for advice and was told that that was the wrong approach; he should be asking himself.

 

The judges sent the artists away and the deliberating began. The judges said that they were disappointed by Mark & Peregrine's piece because it was so obvious; they said that Mark and Peregrine went for the simple image, both failed, but Mark's showed a lack of imagination. There was more to read into Peregrine's piece, even though it wasn't finished. As for Miles & Jaclyn, the judges felt like there was a conversation between the pieces, and that Jaclyn's piece was twisted and tormented. The judges felt that Nicole & Abdi had the toughest challenge, but Nicole's piece presented as a toy. They didn't get how it related to the Allegory of the Cave, and said that the piece didn't take them anywhere.

 

All of the artists were called back to the gallery, where it was announced that the winning team were Miles & Jaclyn, for creating a cohesive piece.

 

The judges said that Abdi & Nicole's piece wasn't cohesive, and they thought that Abdi was to blame. Mark & Peregrine's piece also didn't work, and the judges felt that Mark was to blame. Abdi and Mark ended up in the bottom two, and during a very emotional elimination in which both Peregrine & China were crying, Mark was eliminated.

 

Mark said that if he didn't listen and his work didn't make it, that's his fault. He said that he was proud of what he achieved and what he's done, and thanked everyone for the opportunity.

 

 

Work of Art: The Next Great Artist airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo.

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

 

 

For more Work of Art links, visit SirLinksALot.net


  


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