by Mike Bandy

 

Last night's episode of Work of Art: The Next Great Artist began with judge Bill Powers ambushing the artists at breakfast. He announced that the artists were going out of town, and told them to dress warm. The artists headed outside and piled into the waiting cars, which sped off to their destination. All of the artists expressed nervousness about this being the final challenge.

 

The artists were dropped off at Sherwood Island State Park in Connecticut. China was waiting there, and she announced that in this final challenge, two artists would be eliminated, and the final three will go on to the finale. China said that nature was the muse for the final challenge; the artists had to create a work of art inspired by nature. They had to explore their surroundings to get inspired, and they had to include some raw materials from the park in their piece. They were allowed to use anything that wasn't rooted down or had a beating heart.

 

The artists began running around the park. Peregrine was picking up things that were interesting to her, while Abdi was sitting on the rocks, trying to figure out how to get out of his funk. Nicole told us that she grew up in the woods in Connecticut, and is gathering acorns. Miles said that he was always out in the woods building forts as a kid, and he found some fungus growing off of a log. He wanted to use it to create something pretty forming off of something ugly. Jaclyn was very uncomfortable in the woods, and has a cold. She found some rocks near the water to incorporate into her piece, while Abdi chose to use gravel from the road.

 

The artists then headed back to the city, with four hours left that day to work on their designs, and all day the next day. Peregrine begins working on a sculpture using pa·per-mâ·ché, while Jaclyn was lying on the sofa and coughing. Abdi wanted to make a self portrait, so he took a picture of himself, and used the gravel as a drawing tool. Jaclyn decided to nap.

 

Nicole used seeds and nuts in her piece; she wanted to do an homage to her grandfather's Algonquin ancestry. Miles wanted to use his fungus to create something pretty from something deadly, and he wanted to make mustard gas by mixing ammonia and bleach. Because the workroom is a public space, Miles decided that that would be inconsiderate, so he made a design with bleach on graph paper instead.

 

Jaclyn was having a rough time getting started, and back at the house, she just wanted to rest and make something really spectacular the next day.

The next day, Abdi used gravel and dirt as the base for his drawing, while Jaclyn was using her photographs as the basis for her work. She asked the other artists if they would mind if she used a photograph that she took in the bathroom that morning. Peregrine was upset by that, because it was against the rules. Jaclyn said she wouldn't use the photograph because the other artists didn't think it was fair, and had to rethink her piece.

 

Simon De Pury made his usual visit to the workroom to critique the artists' work. He started with Abdi, who mixed his gravel with charcoal and pigment to create his self-portrait. Simon said that his drawing was very striking, but he was concerned with whether or not it was enough of a reference to nature. Jaclyn was next, and she didn't have anything to show Simon. He asked her how she would incorporate nature into her piece, and she said that it was hard to explain because she wasn't far along. Simon said that she hopefully wouldn't talk to the judges the way she talked to him, and asked her if she cared. Jaclyn said that she did.

 

Simon went to Miles next, and gets a very long explanation about how Miles was making holes in the plastic to distribute the bleach through his large installation. Simon said that Miles' piece was elaborate. Next up was Nicole, who's piece involving seeds and nuts was a bit small. Simon said that it would be interesting to see what effect her piece would have based on its size. Simon approaches Peregrine next, and she was working on a sculpture of a person, which was supposed to represent an annoying teenager. Simon said that there was something poetic about it, but that she needed a counterpoint to the figure. He said that he liked the idea of her piece.

 

Simon then said that some of the artists had great progress, and some had a long way to go. He wanted them to go for it and be bold!

 

Meanwhile, Peregrine was worried about her piece, and Miles told her that she should do something involving teenagers sneaking off into the woods to have sex, and she decided to go with that. She begins to make small drawings of teenagers. Jaclyn was going to use a metal pipe to simulate a horizon, with a photo of the beach in the background. She felt that her piece was conceptually strong.

 

The next day, the day of the gallery show, the artists arrived at the workroom with just one hour left to work. They were putting the final finishing touches on their pieces, when Simon came in to announce that time was up. Off to the gallery!

 

The pieces:

 

Abdi: "Baptism"; a self-portrait of Abdi lying on his back, drawn with gravel, charcoal, and pigment. China remarked that they hadn't seen anything like this from Abdi, and he said that it was a personal piece to him.

 

Jaclyn: "The End"; panels of a panoramic photograph of the beach, with a metal pipe suspended in front of it, representing the horizon. A rock was attached to the pipe with a hose clip. One judge said it was conceptually pure.

 

Miles: "Fungus Study Vol. 1 #1"; a large bleach stain in the middle of a sheet of brown graph paper; the fungus used as the inspiration was situated on a shelf to the right, with a photo of it directly underneath.

 

Nicole: "Mic Mac"; a series of plaster molds covered in grass, seeds, and nuts, with a glowing orb in the center. The piece was situated on gravel. Nicole said that it referenced how nature inspired her.

 

Peregrine: "Golden Gate"; a sculpture using a large tree branch, was supposed to represent a teenager. Within the leaves were ornamental drawings of teenagers having sex.

 

Abdi was first at the critique. He said that the beach was powerful to him, and seemed like a place you'd have a baptism. The judges said that his heart and soul were in the piece, and that it's more his work than any other piece he's done. There was a spirit to the piece that the judges thought was beautiful.

 

Peregrine was next; she said that growing up in San Francisco she saw homeless people in the parks, and that made her ambivalent towards nature. The judges said that the cutouts and ornaments in her piece didn't feel integrated enough, and they thought she could take it one step further. However, the judges did like that she was experimenting with sculpture.

 

Jaclyn said that she wanted to give the rock a sense of freedom, but the judges said that with it being handcuffed to the bar, she didn't accomplish that. They felt that it was a cold piece, and they didn't respond very well to it. Jaclyn said that she wanted her piece to feel like a memory.

 

Nicole's piece was named after her grandfather's Native American tribe, which the judges liked, but they were confused and divided by her piece. Some said that it came off like an architectural model, while another judge said that it was a risk but very interesting. Nicole was asked if this experience was helpful for her, and she said that she felt that this competition had breathed new life into her.

 

Miles said that his piece was a study of fungus, and explained how he made holes in the piece, and that it was a huge process piece for him. The judges liked his piece, but they want him to let go of control. One judge said that Miles hides behind his OCD, and when he lets that go, he'll make better art.

 

The artists are sent away while the judges deliberate, and Nicole remarked that she felt exposed and uncomfortable during the judging.

 

The judges said that Abdi took on religious imagery, and brought grace and dignity to his art. They said that Peregrine got "lost in the woods", and the execution of her piece didn't work. One judge said that he likes her artistic spirit. The judges like Jaclyn's minimalism, but where her rock was supposed to represent freedom, it didn't. Nicole's piece didn't do much giving, but one judge liked questioning where it came from. The judges really responded to Miles' mad science approach, and said that his piece was well executed, but they need more soul and emotion from him, and they said that he has very little of those things.

 

The artists came back to the gallery to the news that the winner of the challenge was Abdi. The judges said that his drawing was masterful, and he'd be moving on to the finale. The next artist to earn a spot in the finale was Miles, and he was very excited.

 

The final three were Nicole, Peregrine & Jaclyn, and the two eliminated were Jaclyn and Nicole. Jaclyn thanked the judges for the opportunity, and said that she was disappointed that she wouldn't be moving on. She said that it's always been very important for her to make a mark in the world, and she doesn't want to be forgotten.

 

Nicole said that she wanted to highlight her strong points at the finale, but this is only the beginning for her.

 

Peregrine seemed genuinely shocked that she was chosen to move on to the finale, and she said that she wants to show the judges that they made the right choice.

 

 

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

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

 

 

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