At the beginning of the very first episode of this show, I had doubts. We get a brief introduction to the show from the host, China Chow (who I suppose is like WA:TNGA's answer to Padma Lakishi) and then bright, bubbly electronic-pop-rock music plays, and we meet the happy, smiling artists.
Um, I thought artists were supposed to frown a lot... scribble in notepads in empty coffee shops... sit in their unheated West Village studio with a winter coat and thick gloves on to prevent death by exposure while smoking a cigarette and contemplating suicide. I did not expect them to dance around like they do here on Bravo (much less don a red clown nose like Mark does).
The prize is $100,000... and the chance to get the attention of the New York art world. The question is, does the New York Art World really care about the winner of a TV art contest? Does the NYAW even watch TV?
We meet Abdi first. I like his style right away - his self-potrait featuring himself and Barack Obama running around a space ship with a ray gun and lightsaber (respectively) is cooler than cool.
Then we meet Nao... who we will soon learn is the Puck of this show. Every 'reality' show has a Puck, and it looks like Nao is it. I like her self-confidence and I like her take-it-or-leave it attitude though. I think this is how I expected all of the artists to behave. But she loses major points when she enters the gallery of self-portraits and dismisses them as inferior. She might have been joking, but it was not cool. (Spoiler alert: she gets hers.)
Ryan: definitely the laid-back, soft-spoken hipster that I was expecting. But he still seems a bit more well-adjusted and cheery than all the artists I met in art school...
Then there's Jaclyn! Not expecting someone like her... and by that, I mean someone who looks like they could be a fashion model. Usually the artist is on the other side of the canvas for a reason. But it's easy to dismiss the thin blond girl as someone who is silly or ditzy, and she seems to take herself seriously enough. But then again, her self-portrait is a riff on Brittney Spears and implies that she too is a paparazzi-worthy celebrity... she seems to be playing into the joke rather than attacking it head-on. When she asks how Judith gets the inspiration to work the word 'pussy' into her portrait of Jaclyn, it's not clear if Jaclyn is being sarcastic when she tells us that she has no idea where Judith got that idea from. Kudos to the editors at Bravo, who immediately cut to Jaclyn's self portrait, with a close-up on the neon pink star that cover's Jaclyn's crotch. She's also the first one to name drop Jeff Koons.
Miles seems uncomfortable with being on camera, and that makes me think that he's going to be one of the finalists. It seems obvious that he's here to do his thing, as opposed to participating in a reality show in the hopes of becoming famous.
(SPOILER ALERT!) I'm not going to waste any time talking about Amanda because she gets voted off. Seriously, her potrait looked like fancy wallpaper.
Nicole... I don't know what to think about Nicole. She doesn't really get featured in this episode, so we'll probably have to wait until later to form an opinion of her. We are, however, treated to Nao's opinion of Nicole: that she looks like Angelina Jolie. Nicole does not. This was either an attempt on Nao's part to come up with something positive to say about Nicole's self-portrait because she couldn't think of anything else nice to say, or Nao was hitting on her. It was unclear. Nicole's lips could maybe be compared to Angelina Jolie, but I just don't see the resemblance. Props to Nicole for calling out Nao and calling her rude.
Erik: I like Erik because he seems like a normal guy. I get the impression that rooting for him is like rooting for the underdog: he explains that he is untrained, and that eliminates any chance of pretension coming from him. He's the guy I'd like to go out for beers with, even if his pieces are a little creepy and dark...
I'm interested in what made Judith want to participate in the show. It's not that I don't think she can't hang with the younger kids, but at age 61, she's got to have her doubts. Most of the artists are less than half her age! I wonder if she's going to act as a surrogate mother to the younger competitors, or if she'll make them treat her like any of the other artists.
Trong has some cool hair. I'm interested in his background, since it is revealed that he's not only an artist but a curator, meaning that me probably has a better critical eye than the other artists and has a better idea of what to shoot for. I liked Trong's statement that the material he used for his self-portrait would intentionally fade away - a humble and interesting approach. When his portrait was being painted, I really wanted John to paint him with a shaved head, taking focus away from his angular haircut and putting it on his face. Usually when people do crazy stuff with their hair it's to distract others from seeing the real person, and it would have been nice to step around that.
We don't get to see much of Peregrine this episode, but again, I'm sure we'll get to know her more later (there's only so much they can pack in to one episode, I guess). She definitely fits the bill as the stereotypical quirky artist chick - and I like that. I bet she drives a funky old car and owns a cat. Or three. The antlers coming out of her head in her self-portrait creep me out. In a good way. Peregrine: "I'm really into lillies right now... and hermaphrodites."
Jamie Lynn is another one who we don't get to spend much time with, and I'm interested in her by her sense of style. She looks like she's going to a 1960's cocktail party. From what we see of her work, everything is sort of dreamy and cartoon-like.
Mark seems the most out of place... not that he isn't talented, his portrait of Erik was awesome. But his personality and his demeanor was just so much sunnier than everyone else's... I'm sure he'll become a favorite due to his likability. I think it was a little mean of Bravo to have "Fry Cook" appear under his name at the bottom of the screen though... no one is defined by their job.
John's pieces are so striking and bold, and yet he seems like such a quiet guy. Just to prove how bitchy she is, Nao trashes his triangle-shaped portrait.
Simon is the new Tim Gunn, complete with suit and everything. I like his German accent, and more importantly, his true enthusiasm. I don't get the feeling that he took this gig for some easy money at all, which is good. He's the second person to name-drop Jeff Koons.
The grand prize is a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum, which is only a few subway stops away from my house. It's exciting to know that I will be able to see some of the art that is created during this show at the museum after it wraps.
THE FIRST CHALLENGE!
Paint someone else's portrait. Beautiful. I really like this challenge because it seems simple but it's challenging - a portrait is 50% subject and 50% artist. I was worried about what type of challenges could possibly be given to a group of competeing artists while maintaining a sense of objectivity, but this challenge seems easy to understand and easy to compare one portrait to another. A portrait is either successful, or it isn't.
I'm interested in how the artists arrived at their different 'thesis' so to speak for their portrait since they met the portrait subject only a short time before. They have to balance the vibe they get from that person with how that person presents themselves, and find a way to make it interesting. As we see, some of them do very well, and some fail.
So then Sarah Jessica Parker shows up. I actually saw her name in the opening credits - she's an executive producer. I can't say anything bad about her, but I will tell you what my girlfriend said when the camera went in for Ms. Parker's close-up: "Wow. They will not be making a Sex and the City 3". What she was referring to was the wrinkles in Ms. Parker's face. But hey, who can blame her? She's done her service. No one stays young forever, and how long ago did Sex and the City begin airing? I think I was still in high school. Lots of people love that show, including my girlfriend, but I can't stand it. I also think that a show with the word 'sex' in the title should have a lot more female nudity in it. But hey, that's just me.
Abdi's portrait of Ryan looks great right off the bat.
Jaclyn, to Judith, as Judith is posing for her portrait: "I just need one minute."
Judith: "That's all I'm going to give you."
Whatever, Judith, your 'Proud Pussy' portrait of Jaclyn was pretty lame. It was one-dimensional, and I'm assuming that you did it because you thought it was shocking... it wasn't. Was it painted on velvet? It looked like something a stoner with a blacklight would hang in his basement. Jaclyn is a pretty girl, and you didn't want her pretty face in the portrait? Give me a break.
But I'm sad that Judith is being difficult, because I'm afraid that if anyone gives her grief for her poor attitude then she will accuse them of being ageist. She trash talks Jamie Lynn and Erik's portraits, so there's already tension. We'll have to wait and see what happens.
I'm impressed with Miles for building his own dark-room. Rock on, dude.
I was really disappointed by Ryan's portrait of Abdi because it was so straight-forward and plain. Abdi seems like such an engaging person, I thought that his portrait needed more than a simple representation. The colorful background wasn't even Ryan's - it was painted on the wall of the studio.
The three finalists (Miles, Abdi, and Mark) all deserved the recognition, and hats off to Miles for his death portrait of Nao. (Part of me hopes that this is the closest that Nao will come to winning any of the challenges.)
In the end, I found myself hooked on WA:TNGA, though it still remains to be seen how well the show's producers will be able to pull this off. It got me thinking about art - about what inspires us, turns us on, what makes us want to create and what makes us want to see other's creations. It took me back to discussions we had in art school. I'm excited to see how this series progresses, and looking forward to tuning in next week.
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