Jaclyn cutting apples. Abdi praying. Ryan sleeping. AND WE'RE BACK!
Mark starts off talking about the 'controversy' of Erik leaving the show. I'm still bummed out about Erik's rebellion last week, mostly because it brought to light all that is ugly about reality TV. It's such a cliche at this point, one person throwing a fit and being uncooperative, resulting in their dismissal from the show. I hope it isn't going to take a toll on the remaining artists.
But then Mark throws in an interesting comment... it seems that he agrees with Erik's assessment of Miles: that Miles is playing some sort of role, or that he's faking it. What's undeniable is Miles's talent in his work, something that is not so undeniable in Mark, or in Ryan, for that matter. Not that I don't think those two guys are good; they are, but I don't think their work has been as consistently good as Miles's.
And straight to Miles! He says he woke up craving Corn Flakes, and then rejoiced in Erik's departure. Well, I would too - ultimately the blame must be put on Erik for creating such an ugly atmosphere.
The remaining artists get together to hang out, which is nice to see. We get a revealing confession from Ryan, who says that he was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, and that his separation from the church created a large divide between him and his mother. Looking back, the comments that Ryan made about his piece for the "Shock Art" challenge about making a piece that would upset his mother seem a lot more potent.
I love Simon's energy. He's like a Swiss version of Willy Wonka, so passionate about art.
And he takes them to a children's museum in Soho! We see a few quick shots of children's artwork, and I'm sure that one of the drawings was supposed to be Michael Jackson. Funny stuff.
Their challenge: create a piece of art inspired by the experiences that made them an artist.
For me, I instantly thought of my childhood car drawings. I used to draw cars all the time when I was young - they didn't look like cars, they looked like lumpy potatoes with wheels. But that was what I drew, and I must have drawn hundreds of them.
I love how excited Nicole is with this challenge. Abdi looks thrilled too. I don't think anyone else shares their enthusiasm.
So far, they've focused a lot on Ryan. That leads me to believe that he will be the one eliminated. I HATE IT when Bravo does this - they make it so obvious as to who will be cut because we see more of that person throughout the episode than anyone else.
Abdi goes back to his comfort zone: superheroes. I guess for this challenge it makes sense, since they are supposed to draw from their own past, but I think Abdi has sort of over-used the superhero thing.
I'm a bit concerned about Miles's piece, because he seems to be ignoring the challenge completely. He's re-doing a piece that he made nine months prior, obviously a time much more recent than his childhood, formative years.
Jaclyn's story about her lonely childhood is heartbreaking. I think it's a bit mean of Bravo to ask a group of artists to re-explore their childhood, because most artists did not have happy childhood - it's what made them artists in the first place, the need to express themselves in ways that they could not express themselves in their daily life.
I had to rewind and re-watch the shots of Ryan lounging in the ball pit. I wonder if he knew how silly this looked at the time.
Peregrine seems sincere, but her art is definitely moving in a creepy direction. Then again, it sounds like she had a sort of creepy childhood, so I guess that makes sense. Just more reason why it's dangerous to ask artists to look back on their childhood. Artists are not normal people; they are the kids who were picked on, who had abusive parents, who retreated to their rooms to draw in silence as a means of therapy. That being said - I really like her cigarettes being made out of chalk.
In the end, it looks like everyone had a hard time with this challenge.
There's a guest judge, Will Cotton. We see only a few quick samples of his work, and it looks very interesting - I'll have to check it out.
I don't understand how Mark and Miles weren't being considered for elimination. I thought that their pieces were the weakest. Maybe the judges felt their pieces were weak too, but that Abdi's, Jackyln's, and Ryan's pieces were simply the worst of the bunch.
I'm happy to see Peregrine pick up a win for this challenge. Her piece was inviting and interesting, and it's good that she got at least one win in.
And so Ryan was sent home, just like I predicted. I felt really bad for him, but I liked his comment about how happy he was to be able to return to doing what he does best: realistic oil paintings. So I'm sure he'll be alright.
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