The New York Times chronicles an unsual casting call for artists.
In recent years, hedge fund managers turned the fine arts market into an odd melding of art and finance, trading video installations, canvases, and sculpture by recent art school grads as if they were stock futures. Just when the economic downturn seemed to have thinned the ranks of art speculators, along comes “Untitled Art Project,” a new reality show on Bravo that will pit artist against artist in the familiar mold of the cable station’s “reality TV” hits such as Project Runway or Top Chef. For the commercial realms of restaurants and the fashion world, the formula seemed a perfect fit – but the highly personal world of fine arts? The New York Times explores Bravo’s arty experiment, with the observation that “Realism may not make it on Bravo’s new reality show.”
—Brett Nuckles