New post at Art21: Art Reality TV

No matter how hard I try, avoiding reality TV is a challenge. The shows are like invasive kudzu: Nanny 911, Extreme Makeover, The Housewives of New Jersey, Jon & Kate, The Price of Beauty, COPS, I�m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, and many, many more. This fall I�ll be avoiding American Artist, Sarah Jessica Parker�s collaboration with Magical Elves, the team behind Top Chef and Project Runway. The new show will serve a mash-up of amateur entertainers�that is, real people�engaging in old-fashioned game-show-style competition and unscripted activity. According to press reports, each episode will feature the show�s �contestants� competing in art-themed challenges from a range of disciplines�including sculpture, painting, photography and industrial design�and completing works of art that will be assessed by a panel of �top figures� in the art world, including artists, gallerists, collectors, curators, and critics. If there are any producers out there (PBS?), here�s my suggestion for a better reality show about artists….Read the entire post here.