I’ve been watching the second season of the Bravo masterpiece, Work of Art: The Next Great Artist since it started a few weeks back. The premise of the show is similar to Bravo’s other creations—Top Chef and Project Runway—but claims it can find the next great artist. The winner receives a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum, a cover story in Blue Canvas magazine and $100,000. That’s a big deal, obviously.

The art community loves to hate this show. The show’s host, China Chow, is the daughter of the owner of the famous artistic haunt, Mr. Chow’s, so she has some artistic cred. Another judge, Jerry Salz, an art critic for New York Magazine and three time Pulitzer Prize nominee, trashes most of the artists’ pieces quite eloquently. They have a revolving door of judges of high regard (I suppose).But I think most of the people watching this show give the show's judges license because they wear complicated-looking dresses and cut their hair at strange angles.

Which is about all is to be said about the artists, as well. They all look like "artists," which I bet is a lot more important to the show's producers than the art they produce. The girls are all pretty and white. Most of them wear dark lipstick, accent glasses (sans lenses?) and homemade mini-skirts with leggings underneath. The guys wear a lot of woven caps and have strange hair that tapers, mullet-like, from a thick top to a thinner, stringy bottom. Both genders have tattoo sleeves. They probably have barista jobs in their real lives; in fact, if you’d told me that one I had been my barista in Seattle hipster neighborhood before they went on this show, I’d totally believe you.

Artists are more enraged at this show than chefs are at Top Chef or designers are at Project Runway. The reasons, I think, are two-fold. The first is that art needs to be uncategorizable in terms of worth. It shouldn't be good or bad. Somebody needs to find a canvas painted with black strokes mesmerizing, while another person needs to say that his kid could do that. Unlike food and fashion that has trends and trendsetters, art needs to be hated by some and loved by others.

Second, artists don’t make $100,000. During their entire careers. The primary reason that artists need to hate this show is that they’ve accepted that they’re going to be poor for the rest of their lives. In order to become artists, most recognize that they’ll be waiters and live with roommates into their 50’s in order to continue producing art. They need to either believe or convince themselves that these conditions are necessary for their craft. This show is sort of like a modern day patron; the winning artist will have enough money to keep making art now without worrying about from where her next meal will be coming. Is she selling out? I bet most artists would say definitely. 

Are you watching Work of Art?