Friday, August 13, 2010

My New Favorite Show is Over! Work of Art Finale!

I was surprised that I became a fan of Work of Art: The Next Great Artist because when I first heard the idea of the show I thought it was ridiculous! I really thought it was crazy to make artists compete with a time limit, creativity being pushed by the ticking clock seems so cruel! However, when I decided to finally watch the show I became addicted! I loved the drama, I loved the camaraderie, the process, and especially Simon de Pury, the Tim Gunn of the show! It took me back to my own college art class, which in some ways made the artists and the show less impressive. However, I still loved every drop of it, well maybe not the China Chow part. She just annoyed me, how are you qualified to judge art? You are just a model/actress! The season finale had a lot of surprises such as producer, Sarah Jessica Parker making an appearance! The greatest surprise was that Abdi won and I was thrilled! Although Abdi often struggled in the challenges, and his work was often flawed what made me love him is his brilliant personality. He always had a giant smile on his face, always said positive comments, the eternal optimist. The cheery disposition was not a front because he was on reality television, I could just see his sincerity, he really did want the best for others. After he won the $100,000 thousand dollars he explained that he would be giving it all to his mother who sacrificed so much for him. I do believe he also deserved to win for his talent, that shined through his gallery!

The pieces to the dismay of some judges were conventional but had the similar sincerity and tenderness I see in his praise of others. One judge described his work as having the same grace of a musician. His work has that appeal that you would want the work in your home so you could stare at it for hours. So congrats to Abdi! Especially for winning over the art snob, Miles! I can't believe how rude he would be! He is really talented I have to admit, but his choice to do a weird abstraction using cell phone photos of old people at White Castle, come on I felt I caught some of his crazy just describing it! I think he is one of those artists that can knock out great pieces but have trouble doing a series, but he's young and he probably will thrive in the art world. Below are a few of Abdi's art pieces through out the show.

1 comment:

  1. I am going to have to start watching this show the next time it comes on! It looks so interesting!

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