So many people are up in arms about a reality show featuring art, acting as if art is somehow RUINED by any kind of reflection in pop culture. People, get over it.
No pun intended, but take art off the effing pedestal already. It's ART. It's part of our lives, not some sacred cow that can't possibly stand to be sullied by the dirty medium of television. The inherent classism in the arguments against this show is exactly why art gets MOCKED relentlessly by popular culture. The art world does itself no favors by being mysterious and obtuse.
You know, the fashion world didn't shun designers from Project Runway. Chefs on Top Chef don't get mocked for "sullying" themselves -- on the contrary, Top Chef Masters features some of the best chefs in the country. The show exists. Deal with it. If you're so closed-minded that you can't even consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, it might not suck, and you won't ever watch it to see for yourself, then I truly pity you for the limits you place on yourself.
I actually CARE that people connect with art. I'm an artist; I don't make art for only one type of person and I don't care as much how it's seen as I do that it IS seen. I don't want to be a court jester to the wealthy; I want to make art for everyone, anyone who's interested. It hurts me that people don't care about art. I currently live in a state where there is not one grant for individual artists, a state with one of the lowest funding for the arts; yet, we have the fifth largest concentration of artists in the U.S. That's shameful, and it's because people don't see enough art to care. I've taught at rural schools where kids never see art, have no way to see art, and if one kid gets to NOT feel like a freak because suddenly he can see people like him on tv, then to me, it is a GOOD THING. If art is to have a future, then I'm sorry, but people have to give a shit.
I didn't audition for the show, not because I think it's bad, but because I'm already too busy with other opportunities, but I will confess I did consider it. I don't fault the artists who did -- hell, I think it would be a fun experience, if only for the chance to be challenged. In fact, I'd find it interesting to do the challenges without the television portion of it at all -- some friends and I have talked about doing the challenges at home, just for fun. I can't imagine living such a joyless, curmudgeonly existence that I couldn't allow art to be fun at times, too. Art reflects ALL of human experience -- the poignant, the trivial, the smart, the stupid, the sublime, the downright ridiculous. Should it only speak to a narrow band of concerns?
That said, I truly believe we are talking about the moral failure of our entire culture, and nothing short of that. We have monetized human suffering, allowed wholesale greed against our own people. It is shameful. I am aghast at anyone who thinks health care should only be for the rich. I can't believe the stupidity of those who think this system WORKS.