All Bravo, all the time...I just got off the phone with Jeff Lipsky, aka Filthy Fluno, who generously shared with me his experience auditioning for the new Bravo reality competition for artists. While I was talking with him, I started wondering why so many people I know are both fascinated and repelled by the idea of this show, and why I am too.
Part of it, I think, is that the very opaque nature of the art business creates an expectation that the rise and fall of careers should happen mysteriously, and by throwing open the curtains and shedding light on the process, this show might reveal something that everyone has suspected but not really confirmed. But more than that, I think that there is a very real understanding that the art community, which is not generally thought of as very large or having a loud voice, is in fact made up of a much larger section of the population than people think. With hundreds and hundreds of people turning out for these auditions, it is obvious that there are many people who identify as artists, indeed who think they might be the best artist... far more than the art market would ever support.
The other part of the fascination with this show (or, admittedly, my fascination with the show) is that it is most likely going to be a train wreck. While it is true that Bravo has had great success in creating competitions around the fairly subjective aesthetics of food and fashion, reality tv is created by characters who make frivolous drama, and Bravo has always cast for personalities first.
Talking with Lipsky (who was careful not to breach his confidentiality agreement with Bravo), I noted that he used words like "superficial" to describe the nature of the auditions. When considering how artists are presented to the world, it seems obvious that this Bravo show will be little more than another reality show in which art sometimes happens, and the worst stereotypes about artists are magnified. It will be fascinating, it will be offensive, and it will be funny and I'll probably watch every episode, all the while feeling guilty.
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