Bravo’s Untitled Art Project Already Filming?

by Art Fag City on July 6, 2009 · 16 comments Newswire


Curator Hikari Yokoyama

A reliable AFC Tipster tells us Bravo’s newest art reality show The Untitled Art Project has already started filming. Gresham’s Ghost—one of countless “pop-up” galleries now peppered across the city—is rumored to be the show’s shell location. Apparently, its last opening (populated by an unusually fashionable crowd) was shot for the series, with Curator Hikari Yokoyama as the focus of the shoot. Reports tells us there was an inordinate amount of free beer at the opening and art luminaries such as the Drawing Center’s curator Joao Ribas were in attendance, yet very few well-known artists came out to celebrate the exhibition, which included Matt Connors and Jason Fox.

But why does The Untitled Art Project need its own gallery, and what is the role of Yokoyama? We don’t know the answer to either of these questions, but speculation answers the first; it would be awfully hard to keep the show under wraps if the show’s critiques occur at a known gallery. Notably, Yokoyama was involved in Jeffrey Deitch’s failed reality show Art Star only a few years ago, though it seemed her role was as a photographer. Draw whatever conclusions you want from this.

{ 16 comments }

Ken Resseger July 6, 2009 at 10:36 am

I’ll be keeping an eye on this.

http://www.circauswords.com/

Ken Resseger July 6, 2009 at 3:36 pm

I’ll be keeping an eye on this.

http://www.circauswords.com/

greg.org July 6, 2009 at 4:44 pm

Bravo doesn’t need the imprimatur of a real gallery, and as you point out, the logistics of collaborating with a real gallery would be a prohibitive PITA.

It’s easy enough and cheap enough and easier to control to create your own zombie gallery as a stage set. It’s not like real estate’s in short supply. And if the gallery gains a following through the show, so much the better. It’d be just like Bubba Gump Shrimp.

Watching Bravo for the first time in a long time last night [Law & Order: Criminal Intent rerun], and seeing Isaac Mizrahi in countless, ridiculous promos for Project Runway, the future of this Untitled Art Project show became crystal clear.

It will involve arbitrary craft projects, fabricated personality conflicts, and identically styled hosts doing faux-sexy, weight-shifting poses against a green screen. It will be a hilarious embarrassment for anyone who actually takes artmaking remotely seriously.

Not that it might not provide some entertaining moments for the artworld audience, but I don’t think Bravo gives a flying *(#$% about art or the art world beyond its own production and promotional goals.

greg.org July 6, 2009 at 11:44 am

Bravo doesn’t need the imprimatur of a real gallery, and as you point out, the logistics of collaborating with a real gallery would be a prohibitive PITA.

It’s easy enough and cheap enough and easier to control to create your own zombie gallery as a stage set. It’s not like real estate’s in short supply. And if the gallery gains a following through the show, so much the better. It’d be just like Bubba Gump Shrimp.

Watching Bravo for the first time in a long time last night [Law & Order: Criminal Intent rerun], and seeing Isaac Mizrahi in countless, ridiculous promos for Project Runway, the future of this Untitled Art Project show became crystal clear.

It will involve arbitrary craft projects, fabricated personality conflicts, and identically styled hosts doing faux-sexy, weight-shifting poses against a green screen. It will be a hilarious embarrassment for anyone who actually takes artmaking remotely seriously.

Not that it might not provide some entertaining moments for the artworld audience, but I don’t think Bravo gives a flying *(#$% about art or the art world beyond its own production and promotional goals.

Joe Berube July 6, 2009 at 4:49 pm

lol. this blog makes me happy.

Joe Berube July 6, 2009 at 11:49 am

lol. this blog makes me happy.

L.M. July 6, 2009 at 10:59 pm

Who wants to bet that the performance artist they cast will be the most irritating.

(I’m really worried that I might love this show)

L.M. July 6, 2009 at 5:59 pm

Who wants to bet that the performance artist they cast will be the most irritating.

(I’m really worried that I might love this show)

swampthing July 11, 2009 at 4:39 pm

i’m ready for my public humiliation, Mr. Demille.

swampthing July 11, 2009 at 11:39 am

i’m ready for my public humiliation, Mr. Demille.

sylvie July 13, 2009 at 7:21 pm

Look, kids – let’s say it like it is… it is a TV SHOW about “art,” not an art show on TV.

Although Project Runway and Top Chef are not as bad as other reality shows, what keeps us watching is not the fashion or the food – it’s the drama.

It is obvious the producers are picking 13 “types” to fill out their cast – a couple of outlandish types, a couple of cute girls, a couple of gay guys, a bitch or two… not to mention a range of races… and of course, a few plants.

If there’s a challenge show about cakes, hair cuts, dog groomers or even people willing to “fall in love,” – it’s just another formula show. Will the winner [or contestants] ever make a career or money out of this? Who knows… it’s just their 15 minutes.

sylvie July 13, 2009 at 2:21 pm

Look, kids – let’s say it like it is… it is a TV SHOW about “art,” not an art show on TV.

Although Project Runway and Top Chef are not as bad as other reality shows, what keeps us watching is not the fashion or the food – it’s the drama.

It is obvious the producers are picking 13 “types” to fill out their cast – a couple of outlandish types, a couple of cute girls, a couple of gay guys, a bitch or two… not to mention a range of races… and of course, a few plants.

If there’s a challenge show about cakes, hair cuts, dog groomers or even people willing to “fall in love,” – it’s just another formula show. Will the winner [or contestants] ever make a career or money out of this? Who knows… it’s just their 15 minutes.

swampthing July 14, 2009 at 5:08 pm

Live bloggin’ from miami 99degrees&humid. the cattle call is as swampy as it gets. w bottled water and portfolios one by one artist from across the nation are processed through the humiliation machine. the judges are, in the most part, local mavens so it is hard for local artists to get an unbiased scrutiny. Better humiliated now than later on TV…

The reality affair seems dreadfully scripted.

swampthing July 14, 2009 at 12:08 pm

Live bloggin’ from miami 99degrees&humid. the cattle call is as swampy as it gets. w bottled water and portfolios one by one artist from across the nation are processed through the humiliation machine. the judges are, in the most part, local mavens so it is hard for local artists to get an unbiased scrutiny. Better humiliated now than later on TV…

The reality affair seems dreadfully scripted.

robert mot August 21, 2009 at 4:15 pm

they should have picked stacey page!

robert mot August 21, 2009 at 11:15 am

they should have picked stacey page!

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