Tag Archives: Work of Art

Standing In: Me and Pistoletto’s Standing Couple

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Michaelangelo Pistoletto, Standing Man, Standing Woman with Hat, 1980

The contagion of self-portraiture carried on, from the mirrors of the Kiki Smith exhibition (reviewed here) to the mirrors of the contemporary art galleries at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Pistoletto’s two figures on mirror seem to be facing me and the red wall installation behind me. It looks like we are carrying on an awkward conversation, perhaps because I am in color while they are stuck in black and white.

If one is going to look at art, and think about art, and write about art, after a bit shouldn’t that person join the art? Oscar Wilde said that “One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.” Surely with a little smoke and mirrors, or maybe just mirrors, I can get past this silly division of art and life and do both.
“All that I desire to point out is the general principle that life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” –Oscar Wilde 

Video Killed the Art Star

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I have not had a TV since I moved out of my parent’s house to go to college. At this point, it is a lifestyle choice, one that saves me from countless hours mindlessly flipping through channels and watching a rerun just for the sake of having something to watch. This has been a good decision for me on the whole. Add to this the ability to watch certain programs of choice via the internet, and I’m totally set. However, there are exceptions.
It began when I first realized how awesome the PBS series Art:21 is. How awesome is it? AWESOME. Then I kept hearing people mention a documentary called Herb & Dorothy, about a pair of art collectors called the Vogels (also PBS). Now, as you might have picked up from the clip above, there is a reality TV show called Work of Art, planned along the lines of Project Runway, for artists and Jerry Saltz is one of the judges. Certainly there is a movement from seriousness to frivolity in my exceptions but I would love to check it out–despite the ridiculous nature of a reality TV show based around art challenges. It airs tonight at 11 pm on Bravo. Or, for those sanctimonious fools without televisions, it is expected to be available on Hulu tomorrow.
More details on contestants here.