A reality show I'd actually watch

Sarah Jessica Parker is developing a new reality show where a dozen artists compete with one another in a series of creative challenges, Project Runway-style. Each week would require the contestants to create within a different medium: painting, sculpture, industrial art, interior design, etc. They would be judged by "the world's top art critics" (no word yet on who that includes). The winner gets their own gallery show, a cash prize, and a national tour.

As always, I expect there will be both positive and negative facets to this project. Most obviously, it will make art more accessible to general audiences and provide opportunities for struggling artists to achieve recognition. And don't artists deserve the celebrity (and financial success) of rock stars? In the best case scenario, art becomes the new haute couture, and everyone wants a piece. Attendance at museums skyrockets, galleries spring up on every corner like The Gap, and magazines run features on the newest trends in what to hang on your wall. Ordinary Americans can no longer imagine their lives without art, leading to greater emphasis on art education in public schools, more public and private funding for artistic projects, and overall a richer American cultural fabric. Of course, that's not likely to happen as the result of just one reality show.

On the negative side, I wish there was a way to bring contemporary art to television without turning it into a competition. There's enough competition in the art world already. The emphasis ought to be on collaborative creativity and the betterment of the artistic community. And there's also the question of selling out. While the idea of corporate sponsorship of art makes me all tingly with excitement, the prospect of "art, brought to you by Toyota" makes me want to barf. Exhibits like the MFA's show of Ralph Lauren's car collection in 2005, or the numerous museums around the country showing haute couture alongside painting and sculpture, are immensely effective revenue-gatherers. But they blur the line between art for culture and art for sale. Art that is created or exhibited specifically with the goal of commercial success (for the artist or for the museum) behind it is tainted; that is, it ceases to be an artist's expression of his or her worldview and becomes a mere advertisement, or even a commercial product in itself. Which in turn brings up the topic of censorship. What happens when a contestant chooses to create a work of art that is judged too controversial or indecent for television? Will it be cut from the show? Will the contestant be permitted to compete? Are we going to depend upon advertisers, or (gulp) Broadcast Standards and Practices, to decide what is "decent" in terms of art?

I'm excited for this show because if it's a success, it could truly change the landscape of the contemporary art world, for better or for worse. The challenge will be for artists (as well as art critics) to maintain their integrity along the way.