Artstar
Encyclopedia
Artstar is an unscripted reality television series set in the New York
art world, considered to be the first in the visual arts. Selected from an open call of over 400 applicants, eight artists participate in a group exhibition at Deitch Projects
with the opportunity for a solo exhibition as well. The program documents the selected artists as they interact with leading critics, curators, collectors, and artists in New York, while making new works as part of the collaborative exhibition.
, Yvonne Force, James Fuentes and Mark Fletcher. Established artists interacting with the selected emerging artists include Jeff Koons
, Kehinde Wiley
, Jon Kessler
, Lee Quinones
and Steve Powers.
On February 9, 2006, Deitch Projects opened the Artstar exhibition to the public, showcasing the culminating product of the Artstars' individual efforts during the program. Anney Fresh created a giant polar bear with its head stuck in a crate. Visitors could comb the bear's hair and look into the crate to see the bear's dreams. Virgil Wong exhibited a twenty foot tall mural depicting a walking figure composed of both paint and digital 3-D video projections. Visitors to the gallery could inject medical nanotechnology into the body using a video game controller, and a pool of moving MRI brain images reflected in a Zen-like garden.
(RISD), where he studied figure drawing, Renaissance painting techniques, film making/animation, bronze-casting and print-making. Virgil also studied medicine/technology at Harvard Medical School
(Continuing Medical Education) and human anatomy at the University of Rome Medical School. Over the past ten years, his work has been screened in venues like the Sundance Film Festival
and exhibited in museums around the world, including the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei and the Museum of Image and Sound in San Paulo. He is a graduate faculty member at The New School, and he is also head of web development at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
and Cornell University's Weill Medical College - where he is developing new media applications for patient care, medical education, and research.
Bec Stupak
is an artist living and working in New York City, and is also the founding member of Honeygun Labs, an experimental video project that after a few years blossomed into a collaborative effort that at any given time had several people creating and experimenting with different styles and techniques.
Anney Fresh (Anney McKilligan) is an "Action Stylist" who has created enormous inflatables and other public art works with an artists collective called the Madagascar Institute. She is also a professional puppeteer and builder who has worked on Sesame Street, Johnny and The Sprites, Blue's Clues, Chappelle's Show, The Book of Pooh, and Bear in the Big Blue House. In 2007, Anney received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling, after three previous nominations for the same award. A regular at the Loser's Lounge
, Anney can be seen singing on stage at Joe's Pub.
Zackary Drucker is a fine art photographer. A recent graduate from the School of Visual Arts, Zackary is now studying at the California Institute of the Arts (started the Fall of 2005), where he is pursuing an MFA degree in Photography and Media. Past group exhibitions include One Man Show, an exhibition curated by Isabelle Woodley in Cooper Union's Great Hall Gallery, and Mentors, at the Visual Arts Gallery.
Gigi Chen was born in China and raised in New York, where she attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia HS, and studied fine arts techniques. From there, she went onto the School of Visual Arts in NYC, majoring in Traditional Animation. Gigi sold her first piece during the Artstar show.
Sy Colen is a retired social worker from Brownsville, New York, who creates wood and clay sculptures. Sy is the father of Dan Colen
, an up and coming painter and sculptor whose work was included in the 2006 Whitney Biennial.
Christian Dietkus graduated from Cooper Union in 2005.
Abigail Deville is currently studying at Fashion Institute of Technology
and mixes painting, sculpture, and collage on gargantuan ten-by-twelve-foot canvases. In 2004, she won FIT’s Frank Shapiro Award for Excellence. Abigail is also the first Artstar artist to sell her work on the television show.
on The Apprentice
, Jeffrey Deitch is described in glowingly positive terms, by other dealers and artists in this case, and there are constant references to the "exciting" work that happens in his gallery. Also, Deitch was quoted as saying, "In the 1970s … no self-respecting artist would have stood in line to try to get on a television show," and critics have claimed that self-respecting artists were still declining Deitch's invitation today (Slate, June 16, 2006). While some observers have appreciated the show's avoidance of reality television cliches like eliminating contestants each week and salacious personal dramas, others contend that Artstar should have been billed instead (and produced) as an art documentary. Some have also interestingly noted that many contestants already had previous ties to Deitch Projects, making the show more scripted than it had been advertised. (For example, Sy Colen is the father of a successful artist represented by the gallery, and Bec Stupak appeared multiple times in Deitch's 2005 book Live Through This)
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
art world, considered to be the first in the visual arts. Selected from an open call of over 400 applicants, eight artists participate in a group exhibition at Deitch Projects
Deitch Projects
Deitch Projects was a contemporary art gallery in New York City founded by Jeffrey Deitch.-History:Since opening with a performance by Vanessa Beecroft in February 1996, the gallery has presented nearly one hundred and eighteen solo exhibitions and projects, ten thematic exhibitions, and a few...
with the opportunity for a solo exhibition as well. The program documents the selected artists as they interact with leading critics, curators, collectors, and artists in New York, while making new works as part of the collaborative exhibition.
Featured guest critics and artists
Critics/curators featured on the program include Barbara Pollack, Debra Singer, David Rimanelli, Carlo McCormick, RoseLee Goldberg, Cary Leitzes, Alan VegaAlan Vega
Alan Vega For several years other sources stated that he was born in 1948 – see 'Myth' section is an American vocalist, primarily known for his work with electronic protopunk duo, Suicide...
, Yvonne Force, James Fuentes and Mark Fletcher. Established artists interacting with the selected emerging artists include Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Jeffrey "Jeff" Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces....
, Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley is a New York-based portrait painter, who is known for his highly naturalistic paintings of contemporary urban African, African-American, Afro-Brazilian, Indian and Ethiopian-Jewish men in heroic poses.-Early life:...
, Jon Kessler
Jon Kessler
Jon Kessler is an American artist. He began college at SUNY Purchase from 1974—78 but left after two years to travel in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. He returned to Purchase in 1978 and graduated in 1980 with honors. Following graduation, Kessler took up a studio in Brooklyn, New York where...
, Lee Quinones
Lee Quinones
George Lee Quiñones is an American artist and actor. He is one of the several artists rising from the New York City Subway graffiti movement....
and Steve Powers.
Exhibition
In the second episode of the series, the Artstars were asked to participate in The Art Parade, a Deitch Projects event where artists, performers and designers were invited to create floats, placards, spectacles and street performances. The Artstars were less than enthusiastic about the prospect (Abigail Deville is quoted in The New York Times on May 28, 2006 as saying, "I mean, come on, a parade?"). Christian Dietkus, one of the other artists, confronted Jeffrey Deitch about whether or not an actual Artstar exhibition would also be part of the television program, as originally promised. Deitch was vague about specifics at the time but promised that there would be a gallery show at some point.On February 9, 2006, Deitch Projects opened the Artstar exhibition to the public, showcasing the culminating product of the Artstars' individual efforts during the program. Anney Fresh created a giant polar bear with its head stuck in a crate. Visitors could comb the bear's hair and look into the crate to see the bear's dreams. Virgil Wong exhibited a twenty foot tall mural depicting a walking figure composed of both paint and digital 3-D video projections. Visitors to the gallery could inject medical nanotechnology into the body using a video game controller, and a pool of moving MRI brain images reflected in a Zen-like garden.
Biographies of the artstars
Virgil Wong is an NEA grant recipient and a multimedia artist who creates installations, films, and paintings that visualize future medical technologies. Virgil received his fine arts degree from the Rhode Island School of DesignRhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
(RISD), where he studied figure drawing, Renaissance painting techniques, film making/animation, bronze-casting and print-making. Virgil also studied medicine/technology at Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
(Continuing Medical Education) and human anatomy at the University of Rome Medical School. Over the past ten years, his work has been screened in venues like the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and exhibited in museums around the world, including the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei and the Museum of Image and Sound in San Paulo. He is a graduate faculty member at The New School, and he is also head of web development at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital is a prominent university hospital in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools: Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and Cornell University's Weill Medical College. It is composed of two distinct medical centers, Columbia...
and Cornell University's Weill Medical College - where he is developing new media applications for patient care, medical education, and research.
Bec Stupak
Bec Stupak
Bec Stupak is a video and performance artist working in Brooklyn, New York. Her work uses collage, repetition and shifting fields of bright color to create psychedelic animations and films. She got her start early on as a VJ at raves, performing around the world and as a regular performer at Lonnie...
is an artist living and working in New York City, and is also the founding member of Honeygun Labs, an experimental video project that after a few years blossomed into a collaborative effort that at any given time had several people creating and experimenting with different styles and techniques.
Anney Fresh (Anney McKilligan) is an "Action Stylist" who has created enormous inflatables and other public art works with an artists collective called the Madagascar Institute. She is also a professional puppeteer and builder who has worked on Sesame Street, Johnny and The Sprites, Blue's Clues, Chappelle's Show, The Book of Pooh, and Bear in the Big Blue House. In 2007, Anney received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling, after three previous nominations for the same award. A regular at the Loser's Lounge
Loser's Lounge
Loser's Lounge is an ongoing tribute project which performs music by songwriters and bands like Queen, Serge Gainsbourg, Neil Diamond, Paul Williams, Lee Hazlewood, Devo, and David Bowie. Each show explores greater- and lesser-known works by a single artist, or pits two musical forces against one...
, Anney can be seen singing on stage at Joe's Pub.
Zackary Drucker is a fine art photographer. A recent graduate from the School of Visual Arts, Zackary is now studying at the California Institute of the Arts (started the Fall of 2005), where he is pursuing an MFA degree in Photography and Media. Past group exhibitions include One Man Show, an exhibition curated by Isabelle Woodley in Cooper Union's Great Hall Gallery, and Mentors, at the Visual Arts Gallery.
Gigi Chen was born in China and raised in New York, where she attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia HS, and studied fine arts techniques. From there, she went onto the School of Visual Arts in NYC, majoring in Traditional Animation. Gigi sold her first piece during the Artstar show.
Sy Colen is a retired social worker from Brownsville, New York, who creates wood and clay sculptures. Sy is the father of Dan Colen
Dan Colen
Daniel Colen is an artist based in New York. His work consists of painted sculptures appropriating low-cultural ephemera, graffiti-inspired paintings of text executed in paint, and installations.-Education:...
, an up and coming painter and sculptor whose work was included in the 2006 Whitney Biennial.
Christian Dietkus graduated from Cooper Union in 2005.
Abigail Deville is currently studying at Fashion Institute of Technology
Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...
and mixes painting, sculpture, and collage on gargantuan ten-by-twelve-foot canvases. In 2004, she won FIT’s Frank Shapiro Award for Excellence. Abigail is also the first Artstar artist to sell her work on the television show.
Screenings and broadcasts
The pilot episode of Artstar was privately screened during the Cannes Film Festival in 2005. The first public screening was held at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City on May 12, 2006 at 8pm. Artstar premiered on Gallery HD on June 1, 2006 at 9pm.- Episode 1 (June 1, 2006) - 400 artists appear on the coldest day of the year for an open call at Deitch Projects to compete for 8 spots on the program.
- Episode 2 (June 8, 2006) - The Artstars move into a huge studio space in Tribeca and must collaborate on a project for The Art Parade.
- Episode 3 (June 15, 2006) - The Artstars host a party at the SoHo Grand Hotel's rooftop penthouse and produce installations and performances.
- Episode 4 (June 22, 2006) - The Artstars are sent to Coney Island to paint signs with Artist Steve Powers.
- Episode 5 (June 29, 2006) - The Artstars are critiqued by art consultants and collectors Yvonne Force and Mark Fletcher—and decide on a project for The Art Parade.
- Episode 6 (July 5, 2006) - The Artstars work with graffiti artist Lee Quiones and also visit the studios of artists Kehinde Wiley, Marc Kessler, and Jeff Koons.
- Episode 7 (July 12, 2006) - The Artstars collaborate on their project for The Art Parade and hold their open studio exhibition.
- Episode 8 (July 19, 2006) - The Art Parade launches into the streets of SoHo. The Artstar group exhibition opens at Deitch Projects.
Criticism
Early episodes of Artstar have been criticized for being extended infomercials for Deitch Projects. Like Donald TrumpDonald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
on The Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. TV series)
The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...
, Jeffrey Deitch is described in glowingly positive terms, by other dealers and artists in this case, and there are constant references to the "exciting" work that happens in his gallery. Also, Deitch was quoted as saying, "In the 1970s … no self-respecting artist would have stood in line to try to get on a television show," and critics have claimed that self-respecting artists were still declining Deitch's invitation today (Slate, June 16, 2006). While some observers have appreciated the show's avoidance of reality television cliches like eliminating contestants each week and salacious personal dramas, others contend that Artstar should have been billed instead (and produced) as an art documentary. Some have also interestingly noted that many contestants already had previous ties to Deitch Projects, making the show more scripted than it had been advertised. (For example, Sy Colen is the father of a successful artist represented by the gallery, and Bec Stupak appeared multiple times in Deitch's 2005 book Live Through This)
External links
- Deitch Projects - Home Page
- Deitch Projects - Artstar Open Call
- Deitch Projects - The Art Parade 2005
- Deitch Projects - Artstar Exhibition
- VirgilWong.com
- HoneyGunLabs.com
- AnneyFresh.com
- ZackaryDrucker.com
- GigiChen.com
News articles
- "'Artstar' on Gallery HD: The Art World Tries Realism (the TV Kind)", The New York Times, May 28, 2006
- "Art world Idol", TimeOut New York, May 11, 2006
- "Stroke of genius? Artists to mix it up on reality TV", Chicago Tribune
- "Reality Bites", Artforum, May 17, 2006
- "His 'Artstar' is Rising", The Post-Standard, June 1, 2006
- "He aims to win 'ArtStar' by playing to the gallery", New York Daily News, June 1, 2006
- "Reality Show Artstar to begin on the Dish Network", Art Daily
- "Future, Unscripted Fall pilots: Real deal, or no deal?", Village Voice, May 9, 2006
- "Reality (on TV) Reaches Art World", The New York Times, March 2, 2005
- "The Dye is Cast", Artforum, March 4, 2005
- "Bored, Naked, Desperate: What Happens When Artists Go on Reality TV", Slate, June 16, 2006
- "You're Either In or You're Out", "Paper Magazine," June 2006