“X-factor in Art”: Reality Art Show on BBC Two

On Saturday early evening when I was on my way back from work, reading a weekly company newspaper that I got from my boyfriend, I found out that there will be a new “reality art show” with Charles Saatchi coming up on BBC Two this autumn.

The article on ariel (written by Claire Barrett) starts with the following statement that was made by Francis Bacon:

“[A]rtists aren’t born [;] they need to meet the right people”

Having used to discuss about this controversial idea quite passionately with my friends when I was in an ”Art School,” I was drawn into the article on the train.

The idea is that in the University class room, we have studied the canonical idea of the figure of artist being represented or recognized as a genius, and yet later on realised that it can actually be a matter of who you know rather than just what you produce in the reality outside the class room that will define the future of an artist – it was a question of nurture or nature, or a matter of having the both to be come an “Artist” with the big capital “A”.

The central idea of this upcoming programme Saatchi’s Best of British is to invite Charles Saatchi as the key figure to pick up 6 amateur artists, and to nurture the talent (and people connection, possibly) for over 3 months at a specially created Art School where the artists will be enrolled into.

The interesting point is that Saatchi will not appear directly in front of the camera – rather, “We see him as a kind of Charlie figure from Charlie’s Angels,” giving suggestions and opinions to the artists as well as tutors who will be mentoring the students. In other words, here, Saatchi is almost presented as a God like figure. With the image of Saatchi as an art dealer being synonymous to the image of success in Art, the artists’ success seemed to be guaranteed with the blessing of the God of Art World Saatchi.

In the art theory class I used to attend, what mattered was more of the figure of artists themselves being genius or God/des like. However, the history might have slightly shifted its spotlight to the dealers with God/des like talents as well as (social & financial) authority, and of course, a great passion for Art.

*Saatchi’s Best of British; Entry to the competition is open to any UK resident who is over 18, and is not represented by a gallery. You can register on www.submityourart.com for further detail and submit your work until the mid night of 28^th March, 2009. Hurry, hurry!

*The Press Release from the BBC can be read from here.