I started watching this show with an open mind, even though I had doubts and thought is was probably a bad idea, I gave it a chance. What started out as not so bad it turning into a farce and just keeps getting worse. What a bunch of hooey. A minority of art critics telling the rest of the world what art should be and shoving it down our throats. Miles should have lost last night. They just stood in front of his "piece" and said, oh yeah, it reminds me of space invaders, and that was it? It passed? Did they decide before the show started who the winner would be? You have GOT to be kidding. They would probably judge the Mona Lisa as "contrived". This is why we need The Art Renewal Center. http://www.artrenewal.org/ Erik should NOT have been sent home, that winning "piece" was BORING. Miles wooden box thing was BORING. If it had been in my garage instead of in a gallery, would there have been any way for me to tell it was supposed to be a work of art? NO. The art critics are trying to lock the artists into a box....create art OUR way our you are out. What happened to what I love about art....color and layers and composition and something intriguing to the eye...something that makes me want to look at it again and again.

I was wondering why you spared Miles considering that most if not all of the stuff he does on the show is recycled from his previous works - the plastic wrap, the curvy raised chair, etc. This is easily discovered through a quick internet search. Or perhaps you admire his con game - pretending to pensively ponder each task, leading to an epiphany - of recycling work already produced years ago.

Are you serious? "The most satisfying public art work" to you is "the floral topiary extravaganza "Puppy" by Jeff Koons"??? Well why don't we just state from the outset that the standards for art are that of commercial success based on the lowest common denominator.

I'd really like some explanation for that. I'd also like some sense of what you mean by "public art work." Do you included monuments and memorials? Is site specificity relevant? Is permanence meaningful?

I am loathe to identify any particular work has being better in all ways than all others, but I can think of a host of works that strike me as being more meaningful than Koons' "Puppy." If you want flowers, consider the Bob Irwin gardens at the Getty-Sta Monica. If you want animals, I would go with the lions at the NY Public Library (and a number of other cultural institutions). If you think ease of legibility matters, how about the Viet Nam memorial, or the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC? If interactivity matters, how about Jaume Plensa's fountain in Chicago? If art should be a reflection of the local community, I would certainly vote for the murals in Philadelphia.

Cripes... are you so constrained by the twee art cage of NYC that you really will stand by that parochial assertion?

Back in the 80's when I was an art grad student, I read an article by Lucy Lippard in which she commented on the NY art scene of the time and the big bucks some of the young artists were raking in, and how art openings were bigger than Broadway ones.....her comment was that there's a big difference between saying "I'm going to be the greatest artist of my time" and saying "I'm going to make the greatest art of my time". This show certainly reminds me of the difference, entertaining as it is.

Erik getting the boot, to me, was refreshing. No one likes a 30 something cry baby. His pity me angle was annoying, hes departing line about "quitting art" was expected and the art he created on the show out-right sucked. His only redeeming quality in this episode was to expose Miles. Good ridance bad rubbage!

During the "crit," on the most basic, kind of sweeping level, none of you (judges) mentioned either Turrell, Smithson, Judd, or Knapp...are the producers so committed to perpetuating the "artist as genius" myth that they overlook obvious, recent, antecedents?

Art doesn't come out of a mysterious black box that no one else has ever looked into, it comes from traditions, and from a sense of exploration merged with history.

I would really want to say something negative about Miles but Im not going to give him the satisfaction of contributing to his tortured artist routine.(its getting tired). Eric had every right to not let his team deny him a say in that mess that Miles created. But as it goes with these kind of reality shows its always the one you like and find talented to be casted off.

I question your comment"The work won for its narcissism" for me it was about "Looking" the look/to look/see, being seen is in our DNA! a constant dynamic in our world, funny how each viewer sees what they choose to behold. A man attentive, wary, before a narrow abyss of non-comprehension, even animals have that look! As far as this week, Erik was as much of a bully as everyone thinks he was bullied! his stuck up comment, is misogynistic and he hung himself. He should be glad he got this far and learned something about himself along the way. Can't wait to see the next episode of Capture the flag!

WOW!!!!!!I had so much to say before I read all of the posts. Now I'm just exhausted. I really thought I would be the only one to defend Erik. But alas......God bless all who defended Erik.
Whether you like his individual work or not, Art is about expression and Erik definitely has a voice(with talent). And I think Miles has a voice, with the condescending, obnoxious, and way too advanced superior attitude vocabulary to back his voice up.
It's interesting to read how cold some can be, and I wonder if
"they" were ever in a position of truly soft spoken type bullying. It actually gets you angrier than if someone just beats you up.It's amazing to hear the difference in opinions and try to figure out where people "come from". Rich/poor, School/no school, Street/Suburb.
I'll shut up by saying Miles will indeed be "successful" (with chapped lips and his extensive vocabulary). However Erik
will indeed continue to create and continue to grow as a "real" Artist.

Great show. Great artists. Great judges. Great Host. Bad format.

The format of Project Runway and Top Chef doesn't work for the visual arts. There is something in the left brain vs. right brain way dilemma that makes at least some visual artists approach their work in a way that isn't suited to a timed competition. We see these types, e.g. Judith, Ryan, and Peregrine struggle to adapt as a result yet these are by far and away the best painters in the group (look at their websites).

Plus, there is a time issue that is more difficult to overcome in the visual arts. To conceptualize, secure necessary materials, and then create a great and interesting piece is for more intensive than cooking and sewing.

Moreover, the nature of the art that the artists are doing is too different to be judged in the same group. Judith would win hands down for realism; Miles for installation art; Abdi for pop art (for lack of a better word); Mark for photoshop, etc. Against each other, it doesn't make sense.

I've been very happy to read blogs, etc. where the judges, contestans, and host generally accept reality tv as a legitimate vehicle for this type of show - if not a form of art itself.

Given this support and the obvious talent at hand, Bravo should work closely with them in designing a more appropriate format for Season 2.

These are good artists and the show presents a unique and valuable way to get enthuse and educate the public about art. In its current format, the art is not nearly what it could be and the show is missing a huge opportunity. And, the poor artists are taking a scathing backlash. In a pernickety world like the visual arts, it ain't helping them any - but it could.

In a nutshell, the consumer will come back if there is something good to consume. I'm o.k. with what we've seen so far given the contraints of the competition, but many aren't.

Hope it comes back but with changes that allow the artists to really shine.

I believe having a BFA,MFA, or PhD fine arts degree doesn't make one an artist.
In some way, it can blind you to your own truth.
If you are lucky, an art education can enhance your unique artistic vision.

Is one born an artist?
Or are artists created by a matter of circumstance?
Who determines who’s an artist and who’s not an artist?
Does the general public decide through consensus who is an artist?

Someone once wrote that in 500 years Norman Rockwell would be the greatest American artist ever lived.

I have a theory that 98% of all artworks produced in this century and the 20th century will be either incinerated or buried in a garbage dump. “ARTBAGE“© A word I created.

Will my artwork be ARTBAGE©?

Regardless of my future fate, I will always create my art. I hope Erik does the same.
If anyone is wonder, yes, I do have an art degree. In fact, I just paid my monthly student loan yesterday.

As bad as both works of art were, the truncated pyramid was far more bland and boring. For that reason, and for those defects noted by Jeanne above, they definitely should have lost.

That's what happens when everyone just agrees to everything and no one challenges anything. Blech.

But, if they had won, who do they send home? Everyone was in agreement that they all worked together to make this doorstop collection. So instead, the producers (and I DO think it was a producer decision, not an art critic decision) chose to pick the guy who DARE criticize art school golden boy Miles and those who suck up to him. This gives NYC art a bad name.

I can't believe Andres Serrano agreed to be part of this thing.

Horrible show and even worse art! I can't believe that this week the judges were able to choose a winner since both teams produced such banal public art. At least I wasn't subjected to more of Jacklyn's nude photos of herself or Ryan's self-portraits. Come on Bravo, could you TRY to cast a few more interesting an talented people - sorry but a bunch of 20 year old unseasoned artists don't appeal to me. Maybe that's all you could find because the real pros are out actually making interesting and relevant art.

i went to art school... we're not all snobs as erik seemed to think. he had his head up his butt just as much as miles did his. his art was mediocre and all he had were excuses. he was the one reminding everyone of his inexperience.

collaborations with other artists is HUGE in the art world. it's very important to be able to communicate and perform with others. in my classes, we were forced to work with others often. giving up isn't the constructive way to deal with your opinion not being heard. jaclyn's advice to him was good... if you have an idea, you need to argue it! if you can't convince them, then it doesn't deserve to be apart of the collaborative piece. he argued that he wanted a singular part of the piece to be his... no wonder they said no. it was a COLLABORATION.

Its a shame that Erik has been eliminated because of grade-school drama and bullying. In the end though, only the final product truly matters. Unfortunately the team was unable to deliver, and as such the captain should go down with his ship!

The judges discussed disliking the patchwork quality of the design, which Erik clearly fought against. Erik, though he disagreed with this decision, continued building the structure because he was a member of the team. I personally believe that he was a strong team member despite some friction.

I believe that Peregrine was actually the worst team member as she did not contribute any new perspective. She was simply a yes-woman. Both she and Erik had no say in the process, but Erik attempted to change the design.

In the future you should ask the other team what they thought about the red teams conflicts. It would bring in a fresh perspective.

After watching the wrongful elimination of Erik because of bullying, Bravo has lost a would-be devoted viewer to the series.

Everyone is saying that Erik should have contributed so that Miles would have been sent home for the losing sculpture. If Erik hadn't spouted off at the crit, the judges probably would have picked Miles' design as the winner. The only reason they didn't, imo, is because after Erik's melt down, they wanted to get rid of him. Did you read the judges blog above? She said they eliminated Erik just for that reason! This show isn't about art, it's just entertainment.

I like what you say.

Erik should not have been sent home because he didn’t play well with others. Several people have commented that Erik behaved “unprofessionally”. The show is not supposed to be about the ability to get along and work with others. It is allegedly supposed to be about finding the next great artist. I also agree with the others who have stated that Miles should be the one who got the boot because it was his idea. He even told the judges it was an extension of his earlier work. Erik did help the other team with the project. His heart was not in it (I wonder why????). I also feel that Jackie’s comment to Erik that “You don’t belong here.” Was a perfect example of why Erik got angry. Although the rest of the team did not overtly state that Erik did not belong there, it was clear from the way they interacted with Erik that was the way they felt. I certainly cannot fault Erik for confronting them on it.

Many of the posters seem to also watch Top Chef. On many occasions I have seen a chef in a similar situation with Erik voted off when a group project is the loser. When the chef says “I did not have any input into this meal”, the judges reply “why didn’t you?” or “why didn’t you stand up for yourself?” I believe that if Erik had “acted professionally” and kissed Miles’ butt, the judges would have made similar comments to those of the Top Chef judges and voted Erik off the show. I think Eric was between a rock

The reason given that the losing piece was not safe was bogus. The other piece was easily as dangerous. If young children were running around the park, the winning piece was far more dangerous. The little pieces surrounding the larger piece were so small that if the place was crowded people would be tripping and falling over them because they were not seen. Several of them had sharp, pointy edges that could easily poke a child’s eye out. It would have been interesting if the losing team had stated that the piece was intentionally place so that it faced the open space in the sky left behind after the collapse of the towers. They could have couched it in terms of the juxtaposition between the peaceful sky and the horrific events of that September day. I think they would have had the winning sculpture because the “judges” would have eaten that up. I also think that at least part of the reason the sculpture lost was because the team did not realize why the skyline was so empty in that direction.

If all of the judges said they thought the wrong choice was made in sending Erik home, then why the hell was he sent home? It's an "art" show, not a personality competition.

All about the art..the red team was promising in it's concept (I like 60's art) if they had more time and could have worked on site ...much bigger. The center piece was fine but twice as big with some indentation to climb up on it would have been visually and functually more interesting. The smaller pieces could have been bigger and may be had more connection with the main piece.
The blue piece was very nice, I would have liked to have it closer to the ground to give it a more graceful appearance and easier access. The legs of it were a bit awkard. The metal patches seemed unnecessary and did not really enhance it. More time given to these artists would greatly improve their works.
Both pieces were not inspired, have you seen any of the newer playground equipment in public parks across America? Very hard to do better than what's out there.

Blue team fail, concept, execution and team work. Who should be responsible for this if not Miles and his female followers. Erik did participate as a team member from the beginning, and later being outcast from his own group. Not his idea nor concept was accepted by his team, therefore, not represented here. Execution, he did devoted his labor work as much as he could seem to endure. One voice against three. Does he deserve to go home for this? I think it's a little unfair. Although he might not be as sophisticated nor favored by the judges as much as Miles had, he only fail one of the three thing (team work, in my opinion). While I think the other three people fail all three (concept, execution and team work). But again it's three vs one. Too bad and too sad.

Even if Miles really is acting, why is this so threatening? Are there not bigger obstacles to overcome in the art world and in life? Does Erik really believe there is no acting involved in his behavior? Abdi does not appear to be losing sleep over Miles or anyone else for that matter. He simply continues to work hard and see the best in others.

Seriously? People are sad Erik went home? While I can understand if you liked his "character" (I personally thought he seemed like a nice guy) but as an artist, I was constantly disappointed with his work. And the fact that he wouldn't work with the team for this collaborative effort showed a side of Erik that doesn't do him any favors. The whole reason the other team did well was because they all worked together and were not interested in putting their own "mark" on the piece. Erik was only interested in himself and I truly feel that the team sensed that. It's really hard to work in a group when the steaks are that high but you can't crack under pressure. I thought their structure was incredibly interesting. I also don't understand why people are attacking Miles. To me it seemed like was the one Jacklyn who shot down most of his ideas. I disagree with everyone who says he was bullied. Erik was the one who did the bullying initially. If he was going to attack Miles he should have made a constructive argument about Miles micromanaging the project rather than tear apart his entire character. That was neither the time nor the place.

Since when does a collaboration have to be without conflict? Without conflict, you have everyone patting themselves on the back for being so brilliant and darling without anyone stepping in to push the other collaborants to perform better. I think that's why the Red Team's piece came across as so very stale as you judges noted in your critique. It was boring because nobody challenged the work. Nobody stirred the pot or added some spice and what came out was very static.

What I do not understand is why you would say that the other team's piece was unsafe after climbing upon it and sitting inside it with your fellow judges. That was a bullshit excuse and it came across as such. Now entering Hypothetical Land: why were the main designer and constructor not in the bottom two? I know that Jacyln had immunity, but she designed the damn thing. Miles took charge of the construction, so he deserved to go home over Erik if the safety of the object became such a giant concern between the time you lounged upon it with the other judges and Chow and the time of the critiques. You guys would come across much better if you had just said what was honestly on your mind, "Erik, we don't like you so you're headed home."

To the people complaining about Miles, he gave up a lot of control in this episode and showed that he could accept criticism and adapt his ideas within a team. He wanted a more boxy clubhouse type structure, and when Jaclyn and Peregrin scrapped that idea for the curvy shape, he didn't fight them. I don't know why do many people are so harsh on him. He seems to have the most innate talent as an artist. So what if you think he's awkward or too artsy? He consistantly makes the most amazing, skillful and interesting pieces in the whole competition. It's not the Eukenuba Dog Show you're watching, it's a show about who has the best artistic output among a set of people who love to create. If you want to watch a show about boring people who act in a very predictable way, I suggest you turn into something like The Suite Life With Zach and Cody.

Well, that was too bad about Erik. He was the one selected by the other three to be the outsider looking in, which was his worst fear come to life. I wish he'd been on the other team with the nice people. And I am so tired of anorexic Jaclyn's fake boobs hanging out -- you know, the woman who doesn't like to be LEERED at. Thank the Lord she didn't take her clothes off in the park so that you critics could fawn over ... what ... something along the lines of her "staggering and amazingly fearless exposure." (If only she'd wear her more appropriate PJs during the day so we wouldn't be subjected to an hour of her exhibitionism!) This show is just too pretentious and silly. Pfft. Could have been really good.

This show is doing exactly what contemporary art does- it's shocking people. Bravo must be doing something right :)

One less Work of Art viewer here. A group challenge was a bad idea in the first place and booting Erik was wrong.

I was so disappointed for Erik's dismissal from the show. He really brought tension and dynamics to the other competitors. When I was earning my art degree, I was at a lost by all the "artist talk", and like Erik, I felt isolated and thought I was in the Twilight Zone. Like Erik, I felt that there were too many parameters for good art, but it was always too ambiguous. I enjoyed Erik's point of view, because as an untrained artist, he really tapped into his raw emotions to convey his art. He really "own-up" to his work and not worry about what the art snobs have to say. Unlike some people, Jackie, who appropriate other people's ideas or Miles personifying the tortured artist. I mean seriously, Van Gogh would've vomited; so unoriginal. I hope the very best for Erik, and maybe he can find an audience that can appreciate his work. An audience that isn't too esoteric. I am so moving on from this show.

Erik, if you really have the cohones (sp?) to make a difference with your art - which I feel you have a yearning to do - MAKE IT HAPPEN!!! NEVER admit that you are inferior to anyone. Education comes from many sources and, yes, it is true that creative education (culinary, art, etc...) can be a masturbatory fishbowl of competition. Learn the art history, learn the techniques, learn the jargon and fool them all. There are a million people who start an art education, but only a handful who make a living from it or have a "name" you recognize. Trust yourself!
Of course, this is a soap box that only a 48 year old wanna be artist can preach from! LOL!
Bravo, thank you for making me get ambitious about my art again! My friends from work are having art school flashbacks and sharing insights I never knew we were capable of. To everyone, like me, who ever dreamed of having gallery shows and interesting crits, you are entertaining us grandly.
And not to beat a dead horse I've already blogged about - we never can remember Jaclyn's name - she is just "the naked girl." Something tells me that is EXACTLY why she has survived.

This episode was a lesson in how to create a "bully." Team Red completely isolated and shut down Erik, taking away his voice from the very beginning of the episode. They wouldn't even let him speak during Simon's critique, jumping in before he could say anything and then saying, "I don't want to speak for anyone, but..." But, you just cut someone off, again. Then, Miles pushes Erik down more by saying that there could be no individual aspect to the project and then proceeds to tell the judges how the piece reminded him of his work. I hated watching what happened to Erik and then how it turned in to him lashing out. Any cornered animal will lash out. This was ugly, and it was ugly to watch the judges fall for it. As helpless as I felt, I bet Erik felt worse. Shame on everyone involved in this episode...especially on whoever came up with the idea that a supposedly "group" project could or should be judged individually in any way. Good lesson for the kids about collaboration there...even when "collaborating" you have to be looking out for number one. Gross.

I thought you were basing critiques on the art. If that was the case then why didn't the person who said, "this was an extension of my previous work" (Miles) get sent packing? Sending Erik home for a piece of work that wasn't his, even though it looked like he assisted and tried to place his mark on the piece made the judges appear not up to the task of separating "art" from "personality". I think it'd be a stroke of genius to have the judges "judge" the work without knowing who actually made it.

I love the show. I wish the artist had more time to process and create so we can see some really inspiring work. Ryan and Abde are so talented and it kills me when they are running out of time. As far as the Miles/Erik situation, it is obvious the games that Miles plays. Please, he has trade skills, but his art is drab and boring. Eric was shut out of the project and I can understand his frustration dealing with the one sided Miles. He could have dealt with it better. It was Miles concept, placement and decision making, he should have been eliminated. I would much rather see what else Erik has to create than another screen print from Miles.

My sense is that many of the people posting missed a fundamental point: Erik forced his own dismissal. The team leader should ultimately take responsibility for a failed project - and if the team had worked together, Miles should have been the one sent home. But because Erik would not work with the team - even if his ideas were rejected - he forced his own dismissal. Had Erik wanted to get rid of Miles, he should have put everything into working with the team, not against the team. I have no sympathy for him.
I agree with some of the comments that a)the time to complete projects is too short: it should be extended at least another day, and b) Miles has overplayed the tortured artist role and is now very tiresome - but there is no question he has a great deal of talent.

You lost me as a viewer. The show not only lost Eric, it lost its integrity.

Like many of the commenters on this blog I orginally believed that Erik was judged very unfairly, having to leave, as he said, for a work that was not his. After some thought I still do believe that Erik was marginalized by his teammates, and I also think some of his critiques of Miles bear some merit. However, I have also realized why the judges had to make Erik the one to go: he quit on his team, and by extension, himself. The name of the show is "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist." You do not need to go to art school to know that nobody becomes the next great anything by quitting. It is even more surprising that he gave up because Erik's backstory indicates that he has been fighting through and overcoming many challenges. Had Erik continued to work with the team, giving his best effort, and then explained at the crit that the work was all Miles and had none of Erik's input beyond his physical labor, I feel that Miles would have had to take the fall for the unsuccessful piece. As many here commented, though, Erik picked the wrong way to show his frustrations, and it cost him. I do hope he continues to create art, and does not quit on himself.

"Erik was getting the boot for behaving badly." Great. Since when does 'behaving badly' get equated with creative differences? Doesn't really matter. Most of the artists on this show seem like they are just spin-off characters finding origins in the Breakfast Club.
Salvador Dali could wake up each morning and "experience again a supreme pleasure - that of being Salvador Dali." These artists are no Salvador Dalis, nor will they ever be. At least, not on this show where their art is processed in such small time frames. Stick with Top Chef.

Mrs. Greenberg Rohatyn
I am curious about your opinion on the public sculpture “The Alamo” by Tony Rosenthal located near Astor Place and Lafayette.

I find Erik statement “Stuck Up Art Pussy” and Ryan quote “Miles is a Douche” to be so misogynistic. Granted if douche mean manipulative, ego centric, and Iago like, then the statement fits.

Why do some men feel the need to bash other men with these misogynistic comments?

If you want to provoke a man, question his masculinity. I guess competition brings out the worst in men. All that testosterone must deactivate their verbal skills. Let’s go for the verbal castration as a quick defense.

Are women offended by these misogynistic rants?

I hope Erik continues to create his art. I believe in him.

Jaclyn comment to Erik, “About him not deserving to be there” was insensitive and asinine. Artists come in different sizes, attitudes and levels of artistic skill.

You do not have to go to art school to become an artist. For example the artist Henry Darger Jr.

Seems most comments have taken sides. I graduated with a BA in traditional animation, competed with others and sat through critiques. Yes if Erik wanted to win the contest/show and the $100K he should have sucked it up and kept his opinions to himself by playing along with the group to try to get to the next episode. It is very difficult though for concientious people to be insincere - I myself tend to speak my mind to my own detriment. Miles on the other hand IS playing up to the judges, acting the part of the tormented artist - but if the judges eat it up, then why not. The name of the game is to when the show. Do I like Miles? Initially yes, but now he is getting on my nerves, but then so did Erik's whining even though I could empathize with Erik. I understand the short time allowed to produce the art - keeps the pace fast for the viewers, adds drama and stress to the action, and clearly keeps the housing and production costs down of the show - if they had a week for each project - the crews would costs that much more. So for practical purposes - which are to produce the show inexpensively and profit from selling the commercial time in between the show segments - then no time given makes sense. I do find the judges somewhat lame, but then most of them are on all these types of shows (the few I've actualy seen anyway). Would I go on the show? Maybe - but it would be with the goal of winning the $100K. Does anyone really think by going on this show the public is going to be suddenly clamoring to buy their artwork?

Good or bad - Erik went home because of his lack of art training. What made him unique was his downfall. In art education your work is under constant criticism and scrutiny - you learn to be objective and deal with rejection. You can't get bent out of shape every time someone doesn't like what you do. Right or wrong - educated artists think a like - aka "art pussies". Erik was coming from a completely different place. MIles maybe a jerk, he maybe playing a game but his work is the best.

If it were my money and I had to choose between the two pieces, Scales was by far the beter piece. However, Erik deserved to be sent home, for his unprofessional behavior. Critiquing a person's idea is not critiquing the person, but Erik is too insecure to understand that and his lack of participation made it easy for the judges to select Scales to lose. Had Scales won, it would have been much tougher to determine the loser on the other team... I thought the reasons given by the judges for Scales to lose were pretty lame "I wouldn't let a child play on it" - same goes for The Eiffel Tower and Oldenburg's Clothespin, but they are great public sculptures...

I really enjoyed this episode... I loved how the smaller pebles were made larger.. Things that you don't notice everyday being showcased was cool.

I also loved seeing the beautiful moments with Abdi and his team.. The shots of them working together and the public enjoying the space made me happy.

Anyone else notice China Chow gogo dancing on the piece?

I did not understand the fact of 2 judges thinking Nicole's teams piece was "giving a bad name for art"/ "Bad 70's minimilizm" and then granting them the win.....

That was strange.
Next season they should give the teams far more time and have like workshop style critique that is more thoughful

Erik or Miles - some one would have to go home. The part of the show that bothered me was that the final selection of the art work. Jeanne said it - bad minimalist art from the 70's and yet it won the challenge. If the rules are - who ever is kicked off has to come from the losing team then say that on the show - otherwise the decisions the judges make look ridiculous.

Why do people keep saying Miles is angst-ridden? Does anyone even know what that is? If anything, he knowingly projects the archetype of postmodern quirky-cool. Angst ridden is like Stanley Kowalski or The Smiths. Always wishing you were back in bed is not angst. Writing poetry about how you are going to kill yourself if some girl doesn't love you back is angst. So, if he is so clever as to have constructed a persona (as most will concur) people are not even observing the persona correctly. Which leads me to think that everyone who thinks he has constructed a persona is deluded and probably wrong.

I will continue to watch this show. The creative process and evaluation is what keeps me interested. The drama is irrelevant. It was mentioned previously by another blogger but it definitely takes me back to my days in art school. Regardless of how you feel about the format and the players involved you now have people talking about art that weren't yesterday. Everyone wins.

(that plus Jeanne is hot...yeah!)

Last night's episode was the absolute worst of this show. I do not understand the favoritism applied to Miles by the judges. Though in a way, I do. Miles act as the OCD/tormented/dramatic artist who doesn't need to do research when others are doing it, he can just sleep it off and wake up with the most "genius" idea ever and he gets rewarded for it. Wanna-be "artists" such as Miles really frustrate me. And why does Peregrine have to dress absurdly on every episode? I hate how some artists feel they need to paint an eccentric characteristic for themselves in order to be an artist. All these hipster crap things shouldn't matter, what matters is the work! Isn't this show called "Work of Art," not eccentric, dramatic artist personalities?

Anyway, back to last night's episode. Shame on the judges for sending Erik home as the scapegoat because they couldn't possible send Miles home (I mean, he is the center of the drama on this show and of course they care about their ratings). The whole playground sculpture they did was Mile's idea. He said it himself, it was a "continuation of his last piece." I thought it was ludicrous when he said that to Simon, after telling Erik that nothing is singular about their piece, it's a team. What a manipulator. Jaclyn and Peregrine seemed like mindless robots/Miles' disciples on this episode, together they nixed all of Erik's ideas, and Erik gets the fall for something that was not even his work. Come on now, judges. Really?

"And finally it was slightly disheartening when he implied that this was his last-ditch effort at making art. I would hope that this is just a chapter."
I disagree completely. I don't think the world will miss anything if Erik stops making his adolescent, amateurish art work. I can't even believe he made it this far in the competition.

Last night's episode reminded me a great deal of many valuable Art critiques that any Artist is put through. Rather it be on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. Erik was sent home because he doesn't know how to "play the game". You can either fight with the favorite or you can use their wisdom to manipulate the situation. He should have observed the technique and possibly picked up some new skills. Once you combine an interesting narrative background, with that obtained technical knowledge, people will pay attention and forget about the guy sleeping in the gallery. I certainly hope that Erik knows this now and will continue to work hard. It takes a long time to learn how to be your own cheerleader. I'm curious to see what his work will be like past all those insecurities (the darker work). His journey will be more difficult than Miles, but it doesn't mean he can't make it. The bottom line is that he needs to go to Art School. You don't have to join the bullies, but you can steal their tricks!

If you pay attention to the conversations about the projects, on both teams, there is a vocabulary and conceptualization process that Erik just couldn't participate in. There are reasons why art school is important. Having the will and developing a knack for drawing gets you only a small part of the way there.

Unfortunately in art, training and knowledge are somtimes seen by outsiders as unnecessary. In what other profession is there such a denigration of education? In what other areas of expertise do we value what was done 400 years ago over what's being done today? Until artists are willing to stand up for our profession we get to be the butt end of every uninformed wanna-be who "knows what they like." I did four years of art school, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done - this on top of an M.A. in one of the social sciences. There is a reason for art school.

When it was announced they'd be individually judged, the team should have let Erik be a part of the team. My God, I laughed so hard when they were mocking Miles. If Miles wins, that'll be it. He may be an artist, but he's the kind of artys/fartsy/tortured artist we the plebes expect. Please! Give us something fresh!

I agree with the majority of replies. This is an art competition not a popularity contest. Eric was ANGRY and he had a right to be. The art world is full of fabulous PASSIONATE or ANGRY artists and we do not judge their work by their personal behavior. And speaking of behavior or qualities that make for a Bad artist - Miles is arrogant and feels he has nothing to learn from anyone else. His work is now becoming a cliche. He is not steeping out of his comfortable box of tricks.

Erik's frustration is exactly what compels someone into creating a great work of art. The act of creating NEEDs criticism, rebellion and sometimes isolation. Everyone always agreeing all the time creates mediocracy in art. I think all you critics were hypocrites the week. And by the way MILES is a complete douchebag!