TV! Work of Art

This show is drawing to a close, and I have to say that I've enjoyed it in my own warped way. Yes, it's been frustrating and caused me to yell, but that's more than I can say for most TV shows, right? That's been caused by a combination of the personalities of the artistestants and the weirdness of the judging. Also, a lot of the art produced on the show I just don't get, and I'm not sure if that's because a lot of it has been installation art, and it doesn't translate well to a television screen, or if I'm just not sophisticated enough to understand it, or if it's actually crap.

Anyway, this week was the last challenge before the finale, so two artists were eliminated to get down to the expected final three. The artistestants were taken out into the woods and told they had to get inspired by nature, and incorporate natural found elements into their pieces. I thought that you weren't supposed to take stuff from parks, but maybe not. Ah, well. Here's how they did:

Winner, Abdi! For the piece above. Isn't it amazing? It was nice to see him hit it when he really needed to. He used ground up dirt and gravel as part of the painting medium for this piece, "Baptism." This may be the best piece created during the entire season, and I hope he can sustain his momentum here throughout the finale and win the whole thing.

In, Miles (Faux OCD Guy), with his entirely incomprehensible tribute to fungus. He constructed some sort of medieval looking wooden and nail catapult that he used to penetrate plastic to drizzle bleach to make a print that looked like fungus. Or something. I don't get it, and it just smelled like cloudy cleverness again to me.

In, Peregrine (My Little Pony), for her tree in boots sculpture, with cutouts of people having sex. She has some witty ideas, and some serious skill, but I'm not sure she can win if she continues to make these sort of insubstantial little form sketches. Plus, I'm still upset over her treatment of Mark in the last episode. Bah.

Out, Nicole, for her light bulb sectioned fur pie. I was sure she would be in the finale, because the judges love her mysterious treasures. I think her stuff might be better in person. I honestly wasn't a fan, but was shocked when Peregrine made it instead of Nicole.

Out, Jackie (Naked Girl), for her. . . rock on a pipe in front of a seascape. She was in the woods. It was cold, and she couldn't take pictures of herself naked (seriously, she basically said that). She tried to use naked pictures that she took in the bathtub at the apartment, but that was against the rules. She had a cold and slept and whined. She went home. I do not understand this woman--either her basic personality or what she creates. However, the judges loved her, so I thought she had a chance. But no.

For the finale, it looks like they get a complete gallery show with mulitple pieces. Like Project Runway, it looks like they go home for a certain amount of time, and work on their final collection. I'm still interested to see what these three present, and that says something.

On a final note, I'd like to say how much I love their mentor, Simon. He's constantly telling them to "Be bold! Be brilliant!" I need a mentor like that, to come around when I'm making jewelry or just vacuuming.