School of Saatchi - Final
(was on BBC2)
They think it’s all over. It is now.
But who won it? Well, let’s have a run-through of what we had. Six artists (Samuel Zealey, Eugenie Scrase, Matt Clark, Saad Qureshi, Ben Lowe and Suki Chan). Six art pieces in the Saatchi gallery. All keyed to win the prized slot of a piece in Saatchis exhibit in the Hermitage Gallery St. Petersburg. To win they need to do something bold, something daring, something unique.
So what did they do? A painting, a ladder to nowhere and a log on a fence. WTF? Is this what passes for contemporary art? No wonder the general public think it’s the biggest con since NAMA. It’s so hard to separate the talented from the chancers and, sometimes, the best man doesn’t win.
Sam: His piece was a Van de Graf generator with a wig attached. When turned on the hair would spread out like some weird bio-engineered flower. Poor Sam, he spent weeks waiting for this to arrive. Spent all his budget on it and discovered only 3 days before the show that it was FAR too dangerous to have turned on in the Gallery. Heartbroken, he went home to await news of his new plan - to only have it turned on briefly as a special event. After a painstaking wait he got permission, but it was obvious he’d made a mistake fatal for his chances of winning.
Matt: This is the guy I mentioned in an earlier post as having made a piece based on a film. His passion seems to lie in creating micro worlds that he invites you to experience. The piece for the Saachi gallery was no different. He built a caravan from scratch and filled it with the trappings of a character who roamed the lands preaching from his mobile pulpit. It seemed to be the most popular work among the public.
Suki: A videographer. Her videos are beautiful moments of time captured. Unfortunately her piece ‘White Tower’ for the Gallery was very weak. It was a ladder to a head and shoulder height room where the sound of a flying wasp was being played. Eh… no. A great pity.
Eugenie: everyones favourite chancer. This kooky lil’ brunette got into the competition by placing a whistle on a string on a handle. The phrase ‘you are kidding’ crosses my mind everytime I see this girl. For the gallery she made a fake grappling hook and anchor -not very well executed, for that matter. Ah, but then little Eugenie spotted a log impaled on a fence. She convinced the owner to part with it and put it in the gallery as a second piece. Hard to know what to say about that.
Ben: A talented commercial artist. Sadly, he returned to his comfort zone and produced a painting and collage as his final piece. This pretty much killed his chances in a place like Saatchi Gallery which favours the bold and the immediate.
Saad: I did have a bit of a rant about Saad last week (sorry!). He had trouble being inspired this week so he put himself under a sheet of material and ran about ‘injecting life into material’. I do love this guy. His piece I didn’t love so much. It wasn’t all it could have been. In a word, dull. Didn’t reflect the fiery Saad at all.
The Winner:
After the show the artists were very quickly (and a little ruthlessly, in my opinion) put out of their misery. It was boiled down to two. Matt and Eugenie.
So who could they give it to? The prize of a spot in St. Petersburg and a studio for three years? The artist who consistantly gives and has improved with every challenge? Or the artist who is so incredibly random in achievement, abilty and reason?
There could be only one answer for Charles Saatchi: Eugenie! Which makes sense as he wants to be surprised and tickled by art and Eugenie is anything but predictable. Thankfully, he is not without sense and compassion: Eugenie and her log on a fence went to Russia but, when the exhibit hits London nine months later, Matt gets to have 1 piece in it (Hurray!). Also, since Eugenie is still finishing art college, she is letting Matt use her studio for the year Woot! maybe the best man didn’t win but, at least he didn’t lose.
Wrap-up:
I’ve followed these artists for the past few weeks as they’ve being given a chance to show what they’re made of. Some good, some bad, but all trying hard to create Art. The show was littered with shots of work by established British artists, some of it looked amazing and I really would have liked if they’d shown a little more. In the end I think many of them where just so overwhelmed by exhibiting in the Saatchi Gallery that they didn’t push it as hard as they could have. I have no doubt that each of them has gone on and will just get better as they continue in their careers.
I caught a bit of the show and I’m sorry to say, your round up is far more impressive. That is to say, I really liked your posts. The idea behind the show seems far better than the execution of it.
I was tremendously disappointed with the final. They could have, and should have, made it so much more special.
The second to last I liked as they showed a bit more of previous artists work.
@Darren Absolutely. the idea was great and could have been better. They could have made it longer by an episode at least. I wonder if the budget was far less than the aim.
wouldn’t it be great to have something like that here?! A competition of artists for all over Ireland and a big show at the end?
It would have to be focused though. The good thing about ‘School of Saatchi’ and the one before it ‘Design for life’ (looking for an intern for designer Phillipe Starck http://www.starck.com/) is that they have a very clear ‘look’ and goal. I would be afraid an Irish one would look for something too Oirish.
“Well yes, it’s an incredible piece of work, but what does it say about being in Ireland”
*smack*
still. I’m glad you watched (and read the posts). and thought the same.