Books
The Origin Story of Reality TV Is Funny, and a Little Fascist
In Cue the Sun!, Emily Nussbaum pulls nuggets of truth from the history of the notorious genre to illuminate what keeps viewers coming back for more.
Reality TV
Film
A Japanese Reality Show’s Dark Legacy
Livestreaming, confessional monologues, and subjects’ willingness to let mass audiences surveil them all started here.
Film
MTV’s The Exhibit Needs a Cutthroat Judge
In episode three, the artists created works about the pandemic and bonded with each other, which is cute but doesn’t really make for good TV.
Film
Hirshhorn’s The Exhibit Premieres With Inflatable Banana and Lots of Cringe
The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist is filled with awkward silences and art-world jargon.
Film
The Idiosyncratic Archetypes of The Real Housewives
The cast members in the various iterations of the mega-popular franchise demonstrate the increasing self-awareness of performance in reality television.
Film
Lose Yourself in These Arts & Crafts Reality Shows
From competitive glass blowing to professional LEGO building, stream these creative programs.
In Brief
‘Antiques Roadshow’ Mistakenly Values High School Art Project at $50,000
Recently on an episode of Antiques Roadshow, an art appraisal went very wrong.
Opinion
When Reality TV Imitates Art
Sometimes "homage" is the only way to understand things.
Opinion
James Franco Plans to Explore Art Through Reality TV
Just when you thought art reality TV couldn't get any worse, something comes along to suggest otherwise. In two words: James Franco.
Opinion
Gallery Girls: Cutting Throats, Getting Paid
The advertisement for the new Bravo TV show Gallery Girls is titled “The Cutthroat World of Gallery Girls.” The two-minute preview promises the approved dose of unapologetic reality TV narcissism. Lucky us.
Art
Work of Art Recap: Going Small Town
Simon comes to visit the home of the bonding couch. He sends the artistes on a train ride! They head up to idyllic Cold Springs, New York, where China greets them in a rather fetching trench coat/dress combo. We expect so much from her.
Art
Work of Art Recap: Lola Displays Her "Loose Morals," The Artistes Sell Out
This week, China announces that this week, “it’s time to sell out.” Because no one has “sold out” by going on a reality show, right? Anyways, the challenge is to create art to sell in the street and also display in the gallery. Art and commerce! The challenge rules are a little different: everyone w