When Art Becomes Self-Help

In a moment perhaps better consigned to the mists of television history, Bravo once produced a reality TV show called Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, which had its two seasons in 2010 and 2011. It came between the decline of cable and the rise of streaming, when niche shows were only found on channels like Bravo instead of straight-to-Netflix, where they are now more easily ignored. Work of Art was a visual-art version of Project Runway, in which contestants vied to produce the best portraits, collages, and installations instead of dresses. Fourteen artists competed for a prize of $100,000 and an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum.