The Great Big Yawning Art Challenge
The flaw inherent to all TV art competitions is the absence of the Nasty Judge: the Simon Cowell -like figure, suitably deficient in empathy to render every deluded hobbyist entrant to a quivering mound of heaving rejection; to satisfy our own hateful needs, to successfully trash the dream of the deluded, to sour the optimism of those who dare to hold aspirations. Is this not the only thing that could make such lousy television worth watching? It is apparent art is so revered in the minds of TV producers they dare not reduce art criticism to the humiliation of the X-factor format. Channel 4 once attempted an X-factor-style art show which resulted in continual fervent adoration from Tracy Emin for the eventual winner while Matthew Collings exercised his trademark non-committance (lest his ventured opinion offends one of his art world chums, I assume). The BBC's effort demonstrations either their feigned impartiality or their feigned left-wing stance by ensuring only ban...