Is nothing sacred anymore?  I mean, I guess when I really think about it, reality television has brought us a myriad of soul-crushing goodies in recent years.  I have seen “Snookie” get punched in the face full force by a man (thanks beaucoup Jersey Shore), a Dwarf-dating show actually managed to see the light of day, and wasn’t that guy who hosted Cheaters actually stabbed?!  Merci reality television, for bringing us D-list celebs from a motley crew of unknowns ranging from service professionals to 20-somethings with tongue rings to the idle wives in Orange County.  Bravo’s latest stab at cashing in on the reality TV cow offers us “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist.”

I’ll be honest, I am prejudiced against reality television shows.  I am especially prejudiced against reality television shows about art produced by Sarah Jessica Parker.  I mean, if you’re one of the unfortunate souls that saw Sex and the City 2, I think we can all agree that her judgment is a little erhmmm….questionable.

As horrifying as reality TV can be, I get the voyeuristic appeal of reality programs.  So fine, I decide to give Work of Art a try.  From the opening credits we get it: Ah-ha!  This is Project Runway–but with paint!  Art enthusiast, China Chow, plays the role of Heidi Klum, and is joined by a panel of art-world pros ranging from the brilliant auctioneer, Simon de Pury, to renowned critic, Jerry Saltz.

So what exactly are our creative hopefuls battling it out for?  A solo show at the “world-famous Brooklyn Museum” and $100,000.  Not bad!  So in gladiator-style competitions of the paintbrush, clay and camera, the 14 contestants compete with one another over a series of challenges designed to bruise the ego and separate the cultural visionaries from the unworthy.

So who will come out on top?  Will it be Nao Bustamante–the flamboyant video and performance artist who is deliciously detestable thanks to comments like “I know what you’re thinking.  Maybe Nao’s a little too established for this show.”  Or will it be Peregrine (yes, actually) whose self-portrait features a figure vomiting flowers.  She explains: “I’m really into lilies right now.  And hermaphrodites.”  The fact that her work can be found in the Whitney kind of stops me in my tracks, but I decide to persevere and keep rolling with it.  It is Miles who wins the first challenge and gains immunity due to his haunting death portrait, meanwhile China scolds the losers: “Your work didn’t make us feel anything.”

I’ll come clean–I kind of enjoyed Work of Art in the end.  Bravo delivered yet again with the right mélange of consumable personalities–the hot chick, the geek, the neurotic, the lovable fuck-up, the late-bloomer, the raging bitch, and my personal favorite, the angst-y misfit.  And you can’t really argue that the plot is avant-garde, though I’m not so sure that’s what the producers were going for…

For the inquisitive viewer the show brings up all kinds of interesting questions if you’re willing to go meta–who is qualified to judge art?  How is art being commodified in our culture?  Who are those gifted, willful people who are going to emerge as the visionaries of the Facebook generation?  And what on earth would Warhol say?!

Or maybe it’s better to just put down the heavy questions and pick up the bag of potato chips–after all, Top Chef is on next!

Simon de Pury