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What do you get when
you cross an eclectic group of young artists with old-school television game
shows like "The Price is Right" and "Let's Make a Deal"? The answer: "Art Show
Down"; a Western-themed, art-focused game show that's part cultural criticism,
part art installation, and, according to director Jeff WarmouthMaster of Fine Arts ’97), part “cheesy,
ridiculous fun.” “Game shows are a
strange index of American culture,” says executive producer
Roland
Smart(Bachelor of
Fine Arts ’98), a curator, mixed-media artist, and marketing consultant who
conceived “Art Show Down.” But Smart knew a game show required collaboration. He
invited his Boston-based artist friends, including Rand Borden (Diploma ’93, FY
’94), Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) will begin taping “Art Show Down” in front
of a live audience at Art Interactive, a Cambridge gallery. The show will challenge its contestants to,
among other things: climb a rock wall and hang as much art they can in one
minute; distinguish genuine pieces of art from forged replicas; and, with hands
tied, don paintbrush-equipped helmets and cover an opponent with paint. Egged on
by the show’s host, “Chlorine,” a Boston improv performer who sports the most
unsigy mullet ever, 16 contestants will be whittled
down to one “ultimate champion” over the course of seven episodes. “There’s an
element of parody to it,” Warmouth says, “but it was really important that we
make it as playable and engaging as any classic game
show." “Art Show Down” draws
from predecessors as disparate as “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune,” and the
result, Warmouth hopes, “will be as anarchic as ‘The Gong Show.’” CCTV will
broadcast the show
on Saturdays at 8
p.m. starting September 30. To purchase tickets, visit the show’s Web site, www.artshowdown.tv.
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