Art or Not? Artists Who Push the Boundaries of the Definition of Art

2007-08-12 until 2007-08-25
Ovation TV: www.ovationtv.com
Santa Monica, CA, USA United States of America

Continuing its commitment to “Make Life Creative” Ovation TV, the only television network devoted exclusively to art and personal creativity, will present a 14-day programming celebration, “Art or Not?”, Sunday, August 12 through Saturday, August 25. The two-week event commenced with an Ovation TV original special, “Art or Not?”, a one-hour exploration of a question thats entertained, frustrated and inflamed passionate – and even casual -- art lovers forever: “Is ‘it’ art, or is ‘it’ not art?” The special will showcase artists from the edges of the art spectrum to gain insight into what makes people passionate -- and highly opinionated -- about a broad range of visual art. The special was produced for Ovation TV by Triage Entertainment (“Survivor” finale specials, “Iron Chef America”).


In addition to the original special, for the duration of the “Art or Not?” programming event Ovation TV will present 25 programs relevant to the question of “art or not?”, and will involve the audience by providing viewers with opportunities to voice their opinions by voting at www.ovationtv.com. In addition, viewers can vote online on a series of images they believe to be “Art or Not?” and receive an instant tabulation of how their opinions stack up against the rest of the web world.

Included in the “Art or Not?” event will be two World Television Premieres (“Belly Talkers” and “The Art of the Harley”) and three U.S. Television Premieres (“Kombat Opera” from Stewart Lee, creator of Jerry Springer: The Opera; “The Lowdown on Lowbrow” and “Beware Live Art”). The line-up of shows will give viewers a look at artists, musicians, filmmakers, actors, photographers and designers who have broadened the traditional notion of what art can be.

“This ‘Art or Not?’ event will playfully explore the ever-expanding range of what art means in 21st Century America,” said Kris Slava, Senior Vice President, Programming, Ovation TV. “Art is a living thing that engages minds and stirs passions. We want to ignite conversation about what is ‘art’ that will spread across a variety of unique programs and spill onto our website and beyond. This is not about creating a new canon – it’s about engaging and involving viewers, and letting them decide for themselves. Ovation TV will continue to explore virtually everything Americans call art, in a very smart and yet very accessible way.”

Highlights of the programming event include:

WORLD PREMIERE

“Belly Talkers”
Thursday, August 16 – 9:30 – 11:00 PM
Director Sandra Luckow presents a respectful and fun tribute to the art of ventriloquism. The documentary covers the history of ventriloquist performers and takes on a very endearing personal tone as Luckow and her puppet “Juanito” tell their story. Featuring interviews with many other contemporary ventriloquists, “Belly Talkers” is a charming and eccentric love letter to a unique art form.

U.S. PREMIERES

“Beware Live Art”
Wednesday, August 22 – 8:00 – 8:30 PM Live art, aka performance art, tends to involve the unexpected. Beyond that, its hard to define. It may have elements in common with performance arts such as experimental drama or dance, but it moves beyond the conventions and usual boundaries of these other genres. Some acts seem closer to conventional drama performances, while others involve shock tactics and immediate reactions from bystanders/participants.

“The Lowdown on Lowbrow”
Monday, August 19 – 8:00 – 9:00 PM
The “Lowdown On Lowbrow” is a one-hour documentary chronicling the evolution of the lowbrow genre and style including the relatively recent emergence of female artists at the forefront of the movement. As pop culture, surf, music, films and the mechanized culture of the hotrod begins to permeate the mass subconscious, so does the popularity and accessibility of pop or lowbrow” style artwork. Bold, sexy, vibrant, and bright, much of the work of the lowbrow artists juxtaposes the unlikely yet familiar elements of popular culture together in startling new compositions. As the fine art world shuffles conservatively along, with its academic intellectual justifications as to why a piece of work is or is not art”, lowbrow comes along with its bold images, color, and sexuality and grabs its fans. Now in its third decade, a new generation of lowbrow artists is emerging from behind the flame jobs and tiki heads. Working in a wide variety of styles, and largely resentful of being classified at all, lowbrow artists are creating work in the most innovative ways possible and fighting to claim their rightful place in the history of western art.

“Kombat Opera Presents: Spouse Change, and The Applicants”
Monday, August 13 – 8:00 – 9:00 PM
From Stewart Lee, co-writer of Jerry Springer: The Opera come these outrageous half-hour operatic parodies of popular television shows. American audiences will immediately recognize “Spouse Change” as a takeoff on “Wife Swap” and “The Applicants” as “The Apprentice.” And when they stop laughing, they will ask themselves, “was that art or not?”

“Spouse Change,” an operatic interpretation of “Wife Swap,” sees a down-home Alabama wife, Adey Winchester, swapping life in her double-wide trailer for a life of domestic bliss with Roy Gay, a Philadelphia interior designer. Meanwhile, his partner, Darryl Gay, runs the gauntlet of Bible-belt homophobia during his swap in the Mid-West.

“The Applicants” -- Sir Alan Prentice is an entrepreneur, straight-talking businessman and the hirer and firer in reality TV business show, “The Applicants.” The episode sees the contestants pitted against each other to become their mentor’s favorite and claim a position on his board. Their task is set by the short-tempered Knight and, as the axe hangs over the head of one of the contestants, the infamous line “You’re fired!” is heard and another contestant is lost in a spectacular, bloody fashion.

About Ovation TV: Launched in 1997, Ovation TV is focused on entertaining, inspiring and engaging the artist in all of us. The 24-hour channel is the only television network devoted exclusively to art, personal creativity and making the arts more accessible to viewers in their daily lives. The network showcases the world’s greatest artists in theater, dance, opera, literature, film, visual and fine art, music, popular arts, design, photography and architecture. Ovation TV features original programming and a multi-platform content strategy that includes partnerships with leading American cultural and art institutions and educational organizations. After launching nationally on DIRECTV (Channel 274), Ovation TV will reach nearly 15 million subscribers, and has cable distribution in key U.S. markets and master distribution agreements in place with most major cable operators. In August 2006 Ovation TV was acquired by Hubbard Media Group and a group of other private investors which includes Arcadia Investment Partners, Corporate Partners II, Perry Capital, and The Weinstein Company.

For the past several years, Triage Entertainment has produced one of televisions most watched programs,- the live season-finales of the blockbuster CBS series, “Survivor.” Other 2006-2007 series and specials include “Jamie Foxx: Unpredictable” (NBC); the annual “A Home For The Holidays” holiday concert (CBS); the hit series “Iron Chef America” (The Food Network); the first annual “Food Network Awards”; the long-running series “Cowboy U” and “The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders” (CMT); the annual urban comedy festival “Laffapalooza” (Comedy Central); and the live “Daytime Emmy Pre-Show” (SoapNet).

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