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Question: I've seen a lot of debate in the last week since Breaking Bad aired its midpoint finale of this terrific split final season. Much of it focusing on whether Walter White would be obtuse enough to leave Gale's signed copy of Leaves of Grass lying around for anyone ...
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After all the studio flirtations, scatological subject matter and soggy breakdowns, Work of Art: The Next Great Artist crowned its second season winner Wednesday night.
[WARNING: The following interview reveals the winner and details from the finale.]
In her final exhibition challenge, Iranian-American painter Kymia Nawabi created an installation that examined the concept of what comes after death through detailed drawings, amplified with textured paints and accompanying burial sculptures. She beat out performance artist Young Sun Han and figurative painter Sara Jimenez to win a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum in addition to the $100,000 cash prize. Not bad for a waitress with only $50 to her name.
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Heading into the final judgment on Wednesday's Work of Art, Lola Thompson, the mischievous and provocative artist whose mom dated Al Pacino for a decade, believed her conceptual portrait of a couple of historian-collectors had a real shot at making the Final 3. And the episode, indeed, painted the judges as having to make a tough call whilst evaluating the portraits of people found in the village of Cold Spring, N.Y. No one stuck out for being exceptional or a total flop. "It felt like that. I don't think any of us really knew what was going to happen," Thompson, 24, said. "I was definitely surprised. I was sort of hoping and thinking maybe I would make it to the finale. So, it was really sad when I didn't."
Thompson, who says she's currently working as a nanny for "two gorgeous young girls," spoke with TVGuide.com about giving judge Jerry Saltz (unintentional) grief over her elimination, why it appeared she threw Dusty under the bus, and the real deal between her and Kymia. Plus: Her final word on The Sucklord.
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Dusty Mitchell was not only surprised to have been cut from Wednesday's episode of Work of Art, but he was also pretty upset. He stands by his portrait of a child made entirely out of candy as a winning work. "I don't really understand why the judges felt like it needed to be laced with conceptuality," Mitchell, 32, said. "It is a portrait. I think the combination of materials and image provided a sufficient amount of substance that went far beyond a gimmick."
Mitchell, who works as an installation artist, sculptor and art teacher in Arkansas, opened up to TVGuide.com about his feelings toward his competitors' portraits, his problem with judge Jerry Saltz's critiques and what's next for him. Plus, his thoughts on having to wear Young's short shorts!
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Some thoughts about what's on tonight, starting with the reality contests. Was CBS' Survivor just teasing us with that trailer that showed Edna the Meek possibly upsetting Ozzy the Cocky in the next Redemption Island challenge? We'll believe it when we see it, but it would be nice for something unexpected to happen. The final Upolu 5 have stayed boringly, rigidly loyal to their game plan the last few weeks, but now that it's down to the next-to-last episode (8/7c) — the finale airs as the usual multi-hour extravaganza on Sunday — all bets presumably are off. Could anything keep Coach from making the finals? And if Ozzy somehow is bounced as well, that would make the climactic tribal council more interesting — which isn't the same as memorable.
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