Over the arc of “Work of Art,” we watched Young Sun Han and Sarah Jimenez grow as artists, an evolution which was never more apparent than it was in the final show. Super-controlling Young granted himself some release from his anal ways and put himself into his work. Sarah J moved away from morbid watercolors and into other media: morbid sculptures, morbid installations, morbid performance pieces, etc., for one stunning final show. The two came so close to being crowned "next great artist" — but fell just short as the judges passed them over for Kymia Nawabi. We caught up with the two honorable mentions to chat about life after reality TV and what exactly was on China Chow’s head during that finale episode.
So, what did you guys have planned for the finale?
YS: I organized my local gay bar, Big Chicks, and got all my friends together. I’m still recovering.
SJ: I’m in D.C. right now and I just watched it with my family. No big party. They were at the final exhibition, so we just got to watch it over again.
And what did you and your friends think of the final outcome?
YS: All of your loved ones want you to win and everything, but they saw I was very legitimately happy that Kymia won and thought that she deserved it.
SJ: I think Kymia and Young did amazing exhibitions. During the show I thought it would be a toss up between me and Kymia, but I really think all three of us put in a tremendous effort the best that we could, especially Young putting out such a vulnerable part of his life.
It was very brave of you guys to put yourselves on display this way, but you also shared a lot of really intimate details about your families and other people close to you. How did being on this show affect them?
YS: I almost didn’t do the show just because a couple of weeks before we were set to film, my mom almost passed away. There was a lot of drama around that but I’m glad I did the show because she was able to look forward to it every week and I've been watching it with her and my grandma. It’s definitely kind of tied our family closer together. It was pretty special.
SJ: I was very nervous about my family and how my mom and dad would perceive the kids challenge [where I talked about their divorce]. I called them before the episode aired and I let them know this piece brought up a lot of feelings for me. I wanted to tell them that I love them, and I know they support me, and I'm not sure how it's going to air on TV. They were understanding and forgiving about it.
There are clips of Simon de Pury talking about his DJ gigs. Is he actually the coolest person ever?
SJ: If you Google him, he has videos on YouTube where he’s hip-hopping. He has songs about himself being an auctioneer. He’s singing them! And they’re to hip hop beats! He’s amazing.
YS: Simon has so much life and personality. He’s just so honest and open, and even when the cameras aren’t rolling he’ll be giving you advice or asking about your family. He’s a real, genuine, interesting, puzzling man.
I noticed a lot of the contestants are still waiting tables, nannying, or living with their parents post-show. Was the money your major driving factor here? Is everybody still struggling?
SJ: I knew that if I completely focused on the prize and the money, it would completely interrupt my creative process and I would make work that was inauthentic. For me, the question was, how do I make work that I'm proud of and that pushes myself to new heights, as opposed to focusing on the money — although it was in the back of my mind.
YS: You have to make compromises to make it work for you, whether it's working crazy hours, living with parents, getting ten roommates. People who want to be artists find a way because they need to. The economic opportunities for artists are different from other professions.
After you won that huge cash prize, Young, did you end up taking your mom to Korea?
YS: I haven’t gotten my money yet! But once I do we’ll be taking a really fantastic trip for sure.
You guys spent a lot of time in front of the cameras, sometimes not while you were at your best. Was there anything that happened during filming you were not looking forward to seeing yourself do? Sarah, for example, you drew a lot of your work from very personal, private experiences you ended up revealing on national TV.
SJ: When I'm in that state of heightened emotion, I just go to what is true for me, rather than wondered what it’s going to look like on TV, although it was uncomfortable watching it on TV. At the time I didn’t really think about it. I thought about how my experiences aren’t unique. They're very common to other people, and maybe someone else could identify with them.
That's not the only time you did that, you know.
YS: No, its not, but during the street art challenge they were very practical as far as getting up on scaffolding and staying cool. But during the sell out challenge it was about... putting your ass out there.
Did anyone else feel that the final crit was a total Jerry and Bill disagreeathon?
SJ: I really felt like Bill played devil's advocate a lot. That was his style of critiquing. I mean, there were definitely multiple points where the judges disagreed on many things. In the final episode I felt like Jerry and Bill had different opinions about the art, which I think they enjoyed as criticis. They enjoyed that critical banter around artwork.
Can we just end by talking about China’s fashion for a second?
YS: You know, she has a very eclectic style but strong sense of couture sensibility, very avant-garde in a way without being too showy or brassy. It’s kind of like Lady Gaga turned down five notches. She does dress for fashion and for art, not for the attention of men or to look sexy, which would be very easy for her to do. I loved her little acorn tophat she wore. And her googly eyed Chanel dress for the finale and her Bjork braids. Like Bjork meets Swiss milkmaid.