The Apprentice Series 3 - Episode 5

Windows Chestnut (Tim Flach)

"What is 'Art'?"

The task this week was to choose a couple of photographers from a short-list, structure and display their work in a gallery, establish a guestlist, and sell as many paintings at a profit as possible.

The irony is that I love art and could have sold well in this environment, as rightly or wrongly the right art purchase will inflate in price, plus I also knew one of the photographers by association.

I would have loved the task because it brings up interesting questions such as:

• How pushy can you be when selling luxury products such as art?
• Is it possible to sell something you have no understanding of?
• Is who you know - or have access to - more important that what you know?
• How important is your relationship with the supplier (in this case the artist)?
• How do you price something, the value of which is subject to personal taste?

Sir Alan's comment in the boardroom about having a selection of different types of art work to meet different tastes at different prices is extremely valid. I think one of things not well highlighted - other than by Alvin on 'You're Fired' - was the concept of limiting supply: that each photograph can easily be reproduced from a negative so there is no guarantee that what you are buying will remain unique. It is therefore essential to trust the artist and they therefore need some clear history of sales and a good contact list. The choice of the 'Lips by Liz', which were over priced if popular, was probably a bad idea. Also, Liz of the Lips clearly has an over inflated view of how her art will affect the world: I am not sure her husband is so convinced.

Kristina Grimes:	Kristina hasn't really had a look in yet on my website which is a shame, so I shall endeavour to change that. Actually it might appear that, after the 'feminist' incident, we don't get on but actually she is the most grounded person in the house and really wants the job. She also made some seriously smart moves within this task. Firstly, she chose the best photographer (Tim Flach) as he had a range of different photos meeting various different price brackets and tastes plus she managed to hide Tre away in the basement. In the episode you also see her endeavouring to get an exclusivity agreement with Tim, which in my business is an important strategy. I also think she charmed Tim with her clear love of his art but still managed to ask potentially awkward questions about contact and pricing. Go girl you deserve your massage!
Tre Azam:	Thank god he dropped some of his more extreme language affectations for this episode. For the first time we actually saw how bright Tre actually is. Love the patter or hate the patter, you can't fail to admire it. I don't think I have heard such smoothly delivered 'bullshit' in all my days!
Natalie Wood:	So the good news is she learnt from last week and admitted to her mistakes in the boardroom but, on this occasion, honesty sent her out the back door rather than back to the house. She definitely should have chosen an artist with an established contact list and endeavoured to charm them a little more. I agree that she should have taken Katie into the boardroom (rather than Lohit) as Katie sold nothing and, had she played on that, Natalie might still be there. However, she was extremely charming in the 'You're Fired' show and I know she will go along way and does not need anyone's sympathy.
Adam Hosker:	Adam sold amazingly well for someone who has limited experience of the art world but I can understand how as he is so easy to get on with and to trust. Secretly, I think he is more than pleased to have outsold Katie! Go Adam I hope you stay in a lot longer.
Lohit Kalburgi:	I fail to see why he was even taken into the boardroom. The labels weren't great but I suspect they had limited printing facilities and he definitely sold more than Natalie did. I still want Lohit to win as he is such a great guy!
Katie Hopkins:	This is an interesting one! I like to think I am a good judge of character but, based on my changing feelings about Katie, I might have to re-evaluate that assessment of myself just as I have been re-evaluating my assessment of her. I really liked her and trusted her in the house and, in fact, she helped me out on a couple of occasions. However, it appears that she is playing an interesting game of being nice to people's faces and truly nasty to people behind their backs. Wishing someone dead is an interesting strategy: I can only assume she fancies Adam - why else would her feelings be so strong?
	<Read Episode 6>