Emilia Telese VS. Brian Sewell on Five – It’s Pout Battle!
So you thought artists were too cool for reality TV? Think again! Tune in on Five on October 14 2004 and see Brighton based Italian artist Emilia Telese being kicked out for wanting to be a celebrity artist at all costs!
Life of A Star is the latest adventure in live art for Emilia Telese, shortlisted for Five’s new Pop Idol-style £10,000 prize reality TV show, The Big Art Challenge, judged by art critic Brian Sewell, designer Wayne Hemingway and artist Jane Wilson, and presented by Edwina Silver.
Why are we obsessed with celebrities? What’s life like for someone who is continuously stalked, filmed, envied, spied upon, deprived of privacy? Are celebrities ultimately lonely in a sea of shallow obsession and flattery?
Life of a Star is a study of celebrity and the effects of morbid attention from the public for the ‘famous for being famous’.
A movie star, incarnated by Emilia Telese, arrives at the Oscars’ night, surrounded by four bodyguards, protecting her, stifling her, shielding her, describing meticulously her every move, from the raising of an eyebrow to a detailed report of her smile, as a swarm of tabloid journalists are forever asking cheeky questions and launching in preposterous insinuations, and prying paparazzi flash their bulbs and call her name.
The public is puzzled, the gossip flows, the limo stretches long. As she walks around in scarlet Alexander McQueen couture and matching satin heels, she is oblivious to the intrusions, her poised pout and fluttering eyelashes commanding an entourage of PAs, agents, Italian hairdressers, bodyguards and fans with just one Valentino-shaded look. Will she survive the evil Sewell and his fellow art judges?
Live Art at its boldest, vainest, diva-esque!
By substituting her non-famous self to a celebrity, Emilia generates hyper-real reactions. Is she? Isn’t she? What kind of yoga will she be into?
Life of a Star questions the validity of the star system and its preoccupation with status, fame and the superfluous. By losing the TV battle, Emilia will gain back her humanity. Or start a major trend!
Life of a Star
Created, produced, interpreted and directed by Emilia Telese.
Cast
Star: Emilia Telese
Bodyguards: Darius Fattahi-Meibodi
Malcolm Clark
David Curtis
Keith Stewart
Agent: Mark Crane
PA: Sharon Jones
Hair guru: Davide
Paparazzi: Luke Dare
Yvonne Abel
Augustine Flint-Hartle
Matthew Hughes
Dominic Murphy
John Snape
Susan Toulson
Press photo: John Snape
Emilia Telese 