Resembling carnivalesque rock shows that spill out onto the sidewalks, openings at Jeffrey DeitchsSoho galleries appeal to a broader audience than your average art-worldevent: They attract as many downtown hipsters and fashionable studentsas regular gallery visitors—and probably more.

But not satisfied with a dependable troupe of scenesters,Deitch’s latest project attempts to capture an even wider demographicwith a foray into the most popular cultural arena of our era: thereality TV show.

Titled “Artstar,” the first episode airs June 1 at 9 pm (EST) on Gallery HD, a high-definition channel devoted to art programming available on the Dish Network.

In keeping with his efforts at mass appeal, Deitchindicated that offering a window into the workings of the art world tothe TV-watching public was high on the project’s agenda, promising that“'Artstar' reveals a lot about the inscrutable process of making it asan artist.”

So what does it take to go from starving artist to "artstar?" The first episode, which premiered on May 12 at the Museum of Moving Image, tells the story with a patchwork of familiar reality show conventions, beginning with an American Idol-style audition.

Four hundred hopefuls lined up in front of Deitch’s WoosterStreet space on a cold day in February 2005 for a chance to have theirwork inspected by the gallerist and a panel of friends.

Art historian and Performa founder RoseLee Goldberg, Harper’s Bazaar photo editor Cary Leitzes, Paper magazine’s Carlo McCormick, art critic David Rimanelli, executive director and chief curator of The Kitchen, Debra Singer, and Alan Vega of the gritty electronic band Suicide were enlisted to review the contestants’ work and eventually narrow the field down to eight.

At the start, Deitch makes the pronouncement: “When I firststarted out in the art world in the 1970s, the whole idea of aself-respecting artist waiting in line to be in a TV show would havebeen ridiculous."

And the first half of the episode catches the judges’ wit,boredom and, occasionally, surprised approval as they wade through thehopefuls: A middle-aged automatic scribbler, a playing-card-stackingprodigy. These two were joined by a long line of earnest eccentrics—allof whom demonstrate what one judge dismissively calls “conventionalunconventionalness.”

The judges finally select a shortlist from the 400 and call them back for a more intimate Q&A and a series of MTV Real World-style confessional moments.

For all of their confused posturing and comically off-baseclichés, we really want to like most of the artists at this point inthe competition, and that’s the perspective that Carlo McCormick takeswhen the judges finally deliberate.

But if McCormick seems ready to give most contestants thebenefit of the doubt, Rimanelli is the Simon Cowell of the group,tossing unforgiving, contemptuous barbs throughout the show. Deitch,for his part, takes Tyra Banks all-knowing guide approach from "America’s Next Top Model," pointing out faults through patronizing coaching.

At the end of the episode, we’re left with Gigi Chen, Sy Colen, Abigail Dawn DeVille, Christian Dietkus, Zackary Drucker, Anney McKilligan, Bec Stupak and Virgil Wong. And each of the eight contestants has a television-worthy background.

The 67-year-old Colen began making wooden sculpture afterretiring from social work, and he is loveably unversed in the protocolsand attitudes of the art world. McKilligan is perfectly suited toworking on its periphery, where she creates large metal sculpture anddangerous-looking amusement park rides with a collective called the Madagascar Institute. Drucker, who is completing his MFA at CalArts, has been in a few group shows and also has internships at Paper and Artforum on his résumé. His photographs of himself in drag accompanied by his mother stand out from the rabble in the first episode.

Even though the series hasn’t even begun, the apparent winner is Stupak, who had a well-received show with her collective Honeygun Labs at Deitch Projects that opened back in January, which we are assuming was the prize.

Not exactly going from obscurity to the spotlightovernight, Stupak’s video work could also be seen at the gallery a fewyears earlier as a part of an installation by Assume Vivid Astro Focus.Whether winning transforms her into a bona fide “artstar” remains to beseen, but the forgone outcome also raises some questions about theremaining episodes of the show.

The focus will be on "Apprentice"-style collaborativetasks—but without the ever-present threat of elimination, which couldcause viewers to lose interest in the inevitable squabbling. On theother hand, you could always watch for the cameos, which include Jon Kessler, Jeff Koons, Ryan McGuinness, Kehinde Wiley and ArtInfo contributor Barbara Pollack.

How much of an education in the arcane machinations of theart world will the show reveal to the masses? Assuming they have asatellite dish, about as much as American Idol reveals about the recordindustry—that is, it will probably just reinforce stereotypes.

But the show also has the entertainment appeal to win overthe broad audience it is courting. While the show has been criticizedfor being mere Deitch self-promotion and offering little in the way ofartful critique of the reality genre, “Artstar” is surprisinglywatchable television, and its well-paced editing and shrewd selectionof characters competes with the best programming in the genre.

Those of us without satellite subscriptions are not completely out of luck. Through the end of the summer, the Museum of the Moving Image is screening each episode.