Art Star may not have had any established art world talents on its roster, but it did include a sort of art world wink/nudge: Among the mostly 20- and 30-something hopefuls in the final eight was the real-world (which is to say, art world) art star Dan Colen’s father, Sy Colen, a retired social worker from Brownsville, N.Y., who makes sculptures out of wood and clay. In contrast to Parker’s democratic approach to casting, Deitch has admitted that the artists for his show were chosen in part for having “a personality that would project.”

For all the comparisons with Project Runway, there’s a question of how art — which, unlike clothes and food, has no obvious practical function — will be judged on the new show. Parker doesn’t seem to think this is much of an issue, implying that the creations on Project Runway and Top Chef are judged more for their aesthetic than their functional qualities anyway. “Art,” she says, “will be judged in the same complicated way” as its culinary and sartorial counterparts, and viewers will have the same opportunity to comment via text message. “Viewers will have strong opinions,” she promises. “Anytime someone says, ‘I like that better than that,’ people have reactions: ‘That’s a hubcap! How can you say that’s better than this beautiful sculpture?’ ”

Does Parker think her show will raise eyebrows? “I don’t need it to be controversial,” she says, but “I want people to watch. I want people to talk about it.”

Sarah Douglas is Senior Correspondent for ARTINFO, Art+Auction, and Modern Painters.