Dan Elias joins "Antiques Roadshow" this season as the new host--no small task considering he might encounter anything from rare old maps to video games to a big blue whale on Route 66. This is Elias' first foray into television, and now that taping has finished for the fifth season, the new master of ceremonies takes a few moments away from his contemporary art gallery in Boston to give us an appraisal of his first year with "Antiques Roadshow."
Q: You run the Elias Fine Art gallery here in Boston. Have you always been involved with antiques, or was it more a general interest in art history that attracted you to "Antiques Roadshow."
Elias: Actually, my background is in contemporary art, not antiques. But I am very interested in the stories objects have to tell--the things people leave behind them, the material history of our country, whether these objects are new or old. So my interest at first was not necessarily in antiques but rather in the way that the program was presenting its material, presenting context about artwork and objects on television--and doing it so successfully.
My life as a contemporary art dealer consists mainly of trying to give people that context--what an artist was thinking about, what the ideas and background involved in a certain work are. It's the hardest thing to do in contemporary art.
People often feel if they need a story, the art isn't strong enough. And yet "Antiques Roadshow" is telling stories, and fifteen million people a week are tuning in to listen. So it's obvious that the stories--the context behind the works of art--are very important. And of course the program has found a way to make those stories not only accessible an interesting, but fascinating.
Q: I understand it was through your wife that you found out there was an opening as host of "Antiques Roadshow." What convinced you to audition for the job?
Elias: My wife (Karen Keane of Skinner, Inc.) is in antiques, and she's been on "antiques Roadshow" since the beginning. She knew that Chris Jussell was going to be leaving the show, and she suggested I give them a call. She kind of said, "Oh, go on!" I wouldn't say Karen pushed me, but she let me know she thought I would be good at it. I don't have a lot of experience with antiques, and I certainly didn't have any experience with television. But at some point I realized that, in a way, the people who made "Antiques Roadshow" were doing my job better than I was. I thought that auditioning would at least be a good opportunity to get these very busy people in a room and ask them questions to really find out how they did it. But after the screen tests and whatnot, they decided to offer me the job; at that point I said to myself, "This'll be fun." So I signed on, and here I am.
Q: Not all antiques are necessarily objects of fine art, of course. Do you find your own interests have expanded or changed since you joined ROADSHOW?
Dan Elias: They've certainly expanded to include more antiques. But I'm also fascinated to see the other kinds of things that come in to the ROADSHOW, including contemporary objects that excite appraisers. For example, I did a segment in Las Vegas on Atari video game cartridges, which apparently are collectible even though I certainly remember playing them myself-probably older than I had any right to play them, in the 1970s and early 1980s. So it's not just the antique objects that are of sought after in the collectibles world. Frankly, that suits me fine because, again, I'm interested in the stories and in the context and ways to present objects that are interesting and vital and lively.
Q: How did your first summer traveling with the ROADSHOW compare with your expectations?
Dan Elias: Well, that's an easy one: I had no idea what it was going to be like. As I started the first weekend at Austin, I hadn't the faintest idea. The learning curve was essentially vertical for three solid days, mainly because I hadn't ever done any TV production. It was immensely exciting, a great summer, a lot of fun, getting to know ANTIQUES ROADSHOW and how it works, the appraisers who really are the centerpiece of the show, and the crew who put this show together in such an extraordinary fashion.
And the challenge of it has been a lot of fun for me-figuring out that I can do things like successfully deliver lines to the camera standing in front of the Hoover Dam in 120 degree weather!
Q: So with your first season behind you, what stands out as the part of your new job you enjoy the most?
Dan Elias: Part of it, as I said, is this idea of challenge—that it's almost a physical challenge, and certainly a mental challenge, almost like running a race, to be able to do these things in the various environments in which we shoot. There's a real trick to maintaining concentration and focus while being relaxed and getting the ideas across to the audience in a clear and understandable way despite the numerous distractions.
There are also lots of parts of the job that are just plain fun. Going out and sitting on Route 66 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in front of a big blue whale made out of concrete, or getting to go to museums, institutions, collections, with the appraisers who know so much about them. And getting the behind-the-scenes look, having the appraiser pull out the best thing in the collection for us to talk about.
Then there's the opportunity to get out there to Tulsa to Madison to all these different cities around the country, meeting so many thousands of people who are bringing their objects in to the show. That's tremendous.
