Seven Days in the Art World
Book - 2008
The art market has been booming. Museum attendance is surging. More people than ever call themselves artists. Contemporary art has become a mass entertainment, a luxury good, a job description, and, for some, a kind of alternative religion. In a series of narratives, Sarah Thornton investigates the drama of a Christie's auction, the workings in Takashi Murakami's studios, the elite at the Basel Art Fair, the eccentricities of Artforum magazine, the competition behind an important art prize, life in a notorious art-school seminar, and the wonderland of the Venice Biennale. She reveals the new dynamics of creativity, taste, status, money, and the search for meaning in life. A judicious and juicy account of the institutions that have the power to shape art history, based on hundreds of interviews with high-profile players, Thornton's entertaining ethnography will change the way you look at contemporary culture.--From publisher description.
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Publisher:
New York : W.W. Norton, c2008.
ISBN:
9780393067224
039306722X
039306722X
Characteristics:
xix, 274 p. :,ill. ;,22 cm.
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Add a CommentVery good!
an insider's look at the international art market, with stops at seven representative venues around the world - informative and entertaining
Very entertaining, but no real analysis or criticism of the contemporary art world. After all, the author is part of that world, and her subjects wouldn't agree to speak with her if she were judgemental. Still, a great read. While the author has a PhD, here she acts only as a journalist.
A great insight into the business arm of the art world. An intriguing read that passes by fast.
Sociologist Sarah Thornton turns her lens to the contemporary Western art scene. Over 250 interviews yielded six entertaining day-in-the-life vignettes detailing an auction at Christie’s, the Basel Art Fair, the journal Artforum, the Turner prize, notorious CalArt student seminar, Takashi Murakami's studio and the Venice Biennale. Her account spans six cities and features strong, elegant and gossipy descriptions of the art world's players, their conflicting interpretations of creativity, status, money, and ideals of beauty.
A look into the highly contrived world of the art business. A great read.
7 Days in the Art World is exceptional in that it gives the reader access to a secretive world that molds the art of this century. The author's opinions are subtle and do not interfere with her observation of fact; it is up to the reader to deduce the truth. The author does not attempt to provide aesthetic judgement or guidance:her job is to provide a "bird's eye view" of an organism that is constantly evolving with the vagaries of the economy and the winds of change in art criticism and art education. I am delighted to have read this book. Time well spent! I highly recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary art.
Art Aficionados