Sieben Tage In Der Kunstwelt (German Edition) (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
Conceptually this book works, each chapter addresses an aspect of the art world. Written in a gossipy style, the author reveals the inner workings of the art world and explores the commercialisation of art, name drops big collectors and blockbuster artists eg Murakami and Koons. The Murakami "studio" is interesting for its detail and portrayal as an organised machine; the "auction" chapter exciting for the theatre and suspense of outcomes however overall this is a superficial book where the author pastiches different views of her interviewees rather than coming up with her own conclusions. A fun and well-written account of the different systems of evaluation at work within the art world. Sarah Thornton manages both to get interesting quotes out of some of the art crowd's major protagonists, and, maybe the more difficult task, to make all of them look somehow sympathetic, even if they hail from the dark realm of the secondary art market. All in all, she portrays the art world as the highly complex and contradictory system it is today, and the book has a sense of urgency befitting contemporary art.Her concept of dividing the book into seven chapters dealing with a specific site (e.g., auction house, crit class, biennale) works well, especially as a couple of protagonists keep popping up in their respective roles at these sites. What I found slightly annoying was Thornton's enthusiasm for describing people's appearance; if it were important that an artist does not wear any makeup "except for some plum lipstick", Thornton should at least have tried to somehow decode this as some specific kind of statement. Also confusing is her insistence on the book being "ethnography" - I'm no ethnographer, but I would have imagined that, as a scientific text, this should amount to an overall thesis or discursive analysis of the material - which simply doesn't happen. I read this much rather as journalistic account - a very good one.
What do You think about Sieben Tage In Der Kunstwelt (German Edition) (2009)?
This was a very interesting perspective of the art world's upper echelons--the engrossed movers and shakers currently at the industry's summit at the time of this publication. As an outsider with little understanding regarding the art industry's inner workings, my eyes were opened not insignificantly toward how that particular "world" operates. I found the anthropological journalism engaging me toward further research from here. As a catalyst to expand my horizons, I am grateful for the time spent on this fine book. Now to see where the paths of understanding tendril from here...
—read
I've always felt stunted in my understanding and appreciation for art, and this well-written book has confirmed that I am not too far off base (take that as you will). I appreciate the author's sentiment that the art world is (something along the lines of) a collection of fragmented, squabbling subcultures.Now, as someone who considers herself to have great appreciation for literature, I have to wonder what seven days in this world (the world of MFAs, fellowships, magazines, publishers, etc.) is like.
—Clare
Good. It exposes a lot, one realizes what a group of scumbags the art world is.
—banny
