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Seven Days in the Art World
Named one of the best art books of 2008 by The New York Times and The Sunday Times [London]: “An indelible portrait of a peculiar society.”—Vogue
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 ...more
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 ...more
Paperback, 287 pages
Published
November 2nd 2009
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published January 1st 2008)
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I got to read an advanced copy of this book and write a blurb about it for the magazine. Sooo, not only did reading this book make me feel extremely cool, it was also a really enjoyable read. Thornton is a "cat on the prowl" in the most important (and impenetrable) centers of the contemporary art world. Her account is gossipy and educational. What could be more fun?
Overview - It's a book about 7 different environments of the art world:
* an auction (at Christie's in NYC) - below
* a MFA crit session (at CalArt) -below
* a visit to the Basel art fair (Switzerland)
* the Turner prize in London
* a visit to Artforum (magazine)
* a visit to the studio of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami
* a trip to the Venice Biennale
Overall it was an easy read, but as an artist it bothered me.
I have been to an art auct...more
* an auction (at Christie's in NYC) - below
* a MFA crit session (at CalArt) -below
* a visit to the Basel art fair (Switzerland)
* the Turner prize in London
* a visit to Artforum (magazine)
* a visit to the studio of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami
* a trip to the Venice Biennale
Overall it was an easy read, but as an artist it bothered me.
I have been to an art auct...more
Thornton plunges into a full-immersion study of seven radically different environments of the art world, from a Christie's auction to an open crit session at CalArt, from the Japanese studios of Takashi Murakami to the Venice Biennale, and records what she sees and hears. Several sets of wonderful stories emerge, with occasional overlap as a few figures move from one scene to another, but for the most part these are highly disparate snapshots which demonstrate that there is no one "art worl...more
A terrific read. Some of Thornton's interviews contain breathtaking definitions and questions of art and/or the artist.
"A protest against forgetting" - Eric Hobsbawn, quoted by Hans Ulrich Obrist
"[...] do you choose somebody to make history or do you confirm history?" Andrea Rose
"I was taught that one of the defining premises of modern art was its antagonism to mass culture [...] I could argue that Takashi is working within the system only to subv...more
"A protest against forgetting" - Eric Hobsbawn, quoted by Hans Ulrich Obrist
"[...] do you choose somebody to make history or do you confirm history?" Andrea Rose
"I was taught that one of the defining premises of modern art was its antagonism to mass culture [...] I could argue that Takashi is working within the system only to subv...more
A survey of the contemporary art world through an enthnographic study of various art scenes such as the auction, the student crit session, the art fair (Turner prize), the journal (Artforum), the artist's studio and the Biennale, this book is more entertaining than analytically critical due to its journalistic descriptions and the interview soundbites from prominent figures. Thornton's slightly dry, mostly impassive tone, serves to highlight the various (sometimes incongruous) perspectives the d...more
This book comes across as a mix of reportage and ethnography, with a feel of being a related series of magazine articles rather than a normally structured non-fiction book. I like that, since most introductions can be skipped if you plan on reading the whole book, and most conclusions are somewhat half-baked.
There were two things that I really liked about the book. The first was her non-judgmental reporting. So many viewpoints were held by so many of the "art world people"...more
There were two things that I really liked about the book. The first was her non-judgmental reporting. So many viewpoints were held by so many of the "art world people"...more
In spite of her apparent hopes that this book might be a ethnology of the art world, it comes across a group of magazine articles that describe seven events -- an auction, an art fair, a biennial, etc. -- and how they contribute to the economics of the art world, how things are sold, and how reputations are established.
Being relatively ignorant about any of this, I was surprised to discover that galleries at the upper echelons don't just sell to the first person willing to write a chec...more
Being relatively ignorant about any of this, I was surprised to discover that galleries at the upper echelons don't just sell to the first person willing to write a chec...more
I am sure that most readers of this book also chose it because we will never be able to attend a Christie's Post-war art auction, the Venice Bienniale, or the Basel Art Fair except vicariously through Sarah Thornton. Lucky for us, she does so with grace and wit and every other attribute I would wish to exhibit when in attendance at one of these prestigious events. Not to mention her uncanny knack for never forgetting an important face or name, which would certainly be my first failing point. ...more
This book almost went in my unable to finish shelf. First, a bit of history about this book.
The book club I attended chose this book for July's read. It was a complete accident that this book got chosen as we are, technically, a Fiction Book Club. But the cover looked interesting and it was out of most of our normal "comfort" zone, so chosen it was.
I think my perspective on this book was changed from what it might have been due to the book I had read just bef...more
The book club I attended chose this book for July's read. It was a complete accident that this book got chosen as we are, technically, a Fiction Book Club. But the cover looked interesting and it was out of most of our normal "comfort" zone, so chosen it was.
I think my perspective on this book was changed from what it might have been due to the book I had read just bef...more
If you are confused by the contemporary art scene, this book is a great introduction. It does not explain the art itself, just the art WORLD. Each chapter represents a "day" (or several) at a different art-related location: an art auction at Christie's in New York, a criticism session in an art class at California Institute of the Arts, the Art Basel Fair in Switzerland, the awarding of the Turner Prize in London, a day at ArtForum (the most respected art magazine in the US), a visit...more
The author uses her experience as an investigative journalist, functioning as a participant observer, to bring the reader inside what she purports to be The Art World. Seven well-crafted chapters explore a natty Christie's Auction, a bohemian CalArt "Crit", Basel's Art Fair, Venice's Biennale and Takashi Murakami's studio among other venues. Heavy emphasis is given to name-dropping, cash flow, social pecking order and any other element that underlines the exclusivity of this field.
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An easy, quick read--and interesting. The author's great strength is also her weakness--she describes and observes, rarely (if ever) judging what she is observing. The entire work could have been made into a fantastic, searingly acidic satire on the "art scene".
From the chapter The Crit
"After an hour or two on the floor, I remember why I am here. I'm trying to gain some site-specific answers to some big questions: What do artists learn at art school? What is an artist? How do you become one? What makes a good one? Responses to the first three questions are wide-ranging, but people's answers to the the final question are all about hard work. Paul Schimmel, chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), put it most el...more
"After an hour or two on the floor, I remember why I am here. I'm trying to gain some site-specific answers to some big questions: What do artists learn at art school? What is an artist? How do you become one? What makes a good one? Responses to the first three questions are wide-ranging, but people's answers to the the final question are all about hard work. Paul Schimmel, chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), put it most el...more
An entertaining tour of the contemporary art world: from auction to artist to museum to art magazine to art fair. Occasionally lapses into a bit of anthropological analysis, but stays mostly in a strong, detailed, and enjoyable descriptions of the funny animals in the art zoo. Strong reportage.
I didn't much care for this book; I don't think the ethnographic approach to a culture as sophisticated as that of the modern art industry is particularly illuminating. It's a field that requires a much more critical approach than mere notebook jottings can really afford. First of all, there's the basic fact that the term "art world" itself is deceptive, and in more than one way. It's deceptive because the private world of the private artist, though it takes part in this broader fie...more
So far I have read the first chapter on the auction and it was fascinating to me as I have never looked or read about this activity and its relation to art or the value of art both financially and aesthetically or even if there was a relationship there, but it was a real education both on the auction itself and the art involved. As an added treat the documentary "Mona Lisa Curse" with Robert Hughes was on the Ovation channel and he covers many of the same issues, although I only saw bi...more
Sarah Thornton plunges herself into the inner workings of the fine arts world; from crit class to Christies to the bienale... It's a bit of a joy to read as an arts administrator myself, though while she tries to "go behind the glam" of the art world, she definitely hypes it herself. I also think she leaves out some key aspects to the actual commodities of the art world. She sticks to interviewing super famous artists, patrons, and curators, while I think it would have been nice to mix...more
Thornton takes each chapter of this book to discuss parts of the "Art World," from class critiques at universities to Christie's auction house to famous international exhibitions. Parts of this book were interesting to me and parts just dragged on. If the reader has no superficial interest in auctions or art fairs or any financial aspect of art to begin with, this book might not be that interesting.
I didn't feel that the author made a very convincing argument for why she chose th...more
I didn't feel that the author made a very convincing argument for why she chose th...more
There's something thoroughly depressing about this book - from the perspective of someone who makes art, anyway. The in-your-face presentation of the artist as a pawn in so many other profiteering individual's plans is, I suppose, nothing new, but this book really drives it home. For 200 pages, that is. In the long run, it arms you with knowledge that you certainly will somehow benefit from, be this the world that you desire to participate in (in any capacity). Sarah Thornton's caveat in the aft...more
Uno de los mejores libros que leí sobre arte contemporáneo. ¿Qué más puede uno pedirle a un libro?: prosa atractiva, información calificada, trabajo de investigación intachable, actualización bibliográfica. Una postura descontracturada pero rigurosa, sin alardes de "cultura" ni de "insider". Tampoco nada de bibliografía metodológica, aunque es una investigación etnográfica de la mejor tradición en la antropología. Comparable, por lo desmitificador y pragmático, a Los mundos d...more
I think this is a great book if you're still not 100% sure what goes on in the upper echelon of the art scene. The author commits each chapter to a different venue of the art world that you probably will never have access to unless you are insanely rich, an A list artist, an MFA student or lucky enough to work in those fields. She visits Christie's auction house, the Venice Biennale, the offices of Art Forum, Cal Arts MFA Crit class with Michael Asher, Murakami's studios, the process of the Tur...more
Really interesting reportage from a world I know little of: the world of contemporary art. The author has a degree in art history and a PhD in Sociology and has written an interesting anthropology of this world of big money, chasing the next big artist/artistic trend. It is written around seven single days in an art auction, art school, art magazine, artist's studio, at an major art gathering etc. Her background thesis is that art has become the new religion providing meaning and pattern in the ...more
Of the seven sections - The Auction, The Crit, The Fair, The Prize, The Magazine, The Studio Visit, and The Biennale - I found the most capitalist one, The Auction, the most interesting. Although, Thornton's "framing device" of swimming at The Cipriani during The Biennale section annoyed me, so I guess my priorities aren't completely out of line.
Capturing the social insecurities and status jockeying of buyers at a Christie's auction with humor and style is no small feat, a...more
Capturing the social insecurities and status jockeying of buyers at a Christie's auction with humor and style is no small feat, a...more
I am a book selection committee for a summer reading program at the university where I work. Our theme this year is museums. This was one of the books that was being considered.
I think if I knew more about the art world to begin with, this book would have been more interesting to me. I did like the format of the book and how each chapter explored a different aspect of the art world. You could definitely tell Ms. Thornton is a journalist from her writing style.
I think ...more
I think if I knew more about the art world to begin with, this book would have been more interesting to me. I did like the format of the book and how each chapter explored a different aspect of the art world. You could definitely tell Ms. Thornton is a journalist from her writing style.
I think ...more
When I read books like this one, I sigh with relief that I am a humble librarian, completely unconcerned with the business aspects of the world that seem to have permeated our whole society, even, it seems, the art world. Thornton visits seven icons of the art world, and devotes a chapter of her book to each. It is a very complex world. I had the picture of the artist working diligently in his studio, oblivious of the demands of the world. That is not the picture Thornton presents. Instead, she ...more
Sarah Thornton nails so many aspects of the art world, it's almost as if she's an insider. This is a book I think many professional artists would love to force their non-art world friends and family to read, because it gives such a realistic view of how several layers of the art world work. However - the chapter on the graduate student critic is cringingly not like any upper level student crit I've suffered through (seems very undergrad and horrifyingly cliche) and the chapter devoted to "T...more
Ballet dancer, teacher, astronaut, architect, author... curator. My latest future career choice has certainly been cemented through reading "Seven Days in the Art World." A sort of intellectual Hollywood, the modern art scene is exciting, fashionable, glittering and fast paced. Each of the vignettes take place in a distinct sphere of this universe, linked together yet able to stand alone. Highlighting a memorable cast of characters and situations from classroom to publishing house to a...more
A fascinating series of snapshots of the pre-recession contemporary art world: an auction at Christie's, a critique at CalArts, Art Basel, the Turner Prize, Artforum Magazine, a visit to Takashi Murakami’s multiple studios and the Venice Biennale. Thornton conducted over 250 interviews spanning 3 years, so there is a lot of information packed into each of the vignettes, but she has a very conversational writing style, so this work, created as ethnography, feels much more like a group of intercon...more
Seven Days in the Art World is a really informative and enjoyable read. I really like Thornton’s style of writing: detailed observation peppered with humour and very clear. The book is organised into seven sections that de-mystify different areas of the art world. As an artist I particularly enjoyed reading about the behaviour of art collectors and dealers in The Auction and The Fair. In these chapters Thornton provides a fly-on-the-wall insight into the commercial side of art that is reveal...more
As a writer and artist I've found this inside view of the bigtime art world fascinating. She takes you inside a Christies auction of contemporary art. Art that could be worth millions in ten years or worth nothing. And shows how the dealers and collectors can manipulate prices, Then inside a marathon 14 hour critique at Cal Arts, And an art fair in Basel where a collector says he has spent almost nothing in the first half of the year -- nothing being several million dollars. An eye opener of a b...more
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Thornton has a BA in Art History and a PhD in Sociology. She writes about contemporary art for The Economist and contributes to many other publications and broadcasts (such as BBC TV and radio, ZDF television, and NPR radio).
A Canadian who came to Britain on a Commonwealth Scholarship, Thornton’s PhD was published by Polity Press as Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital. She co...more
More about Sarah Thornton...
A Canadian who came to Britain on a Commonwealth Scholarship, Thornton’s PhD was published by Polity Press as Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital. She co...more
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“Although the art world reveres the unconventional, it is rife with conformity. Artists make work that "looks like art" and behave in ways that enhance stereotypes. Curators pander to the expectations of their peers and their museum boards. Collectors run in herds to buy work by a handful of fashionable painters. Critics stick their finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing so as to "get it right". Originality is not always rewarded, but some people take real risks and innovate, which gives a raison d'être to the rest.”
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5 people liked it
“Our lives are constantly changing. Different things become relevant at different times in our lives. We are motivated by our changing sensibilities. Why can that not be applied to art?”
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Aug 17, 2010 10:57pm