Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See

by Bianca Bosker

The author of Cork Dork takes readers on another fascinating, hilarious, and revelatory journey—this time burrowing deep inside the impassioned, secretive world of art and artists.

An award-winning journalist obsessed with obsession, Bianca Bosker’s existence was upended when she wandered into the art world—and couldn’t look away. Intrigued by artists who hyperventilate around their favorite colors and art fiends who max out credit cards to show hunks of metal they think can change the world, Bosker grew fixated on understanding why art matters and how she—or any of us—could engage with it more deeply.

In Get the Picture, Bosker throws herself into the nerve center of art and the people who live for it: gallerists, collectors, curators, and, of course, artists themselves—the kind who work multiple jobs to afford their studios while scrabbling to get eyes on their art. As she stretches canvases until her fingers blister; talks her way into A-list parties full of billionaire collectors; has her face sat on by a nearly naked performance artist; and forces herself to stare at a single sculpture for hours on end while working as a museum security guard, she discovers not only the inner workings of the art-canonization machine but a more expansive way of living.

Probing everything from cave paintings to Instagram and from the science of sight to the importance of beauty as it examines art’s role in our culture, our economy, and our hearts, Get the Picture is a rollicking adventure that will forever change the way you see.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Memoir, Biography, Sociology, Contemporary, Audiobook

384 pages, Hardcover

Published February 6, 2024

About the author

Bianca Bosker is an award-winning journalist and the author of Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste.

Bosker has written about food, wine, architecture, and technology for The New Yorker online, The Atlantic, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Food & Wine, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and The New Republic. The former executive tech editor of The Huffington Post, she is the author of the critically acclaimed book Original Copies: Architectural Mimicry in Contemporary China (University of Hawaii Press, 2013). She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Ula Tardigrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it takes a considerable amount of courage to admit, as the author does in the introduction, that “a lot of the [contemporary] art I saw was barely recognizable as art". And yet it is a very common sentiment. I myself stopped trying to "understand" what I saw in galleries and museums - I just decided that I liked some of it and was left indifferent to the rest. But Bianka Bosker does not give up so easily. With a level of obsession worthy of a medieval knight-errant, she sets out to explore the art world and comes back with a most strange tale to tell.

It is hilarious, but also very insightful and informative. I loved her writing, her uncanny ability to capture things in perfect phrases. The book is full of keen observations (“I’d noticed that art devotees spoke like they were trapped in dictionaries and being forced to chew their way out") and deep dives into the history of art and the human connection to it. In all its intensity, it was a slow read for me, I had to take breaks - but each time I returned to it, I was immediately captivated.

Thanks to the publisher, Penguin Group Viking, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Alisha Fernandez Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book! As a huge fan of Cork Dork, I have been waiting for Bosker’s next deep dive and this did not disappoint. She provides the most fascinating behind the scenes view of the art world that is compelling, delightful and has you alongside her for every step of her deepening obsession. I can’t stop talking about it to all my friends and family. A must read for art newbies and aficionados alike. ❣️

[richard scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book! Mrs. Bosker's critical yet enthusiastic tone is pitch perfect to take the glamour out of a toxic, pretentious environment. As a full time artist working in NY and Paris for the last twenty years, I had many laugh out loud moments, especially because I know some of the people Mrs. Bosker talks about either personally or by reputation. It was even more delightful to learn a few things I hadn't known about the blue chip NY art world. Some of her revelations reinforced my own observations - such as the toxicity in arts administration, and the fact that unless you have "magic money", it's almost impossible to survive long in this highly competitive and opaque world. The "market" doesn't really care about quality, it cares about "context" (i.e. are you rich or cool, do you know rich or cool people?) But, despite the gatekeeping, it can be worth it.

I was one of the rare exceptions. I grew up in a trailer park, had no money or connections when I moved to NY. I'm neither rich nor cool! Through a lot of luck, good timing (also luck), hard work, and carefully cultivated social skills, I was able to carve out my own niche. As Mrs. Bosker says many times, there art many art worlds - which makes the art world feel small, but it means that there can be a judgement free place for you if you know where to look. And what is true in one world isn't necessarily true in another. It is possible to participate in the art world without dealing with the hyper elitism, gas lighting, smoke and mirrors exploitation, price fixing, and money laundering of the 1%. This is perhaps her most salient larger revelation, which I interpret as a commentary on late stage capitalism (and the result of the "greed is good" Reagan revolution). The art market is the largest unregulated market in the world, and as such is a great example of how a laissez-faire or neoliberal free-market actually plays out in the real world: it becomes a toxic, exploitive, Oligarchy. Do we want every other sector of our society to follow?

But as I said there are ways to skirt around that bull$41T and the pay off is the genuine aesthetic experience itself. It was a nice reminder of why I got into this in the first place! I applaud Bianca Bosker in navigating around the toxicity and putting in the hard work of developing her own "eye". Thank you for taking us along on your journey of discovery!

-Richard T Scott

[Katherine B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book were twice as long! Listened to it in one day and seriously considering a reread. I discovered Bianca Bosker via an old podcast, discussing her previous book, which I also loved. To my luck, I learned Get the Picture was coming out soon. If you love art, NYC, and want a candid behind the scenes look, this book is for you!

[Jayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited about this book because I was thrilled with Cork Dork. Maybe Cork Dork, set the bar too high. I didn’t engage with this as much. The author is a terrific storyteller, and I love her narration of her books I just didn’t feel like I learned anything That I will hold on to about art. Maybe I just like wine more!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! I loved Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker, and this follow-up is divine. Bosker is clearly an artist herself of the written word. This is a fast-paced, conversational, fun, and well-researched guide into Bosker's deep dive into the world of contemporary and fine art. I love how she explores the endless potential of art, but she's also plainly spoken about the insularity and privilege of the fine art world. I, too, love art (though theater is my #1 medium of choice) and have often seen contemporary art pieces and asked, “What's happening here?!" Bosker explores that question in the book, too, and also turns it on its head. If you're at all interested in art, this is a must-read.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a lot of unanswered questions (which may be part of the point). I enjoyed the sections that explored how to appreciate art, more than the sections about parts of her journey that were less enlightening.
It has inspired me to approach museums differently on my next visit.
Audio

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love learning about something I know nothing about. Super accessible and so interesting

[Barbara VA · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Charlotte Book Club. Loved her in Cork Dork so this was a natural fit. I’ve seen a lot of art, started going to NYC art museums in elementary school and even remembering my first art teacher in 1st grade. He made such an impression on me even though I have no talent to produce a drawing, sculpture or a painting.. I am not a gallery person so much but I do love the fine museums on London, Paris, Florence, Amsterdam, you know te names. Many multiple visits and I a never bored, I read art books, biographies , see the movies. I am not a collector. My pieces are not expensive and may be just a print from a museum shop but they all speak to me I like to look! Do I see? Still unsure but I know what I like and what Iwant to be surrounded by, I know colors and how they make me feel. I adore Monet, he makes me smile as I smell his gardens! A favorite painting is in a local artists studio. Is was painted by a local artist when he was living in Europe early last century. Two Dutch Milkmaids carrying buckets of milk. I can feel the weight on their shoulders wearing the wood harness and the sun beating down. But it is the detail of the crocheted caps the girls are wearing that draws me in. Not especially elaborate but tbe detail is so real, I can read te caps as if they were a pattern I had downloaded and went to rush out to buy white Cotten yarn and start crocheting his minute! I am sitting in my comfy chair, I just finished a 4 hour knitting session a g I looked up to see a painting I had commissioned from a photo my husband took on a trip to Italy. He literally took about 90 shots of this one field on a warm October afternoon. So many shades of green and a perfect blue sky. But stuck out in the middle of the huge area surrounded by all that magnificent green is one orange tree! I am at peace

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get the Picture is a super interesting and voyeuristic foray into the art world, from Brooklyn galleries and Miami art fairs to artist studios and art collector living rooms. Contemporary art can be easy to make fun of, and this book doesn't hold back when it comes to smirking at more "difficult" work (which makes for satisfying reading). It feels good to punch up, so to speak. I listened to the author-narrated audiobook, which was mostly fine but at times there was something about the tone of her voice I would describe as squeaky or high-pitched that felt very grating on my ears (especially in the morning). Bosker provides insights that aren't surprising if you're an artist or someone with some exposure to contemporary art, but overall, it's very well written. I think more reflection as to how the author infiltrated the rarefied art world so seamlessly would have added depth to the work. For example, when Bosker is following an art collector couple at an art fair, they confess that her presence as a journalist "covering" their collecting habits lends them beneficial cultural weight/air of importance, which in turn might increase their chances of landing better art acquisitions. This type of using, that is, using another human being for your own personal gain, is like the subtext to the whole book. It seems like in the art world, everyone is using everyone else for publicity, social contacts, cultural clout, to bolster their own sense of self. It is very exhausting. Leaving this mechanism mostly unspoken left a lot on the table, not to mention the fact that Bosker doesn't acknowledge how her own social markers (class, ability, gender, race) allowed her relatively easy access into this image conscious world. Exploring these facets would've said more about the deeper values of the art industry and individuals within it.

[Jeff Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was approaching the end of this audiobook, I was compelled to drive to the Phoenix Art Museum. I actually listened to the last 5 minutes in the museum's parking lot. Inside, I followed Bianca Bosker's instructions for engaging with the art, and it was honestly an amazing experience. As someone who works in the museum space, I am always thinking about ways to get new audiences to experience beauty (a word Bosker tries to destigmatize in the book). Too often, art feels exclusionary and intimidating, and not for everyone. That's what this book sets out to tackle, including encouraging people to find art in unexpected places. It's not a perfect book, but it's very good, and enlightening. Part expose on the artist and gallery dynamics, and part how to, it's well worth a read or listen.

[Jennifer Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating and thorough look into the art world through the lens of participatory journalism. Bianca was the proverbial “dog with a bone,” unwilling to relent on her quest to figure out what is art, why it matters, and does it even matter in the first place. As you can imagine, there are no definitive answers to those questions, but Bianca doesn’t take the easy way out of the paper bag. She spent months offering herself up on the altar of galleries, artists, and the art world itself to find her version of the answers. I thoroughly enjoyed going on this journey with her, and if it’s any indicator of her success, this book made me want to go sit in an art museum for hours. In lieu of that, I will instead seek out the art and beauty that surrounds me every day.

[Noah Goats · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this hilarious and perceptive book about the contemporary art scene. Bosker really plunged into the depths the art market and she takes us right into the guts with her as she explores the pretentious, preposterous, expensive, desperate, delusional, and occasionally amazing thing that is contemporary art.

[John FitzGerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Beauty is the instant you sit up and start paying attention." Like when you notice a speeding bus bearing down on you? When someone takes out a gun? When a balloon pops in your face?

But that is Bosker's conclusion. I guess it's exciting for her but for me it was a letdown after going through her imaginatively compiled survey of the art world.

And it's yet another analysis of art that more or less ignores the visual features of visual art.

[Roy Lotz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, I feel compelled to give this book top marks—not because I agreed with everything Bosker said, and not because I loved every moment of it—simply because I doubt a better book could be written about its subject. Bosker threw herself at the world of contemporary art with the devotion of a fanatic and the patience of a saint. This book represents, in a very real sense, a decent chunk of Bianca Bosker’s life. Years went into it.

The comparison with Pollan is apt, as—like the food writer—Bosker is a kind of experiential journalist. She is not content to read art theorists and to visit a few galleries. No, she must work for a gallerist, apprentice with a painter, watch over the art in a museum, sell paintings in a show, plan an exhibition—in short, she must do everything that anyone involved in the art world does. And in so doing, she painstakingly assembles a map of this small, strange world.

The (ahem) portrait that she paints of this world is not flattering. This is especially true of the first part of the book, in which she becomes an assistant to a hip Brooklyn gallerist, Jack Barrett. I must say that I found Barrett to be the most unlikable person I had read about in quite some time—and I am including the murderous cannibals in The Road. He epitomizes everything unsavory in the art world: an obsession with reputation, with coolness, with inaccessibility, with fitting in—with everything, in short, except the art itself.

Like many gallerists, apparently, he prefers a property on an upper floor, so that it doesn’t attract street traffic. Visits from ordinary people—so-called ‘schmoes’—are to be avoided at all costs, as their appreciation is worse than worthless: it is detrimental. He even contemplates, at one point, hiring a web designer to make his website as difficult to use as possible, perhaps with white font over a white background. (Judging from his current website, this was wisely decided against.)

This emphasis on inaccessibility is certainly reflected in the language of the art world, whose style will be familiar to anybody who has been in academia. Probably many of you have had the experience of seeing something incomprehensible in an exhibition, turning to the plaque for guidance, and being confronted with a text that only adds to the confusion. As Bosker notes, this style of writing came into vogue in the 20th century, modelled after the French deconstructionists—whose already turgid prose was translated into highly unidiomatic English, and then emulated by anglophone writers. It is, in short, language meant to mystify and intimidate, not enlighten.

Most importantly, in Mr. Barrett’s world, “context” is king—which is really just a pretentious word for “reputation.” He is constantly worried about whether the people he is talking to are the “right” sort of people, in the sense that doing business with them will bolster his own reputation. When deciding whether to represent an artist, his most important question is whether they are the sort of person he would like to hang out with. He even goes so far as to nitpick Bosker’s clothes and to coach her behavior—not too many questions, no complements, no staring at the art—during their visits to galleries, since he doesn’t want her to taint his own manicured reputation.

The final irony is that Barrett, like so many in the art world, does so much of what he does in the name of progressive values, while personally betraying them. Several times, for example, he berates older painters and art critics (like Kenneth Clarke) for their focus on the female body, but he has no problem openly criticizing Bosker’s outfits, and even her exercise habits. He is critical of the white male establishment while being, quite obviously, a part of it—someone who is certainly from a rich family, but who hides his background so as to conceal his own privilege. And he is far from an aberration: as Bosker points out, the majority of galleries are owned by white males.

I am probably spending too much time on Barrett, who really only occupies the first quarter of the book. But I found his entire attitude towards art to be so poisonous that I could hardly even believe that such a person could really exist, much less be (as Bosker insists) one of the ‘nicer’ gallery-owners in New York. Yet perhaps the most damning fact is that, as Bosker points out, Barrett rarely if ever comments on the formal qualities of a work. In the rare moments that he deigns to explain why he likes a particular piece, he resorts to interpretations that rely on his knowledge of the artist—of “context,” in other words. If the book consisted solely of Bosker’s experience with Barrett, one would have to conclude that the art world was entirely and utterly vapid.

But Bosker has an incredible capacity for hope; and even after her tense working relationship with Barrett breaks down completely (he implies that he purposely told her the wrong way to paint a wall, so that he could criticize her for doing it wrong), she persists and actually succeeds in meeting some pretty nice people. The next gallerists she works for tell her, contra Barrett, to “stay in the work”—to appreciate the art you see in front of you, and not fall back on its reputation. And rather than insist on a frigid dress code and an affectless demeanor, they are bouncing off the walls with enthusiasm for the art they sell.

Yet the hero of this book is, undoubtedly, Julie Curtiss. With all of the focus on gallerists, curators, and collectors in the beginning half of the book, it is easy to forget the actual people who make the art. And Curtiss, whatever you think of her work, is every inch an artist—manic about her craft, able to talk your ears off about color, a perfectionist in every detail, and motivated by a kind of ineffable aesthetic vision. In stark contrast to the Barrett camp of art, Curtiss seems motivated purely by the formal qualities of her work—a vision in her head that she is trying to make manifest. What it means—whether it means anything—is of far less significance.

Bosker ends the book by taking her own stab at the question: What is the value of art? She decides that art works by reuniting us with the basic data of our senses. As she notes, our brains are constantly taking the information from our eyes and fitting it to preconceived patterns, which aid us in quickly making sense of what we experience. The advantage of this is greatly increased processing time (we know a lion immediately when we see one), but the disadvantage is that we can become disconnected from the real stuff of experience. Art breaks this pattern by presenting images to our brains that we can’t immediately make sense of.

Now, I think there is a great deal to be said for this view. For one thing, it avoids the over-reliance on “context” that plagues so much modern art—a sculpture of a coffee mug that comes with an essay about modern-day consumerism. However, as an attempt to come to grips with art it strikes me as both too broad and too narrow—too broad, in that many things besides art can reconnect us with our senses (travel, psychodelic drugs, strenuous exercise…), and too narrow, in that art can do more than just attune us to the beauty of color and form. Yet it is difficult to criticize Bosker on this point, given that Plato and Kant also tried and failed to come up with an all-encompassing philosophy of art.

In any case, before writing this review, I made sure to try to put Bosker’s advice into practice. Last Saturday, I went to the Reina Sofia museum and forced myself to stare at art that, otherwise, I would probably have scornfully walked right by. As she advised, I tried to notice at least five things about each work I focused on, and even set a timer on my watch for five minutes, not allowing myself to move on until the time ran out. Perhaps this sounds more like a form of self-hypnosis or meditation than genuine art appreciation, but I did find myself enjoying some rather far-out contemporary works that were not to my usual taste.

And it is a great testament to Bosker’s book that, in spite of the (ahem, ahem) ugly picture she paints of the art world—so full of empty pretensions and hypocrisy, a “progressive” world of starving artists and rich collectors—that despite all this, she still deepened my enjoyment of contemporary art. It is a masterpiece.

[Eileen Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of this book adds what might be—at least for academic publications—a subtitle: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Friends Who Taught Me How to See. There’s even an insanely long bibliography, citing the many works that this writer checked out, read, absorbed, and questioned.

Despite all this, the book is far from an academic treatise (thank goodness!). Instead, at least for the first half, it is an amusing debunking of the pompous, academically-endorsed and commercially flogged notion of “important” contemporary art. And for the first half of the book, the writer is witty and sharp, calling out the fact that most of this stuff—as well as the industry that supports it—is not wearing any clothes.

Bosker jumps in as a self-proclaimed naif, claiming to by mystified by the art and the art industry. That’s not all that surprising, given that even for some of those who have a strong background (academically and professionally) in the arts find the whole thing to be closer to a charade than a meaningful practice.

I found myself particularly in synch with the Bosker’s skepticism and her incredulity at the pettiness and posturing of the contemporary art players. When I graduated with an MA in Art History and dreams of working in the museum world, I was passionate about the value of the arts and its potential to affect lives, perspectives, the world. Over four decades, I find myself as cynical as the author at the beginning of the book.

But every compelling book needs a narrative arc, and Bosker’s is one of at least partial redemption as she develops a new sensitivity and appreciation for even the strangest art as practiced today (how else to refer to the “art” of having a naked “artist” sit on one’s face). So yes, by the end of the book, Bosker not only appreciates this unusual practice, accepting it as art, but sees the whole world in new ways.

To be fair, this is what good art has the power to do: it can open our eyes and heart to new ways of experiencing the world. Traditionally, craftsmanship and beauty has been essential in that pursuit. Today, those two concepts have been set aside, run over by the rush and conviction that art should be a) deeply reflective or expressive the self; b) deeply engaged in commenting archly on how to define art (and it’s place in a history of art); and/or c) broadcast (preferably in aggressive terms) what is wrong and unfair about today’s culture and politics.

It’s an engaging book, well written and inflected by an incredible immersive experience of gallery and studio life in the 21st century. But as much as I appreciated it in general, by the end I was bit exasperated by her cheery embrace of the power of art. Perhaps some who read all the way to the end will likewise find a new appreciation for what art can do. But only about 2 percent of the population (in a generous view) care about the fine arts. It’s the purview of a lots of young people who have been fed a line about the importance of self-expression (and chase that dream in irrelevant poverty), and the effective kingdom of a small universe of wealthy people who have found contemporary art to be an effective signifier of prestige and status—the equivalent in one’s home to a Birken bag or a Rolex watch on your arm.

Maybe it’s time we all took a vacation from the arts.

[Carolyn Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Journalist Bianca Bosker immersed herself in the NY art scene, dedicating herself to appreciating and understanding it and conveying how we can engage more deeply with Contemporary Art. She concludes with a feeling of enlightenment. Contemporary Art began in the late 1960s to early 1970s and continues today. Today's Art is culturally diverse and technologically advanced. Often experimental, it may use photography, video, or computer-generated images to challenge traditional art values. It can include non-figurative painting, theatre (performance art), street/graffiti art, and sculpture. The sculptor often uses recycled or discarded objects (trash) in his creations. She mentions an artist who was dismayed that a bag of garbage he planned to display as Art was thrown out as trash. It is an art form that has few rules or boundaries.

Bosker inserted herself into the world of galleries, curators, museums, critics, collectors, and artists. It was a mostly closed, secretive, eccentric, and snobbish social circle that was difficult to join, and journalists were distrusted. Individuals with no art training were regarded with contempt as Schmos.

Bosker began working as an assistant to a small gallery owner who told her how to dress and present herself. He complained that her presence made him appear 'uncool.' Later, she was an assistant to a female painter. She attended gallery openings, participated in selling Art, and became a security guard in a museum. She was introduced to Concept art, where the idea or concept was considered more important than the finished product. For example, a tower of three kitchen appliances was Art because it represented what a government provided to immigrants in the artist's youth. However, the general public was left puzzled without this knowledge.

This was a slow read for me. It was fascinating and led me to pause often and Google artists and their works in colour. I began the book bewildered by what is called Art in the present world of contemporary Art and its artists, and it ended equally baffled. I studied art history, but before modern Art transitioned into contemporary Art, This may have started in the late 1960s or early 1970s when Marcel Duchamp displayed a urinal tipped sideways. People decided it must be a work of Art as it was in a museum. This trend now designated that anything could be considered an artwork if that was how it was promoted. I have almost no access to art galleries now, but when I did see Contemporary artworks, all I could think was, "Why?"

Each time a member of the art world revealed a profound truth to Bosker, later, another member told her a contradictory truth on the same subject. In what alternate reality could two opposite truths exist? Apparently, in the world of Art. Bosker learned to view and discuss Art dispassionately without any show of emotion. Not until she worked with an exuberant painter and accompanied a pair of enthusiastic collectors did she begin to relax and enjoy the experience. Many she met were antagonistic towards Art that the public considered beautiful and accessible and not aimed at producing shock value. Some works might be regarded as obscene if not labelled Art and if displayed outside art venues.

She attended a session of Performance Art where a scantily clad woman with a big behind sat on
Bosker's face. The performer sold videos and the woman's used underwear online. Bosker met with her over coffee and debated whether her act could be considered Art or exhibitionism. Later, Bosker planned to sponsor her performance, but COVID broke out. She felt lost when museums, galleries, and her contacts in the art world were cancelled.

She writes about her research into what constitutes beauty and the types of paint, brushes, metals, and other materials used by today's artists. In conclusion, she has learned a deeper meaning of Art and ways to view and enjoy it better.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this informative and thought-provoking book. It is due to be published on February 6th.

[Jax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contemporary art is a stumper to most people and for good reason. At any given exhibition, one might see a giant cage with wires individually wrapped in faux fur or a crushed oil barrel, two of many examples I saw at Art Basel Miami. At a gallery opening, journalist Bianca Bosker describes a plasticky black seagull dangling near the floor.

It does help if the viewers have context or a willingness to create their own. Bosker says concept is the fundamental issue that determines what is and isn’t art. It can also be a cudgel. Jack Barrett of 315 Gallery (now Jack Barrett Gallery) is the first gallerist daring enough to give journalist Bosker a peek into the contemporary art machine. Writers are pariahs in that business, and few would let her in. She said Barrett was down to earth one minute and critical the next, picking on her clothing choices, jewelry, and makeup. As a gallery owner, he is one of the components of context, and he said her very presence lowered his coolness. Apparently, The Aesthetic Self is an unsound Jenga tower, and journalists instinctively know which block to pull.

In defense of context, consider Puryear’s Big Phrygian. It might look like a red cedar cone that resembles a drooping garden gnome’s hat. With context, we know it is based on the “red cap of liberty” headgear worn by ancient Rome’s emancipated slaves. And for that reason, it is a powerful visual.

Puryear’s example is a good one for putting in the effort to gain visual literacy, but what about the performance art discussed in this book? While I can’t or won’t explain what one man considers art, I will say this: if he performed it in any public venue other than a gallery opening, law enforcement would be called, and X/Twitter would burst into a raging fire of anger. Then there’s the “butt influencer” whose followers make it clear that their interest in her backside is not of aesthetic origin. Some were hesitant about whether the woman’s act constitutes art, but Bosker glommed onto her because she made her wrestle with ideas about life. So does seeing the aftermath of a fatal automobile accident, but that’s not art. Bosker’s argument is lazy.

With all these headwinds, why bother with contemporary art or art at all? Because rigorous science suggests that engaging in art is central to our identity. Indeed, our predecessors were creating art before they invented the more utilitarian wheel. Humans seem to have a deep connection to the act of creating or viewing visual interpretations of our struggles, values, wants, needs, hopes and aspirations.

The staying power of art is its ability to transcend physical cravings and speak to that part of us that is, as Ernest Becker says, up in the stars, beyond the bounds of our heart-pumping, breath-gasping bodies. Our bodies are with us; the stars are not. An artist’s gift is to give them to us.

Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Viking and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a poorly written book that focuses primarily on (for the most part) the author's immediate contemporaneous peer group, so whatever thesis the author is trying to present, she's only saying it about that specific, slender slice of a massively large global Art market. As far as her poorly formed observations regarding Art world wages, Art world wages are low because Art world jobs are desirable for reasons **besides money**. They allow one to work around cultured people, on cultured topics, and gain access to a sphere of activity that is relatively hard to penetrate. That stimulates the demand for such jobs, and it makes those jobs expensive. Not to the employers, but to the employees. Workers are willing to trade their labor for less and less cash precisely because these jobs take place in the Art world. The worker is trading Art world labor for money, and Art world labor isn't worth very much because a lot of people are willing to supply it. You want to give me an apple for my orange? Well, this other person is willing to give me an apple for half of my orange. Can you do any better than that? The answer is that you can, if you come from a family that already has some oranges. This explains the existence of the internship, which requires family capital accumulated over a long time, i.e. - 'I'll let you look at my orange in exchange for ten of your apples, if my oranges are so interesting to you'. Also, this - and not racism per se - explains why minority representation in the arts is so low. Even if you don't think or don't want to think of culture as a luxury, it is at least a less urgent matter than economic survival - "My family isn't loaded with apples and I'm not sure that a look at that orange is going to result in my having my own orange one day. I don't think I'll risk it." But that choice is up to you. I would add that to the extent people feel inclined to comment upon the Art world and its economic relationship to capitalism and related phenomena, to either learn how these things work or do the rest of us a mercy and zip it. Economics is a deep topic but the core concepts are within easy intellectual reach. If you can't explain how the price for labor is determined in the Art world (or the rest of the world, for that matter) then you have no business complaining about or trying to send up 'neoliberalism' in the Art world, as does this author.

[Jessica]

I've been having a hard time writing this review. Did I learn about the art world and it's idiosyncrasies? Did I learn to appreciate contemporary art? Do I feel confident I understand the fuss and culture of the art world? I honestly don't know.

I read and loved Bosker's first book on the world of wine and sommeliers and I think I was hoping too much for a repeat of being hand held through what seems to be an opaque world and at the end understanding (generally) what's going on in what seems like an elite world. But with the art world there seems to be opaque-ness for the sake of being opaque that requires you to just buy into the culture without any objective explanation. I felt just as outsider and confused at the end of the book as I did when I started with an additional layer of annoyance than I started with. I'm sure this is partly because Art is not objective - unlike wine or music there isn't really a set of guidelines or things to practice to understand it better, art is more of an every moving target of culture, elitism, and money that seem to make it's world go round. I think this is also because there is "The Art World" which is very different than just people who enjoy or create art. To gain admission to "The Art World", no amount of investigating or training can gain you entry if you just want to passingly understand it. And I think I just have a hard time respecting "a world" that wants you to feel othered and excluded more than it wants to share it's joy.

I don't think that any of this is Bosker's fault, this is a very well written and researched book. I think maybe I am just not someone who is going to "get it". I think between the art episode of Ruins Everything and my basic understanding of cult psychology/language I have just a hard time buying into the art world's pitch - especially contemporary art. And reading this book, to me, felt a bit too much like a pitch for a religion I actively didn't want to join so it was hard for me to get through. So in the end the book is fine. It's not the guide I wanted, but it was fascinating nonetheless (and frustrating).

[LoneStarWords Deb Coco · Rating 4 out of 5]

If our lives are the set of experiences that we collect, then art can enable us to literally live more in the same amount of time by uncompressing those experiences. Art is practice for appreciating life, but also practice for creating a life worth appreciating.
Get the Picture:
A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See
Bianca Bosker
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Thank you @prhaudio for this gifted copy of Get the Picture. You all know that art-centric books are a huge part of my reading and I have to thank Susie @novelvisits for putting this on my radar!
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This was probably the most immersive and interesting look at the world of art I’ve ever encountered. Bosker takes us on her investigative journey as she tries to answer the question of why art matters to the human experience. And she leaves NO stone unturned in this exploration — she immerses herself in the NYC art scene by working next to and for the “movers and shakers” of the art world. From learning how a gallery runs by interning for a gallerist, to curating an exhibition for Art Basel, to getting a job as a guard at the Guggenheim —she met with artists, curators, collectors and museums so as to give us a complete analysis.
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What she uncovers is probably what you’d expect - this is a glamorous and very insular world but much of it operates on very small margins and it’s often not what you know but who you know. Given my daughter’s life in the nyc art world I was even more interested than the average reader. Bosker goes all out here - the galleries she highlights and the people she shadows are A list and very well known and the fact that as a journalist she was given such an insider’s view is fairly remarkable. I really enjoyed this one - some sections more than others, but it was like reading the secret code to a very exclusive world...you don’t “buy” you “acquire” and you don’t “select” you “curate” just to name a few. Bosker is also very funny and able to laugh at herself within this insular world.
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Read by the author who does a pretty good job if you enjoy audiobooks!

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art is important in my life, though I have no connection to creating or selling it. I was excited to see this book and looked forward to reading it. I was a bit let down, probably because I expected too much and liked Bosker's first book a great deal. This is still a worthwhile read, but it does not achieve its goal to help a reader know how to approach art.

I respect the work which went into writing this. The bibliography is extensive, and many works on art are quoted in the text of the book. But in the end, the book is basically about high-priced international art (especially New York City), and there is so much more to the art world than that.
There is a lively art world in outer New England where I live, and it is in no way similar to the art world described in this book..

Bosker tells a number of stories in some detail, though not all are equally compelling. She works for two galleries (Jack Barrett and Denny Diman), assists the artist Julie Curtiss, works as a guard at the Guggenheim museum, describes a pair of gay art collectors in North Dakota, and has a somewhat bizarre preoccupation with AllFIRE, a woman named Amanda whose butt is the center of her performance art. The Denny Diman and Curtiss stories are the most engaging.

So what did I learn from reading this? The art world which Bosker explores is nasty, incestuous, predatory and to some extent amoral. I sort of knew some of this, but not the extent to which the book details it. There are some decent people in that business, and a lot of creeps. But what I did not learn is how to appreciate art, except to look at each piece of art longer. I am left where I was before I read the book: art is about both learning and knowing what you like.

Bosker is a witty writer, though sometimes this would have read a bit better had she not strained so often to be cute with her words. The book is also longer than it should be, a product probably unavoidably of all the work Bosker put into it. In the end, I am glad to have read it, but not quite as enthusiastic about it as I had expected to be.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bosker's previous book, Cork Dork, was a tour through the world of wine. This time around, she picks an industry more insular and opaque, that of the contemporary art world. Bosker's method of journalism is experiential; rather than rely on interviews, she immerses herself in her subject complete with internships/jobs as assistants to gallerists and artists, going on studio visits, selling art at art fairs, and even helping to curate a Hong Kong show. At the beginning of her experience, she admits to her own personal questions about what constitutes art and the deficiencies of her "Eye". But her earliest endeavors show that it is not her Eye that is lacking, but her understanding of "context", or all the reputational and relational elements that are just as influential a factor in what art is celebrated and appreciated.

Bosker's depiction of the contemporary art scene is incestuous and pretentious, the gatekeeping is particularly off-putting. But she also finds pockets of creativity and dynamism and generosity, too. My favorite section was her experience working with the artist Julie Curtiss. While some of this section also focuses on the "context" (Curtiss's paintings are selling wildly at auctions, which, contrary to what one might think, is not a good thing for the artist). But most of this section focuses on why as humans we are compelled to make and appreciate art. At one point, we get to see the series of decisions Curtiss makes when working on a piece that was really revelatory for me, as someone who has never taken an art or art history class. My other favorite section, though brief, was her time spent with two North Dakotan art collectors. While some of their decisions as collectors were influenced by the artists' reputation, we also see them really fall in love with several pieces and the effect the art has on them. Bosker's overall journey is also one where she begins to see and think about art differently. As Bosker herself says, there are many art worlds, and Get the Picture focuses on a particularly insular New York scene. I do wish there was some time devoted to the art world outside New York.

[Keith Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I immediately admired her frankness about her lack of knowledge about the NYC art world and about the art that comes from it, I was worried that she might be overwhelmed by the abject superficiality of the people she first encountered. Luckily she stuck with it, and learned there were other more interesting people, or, even better, learned that the people she first encountered might have more depth and more passion than she could first see. Bosker is willing to put herself out there -- with gallerists, collectors, artists, even with the guards at the Guggenheim. And she kept seeing things and kept learning, and she is very good at imparting that process.

Along the way she introduced me to people and galleries I knew little or nothing about (there are things we just don't learn quickly out here in our Great Lakes isolation). I was particularly taken (as is Bosker) with the artist Julie Curtiss. As I looked at the work on line, I realized I did know some of the images but had forgotten the artist. I never will again. This woman is doing the work! Haunting images. Colors that demand attention!

Bosker is willing to engage the big questions -- what is beauty? what is art? And she has come to some generous conclusions:

"Beauty ... doesn't have to have a physical form, and it certainly doesn't have to be something we agree on. Beauty is that moment your mind jumps the curb. Beauty is the instant you sit up and start paying attention." That certainly seems as good as any definition I've been able to come up with!

And, here, on the purpose of art: "The jostle we get from art can be found nearly anywhere. There is an artist in each of us to the extent that we struggle to keep our brains from compressing our experience. Art is a choice. It is a fight against complacency. It is a decision to forge a life that's richer, more uncomfortable, more mind-blowing, more uncertain. And ultimately, more beautiful."

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved loved this book! I was worried about what type of book this would be when I started "Get the Picture" by Bianca Bosker, the usual thoughts of, is this going to read like furniture instructions, or a text book? But, I think within the first few paragraphs I knew I had nothing to worry about. In fact, I laughed aloud on more than one occasion. Boskers style and voice felt like my kind of humor, and just simply made it a more relatable read.
"Get the Picture" isn't all comedic, don't think I'm not taking it seriously. This book was many things to me, first it felt like investigative reporting, an attempt to pull back the cover on the world of art, artists, art galleries, gallerists, art shows, the market, museums, and its collectors. The taste makers. Then, it felt philosophical as to what makes art, well, art. Why do we like it? What is the science of it all? Is there a science behind it at all? Finally, it felt like a wonderful guide, not just on how to view, well, art of course, but your surroundings and the world around you as well. How to be open and expose yourself to it all. How to look at things.
The most surprising, for me, was the amount of names I was familiar with. Surprising to me because I didn't think I followed that corner of the world that closely? I guess things seep in.
Did I mention how much I loved this and what a joy it was to read? Do I want everyone to read it? You betchya. Not just my artistic friends. This felt like it was more than just about the art world. It could be used as a guide to immersing oneself, getting outside of your comfort zone and learning about any number of topics.
Would I love to meet Bianca and talk? Yep! Okay, I'd love to just sit and listen honestly. I can't wait to add this to my library and for you all to sink your teeth into it.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...I'd noticed that art devotees spoke like they were trapped in dictionaries and being forced to chew their way out: A curator and I bonded over our dislike of a performance-art piece, only while I thought it was 'boring' she thought it was 'durational."

Thank you, Bianca Bosker, for doing the deep dive and writing this book!

As my father used to say, "The world would be a boring place if everyone thought and did the same things." Usually after he had expounded on what was wrong with everyone and everything - particularly Republicans. Bosker's immersion into the NY art scene proves how un-boring artists keep the world.

"The glitch that art introduces our brains to is a gift, one that may nudge us to adjust our filters of expectation - with... 'possible existential ramifications."

Gallerists and critics can appear "too cool for school" and intimidate outsiders from entering the art world, visiting museums and attending art shows. How unfortunate. "The jeering from the cheap seats reinforced the idea, which seemed to pervade the art world, that it was safer to be against something than to be for it." Insert eye roll here.

Bosker, like Dorothy opening the curtain to reveal the Wizard, exposes the behind the scenes action of the art world and we are enriched for reading her revelations.

"The jostle we get from art can be found nearly anywhere. There is an artist in each of us to the extent that we struggle to keep our brains from compressing our experience. Art is a choice. It is a fight against complacency. It is a decision to forge a life that's richer, more uncomfortable, more mind-blowing, more uncertain. And ultimately, more beautiful."

[Sally Jernigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite scenes from Gilmore Girls involves Emily Gilmore, with all her poise and taste, antique shopping with Rory, a teenager at the time. Rory finds an old credenza with flowers painted on the side and asks her grandmother, "Is it something special?" In a moment of true wisdom, Emily answers, "Do you like it? Then it's something special."

This book reminds me of that moment. Bianca Bosker describes learning about contemporary art backward--first through the lens of critics, gallerists, experts, and collectors. She begins her journey into the art world trying to understand how the machine of the art industry works and finds herself disillusioned by the cynical minds gatekeeping the industry.

But art criticism and collection are not the same thing as understanding art. When Bianca begins working with and watching artists, she observes their hopeful way of creating doorways for viewers to walk through. Bianca develops an eye for the kinds of art that were once incomprehensible. By "staying in the work" and learning how powerful uninterrupted observation can be, Bianca finds new ways of examining the world and herself through wild contemporary art.

If you are an art lover of any kind, this memoir is a must-read. Bianca's candor and humor are a breath of fresh air inside the art scene in New York.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and would rush to read it any time I had time. As I read, my background in art and my field work as a grad student in a NYC museum brought me right back to a world that thrilled, intimidated, and confused me. The confusion was not limited to the art itself usually (sometimes, yes) but how to navigate a world that was often snooty, yet invited the public in. Bosker nailed it in her honesty on learning about how to learn about what art is, learn about its world, figure out how to work within the “industry’s” parameters, while trying to meet honest and grounded gallerists, artists, and art collectors. She is funny (very!), and could write about something so uncomfortable (usually about how she was treated or how she did not understand some art) and her honesty let the reader in but most importantly showed how temperamental, slippery, and sometimes accessible this world can be. I loved how she was blunt about her mistakes, ignorance, and her enthusiasm and it seemed, to me anyway, that she let things roll off her back, went back for more, and seemed to start feeling comfortable about the very thing she came to investigate. Journalism meets a personal journal, or journey. Loved this book so much and I even came to champion artists and gallerists. Now, off the read her first book!

[Randal White · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a huge fan of the author's first book, Cork Dork. Her insights into the world of wine and sommeliers were excellent, educational, and enjoyable to read. So knowing that, I thought who better to explain the world of contemporary art? It's an area of art that I absolutely do not understand. I have several artist friends, including my wife, who also do not understand it.
Unfortunately, I was let down by this effort of Boskers. I found no hidden insights, knowledge, or explanations to help me. Perhaps there are none? Perhaps contemporary art is unexplainable. Perhaps it is produced by those former children whose parents told them that they could be anything they wanted to be? And they want to be artists, so, by god, they are artists and who are we to question their work?
The author really, really tried. She sacrificed her time and energies to this project. And she is definitely a good writer. But I have to wonder, after all the effort, if she too is not confused and wondering just what the "artists" are trying to say?
I'm not giving up on this author, and I look forward to her next effort.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bianca Bosker dives into New York City's contemporary art scene. What is "art", what is "good", what defines "success" in this arena, who has a say in the discussion? These are some of the questions Bosker ponders in her months-long research where she works in galleries, at art shows, sells art, works for artists, becomes a museum security guard, all the while attending as many art-related events as humanly possible.

This is her journey. It's not a how-to guide to art appreciation. She throws herself into the experience and the result in Get the Picture is a fascinating peek behind the curtains. A tiny peek. Many were reluctant to let a journalist/writer (gasp) into their midst. But she persevered and we see her gaining confidence in the environment, learning to trust her eye, finding beauty and art (awe) in her surroundings.

I would have finished this book a lot sooner if I hadn't stopped every few pages to look up artists and the works being described, the galleries and collectors. Those images complemented Bosker's narrative nicely.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for the ARC.