I Like Your Work: Art and Etiquette

by Paper Monument, n+1

The art world is now both socially professional and professionally social. Curators visit artists’ studios; collectors, dealers, and journalists assemble for a reception and reconvene later for dinner; everyone goes to parties. We exchange introductions and small talk; art is bought and sold; careers (and friendships) brighten or fade. In each situation, certain behaviors are expected while others are silently discouraged. Sometimes, what’s appropriate in the real world would be catastrophic in the art world, and vice versa.

Making these distinctions on the spot can be nerve-wracking and disastrous. So we asked ourselves: What is the place of etiquette in art? How do social mores establish our communities, mediate our critical discussions, and frame our experience of art? If we were to transcribe these unspoken laws, what would they look like? What happens when the rules are broken? Since we didn’t have all the answers, we politely asked our friends for some help.

Featuring: James Bae, Jay Batlle, Andrew Berardini, Dike Blair, Matthew Brannon, Sari Carel, Naomi Fry, Maria Elena González, Michelle Grabner, Ethan Greenbaum, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, A.S. Hamrah, Steffani Jemison, Paddy Johnson, Angie Keefer, Prem Krishnamurthy, David Levine, Pam Lins, Jason Murison, Dan Nadel, Bob Nickas, Wendy Olsoff, Dushko Petrovich, Kaspar Pincis, Richard Ryan, Jessica Slaven, Ryan Steadman, Amanda Trager, Rachel Uffner, and Roger White.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Criticism, Art Design, Design

56 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a breach of art etiquette to admit to having read this book.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

i was drawn to this book in person due to the aesthetics and how it fit in my hand. it’s tall, narrow, pleasing to look at—decidedly worth reading.

but as it turned out, i really disliked reading it. quite honestly i’m surprised i even finished it. (it took me 3 years to read the measly 54 pages.)

the book reads as a general interview on etiquette in the art world. some of the interviewees are polite and honest, but i found the majority of the responses to be self important and acting (too aware of what types of people might read it).

as a whole, i found it to be quite exhausting for my introverted personality—and also so relieved that i decided against 1. living in NYC and 2. getting involved with the contemporary art scene. i’d much rather mingle with vulnerable, wholehearted individuals.

[Jack Stonecipher]

can't wait to move to New York in >3 years

[Ernest Junius · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book on art and etiquette. Seriously? For a long, long time I believe that etiquette doesn’t exist in the art world. The artists, if anyone notices, have been the saboteurs of any form of etiquette available. A good kind of art would excite, enlighten, or at least offend, to be seriously considered. Take Oleg Kulik’s Dog and Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind (shark) for examples. The protests for the latter work are profound. Certainly a tinge of politeness didn’t make a show in the artist’s thought process during the creation of art. So this is clear: etiquette has no place in art. But the art world is by no means the art itself. There is the museum, audience, curators, money, and art buyers, aside of art and the artists. So there existed the ethereal presence of etiquette to accommodate these needs, as Wendy Olsoff had said in the book:

“The rules of etiquette in the art world are unwritten and complex, and whatever rules there are are often broken—brazenly or discreetly, on purpose and by accident.”

This is an actual opening sentence in the book. And this line alone shows the book’s promise of entertainment and a glimpse of perversity in the world of art. Consistently throughout the book, the artists always play the role of the precarious and sensitive, also the offender and the victim. The critics would be the outlaws. The audience would play the role of the innocents, the museum is the arena, the art is something to be frowned upon, and the money is, as always, the root of all evil—Q: Has there been a shift in etiquette as the financial climate has changed? A: Ahh, everyone gets nicer when there is less money around (excerpt from page 3).

The book itself is structured as a series of interviews with more or less the same questions for each artist (there are 30 artists and a few anons), and there are also poems and short essays. Most of them are funny, amusing, and often sarcastic. One of my favourites is “How Artists Must Dress” by Roger White. The physical book takes form of a light, awkward rectangle shape, and within the covers tucked nicely 28 pages of cream-coloured paper, which altogether make a neato looking book. I’d suggest you leave it laying on your desk during lunch hour for a quick rep gain. Thin as it may be, it is by no means a short read.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

from using the dewey decimal system (and finding out melvil dewey was an antisemitic racist abuser…), finding its small spine on the shelves of strozier, the physicality of its pamphlet size in my hand, laughing to the first pages as i walked along the brick paths… what a great companion this book became.

[Eivor Runde Barlaug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helt tullete, slik alt sammen uansett er (og godt er det!)

[Lee Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tall, slim compilation of responses to questions about etiquette in the art world. Best when bitchy but the sincere stuff sets up the amusing stuff. Air kiss! (But how many? One, two, three? Or better yet: "when all else fails, have fun and fuck things up"!)

[Tais Zolotkovska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Быть вежливым, носить черный свитер, пытаться запомнить имена собеседников, не слишком напиваться на открытии выставок.

[Joe Rueb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Underwhelming! It feels like some of the people who wrote responses that were published in this book did not remotely attempt to put any thought into what they said. It was disappointing seeing most pages filled with either egotistical opinions or poorly-executed jokes. More than half of this book didn’t actually say anything of note (which is pretty significant considering it’s only a touch over 50 pages). I love the aesthetic of the book and its cover, but everything inside is certainly disappointing.

[Ellie Botoman · Rating 2 out of 5]

a book that was more interesting in theory than in practice. a lot of the stories and responses veered on the side of pretentious (definitely a great reminder why i don’t work in the commercial gallery world) and it was a little frustrating that there was a lack of nuance and diversity in the responses. very little discussion about etiquette as it relates to issues of race, gender, and class.

[Elisa Pierandrei · Rating 4 out of 5]

An introduction on the sometimes serious and sometimes ridiculous topic of manners in the art world.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A creative and interesting look at the art world

The Art world directly from the voices of those involved in it. Useful for beginners and pros. Creative and interesting.

[Kosta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and multi-faceted. I left feeling maybe even more perplexed, but the interviews are great!

[B. Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this short book on art etiquette for a professionalism class. My main takeaway is that all etiquette is situational. Also, don't be an awful person.

[aiden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps an unfair rating because I'm not an artist, gallery owner, or what anybody would call a "serious collector." . . . Oddly enough, the bulk of the contributors lay out a line of etiquette that pretty much amounts to "Don't be a jerk," implying that the editors of Paper Monument were able to convince only the decent-acting segment of the art world to contribute, or none of their contributors would fess up to engaging in behavior they deplore here. . . Maybe that's the real problem Paper Monument's editors have identified: everyone feels slighted by everybody else's boorish behavior.

[Kimberly]

hilarious!
though i did expect more about artists and artist visit, this is more inclusive with a bigger collectors, editors, writers, gallerists and whatnot. guess i didn't pay much attention to the list of interviewees.

[Oliver Brackenbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable collection of very short interviews and essays with Fancy Art Scene People about etiquette in the art world. Doesn't matter if you're not a part of that, there's a lot of anthropological joy to be had here.

[Nita]

I wonder if the bit by Prem Kishnamurthy is the same PK with whom I was once acquainted?

[Andrew Paul]

Parts of this guide look humous and other parts look generally useful. I am hoping there is a lot of ironic contradictions found within the various interviewees.

[melbobyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and educative, but with a hair too much emphasis on the New York scene. But I'm just a jealous non-New Yorker.

[Ana Alvarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and kind of helpful, I think?

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have read the description on the n+1 site and aren't sure it's worth it, let me tell you it is. Order it! Or message me and maybe I can mail it to you.

[Nln · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slight book in both form and content.