Artrage [Paperback]

Everett Aison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2005

Fiction. Mace Caslon walks into the Metropolitan Museum of Art and throws acid on Universal Woman, a forty-one million dollar Picasso. This provocative act throws him into the center of a media-crazed frenzy: Exploitive television personalities, enraged museum officials, terrified collectors, confused dealers, aggressive lawyers, a U.S. Attorney on the make, instant psychiatrists, shocked ex-lovers, hyper-cool teenagers, hustler artists, and anti-art demonstrators each demand their time in the spotlight. "I thoroughly enjoyed Everett Aison's novel about a regular guy who commits an acte gratuite, the desecration of an art world treasure, and its wildly snowballing consequences. Mace is a funny, slightly sex-obsessed, and not always sympathetic protagonist, for this story of a provocation is itself a provocation. Humane at its core, though, this novel takes a bead on the obscene mix of art, money and the media with the best possible humor"--Molly Haskell.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I laughed out loud at some parts and was moved by others, especially the relation between Mace and Nick. -- Leo Braudy

In ARTRAGE, Everett Aison offers a witty, erudite and intellectually incisive insight to the mores of the contemporary art world. -- State of Art Magazine, Summer, 2006

The mysterious Mace makes this thriller worth reading. -- Harriett Klausner, thebestreviews.com

About the Author

Artrage is Everett Aison's first novel. His feature film screenplays include "Ted Sears," "Growing Up In America," and "Work In Progress." He has written and directed three award-winning theatrical shorts: "Post No Bills!" "So Much In Common," and "Choices." Mr. Aison co-founded with Silas Rhodes the School of Visual Arts Film School. He has designed and illustrated the children's books "Arthur" and "The American Movie," published by Atheneum, was art director of Grossman Publishers, and designed the logos, posters, and opening titles for many films, including Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" and Polanski's "Knife In the Water."

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Pleasure Boat Studio (November 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929355254
• ISBN-13: 978-1929355259
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,770,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Revisit Camus, November 26, 2005

By 

Richard D. Pepperman "Film Editor/Teacher/Author" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Artrage (Paperback)

An intensely engaging story, skillfully structured. Everett Aison's "Artrage" unlocked sensations I long ago encountered with Camus' "The Stranger": Mystery, Ambivalence, Motivation; and a powerfully peculiar appreciation that the world I'd anticipated is far from rational.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Artrage surprise, January 18, 2006

By 

Manfred Kirchheimer (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Artrage (Paperback)

Artrage is an amazing exploration that takes a seemingly simple act of vandalism and expands it into a brilliant and witty examination of today's cultural perversions. The author has managed to skewer the art scene, TV shows, politics, sex - you name it. I was dazzled by his ability to move from one scene to another without any of the conventional transitions. As a reader I wasn't bothered by the author's refusal to give in to a pat explanation for the initial "crime." Aison is a true original.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Satire and Crime in "Artrage" by Everett Aison, September 9, 2006

By 

Kevin Tipple (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Artrage (Paperback)

"Van Zant closes his folder and looks at Mace, who remains silent
and impassive.
`A blue-collar kid who makes it as a top lawyer and a serious
collector. . . trashes a forty-one million dollar Picasso. Mr. Carlson,
you are on the cutting edge of inconsistency.'" (Page 24)

There is no question that Mace Carlson did the shocking crime. The hard part is the why. Also hard is the fact that in this review, it really isn't possible to say what the crime was without blowing the book. Even though, for the reader, the crime happens early on, to know in advance the specifics of the crime would remove some of the shock value. Suffice it to say that the crime is intense and no humans or animals were hurt by it.

Emotions are something else entirely. Mace's action propels him into a prolonged stay at the Rothko Suite of the New York Police Department's Art Crime Unit. With much of his time spent in solitary confinement, he has a lot of time to contemplate his action. He also has plenty of time to contemplate how his action has affected others including the son of his former lover. His case provides the fodder for a media firestorm as his action becomes a polarizing statement for both sides in the art world.

Part satire, part crime novel, the resulting read is a mesmerizing book that pulls readers along at a frantic pace. Occasionally, very graphic in terms of language, this is a novel that considers the current art world and finds things less than satisfactory. Rich in depth and character, the novel works on all levels and as a result is a very good read I wish I had read sooner.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2006