Customer Reviews

Most Art Sucks: Coagula Art Journal and the Art of the 1990's

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is somewhere between 3 and 3.5 stars, but I bet people will rate it quite differently. Coagula magazine is pretty much Matt Gleason and Charlie "Janet Preston" Finch bitching about the capitalist motives behind the contemporary art world. The emphasis here is on the art WORLD, not really the art. I think if you boiled all their ranting down to one argument it would be something like, "The contemporary art world suffers from compromised objectives and financial self-interest due to art world particpants performing dual duties such as the collector-curator, critic-collector, etc."

This book's strong points:
- The articles are short so if you don't like what you're reading, just move along
- Nasty name calling can be funny
- Every so often they make a very good point

This book's weak points:
- "L.A., Christopher Knight, L.A., Christopher Knight, L.A., Christopher Knight, L.A., Christopher Knight, L.A., Christopher Knight, L.A., Christopher Knight..." SHUT UP ALREADY!!
- They seem to have rejected theory whole-hog and it brings to mind that baby / bath water saying
- Too much boo-hoo whining, not enough alternative suggestions or action
- Doesn't age well. The articles might be interesting when they're published, but who cares why Bobby-Jo's performance art was too corporate for your liking in 1994?
- They blow their whole "Look, Ma! I'm punk!" act on page 169 when they outright reject the Art Watcher's brilliant suggestions for making art more democratic - that was lame

This book, a "best of" of a magazine called Coagula, is one of those things that tells the horrible, horrible truth in such a funny way that it makes the sad facts of life in the artworld tolerable. The best thing about this book is that it is fearless to expose the art world powerful as the rude snobs they probably are. If you want to know about the inner workings of the art world and the gallery system and the museums, this is the book. If you want a record of the art world in the 1990s, this was written while it was happening, like an eyewitness to train wreck. The title might imply that it is a sarcastic attack on the excesses of art, but it actually is pro-artist and against the powerful art dealers who ruin careers at a whim and only care about money and prestige. If you read Tom Wolfe's Painted Word, this is like a retort, defending the freedom of artists but acknowledging the faults of the system. The art criticism is actually comprehensible and not interested with trying to seem "intelligent" The Coagula Magazine has its roots in the L.A. Punk Scene and it is like a punk "zine" (magazine) for the art world, not afraid to step on toes.

Jennifer Wallace Struggling Artist

As a professional artist I am always studying the art world with it's reknowned and supposedly educated curators, critics and artists. Charlie Finch (ArtNet News) is one of the top critical eyes out there in the trenches. Finally got around to ordering the book "Most Art Sucks; Five Years of Coagula" and thoroughly enjoyed reading the written observations of the blatant nepotism and cronyism in that field that should come as no surprise to anyone who works in that field. Very insightful and worth the small price. Was very happy with the vendor (mayasmarket) that delivered the book in the described condition in a prompt manner. -Craig Cheply [...].

Walter Robinson and Charlie Finch are the leanest, meanest critics in the business. If they write that your art sucks, they're not kidding. These guys have seen it all and then some, so poseurs beware. Looking forward to the long overdue, More Art Sucks.

This bile-filled indictment of the art world deserves praise for its honesty and its humor. If you know about art, but don't feel like you're part of the world, buy this book.

This book was a gift and what most impressed me was that I easily understood the essays, but none of them sacraficed intelligence (or humor) to make their point. The ease at which the Coagula writers discuss sophisticated art and artists is the true gem of this book, despite its being packaged as a gossip sheet rewind. Nobody here is trying to sound intelligent, they already are and aim their brains at the despicable cretins controlling art careers and museums.