Customer Reviews

Seven Days in the Art World

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Sarah Thornton's book offers an attentive, ethnographic eye to art, artists, and the world in which they exist. She writes clearly and with great attention to detail not only to the art, but the people and super-sized personalities that they house. This and her access to many of the major art events in the world (Basel etc.) kept me turning to the next page.

At one point I was a little wary of her comparisons of art to a sort of religion for some (thought it was overstated), but her arguments are strong and persuasive and she's definitely changed my mind. Also, the reader doesn't finish this book with a full understanding why some art is valued as much as it is. (But honestly, I didn't expect this. That's an answer we may never have.)

All-in-all, I have to agree with the Publisher's Weekly review above on auctions and the book as a whole. Thornton truly offers an "...elegant, evocative, sardonic view into some of the art world's most prestigious institutions."

$12 Million Stuffed Shark was the book that started this whole art book kick I'm currently on and I had to know more about the hidden quirkiness of this ever-growing area of interest. This was the next must-have on my list and I wasn't let down.
Highly recommended.

This is, hands-down, the single best guide for outsiders to the inner life of the art world, from the fledgling artists hoping to make their mark to the affluent collectors and the dealers, curators and advisors who surround them.
Her structure is carefully chosen and works beautifully -- breaking the art world down into seven parts, each devoted to a specific group or dimension (the auction, the studio visit, the art fair, etc.), she sheds light on the characters and issues that arise in the context of each. There is enough overlap to make this structure function -- for instance, we encounter gallerists Jeff Poe and Tim Blum first at ArtBasel, then rejoin them as part of her chapter on visiting Takashi Murakami's studio(s), where Poe and Blum discuss an upcoming retrospective with the artist and museum curators. To me, the most intriguing and enlightening part of this structure was the way it shifted, from one chapter to the next, from a view of the art from the outside (the perspective of the collector or the critic, say) to the inside (the creative process itself.) So, a chapter about the "crit" process at CalArts is followed immediately by one about the vast artworld schmoozefest that is ArtBasel (with the NetJets booth and the omnipresent champagne).
Thornton has an eye for that kind of telling detail that only the best journalists possess and a knack for knowing (most of the time) how to use it best. For instance, in the studio visit chapter, she spots the passports of Blum and Poe are crammed full of visas and entry and exit stamps -- not just a random observation but one that reflects the global nature of the art market itself, which requires its participants to dash from visiting a collector in Russia to an art fair in London and on to visit a studio in Beijing. The only downside of this "ethnographic" approach is that sometimes the details that she observes and includes as a result of this feel less useful -- we don't care how heavy her handbag begins to feel at ArtBasel, or how the Japanese car drivers in Toyama jump to open doors for visitors so that no fingerprint mars the shine on the car.
I've attended a number of Christie's auctions, stuffed into the uncomfortable press section that Thornton describes so accurately, and watched the bidding process. Reading this section, I felt as if I were back there again, experiencing the moments of boredom and tension that she chronicles so compellingly. There is no disconnect between my experience and her portrayal of it -- just additional level of background detail that I had never appreciated before (such as the fact that Christopher Burge has nightmares of being caught naked or without his sale "book" in front of an audience of a thousand angry would-be bidders).
The only area in which Thornton fails to deliver is describing the creative process itself in a way that the average reader will find comprehensible and compelling. But that, I suspect, is as much due to the inherent difficulty of discussing a visual art in words -- certainly, the young art students she profiles struggle as much themselves to do just this.
What impressed me the most -- in addition to the high level of reporting and writing -- was Thornton's ability to weave a path through all the politics and ego that fills the art market (and makes comparable nonsense on Wall Street and in Washington look like child's play in comparison...) Even as she chronicles the auction scene, she doesn't get caught up in the buzz and excitement or fall victim to the too-easy trap of criticizing people for being willing to pay outrageous sums for works of art. She addresses those concerns, most effectively in an anecdote where one collector, charged with selling her parents' immense collection to create a charitable foundation, muses on the auction process: "It's been a real loss of innocence... When you think of all the good that money could do... Nobody in the auction room thinks about that." But Thornton doesn't dwell on that, any more than she succumbs to the gushing that is all too often part of the art market. It's an admirably balanced portrayal.
All in all, a tour de force.
Anyone looking for more insider-y glimpses of the art world might turn to Collecting Contemporary, by a major collector, or to a novel penned by the wife of a hedge fund manager who is a force of sorts in the New York art scene: Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him.

Those interested in entering the frenetic international art world, or simply interested in its current goings on, should buy and read Sarah Thornton's book.

It coupled with "The $12 Million Stuffed Shark" by Don Thompson would be a great two volume present for any aspiring artist, museum curator, or art-gallery owner of your acquaintance.

Ms. Thornton has a good ear for dialogue and a sharp eye for the telling detail. She, while quite capable of the pointed comment, is obviously fond of most of the various people who derive their living from art at the edge and is quite respectful of their work.

(I personally would much rather possess one of J.M.W. Turner's paintings rather than any two of the art works by recent Turner Prize contestants. The Turner Prize contest being described on one of the seven days referred to in this book's title and named for the great English painter of seascapes.)

Sarah Thornton has produced a dense, fact filled book about modern art which reads like a thrilling historical novel covering the past eight year when "the contemporary art world has boomed, museum attendance has surged, and more people than ever were able to abandon their day jobs ... it became hotter, hipper and more expensive."

Thornton focuses on a basic theme: "contemporary art has become a kind of alternative religion for atheists. ... It demands leaps of faith but it rewards the believer with a sense of consequence." She explores the faith in seven installments.

The Auction -- an artist free zone, a morgue for art, where believers commit with immense sums to the validity of their beliefs (or not). Attending auctions at great houses like Christies, and especially the previews, can educate and develop your critical sensibilities in amazing ways. I've attended many viewings over the years: art, fine furniture, books, stamps, wine and jewelry; Thornton describes accurately the scene not only for the big dollar events, but auctions where the dollars are much smaller, but the intensities and personalities just as various and just as interesting.

The Crit -- a legendary teacher's class in California where students seek a Masters in Fine Arts. "Whether it's deemed art or not, the Post-Studio crit is Asher's and most influential work.... It's a minimalist performance where the artist has sat, listened with care, and occasionally cleared his throat."

The Fair -- "Artists tend to view art fairs with a mixture of horror, alienation and amusement." The great thing about art fairs is that absolutely anyone can attend; the ones in New York City are often theater of the highest order, thousands of works displayed in the Javits Center for example.

The Prize -- Thornton's description of how the Turner Prize is awarded makes for some of the most bizarre reading in the entire book: "One [judge] later admits to me that he alternately makes an effort to keep an open mind and rehearses arguments in support of his favorite. How does one compare apples, oranges, bicycles and bottle racks?"

The Magazine -- "'Artforum' is to art what 'Vogue' is to fashion and 'Rolling Stone' was to rock and roll." Thornton is insightful on the conflicts between the ads for art and the need to retain "intellectual purity"; during the last two glory years of modern art "the magazine has been as thick as a phonebook, earning it the nickname 'Adforum.'"

The Studio Visit -- This is no attic garret in Paris. Takashi Murakami owns a company with an insane rang of activities. "It makes art. It designs merchandise. It acts as a manager, agent and producer for seven other Japanese artists. It runs an art-fair-cum-festival called Geisai, and it does multimillion-dollar freelance work for fashion, TV, and music companies."

The Biennale -- The Venice Biennale takes over the entire city for at least ten days, but Thornton argues that it is over for the art world before the public is admitted. The ritual Bellini, a Prosecco and peach puree cocktail, which marks the formal start for attendees. The biennal is not just a show; "it is a goliath exhibition that is meant to caputre the globabl artistic moment." Thornton likens it to a three hundred ring circus, and is wonderfully descriptive of its many nooks and crannies.

The book covers seven days, but Thornton clearly spent many, many days researching the information here. There is an excellent bibliography, and altogether her book is perhaps best captured in the words of a young artist applauded at a restaurant in Venice: "It was bizarre. It was wonderful." It was fascinating.

Robert C. Ross 2009

This book is the most accurate representation of the art world that I have ever read. Sarah Thorton has a keen eye, a sharp intellect, and an objective stance. I read The 12 Million Dollar Shark just before this, and was put off by the judgmental tone and subjective treatment of some artists (Warhol in particular). This book was a sharp contrast to 12 Million, even though both books cover many of the same subjects. Her ethnographic approach allows her to write about the art world with such nuanced detail that I found myself nodding my head again and again in recognition. I used this for my graduate level "book club", it's a fantastic primer on the complexity of the art world, and I highly recommend it.

I'm of two minds with this one. On the one hand, I'm glad someone's done it; harangue the art market (if that's what you want to call it) in their own ecosystem. In retrospect however, the effort lacked either (or both) objectivity and personal judgement. If anything, it appears Thornton was swallowed by the mesmerizing beast of the art market, and taken to its lair for re-education. Where is the feeling of the hunt? Where is the aftermath of conflict? Even sarcasm or beat writing would have made it more interesting. On the other hand, Thornton didn't appear to be distanced enough from her subject to capture serious data, and thereby extending academic knowledge. It appears as if she couldn't make up her mind which of the flies on the wall to be. If it weren't a book, it would pair well with an east coast USA Martha Stewart type magazine; but as it is, I found it to be a story minus a bit of story telling.

This might be the greatest art book ever. This might be the book that makes you think that the British Art World is so awesome that you have to hop on a plane and get to those art galleries immediately. This might be the kind of the book that places the art world in such a context that you cannot help but know that people will be reading this book hundreds of years from now to know what art was like.

But you shouldn't read it. You shouldn't buy it.

Why? Because the author chose to deal with a bad review by suing the reviewer for libel. And when an author has that much disregard for freedom of speech (even if it's not an integral British value) then the author is a whiny little crank who has absolutely nothing to say to me as a reader. Bad reviews come with the territory of writing books and they hurt. And authors frequently attack their reviewers. But once you bring the legal system into it, you've crossed a line that no writer should cross.

This book is an ethnography (the writer as participant/observer) about the art world. Its message about art as a commodity and the art scene as a performance piece in itself came as no surprise to me as my husband is an artist. At one time we lived in New York and he was represented by a New York Gallery. When you read this book you will understand why we moved back to Alaska. Being an artist in the art world is like wearing a sign on your back that says 'hit me' or else feeling like you're some kind of wind-up toy that must perform in a set way.

The book is divided into seven chapters, each elucidating one specific aspect of the art world. These chapters are:

The Auction - About a Christie's big-time auction in New York
The Crit - About an art criticism class at CalArts
The Fair - The Basel Art Fair in Switzerland
The Prize - The in's and out's of the Turner prize, awarded by Britain's Tate Museum
The Magazine - About Artforum, an art magazine
The Studio Visit - Takeshi Murakami's studio and his work as an artist and entrepreneur
The Biennale - The Venice Biennale (or Studio 54 revisited)

The commodification of art along with the hierarchy of dealers, collectors, curators and artists is in place all along the art feeding chain. While it was no surprise to me, it edified the sad state of the affairs in the art world. This book was written during the economic and art boom so the situation has likely changed along with the expendable money available to hedge fund founders and the general public.

I was amazed to find out that one can not just buy art. Dealers like to choose who they will sell art to - they want art to go to an A-list collector and often collectors get on line to buy a piece of art by a particular artist. Production often does not meet the needs of consumption.

If you are interested in details of the art world, you might enjoy this book. If you're easily jaded or have a weak stomach, I'd skip it. It goes into all the gory details of every aspect of art, from the artist who produces the work on up (or is it down)

This enlightening and entertaining book offers a glimpse into the rarified atmosphere of the booming contemporary art world as it stood in the years 2004-07. Sarah Thornton, with her ethnographic perspective on seven diverse segments of this expensive and exclusive scene delivers a peek into a world which few artists and lovers of art will ever gain access.

Offering glimpses into the marketing and selling of art through the dealers and auction houses, the trade shows and publications, Thornton delivers a thoroughly researched and lively written peek behind the so called curtain of art commerce. With the dramatic economic downturn the world experienced in 2008 this may be a prescient view of a market at its climax.

The artists themselves are represented at they hone their craft at a legendary California critique session, we tag along with short listed artists awaiting news of the winner of a prize which will catapult the prices of their art into the stratosphere. We then travel with an artist at the top of his game on a tour of the international studios where his work is created by and for him.

Interestingly, the artwork itself is but a minor character in this impressive theatrical event of Seven Days in the Art World. The artists pour ideas into and onto the market, the press and critics push the market with fantabulous facts and figures and the dealers, auction houses and collectors play the market. One is reminded of the Wizard behind the green curtain in the land of Oz pumping away while trying to keep the illusion real.

Kudos to Sarah Thornton for pulling back the curtain on this endangered microcosmic world in such an accessible and informative style.

"Seven Days in the Art World" is a rather poor book that pretends to offer a current and insightful overview of what Sarah Thornton considers contemporary art practices.
Touching seven topics, that she believes to be pivotal to understand art, she structures the notion of seven daily narratives of her travels and interviews with the characters she is connected to. After a perfunctory introduction it offers: The Auction (Christie's NY), The Crit (CalARts) , The Fair (Art Basel), The Prize (Turner), The Magazine (Artforum), The Studio Visit (Murakami), and The Biennale (Venice). Under the coating of a badly structured ethnographic approach, defended upon the idea that the book is supported by hundred of interviews, the text works rather as a collection of impressions from a high society reporter.

Some generalizations are offered early on aiming to provide some substance to the vapid writing. For instance, Thornton argues that the notion that "contemporary art has become an alternative religion for atheists" runs through the book narrative. But in fact, such a controversial statement is barely touched through the book, and it seems undeserved to try to expand or revoke the argument when she makes such careless effort to offer parallels between religion and art practices.

Instead of trying to participate exposing her bias and developing critical opinions, the use of her personal narrative operates as a falsely objective and accomplice participant into what she tells. Full of gratuitous compliments, and social etiquette remarks, she becomes the pivotal center of attention of the book as she navigates her project. While it is fair to say that some of her observations do illustrate well certain circles, attitudes, and recurring behaviors of those represented, it is done in such a matter of fact and uncompromised, and uncritical fashion that it loses any capacity to articulate a meaningful insight. What tries to pass as an ethnographic narrative often amount to little more that petty gossip, and she looks more comfortable in doing tabloid writing for the art world than in remotely trying to craft an actual snapshot of the diversity of cultural manifestations that one should observe under art. True, most of the segments of the art practices she illustrates so well are elitists, spoiled, and extravagant, including her own participation, and she offers glimpses into some of the dominant market practices that try to be imposed as the unequivocal discourse of contemporary art.

Early on Thornton tries to explain that the art world is much more than the art market. Ironically she does precisely little to expose practices that are not heavily linked to elitist, market oriented culture. The book is very much a glimpse into her interpretation of the establishment, and instead of offering a solid portrait of a part of the art world to illustrate the whole, she takes that part to be the whole. Reductionist, limited, and elitist, it is really disappointing to see volumes like this trying to pass as meaningful works on contemporary culture.