Seven Days in the Art World

Front Cover
Granta, 2008 - Art - 274 pages
"Seven Days in the Art World is a social history of the recent past. Set in New York, Los Angeles, London, Basel, Venice, and Tokyo, the book is populated by colorful characters who espouse conflicting definitions of art. Some see it as a luxury good or entertainment, others view it as an intellectual calling, a job description, or a kind of alternative religion. In a series of day-in-the-life narratives, Thornton investigates the minute dramas of a Christie's evening sale, life in a notorious CalArts seminar, the elite trade of the Basel Art Fair, the competition behind the Tate's Turner Prize, the peculiarities of Artforum and its critics, the high jinks of Takashi Murakami's studios, and the curatorial wonderland that is the Venice Biennale. Thornton's entertaining ethnography explores the dynamics of creativity, taste, judgment, status, money, and the search for meaning and beauty in life." -- Publisher description.

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About the author (2008)

Sarah Thornton contributes regularly to Artforum and ArtReview and is the author of Club Cultures and co-author of The Subcultures Reader. She lives in London.

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