Product Description

Money and power in the contemporary art world of dealers, collectors, artists and museums. Funny, bitchy, insightful, revealing - it changed the way the art world did business.

"A lot of dynamite."

-John Canady

"Gossipy reading that explodes a well-documented firecracker."

-Publishers Weekly

"Delicious reading."

-Hal Burton

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #509285 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-10
• Released on: 2000-10-10
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 415 pages

Publishers Weekly
"Gossipy reading that explodes a well-documented firecracker."

About the Author
Sophy Burnham is an award-winning novelist, essayist, journalist and playwright. She is the author of ten books, including two New York Times Bestsellers: The Art Crowd and A Book of Angels, which was credited for starting the angel movement. In addition, her works have been translated into more than 20 languages. Burnham is a Reiki master and Sensitive and is listed in the Georgetown University archives, Who's Who in America and Contemporary Authors. The author presently gives many talks and workshops and has made many television and radio appearances.

Customer Reviews

Still Relevant in the 21st Century
This book may have been written decades ago, but the issues are still the same. What does it mean for someone to be an artist? Do you just do what you're told or follow some inner vision? If you follow your vision and you don't make money, does that make you wrong? If suddenly you start making money, does that mean that you weren't wrong after all? If you stop making money, were you wrong after all?

Business is business. Many are called, but few are chosen. This book covers the nitty gritty of the daily functions of the artworld and covers the ethics and lack thereof regarding making it or not as an artist. It provides a concise commentary of the structure of the artworld and offers some interesting criticisms as to how it could be different, more fair. It also covers attempts by artist unions to implement changes in the way the market works to no avail.

Is it survival of the fittest or just a bunch of baloney? Do the best artists always win out or is what we experience in museums just a history of capricious decision-making? It is up to the reader to decide. The book is not preachy, although it does lean towards attention to the artworld underdogs who, working as hard as everyone else, don't necessarily make it. In the end, you can't help but have a great deal of respect for those who stick it through. It isn't just a matter of being good. And this book explains why and how.