Seven Days in the Art World

By: Sarah Thornton

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

The art market has been booming. Museum attendance is surging. More people than ever call themselves artists. Contemporary art has become a mass entertainment, a luxury good, a job description, and, for some, a kind of alternative religion.

In a series of beautifully paced narratives, Sarah Thornton investigates the drama of a Christie's auction, the workings in Takashi Murakami's studios, the elite at the Basel Art Fair, the eccentricities of Artforum magazine, the competition behind an important art prize, life in a notorious art-school seminar, and the wonderland of the Venice Biennale. She reveals the new dynamics of creativity, taste, status, money, and the search for meaning in life. A judicious and juicy account of the institutions that have the power to shape art history, based on hundreds of interviews with high-profile players, Thornton's entertaining ethnography will change the way you look at contemporary culture.

©2008 Sarah Thornton (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Thornton offers an elegant, evocative, sardonic view into some of the art world's most prestigious institutions." ( Publishers Weekly)

Ghastly Narration for Solid Ethnography

You'd better be very interested in the subject to tolerate hours of the narrator's cloying baby talk. Hard to imagine who made the choice on that. The author however follows the consistent and well-organized template she's set for herself as she dives deep into the global art world. Her attention to the personal appearance and personality quirks of various art honchos she interviews is only mildly interesting and she might have paid that kind of detailed attention to describing the artworks themselves as well as the actual internal creative process of these artists - the heart of art. And even if you're not all that immersed in the ponzi'esque art market, it's representative of capitalist culture, so here's a clear look at class structure and privilege.

Full of great information

Don't let the awful cover fool you, this book is packed with interesting interviews and insights into the art world!

Compelling nonfiction; poor narrator performance

The mismatch between Thornton's style and the narrator's voice perturbed me for most of the time I spent listening to this book.

Great insight

Informative and entertaining!
A view into the the most ‘unregulated’ market!
Art is what sells!
Narrator was awesome!

Insightful but florid

As a working artist, I found this book offered valuable insights into various aspects of the art world. It is evident that Thornton is well-connected and experienced. The only criticism I have of the book is that her descriptions of some of the more nuanced dynamics in the art world at times felt verbose, even to the point of becoming a distraction. That aside, I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about the inner workings of the art world.