Overview

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERIn Cork Dork, Bianca Bosker trained her insatiable curiosity, journalist's knack for infiltrating exclusive circles and eye for unforgettable characters on the wine world as she trained to become a sommelier. Now she brings her whip-smart yet accessible sensibility along for a ride through another subculture of elite obsessives.In Get the Picture, Bosker plunges deep inside the world of art and the people who live for it: gallerists, collectors, curators and, of course, artists themselves - the kind who work multiple jobs and let their paintings sleep soundly in the studio while they wake up covered in cat pee on a friend's couch. As she stretches canvases until her fingers blister, talks her way into A-list parties full of billionaire collectors, has her face sat on by a nearly naked performance artist and forces herself to stare at a single sculpture for an hour straight while working as a museum security guard, she discovers not only the inner workings of the art-canonization machine but also a more expansive way of living.Encompassing everything from colour theory to evolutionary biology, and from ancient cave paintings to Instagram as it attempts to discern art's role in our culture, our economy and our hearts, Get the Picture is a rollicking adventure that will change the way you see forever.

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9781911630470

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Reviews

A delightful book on an inspiring topic by a writer who could make dust sparkle. * Kirkus Reviews (starred) * Combining gossipy detail with philosophical musings, Bosker vividly depicts a pretentious world full of moneyed buyers and cliques while simultaneously giving due to the devoted artists, gallerists and enthusiasts whose creativity enriches and expands their lives. Connoisseurs and neophytes alike will be charmed and captivated by Bosker's boundless curiosity and astute powers of observation * Publishers Weekly (starred review) * In Get the Picture - curious but not naïve, gossipy but generous, critical but admiring, hilarious but profound - Bosker probes the human thirst for art, examines the addictive high it gives and rescues the unfashionable idea of beauty, of the pleasure of creation, from the theorists and the marketeers. This book is sheer pleasure: the best book I've ever read about contemporary art -- Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of SONTAG and THE UPSIDE-DOWN WORLD A brilliant adventure through the fraught, frenzied, fanatical world of art and emerging artists. Bosker flings us into the epicenter of creativity and obsession, and with infectious curiosity, illuminates the surprising science, history and controversies at the core of our relationship with art. This book paints an extraordinary picture that will make your life more beautiful. Put simply, it's a work of art -- Nathaniel Philbrick, author of IN THE HEART OF THE SEA This book freaked me out. Bosker's accessible, conversational spelunking into the world of contemporary art so powerfully rehydrated the PTSD in me between the little kid artist I once was with the self-consciously constricted thinker I became in art school that at one point I simply had to put it down, shaken. If you've ever wondered 'what happened' to art - galleries, critics, collectors - and, of course, artists - then this book is a very companionable start. It's also very funny, to say nothing of very vivid. And, confoundingly, very, very difficult to put down -- Chris Ware, author of BUILDING STORIES Fascinating for contemporary art lovers and skeptics alike. At the heart of Bianca Bosker's intelligent book is the author's burning curiosity, and it's contagious -- Patrick Bringley, author of ALL THE BEAUTY IN THE WORLD

'In Get the Picture - curious but not nave, gossipy but generous, critical but admiring,hilarious but profound - Bosker probes the human thirst for art, examines the addictivehigh it gives and rescues the unfashionable idea of beauty, of the pleasure of creation,from the theorists and the marketeers. This book is sheer pleasure: the best bookI've ever read about contemporary art' - Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer Prize-winningauthor of Sontangand The Upside-Down World 'A brilliant adventure through the fraught, frenzied, fanatical world of art andemerging artists. Bosker flings us into the epicenter of creativity and obsession, andwith infectious curiosity, illuminates the surprising science, history and controversies atthe core of our relationship with art. This book paints an extraordinary picture that willmake your life more beautiful. Put simply, it's a work of art' - Nathaniel Philbrick,author of In the Heart of the Sea 'This book freaked me out. Bosker's accessible, conversational spelunking into theworld of contemporary art so powerfully rehydrated the PTSD in me between the littlekid artist I once was with the self-consciously constricted thinker I became in art schoolthat at one point I simply had to put it down, shaken. If you've ever wondered 'whathappened' to art - galleries, critics, collectors - and, of course, artists - then this bookis a very companionable start. It's also very funny, to say nothing of very vivid. And,confoundingly, very, very difficult to put down' - Chris Ware, author of Building Stories

In Get the Picture - curious but not naïve, gossipy but generous, critical but admiring, hilarious but profound - Bosker probes the human thirst for art, examines the addictive high it gives and rescues the unfashionable idea of beauty, of the pleasure of creation, from the theorists and the marketeers. This book is sheer pleasure: the best book I've ever read about contemporary art -- Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of SONTAG and THE UPSIDE-DOWN WORLD

Author Information

Bianca Bosker is the New York Times bestselling author of Cork Dork and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and The Best American Travel Writing, and been recognized with awards from the New York Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists and more. She lives in New York City.

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