A Year in the Art World

I look into the art world behind the scenes. Easy to read, yet tons of interesting information about all aspects of the art world.

The topics covered are okay, but the writing style is somewhat pedestrian. Does not compare well to Seven Days in the Art World.

I especially enjoyed reading about the art critic and art writer Jarrett Earnest. His comments about the state of art writing and where it is headed despite very difficult headwinds (no one pays much for art criticism, no one reads art criticism, no one reads...) were hopeful nonetheless. He also hinted at the concerns of art and artists today with dumping established elites yet needing something to replace it. He was an inspiration to me because he chose to write about the people who write about art. Brilliant!The section on curators was also fascinating to me because I realized that although curators are very influential to new art and artists, they still must conform to the status quo, dictated or nudged by benefactors and board members. The choices curators make can make or deny the trajectory of art production today.I also cited several one- and two-star reviews for Abuse because they were mean-spirited attacks with no cited examples. As someone from the hinterlands wishing to learn about recent art activities in far-flung places, I found this book to be informative and entertaining. Good on you, Matthew Israel!Jimmie FroehlichAnchorage

From the cover I expected a lighthearted, entertaining look at the art world. Instead it was dry and preachy. Prepare yourself for the obligatory tally of art world professionals by race and ethnicity, along with lamenting about how such and such group is underrepresented. The final straw was when the book introduced the story of a "gay", "immigrant" artist. Please. Is being gay really an obstacle in the art world? As for the "immigrant" part, you'd probably picture someone struggling with English and trying to earn a living wage. Well, I lost it when the particular "immigrant" in this story was revealed to be British mega-millionaire artist David Hockney, who has divided his life between the UK and Southern California. At that point I put the book down for good. I don't appreciate this shallow way of looking at people based on their victim categories. And I doubt David Hockney -- someone who exudes confidence and gusto -- would either.

Fairly comprehensive in terms of the breadth of topic it covers (although curiously there is no chapter focus on actual collectors), but also fairly superficial in that few topics are covered in any depth and many chapters are way too short to be informative.The structure the author chooses (interviewing someone related to the topic of each chapter) has great potential, but the lack of detail and depth means that the strategy does not fulfill its potential.

Where to start? This book could have been a landmark in the same way that "Seven Days in the Art World" has been. Published ten years later, it could almost have been an update, a cultural testament of the quick evolution within the past decade. Unfortunately, it quickly becomes a journey well-known know tales which feel like unevenly reheated leftovers in a cheap microwave. While the preface sounds almost genuine, the rest left me with an intense after taste of BS, arrogance - it is dismissive. "Only the high net worth individuals are worth the effort - it made me think that I know one more person in the art world that I will avoid in the future. Israel highlights the flaws without consciousness that maybe we should rethink the model and address those out there. Especially that for someone who writes something like " In the process of writing this book I've tried to push back against some of the inequality of the art world .... " then writes, " Those from the poorer or less privileged backgrounds are less likely to have been exposed to art as a routine part of growing up, or to have had the opportunity to attend art school, so they generally would not even consider opening a gallery." This sentence perpetrates exactly the inequalities that he mentioned in his introduction. Furthermore, as someone who is precisely from that less privileged background but having a Master's degree from one of the high-end schools he mentioned - I felt incredibly annoyed.This book doesn't bring anything new to the table - it is poorly research citing for example, that within the time of writing has become obsolete let's mentioned here Marciano Art Foundation shouldn't be praised (while I understand that the events might have unravelled later than that chapter was written a footnote could have easily be added without changing the tone or the flow but showcase up to date information. It is surfing on a wave of people wanting to know more about this world. He also only showcase his little personal Rolodex - everybody is at less than ONE degree of separation. - It lacks objectivity. Yes, it's cover represent the shocking piece by Maurizio Cattelan. Still, this book isn't astonishing for it's cutting edge, but for its re-ashed stories - did nothing else happen in the past ten years than the sale of the Salvator Mundi or Steve Wynn's elbow passing through a Picasso are still worth the word count? It's dismissiveness and the incredible amount of bias that it propagate. I probably appreciate two chapters out of the 15 that have been written. Furthermore, it seems that by the end, Israel didn't know what to write anymore and didn't even care to write a proper conclusion.Save yourself some time and money, buy another book (Don Thompson, Sarah Thornton come to mind) or visit some local galleries! Arrogant & Dismissive - don't believe there is much better out there!

If you really are in the art world, then all the things he said are nothing new

Really good introduction for an art beginners. Even more deep and thoughtful.

I bought this book for studying purposes. It really is hard to get up to date material on contemporary art and this book is not helpful. If youre looking for a book thats more of a rambling about the writers own experiences and name dropping quotes then by all means this is the book for you. Personally i wish i could get my money back. Gotta love restrictions and being forced to shop online.