This book is great for anyone who wants a quick overview of how the business of art works. Don Thompson, an economist and branding expert undertook a years research to write this entertaining study of the economies and psychology of art, dealers and auctions.
Thompson admits that material and some numbers in the book are single-source stories and facts, which are embellished in the retelling. Also the glossary of facts does not have any references or footnotes, as a result makes you question the accuracy.
The author is quite biased on the side of everything in contemporary art is a game of branding and marketing, which is probably true since the majority of "art" these days are meaningless to the general public without the fancy gallery/museum.
I found this book quite humorous in the attempt to answer important questions such as 'yes, but is it really art?' and 'why would a very smart New York investment banker pay twelve million dollars for the decaying, stuffed carcase of a shark?'.
No comments:
Post a Comment