Work in Progress

The book Seven Days in the Art Word by Sarah Thornton is an X-ray of the art world and presents its main features as well as the complex and diverse structure around contemporary art. Sarah Thornton suggests that the main reason for writing this work, is that the world of art has exploded, with works of art selling for increasingly exorbitant sums, which in turn, draws the attention of a growing audience that is beginning to perceive art as a luxury, refined goods, dedicated to those with a certain level of education who are able to understand art. The increase in the number of those interested in art or art enthusiasts can be seen by the increasing number of visitors to art museums, the increasing number of institutions dealing with art (museums, galleries, art schools) and by the increasing number of publications about the art world. The book is structured in chapters, each representing a different corner of the world of art, having a chapter to present an auction at the famous Ch...

What’s the role of art in society? How does it influences us? Does art have a meaning, and if the answer is “yes”, how can we find it? These are just some of the questions that John Berger (art critic), the author of  Ways of Seeing , in collaboration with Sven Blomberg (painter), Chris Fox (editor), Michael Dibb (filmmaker), and Richard Hollis (graphic designer), is trying to answer in his work. The book consists of a series of both written and visual essays, the latter being, actually, the main arguments of the author regarding a particular issue he raises. Its purpose is settled from the beginning: to raise, among the readers, a series of questions regarding the aspects of art, but to also allow the criticism of the reasoning of the writers. The target audience is a broad one – it has been conceived to be comprehended by any category of people, regardless of their knowledge in the domain of art. However, the authors are often using the arguments and the studies of th...

Who’s afraid of contemporary art? An A to Z Guide to the Art World is the very fitting title for the witty, educational book about the world of contemporary art, written by authors Kyung An (assistant curator at the Guggenheim Museum, New York) and Jessica Cerasi (exhibitions manager at Carroll / Fletcher gallery, London) and published by Thames & Hudson in 2017. The authors attempt to condense the history of contemporary art and the inner workings of the art world in this fun, easy-to-read volume. The book is divided into 26 chapters, each answering a well-chosen question about contemporary art and its world, from A to Z, with each letter corresponding to a specific topic or idea. After briefly explaining the concept of the book, they give a concise and relevant example; whether it is a individual artist, a certain way contemporary art is created, or venues for contemporary art. I found the example in chapter 8 particularly relevant, because it explains the messages against mis...

A dilettante reader may be inclined to wrongly perceive Russian literature, and define it in a hasty manner, more precisely, just as it follows: a never-ending tangled series of tragic stories, embracing lots of doomed characters (and this is, of course, only one example of those countless versions of puerile views). Now, in order to add a bit of veracity and wit to these opinions, I would like to state the fact that, indeed, some of the Russian writings can easily fool the reader who doesn’t pay the required dose of attention, and destroy their interest. However, the extent of this nation’s literature is much broader and the subjects that are often approached are of great importance. In order to easily proving this, I intend to emphasize a piece of work that may not be that popular among us, but whose author, Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), is widely known. Therefore, I will refer, in the following lines, to the essay called What is Art?  (1897) whose thesis has undoubtedly made me re...