Seven Days in the Art World

Sarah Thornton, W. W. Norton & Company, 2008

Art historian and sociologist Sarah Thornton tells the story of the seven days she spent in contemporary art centers including New York, Los Angeles, London, Basel, Venice and Tokyo. It exposes an evening sale at Christie’s, an art seminar in CalArts, elite clients at Art Basel, the ardent competition behind the Turner Prize, ArtForum magazine and its critics, Takashi Murakami’s studio and the world of artists and curators at the Venice Biennale.

With those who see art as a consumer product or entertainment source, as well as those who define it as an intellectual action, or even an alternative religion, the books turns into a world trip with colorful characters. It offers the most fun way to understand the dynamics of creativity, decision-making, status, money and aestheticism in the contemporary art world!