My Name Is Charles Saatchi and I Am an Artoholic: Questions from Journalists and Readers, New Extended Edition

by Charles Saatchi

Do you care what people think? Everyone cares what people think, but luckily I seem to care less than most. Charles Saatchi is one of the moving forces of the modern age. Founder of the global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, and the most influential art collector of our time, he has vigorously shaped the contemporary art scene. His exhibitions, notably 1997’s Sensation exhibition of the so-called Young British Artists—Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, and Chris Ofili, among others—at the Royal Academy of Art, London, and at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, sparked an explosion of controversy. Though he famously refuses to be interviewed, in this book he provides frank, genuine responses to questions from journalists and critics as well as members of the public.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Biography, Art History, Design

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Charles Saatchi (/ˈsɑːtʃiː/; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British-Jewish businessman and the co-founder with his brother Maurice of the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led that business – the world's largest advertising agency in the 1980s – until they were forced out in 1995. In the same year, the Saatchi brothers formed a new agency called M&C Saatchi. Charles is also known as an art collector and the owner of the Saatchi Gallery, and in particular for his sponsorship of the Young British Artists (YBAs), including Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.(wikipedia)

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

“Are you asking if I’m thick? I suppose I am rather, but that doesn’t seem to hamper a career in advertising. And obviously, you can be as thick as a brick to buy art all day long.”

Saatchi is a pivotal enough figure in the modern art world, in particular for promoting and sponsoring the YBA movement. His background is in advertising, and of course one of the projects he was renowned for was his now notorious “Labour isn’t working” campaign for Thatcher’s 1979 Tory election campaign. He also played a fairly significant part in contributing to driving up prices and flooding markets, manipulating markets and then denying harm or damage. But of course it is just another profiting plaything for these kinds of people.

This book relies on a straight forward Q&A approach, the standard of questions range from deeply offensive and crass to genuinely interesting, and it is this hotchpotch approach which can sometimes make for colourful and unpredictable reading. His frank and confessional responses, admitting to many of his mistakes and misjudgements etc, certainly make a change from the majority of the BS spouted in these artistic circles. He did have quite a few lucid and refreshingly honest moments in some of his points regarding the art world and culture in general. He doesn’t appear to be too worried about what other people think, which can sometimes be a good thing in some ways.

In one sense Saatchi is very much part of an elite clique of opportunist, greedy capitalist parasites who exploit artists and create absurd price bubbles and help create circumstances which make certain artists and their work obscenely priced, which often creates situations where other voracious corporate pigs make vast profits by commodifying and fetishizing work. Meanwhile the artist responsible often only sees a tiny fraction of the money and sees nothing of future sell ons.

Saatchi’s story about how he got into advertising is very revealing as to the true nature of the job.
The ability to be fluent in BS is essential and he was clearly well qualified. This he freely admits in here. In the initial parts of this book I was more than a little sceptical, but I have to say by the end of it I actually came away admiring him in some ways, his frankness in so many areas was so refreshing that at least he is a part antidote to the smug, deluded elite rubbish rhetoric that dominates the art world, even if he too is part of the same problem.

[Sandra Deaconu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Habar nu aveam cine e Saatchi ăsta și nici nu e genul de carte pe care aș citi-o în mod obișnuit, dar nici nu regret. Foarte ironic tipul, iar eu nu am cum să nu apreciez trăsătura asta la cineva. Unele răspunsuri au fost savuroase, altele au fost impertinente, dar pe măsura întrebărilor stupide. Mi-a plăcut că își maschează inteligența cu autocritică și sarcasm. Partea proastă e că nu am înțeles cam o treime dintre întrebări pentru că necesită cunoștințe despre lumea artei. Partea bună e că m-a relaxat, de parcă m-aș fi uitat la o emisiune de divertisment. Inutilă, dar bună ca să îți abați gândurile. Aș sta la o bere cu el. Dar să ia el chipsurile, că tot are atâția bani.


Care e cea mai vinovată plăcere a dumneavoastră?

Dacă e o plăcere, ce legătură are cu vinovăția?


Îmi puteți spune ceva despre dumneavoastră care să mă facă să vă plac?

Dar de ce m-ar interesa pe mine dacă mă placeți sau nu?


Vă spălați pe mâini după ce faceți pipi?

Am un acut simț al igienei, astfel că mă spăl pe mâini înainte să fac pipi.


,,Înțelegerea mea referitoare la infinit e ceva de genul următor: la fiecare o sută de ani, o vrabie zboară pe vârful unui munte mare și își curăță ciocul frecându-l de cea mai înaltă stâncă.
Atunci când muntele va fi complet consumat și transformat într-o grămăjoară de praf, acela ar fi echivalentul primei secunde a infinitului.'' 

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

An art collector answers question on art / pieces he has collected.

Some of the answers were a bit vague / dull, but overall a reasonably interesting book.

Overall rating 2.5.

[Estelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's imperative to know something about ex-advertising giant and art collector Charles Saatchi to enjoy this book, but if you do you will find it priceless. Saatchi is probably the most colorful and original character in the contemporary art world. The book is beautifully designed and reads in a flash.

[Anca Zaharia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Din „Mă cheamă Charles Saatchi și sunt un artoholic” am descoperit un om care trăiește după propriile reguli, iar asta am găsit a fi mai plin de potențial de a inspira și motiva decât multe cărți care își propun exact asta: să te reîntoarcă spre tine, să te facă să te vezi cât de mic și de mare ești, în același timp, în ochii lumii, cum singur trebuie să trăiești cu ce te caracterizează și cum extravaganțele care nu rănesc pe nimeni nu spun chiar nimic despre caracterul unei persoane. Cu deschidere și umor, Charles Saatchi vorbește despre artiști contemporani și despre fostele lui soții, despre religie, sexualitate și rasism, dar și despre sine – cu lipsă de afectare, cu asumare, evident fără așteptări.

Recenzia integrală aici: https://ancazaharia.ro/2020/10/motiva...

[Renert Dusout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal mă așteptam să citesc mai mult despre experiența în advertising a lui C. Saatchi și mai puțin despre legătura sa (profundă, de altfel) cu lumea artei, mai ales pentru că el va rămâne în istorie mai degrabă datorită contribuției în domeniul publicitar însă nu m-a deranjat până la urmă nici „turnura” pe care a luat-o acest volum (în fapt o carte compusă drept un mega-interviu cu autorul).
Acum, dacă nu ai auzit de Saatchi s-ar putea să nu-ți facă mare plăcere să citești răspunsuri ultra-sarcastice de multe ori, aproape crude uneori. Omul însă n-a făcut decât să fie onest o dată în plus. Și șarmant, în cel mai polarizant mod cu putință.

[Erika Schoeps · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I picked up this book because someone recommended it on Tumblr, but honestly I had no idea who Charles Saatchi was. Charles Saatchi is an art collector, but you don't need to know or care about this in order to enjoy this book, but it is nice to learn more about the art world. This book is super funny, and Charles Saatchi is whip-smart, clever, and very admirable. He tells it how it is. I think anyone can read this, but I would recommend this book even more highly to anyone who knows anything about the art world.

[Mary Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining enough that I didn't think it deserved a 3, but that doesn't mean it is a transcendental book that will change your life. It did provide me some insight into the world and mind of Charles Saatchi, the renowned art collector who is given credit for shaping the art market (although he would differ).
I read it in about 2 hours, so it goes by very quickly.

[Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretentious posturing, read if you want to know his personality. Not educational about the art market - he doesn't answer the questions.

[Anna Błażewicz-Jarmowicz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too artificial, too distant attitude, in my opinion :)

[Seven Pesos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know who Charles Saatchi was when I bought this for a dollar at the library book sale. I did not particularly care about the art market before reading this book (mentioning this because another user review complains that Saatchi is dismissive, evasive, and does not provide any meaningful information about the art market). Before I bought this, I flipped through the book & made a quick mental profile of the man based on his comments on homosexuality. I thought this unpleasant British man would be entertaining read, something like watching Top Gear. I may not necessarily agree with this racy, callous man, but it would make for an interesting read. What I did not expect was that he would win me over by consistently holding the line of loving art, fostering younger generations of artists, and disdain for art institutions that hold more love for themselves (the institutions) than for the art itself. That and he also offers some tremendous advice for life / self improvement that come off as honest, well-meant, and fantastically practical / realistic / pragmatic / useful. Sure this guy is an asshole, but most successful people are.

Look this guy isn't a guru. He's an advertising mogul cum celebrity art collector. He's an asshole. He's self-absorbed. He's open about being these 2 things. But even in the way he avoids answering questions, and especially which questions he avoids answering, it's clear as day that this man is very sharp, applied, and thinks deeply about the things that attract his attention. I respect that. I would not want to meet this man. I would not want to have friends like this man. But I very much enjoyed reading his book.

Some quotes I liked.

"Q: What keeps you going? A: What's the alternative?"

"You don't learn by your mistakes [...] so best to blunder on making fresh ones."

On the subject of life: "The journey is one way. No returns."

"Q: Do you feel that the glass is half-full or half-empty? A: Either way, drink it and fill it up again."

"Only an artist could treat his own work with such nonchalant brutality"

[Bobby Light · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short read mainly due to the brevity of the answers. While there were some fun snarky answers in there that I was happy to see, and plenty of honesty, it really needed more depth to have any impact. The cheekiness took away from great opportunities to add insight or at least pick a side for the sake of argument. It felt like a Vogue’s 73 questions made into a book just by increasing the font size. I found Charles interesting either way and I’m a fan of anyone seemingly calling out the pretentiousness in art.

[Dara B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty useless if mildly entertaining. A book of Q&A with the famed art collector Charles Saatchi.

This is not a book to learn about art. And not even a book to learn about Charles Saatchi - not from *what* he says anyway. Although you do end up leaning quite a bit about him and his views, or at least his public persona, from *how* he says it.

The questions from readers though. *facepalm* I’d say a pretty good book on learning how to deal with haters if nothing else.

[Kalle Wescott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read /My name is Charles Saatchi and I am an Artoholic/.

Easy, fun read.

Favorite quote:

Charles Saatchi on the first ad he wrote copy for:

"I didn't know how you write an ad, or indeed how to write anything much other than 'I will not be late for Assembly', for which I had been provided much practice."

[Yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, Quick read, entertaining enough - if you’re into the art world, you get some scoop. Many of his responses are rather short and often driven by irony. If you don’t expect to learn the ins and outs of Saatchi’s trade, and are open to whatever answer he throws out, it’s a decent way to spend 2 hours.

[D1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A guy who knows about art, talks about art. Interesting insight into ad industry and some references to art pieces are interesting to look up. Some key discussions are touched upon in this book. Very easy to read, because it’s relaxing but also make the reader think a little

[Kate McDougall Sackler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe if I was an art student, an art historian, or in advertising, I would have enjoyed this book. Since I am none of these things, I thought this was a book about a self-absorbed, condescending a-hole. Zzzzzzzzzzz.
2022 reading challenge-a book less than 220 pages OR more than 440 pages

[Claire araya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh - as someone in the advertising industry I thought this would be an interesting read. It was more like a miniature sized coffee table book - good for picking up for the odd anecdote here and there.

[Jenny Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting guy...total smart-ass, sometimes in unexpected and refreshing ways, other times in just obnoxious ones.

[Danny Webster. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Self-aggrandising bell. This is barely a book, my fault for buying.

[Martyna Kildaite · Rating 3 out of 5]

- What keeps you going?
- What’s the alternative?

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since it was my first time reading anything about art collectors, I feel this interview was a good introduction.

[Katya Hochleitner]

Fun, but shallow.

[Mihai-Andrei · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.9/5

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es ligero pero muy interesante, se lee en una tarde

[Ciar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm embarrassed to have read this, even if I was a teenager.

[Usturoi8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

am râs.

[Chris Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel as though I enjoyed this more than I should have done ...

[Keiralika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well sometimes i‘d like to dream that i‘m very much like Saatchi. Collect many arts from around the world, spend money on weird things, make a critique about someone’s art like a daily routine, make a fuzz about it, money, money, money, revolution. Art revolution, think about nothing, only businesses. Having my own gallery.

God, life would be beautiful, but at the same time i‘d also feel shameful.

[Duncan Hendry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charles Saatchi has never been everyone's favourite person. A number of years ago he found himself at the centre of the taboild press's attention during a messy, if not slightly juicy, break up from his third wife, famed chef, Nigella Lawson. Before that he founded one of the world's most successful advertising agency and, to this day, is seen as one of the most influential and revered collectors the art world has to offer.

Whatever your view of the man, I believe, he has a rather unique wit and way of seeing the world around him. "Artoholic" published in 2009 is pitched as Saatchi answering questions on art, ads, God and life that you actually weren't too afraid to ask.

I enjoy the style in many ways, there are a varied length and depth on these answers. Saatchi displays his dry wit and is unashamedly honest about being Charles Saatchi; that he wasn't smart, he is a dick sometimes, he contradicts himself a lot, that his wife's cooking is lost on him, that his house is a mess. But he also hosts a good amount of real life advice from his own experiences.

I would have liked a number of the questions to have been picked better, they lean heavily on artistic endeavors to the point where some feel like pure repetition and wear a touch thin.

I don't hate this collection, I still enjoy reading Saatchi's answers, but after reading "Be The Worst You Can Be", released a few years after this, I feel like there's a better option in the table. And that's what I'd suggest to anyone viewing his work for the first time.