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The Studio Game
Liska and Guy suspect that an artist cannot be considered truly great until he or she is dead. At least - some kind of suicidal statement would be just the thing to propel their work from obscurity into the infamous A-List of the art world. With their work completed, Liska and Guy attempt to immortalise themselves by following many of the greats to an early grave. Guy loses his courage however, and he's left alive and able to see how Liska's work is valued after her death.
The Studio Game portrays an art world in danger of imploding. Popular works of art are referenced throughout, offering a running commentary on a story that is both a tale of young love and an insider's take on the eccentricities of our present-day art world.
Peter Burnett has created a lovable, slightly eccentric anti-hero surrounded by a weird and wonderful plethora of characters. This bittersweet, dreamlike tale may be fiction but the astutely-researched narrative is set within today’s real art auction market of Warhol, Emin, Hirst and Creed.
Burnett’s previous novels, The Supper Book and The Machine Doctor received high praise - “ hilarious, informative and just a tad crazy” … “an exhilarating and anarchic comedy.”
Likewise, The Studio Game is a cleverly constructed, rollercoaster ride, rich in humour, taking us on an intellectual and emotional journey which also challenges our own notion of “what is art” along the way
The Studio Game portrays an art world in danger of imploding. Popular works of art are referenced throughout, offering a running commentary on a story that is both a tale of young love and an insider's take on the eccentricities of our present-day art world.
Peter Burnett has created a lovable, slightly eccentric anti-hero surrounded by a weird and wonderful plethora of characters. This bittersweet, dreamlike tale may be fiction but the astutely-researched narrative is set within today’s real art auction market of Warhol, Emin, Hirst and Creed.
Burnett’s previous novels, The Supper Book and The Machine Doctor received high praise - “ hilarious, informative and just a tad crazy” … “an exhilarating and anarchic comedy.”
Likewise, The Studio Game is a cleverly constructed, rollercoaster ride, rich in humour, taking us on an intellectual and emotional journey which also challenges our own notion of “what is art” along the way
- GenresScotland
223 pages, Paperback
First published November 12, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 30, 2013
ABERDEEN and the art world
"We admired the anxiety that was special to city life in Aberdeen"....
Two things drew me to this novel. First the cover, and second, that it was clearly advertised as being set in Aberdeen.
The more I read, the more my interest grows in the role that book covers play: they are a way for an author to advertise content, to catch the potential reader's eye and to make a statement. On a bookshelf in a bookstore (as well as on the internet) they have to gain the reader's attention within a microsecond, a really challenging feat to achieve in the current market which is burgeoning with books - both from the big and not so big publishing houses, and from those who self publish. The book cover is increasingly going to become a vital tool to getting the book out to the reader (this isn't rocket science, is it?).
The cover of The Studio Game is simple and colourful and initially looks like a collection of Smarties - and who doesn't like to be taken back to fond memories of childhood? On closer inspection, however, these dots are swirls of oil paint, onto which the letters of the title and author are embedded. Does this cover do its job? Only in part. It's eye-catching, yes. But the title and the author actually get totally lost! As I came to write this review, I found myself spelling out the title, character by character, together with the author's name, which made me feel like a bit of an idiot - THEST UDIOG AMEPE TERBU..... I struggled to remember what it was I was reading and by whom it was written (thus, clearly a job not well done). This cover does not enable you to skim read and absorb the title in one go (an essential point of a book cover), and thus the vital detail of title and author has got thoroughly lost.
And what of the storyline? Liska and Guy are painting partners, who channel their passion into the creation of art - or not. Liska is on a mission to create 58 paintings as her legacy, and she is of the view that art is only truly art once the artist is dead. So she duly jumps from a ferry on the way to the Shetland Islands but pops up frequently in Guy's mind's eye, looking much like Ophelia, but disintegrating further with each appearance. Guy, in theory, was due to jump with her, but a restraining hand (or was it is his fear or his determination to carry out a mission?) pulled him back at the critical moment, and he survived their pact. This is not a spoiler, because the novel is essentially about the place and function of art after death.
Guy is determined to carry out Liska's wishes and destroy all her painintgs - but with her death each picture now has increasing value, and it is the battle between commercial potential and artistic integrity that starts to take centre stage. Guy is clearly hell bent on creating 'chaos out of order'.
Relevant references to 'famous' works of art are interwoven into the prose. Take the Mark Rothko, Light Red Over Black (1957), oil on canvas. This notion of 'millionaire friendly wallpaper' (as Simon Schama calls it) is, in part, the discourse that snakes through the book. When does art become to be art? When it is created, when it is sold, when the artist is dead? Who are the agents who set themselves up to proclaim what is art and what is not? Guy carries out a brief experiment with a dog turd (turds are apparently prolific in Aberdeen), he places a knife and fork on either side and sprinkles it with coloured sugar cake decorations, and puts to the top right a wine glass filled with yellow urine. In the hands of Guy Poynting, this is a joke. But in the hands of Warhol it would be art, and very valuable art it would be too!
Make of this book what you will. It is very readable, and an interesting choice from independent publishers Fledgling Press, founded in 2000, whose mission it is 'to make new authors available to readers quickly and effectively'. They have a great little logo, which sadly with the advent of Twitter, has got overtaken - although the publishing house existed long before the advent of the social media site (so remember, the little logo on the bottom right of the cover has nothing to do with Twitter!).
"We admired the anxiety that was special to city life in Aberdeen"....
Two things drew me to this novel. First the cover, and second, that it was clearly advertised as being set in Aberdeen.
The more I read, the more my interest grows in the role that book covers play: they are a way for an author to advertise content, to catch the potential reader's eye and to make a statement. On a bookshelf in a bookstore (as well as on the internet) they have to gain the reader's attention within a microsecond, a really challenging feat to achieve in the current market which is burgeoning with books - both from the big and not so big publishing houses, and from those who self publish. The book cover is increasingly going to become a vital tool to getting the book out to the reader (this isn't rocket science, is it?).
The cover of The Studio Game is simple and colourful and initially looks like a collection of Smarties - and who doesn't like to be taken back to fond memories of childhood? On closer inspection, however, these dots are swirls of oil paint, onto which the letters of the title and author are embedded. Does this cover do its job? Only in part. It's eye-catching, yes. But the title and the author actually get totally lost! As I came to write this review, I found myself spelling out the title, character by character, together with the author's name, which made me feel like a bit of an idiot - THEST UDIOG AMEPE TERBU..... I struggled to remember what it was I was reading and by whom it was written (thus, clearly a job not well done). This cover does not enable you to skim read and absorb the title in one go (an essential point of a book cover), and thus the vital detail of title and author has got thoroughly lost.
And what of the storyline? Liska and Guy are painting partners, who channel their passion into the creation of art - or not. Liska is on a mission to create 58 paintings as her legacy, and she is of the view that art is only truly art once the artist is dead. So she duly jumps from a ferry on the way to the Shetland Islands but pops up frequently in Guy's mind's eye, looking much like Ophelia, but disintegrating further with each appearance. Guy, in theory, was due to jump with her, but a restraining hand (or was it is his fear or his determination to carry out a mission?) pulled him back at the critical moment, and he survived their pact. This is not a spoiler, because the novel is essentially about the place and function of art after death.
Guy is determined to carry out Liska's wishes and destroy all her painintgs - but with her death each picture now has increasing value, and it is the battle between commercial potential and artistic integrity that starts to take centre stage. Guy is clearly hell bent on creating 'chaos out of order'.
Relevant references to 'famous' works of art are interwoven into the prose. Take the Mark Rothko, Light Red Over Black (1957), oil on canvas. This notion of 'millionaire friendly wallpaper' (as Simon Schama calls it) is, in part, the discourse that snakes through the book. When does art become to be art? When it is created, when it is sold, when the artist is dead? Who are the agents who set themselves up to proclaim what is art and what is not? Guy carries out a brief experiment with a dog turd (turds are apparently prolific in Aberdeen), he places a knife and fork on either side and sprinkles it with coloured sugar cake decorations, and puts to the top right a wine glass filled with yellow urine. In the hands of Guy Poynting, this is a joke. But in the hands of Warhol it would be art, and very valuable art it would be too!
Make of this book what you will. It is very readable, and an interesting choice from independent publishers Fledgling Press, founded in 2000, whose mission it is 'to make new authors available to readers quickly and effectively'. They have a great little logo, which sadly with the advent of Twitter, has got overtaken - although the publishing house existed long before the advent of the social media site (so remember, the little logo on the bottom right of the cover has nothing to do with Twitter!).
December 10, 2012
A great read, enjoy the absurdity of the art world and a poignant love story, looking forward to more by Peter Burnett
July 8, 2020
I really did not like this.
June 18, 2016
Not sure why I persevered with this, it wasn't really for me. The premise was good - two artists who are disillusioned with the passionless investors who they rely on to make a living. Instead, they decide to commit suicide and have their work achieve infamy. But one doesn't go through with it...
I imagine there are readers who would appreciate this look at the art world but it felt moany and cynical to me. There is a beautiful lovestory at the heart of this, just not enough.
I imagine there are readers who would appreciate this look at the art world but it felt moany and cynical to me. There is a beautiful lovestory at the heart of this, just not enough.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews