The Naked Eye

by Charles Saatchi

Charles Saatchi's new book based on extraordinary unphotoshopped images

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

254 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2013

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 5 out of 5]

“What is it about the Parisians that makes them so pompous, so arrogant, so superior, so unappealing? The obvious, I’m afraid. They are insecure on too many levels.”

This is a random yet wonderful collection of meandering thoughts and small essays of sorts. In a way it is about art but it also about many other subjects which take the author’s fancy. Medical miracles, mammatus clouds and megacryometeors (the largest recorded, 484Ibs, dropped on Brazil in summer in a cloudless sky). Elsewhere we hear of pilots being blown out of plane windows, Victorian mediums, film noir, scary ants, sensitive elephants, submarines, camel wrestling, witchcraft, sinkholes and Dubai are just some of the topics which take his interest.

"The Naked Eye" is loaded with facts, stats and wonderful images from around the globe. This is a collection of extremes, and the wonders of the world. It actually put me in mind of that website Stumble Upon, where you hit stumble and another related topic you are interested in pops up. Without doubt this is a really entertaining book. Saatchi is sharp, dry, playful and informative in this tightly written selection of goodies, which is devoid of any pretentious BS.

[Joris Gillet · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think it would be fair to consider this an attempt at an art-y book (this is the Saatchi of the Saatchi Gallery). Each chapter starts and ends with a photo. Not necessarily of a work of art but often the photo itself is a bit artsy. They are also quite small. Not nearly filling the page. So maybe the book is more about the written content? But the text is terrible. Each (short) chapter is just a collection of random facts vaguely related to the photo at the start. So a picture of a tree will lead to a couple of pages of stuff about trees (something about a famous tree, the highest tree, something about another famous tree and than it stops). Like someone is regurgitating the Wikipedia-page for 'trees' for you. The book has absolutely no personality or humour or insight or point.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saatchi is sadly forever tainted by a paparazzi snap of him strangling his wife, which you hope was a one off rather than part of a cycle of abuse. Nonetheless, Saatchi is ultra rare in that he is officially a member of the Right wing Conservative party yet he is also a promoter of artistic freedom, intellect and free thinking and most famously a champion and benefactor of avant garde and contemporary art. In his writing, he challenges conventional thinking in a variety of ways. He is direct, sharp and opinionated as well as being a fount of names, facts and figures. Subjects touched on here include Dubai ('a simply lovely treat'), sinkholes, post Biblical plagues, the telegraph, Empires and tennis. The short pieces are all inspired by accompanying photos which are extraordinary and unphotoshopped. An entertaining ride through a sort of stream of consciousness from a man unashamed of his intellect, his money or his opinions.

[H Flaxa · Rating 5 out of 5]

unflinchingly opinionated, lucid and grumpy. sadly cancelled these days

[Mary Karpel-Jergic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I found it fascinating. Weird and wonderful photographs which tease and tantalise and a selection of stories to go alongside which are only loosely related. A cornucopia of titbits put together in an unusual but compelling fashion.