Who's Afraid of Contemporary Art?

by Kyung An, Jessica Cerasi

What is contemporary art? What makes it contemporary? What is it for? And why is it so expensive? The contemporary art world can be a baffling place, but Kyung An and Jessica Cerasi are on hand to bring you up to speed. From museums and the art market to biennales and the next big thing, Whos Afraid of Contemporary Art? offers concise and pointed insights into todays art scene, examining how artists are propelled to stardom, explaining what curators do, challenging our understanding of artistic skill, demystifying the art market, and much, much more. In this easy-to-navigate A to Z guide, the authors playful explanations draw on key artworks, artists and events from around the globe, including how the lights going on and off won the Turner Prize, what makes the likes of Marina Abramovic and Ai Weiwei such great artists, and why Kanye West would trade his Grammys to be one.

Packed with behind-the-scenes information and completely free of jargon, Whos Afraid of Contemporary Art? is the perfect gallery companion and the go-to guide for when the next big thing leaves you stumped.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

201 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 9, 2017

Reviews

[Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started appreciating and collecting art last year during the pandemic and needed to know more about contemporary art. Leafing through books about this subject matter at the library, I chose this one since it seemed more like a mini primer with essays describing different aspects such as the art world itself, pricing, creating art, running a gallery, concepts and process, and performance art. For this book, I used a different approach to this type of non-fiction book. Every time I would visit a gallery opening or an atelier, I would read a couple of pages for inspiration, so that's why it took forever for me to "finish" the book..

For a dumbdumb/fresh faced art world rookie like me, this book was just the right fit. I didn't really know what the big deal was about Abramovic, Art Basel, what a curator does and how a concept can turn an ordinary item into _art_, BUT I UNDERSTAND ALL OF THOSE THINGS NOW. NOT BAD FOR A DUMBDUMB.

So, if you are totally unlike me and know more than nothing about art and the art world that surrounds it, then this book might not be for you at all. At all.

[Mary Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m struggling, my dudes.

If you know anything about contemporary art, this book has nothing new to offer in terms of insight or perspective. If you know the names Marcel Duchamp, Jeff Koons, and Marina Abromavic you’ve basically got it down.
If you don’t know anything about contemporary art, you’re going to be frustrated by the haphazard layout of the book (it takes a cutesy ABCs approach which means that the subject matter jumps all over the place, you don’t get any historical basics to go off, no coherent argument or point is made, and it’s just confusing.)

Only good chapter is W (for WTF?, naturally.) The takeaway that could be printed on a business card is that the world of contemporary art is huge, that looking at one contemporary artwork and not getting it doesn’t make you or the artwork stupid, and not to chalk up to stupidity what can easily be chalked up to differences in taste.

Now you don’t have to buy the book, congratulations.

[Zhi Zhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not me.

[Bronwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting little book that covers many elements of the art world, and it's a great overview for people who like art but feel that they don't know much about it. Through 26 short essays, one for each letter of the alphabet, this book breaks down a lot of the basics about how the industry works, from what curators do, to how the monetary value of artwork is decided, to all the new artforms that have emerged in the past half century or so (digital works, installations, performance art, conceptual art, etc.)

Last year I started working as an editor in an art gallery - well, more an art museum going by the definitions in this book - but since my background was not in visual art, I felt like I took a very different route into the organisation than many people who have spent their whole career in the field. Before I began in the role, I only had a superficial notion of how artists, curators, conservators, dealers, galleries and museums all worked together to present exhibitions and publish an accompanying exhibition catalogue. My specialty is words and trying to help writers of all flavours better connect with the audience they want to reach, but it means you sometimes have to get up to speed quickly to understand the subject matter as much as the writer does. So as an Intro to Contemporary Art 101, this book is hard to beat.

Soon after I started at the gallery, it became clear in conversations with friends outside the art world that not many of them knew how it all worked either, even if they did go to the city's main art galleries whenever anything big was on. I'd hear comments about how strange and overrated they found a lot of contemporary art, and there'd always be someone who raved about 'taxpayer dollars' paying for stuff they thought was rubbish, and how they, or their kid, could make that themselves. ('Yeah ... but you didn't!' I'd always want to say.) Reading this book has not only helped me in my role at work, but it's also given me some useful ideas for trying to explain contemporary art to people who don't really get it. My favourite take-away: 'Not understanding contemporary art doesn't make you stupid. But it doesn't make the art stupid either.'

While any one of these short 3-4 page essays could probably lead to entire books on each subject, I really think this is an excellent introduction to understanding contemporary art. And who knows? You might even come to love it.

[Briana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for people who may not know much about contemporary art. I thought this was a good introduction and it name-drops a ton of artists to point out. I thought it was cute!

[Andy Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some well-argued points here about the response to modern art: suggestive without seeking to be overtly persuasive. I was not keen on the 'A to Z' structure which seemed contrived and gave. no sense of direction. The result is a set of mini-essays - though many of them are intrinsically valid.

[Onofre Benlloch · Rating 5 out of 5]

El vaig comprar a la botiga d'un museu d'art contemporani i per tant s'ha d'entendre el seu abast com a llibre per persones novençanes. Per a mi, que comence a interessar-me en art ara, ha sigut un llibre meravellós que llegir.

Li tinc molta mania als llibres que estructuren els seus continguts en ABCD... i este no obstant ho fa de manera tan natural que ni te n'adones. A més, a més, crec que té un punt de valor afegit pel que fa a la descripció de la tasca curatorial (les autores ho són).

També és molt recomanable si tens ganes de llegir o refrescar la memòria sobre artistes consolidats de l'últim segle sense criteri espedífic, només fullejant un llibre amb una selecció guay d'obres i artistes.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd probably give this to someone who is constantly asking me what contemporary art is about but as a contemporary artist I think it's lacking in a lot of it's criticism of the art world at large.

By and large it seems like the kind of book that should just be released as a trade-paperback. Making it a hardcover just adds to the price of what would ultimately be a pretty disappointing piece of non-fiction, and doubly disappointing because of said price.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short essays accompanied by examples and illustrations provide a very basic introduction to modern (contemporary) art. The book establishes a framework for the reader to think about, and view modern art.

The book loses a star because it is difficult to read some of the commentary accompanying its illustrations due a lack of contrast between the print color and the background.

[Vlada Segen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good and very basic introduction to contemporary art. I think for the price it is retailing at it could be a little bit more informative and offer a more in-depth discussion of individual artists or movements.

[Vanessa Spiker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this for one of my classes, I hated it. Contemporary art makes no sense to me, and a lot of the meanings they have for the art, you would never be able to tell unless someone told you. I don't understand how turning lights on and off in an empty room means something?

[Chris Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really didn't get much out of this at all ...

Firstly - it's *very* basic.

Secondly - it's poorly structured; there's no coherent thread to be followed through the book. (The fact that the book is so very basic means it has no value as reference material either)

[Bryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was cute! I’m getting ready to start a new position in a museum, and this was exactly what I needed to get my brain working again.

Published in 2020, An and Cerasi have broken down contemporary art into a bite-sized little alphabet that I found to be really grounding.

[Ximena Apisdorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very easy way to get in contemporary art with very easy and small articles that can be read continuously or just one by one in the way that you would prefer,

[Kasia Moleda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic overview and analysis of the contemporary art world. One of the best I have read so far.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Braindead shit

[Tommi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for non-artists or artists who haven't been to art school. Read it with access to the internet so you can look up some the artists/art works mentioned.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great easy-on the train read, short but coherent explainations and descriptions

[Irina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not convinced.

[Victoria peng · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty good. Introductory vibe book but fun read

[Wantong Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

太浅了

[Ursula · Rating 5 out of 5]

me, I am.

[Sara Petizzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anyone is curious to know more about how to look at art, what goes on behind the scenes of art auctions, how exhibitions are curated etc... this is the little book for you!

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives an overview of contemporary art.

A couple of the sections were interesting but on the whole I found it a bit dull.

Overall rating 2.5

[Michelle Bizzell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contemporary art can be confusing to me (and I am sure lots of other people). This was a nice, well laid out little book with some interesting behind the scenes info that helped clear up the confusion at least a little bit.

[Pavel Annenkov · Rating 3 out of 5]

О ЧЕМ КНИГА:
Детально описана вся экосистема современного искусства и арт-рынка. 26 коротких глав о каждой составляющей этой загадочной области. Становятся понятны принципы раскрутки новых авторов, условия взаимоотношений галерей с художниками и экономика всех процессов. В конце книги есть отличный список со ссылками на главные ресурсы по искусству.

ГЛАВНЫЕ ВЫВОДЫ:
- Как что то становится искусством? Всё что угодно может стать искусством, пройдя две стадии. Первая - это попасть в галерею. Далее, на втором этапе, приглашаются зрители, которые, увидя нечто, должны это оценить и сказать, верят ли они, что перед ними искусство.

- Искусство вытаскивает нас из повседневной реальности и заставляет задавать себе большие вопросы, о которых мы не думаем в ежедневной суете.

- Современное искусство бросает нам вызов и заставляет усомниться в правильности того, что нас окружает. Видя часто шокирующие произведения мы начинаем думать и сомневаться в текущем устройстве мира и его ценностях. Это самый действенный и гуманный способ менять мировосприятие людей.

[Lucy Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was confusingly laid out and weirdly written. The subject was interesting but it could have been executed so much better if it was just laid out like a normal book.