Everything You Know About Art Is Wrong

by Matt Brown

Art is just a load of fancy paintings hung in a gallery. Or is it? Find out the truth, in the myth-busting book! 
 
Why is the Mona Lisa really smiling? Who really invented photography? Which painting was hung upside-down for over a month before anyone noticed? In the intriguing, outrageous, and often provoking world of the visual arts, nothing is quite as it seems—or as many people believe. Whether it’s the notion that all artists are starving young men or that Walt Disney actually designed Mickey Mouse, false ideas persist. Everything You Know About Art Is Wrong sets us straight, revealing the truth about such things as the world’s first instance of photobombing in 1843, the destruction of Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers during World War II, the Damien Hirst spot painting that landed on Mars, and so much more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art

160 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2018

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Matt Brown holds degrees in Chemistry (BSc) and Biomolecular Science (MRes). He has served as a scientific editor and writer at both Reed Elsevier and Nature Publishing Group, and has contributed to several previous science books, including Defining Moments in Science and 1001 Inventions That Changed the World (both published by Cassell). He served as the Royal Institution’s quizmaster for several years, and has also put on science quizzes for the Royal Society, Manchester Science Museum, STEMPRA, and the Hunterian Museum. Matt is also the author of London Day and Night (Batsford) and the forthcoming Everything You Know About England is Wrong (also Batsford). He serves as Editor-at-Large of Londonist.com.

Reviews

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. To be honest, this book did not live up to the expectations. Most things are so obvious and well known to the people who have any sort of interest in art that you wonder why the author even bothered writing... The title leads to believe that it will be a catchy, interesting read with plenty of new knowledge to gather, but no, not even close.
Regrettably, I had to drag myself to finish it, out of principle, rather than out of interest.

[Udit Nair · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read, to say the least! What I enjoyed most was how it made me curious about art beyond the pages of the book. With almost every place mentioned, I found myself wanting to pack my bags and visit it, just to experience the art and its surroundings firsthand.

An entertaining and refreshing read that made me look at art a little differently. More than anything, it left me with a long list of places I now want to explore!

[Shatterlings · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this light hearted easy read about art, there’s some interesting facts and it seemed like a good place to start my interest in art.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jackson Pollock got the inspiration for his drip paintings after he was showered in seagull droppings on Coney Island.



(Very enjoyable read.)

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and informative read. You can dip into chapters or read it cover to cover. Worth having a phone/iPad next to you to look up images of the art referenced.

[Atmyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

In general I did like it. At least, my views on "what is art" are similar to the author's (we both consider paint on beer can as art indeed).

I also can say I really found some interesting pieces of art for myself in this book (well, I am not so well educated in art sphere, so maybe they are novel and interesting only for me)

Though, Matt Brown didn't succeed in changing my mind regarding some questions about art. However, I now have a strong will to know more about art (I'm a real dumb here), so I would say this book did succeed in something :)

Ah, one more thing: O like a humor of the author, that raises a book raining for me)

[José · Rating 3 out of 5]

In "Everything You Know About Art Is Wrong", Matt Brown tackles popular myths on art and tries to prove them wrong.

It is a very entertaining book, ideal if you want something to read when you have very little time. Some of the myths Brown "dispels" are really dispelled but rather discussed in a comprehensive (and very rarely slightly erroneous) way, which might make this fairly more interesting.

[Ajay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matt is a humorous and light-hearted writer, his work carries the right kind of spunk to make a art quite interesting. Yet, this book is without a doubt designed for exactly that punchy, attention-grabbing experience, rather than a truly informative or revolutionary one. I liked the book and especially enjoyed the premise of counterpointing common-myths, but could be missed.

[Micki · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing book with some light opinion but some of the facts didn’t seeem fully vetted, which is an odd choice for a debunking book.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun to read - it’s quick and snappy and easy to absorb, but at the same time it’s eye opening. I’d def recommend it.

[Michael Prendergast · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, little book that gives you an introduction to Art and some of the misconceptions that people have about it. Entertaining and informative.

[Mckynzie King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love

[Tereza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was a good relaxation with some interestingly put facts about art and I really enjoyed it. It was fun to read and I will read it again for sure!

[Vero Quintero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bien entretenido and informative