Publication date UK format 6/9/22 book 145 pages
I would like to thank the author, publishers and Netgalley for allowing me to pick this to read and review all my reviews are honest.
Synopsis
Artists today can choose to lead relatively comfortable lives. The clich� is that they suffer, but if they are willing to make shiny objects for wealthy collectors, paint decorative murals for the lobbies of banks, or aggregate existing images into new supports for digital currencies, then they can reasonably hope for a good chance of achieving some measure of commercial success. Why, then, have some the most interesting artists of our time committed themselves, for a decade or more, to some of the most devastating conflicts on earth, including wars over precious metals that have devastated indigenous lands, crimes associated with the drug trade that have shattered poor and vulnerable communities, and popular uprisings for dignity and justice that have been pummeled by autocratic regimes and mired in civil strife? This book tells the stories of three such artists--Amar Kanwar in India, Teresa Margolles in Mexico, and Abounaddara in Syria--and considers what their work means for the future of contemporary art and the global circuits that are meant to sustain it.
Drawing on years of research and extensive reporting, Kaelen Wilson-Goldie vividly recounts the worlds these artists inhabit and the profound and unflinching works they create. As a longtime critic attuned to close looking, she follows her subjects through the materials they gather, the relationships they form, and the responsibilities they bear to the people who make their art possible. Pushing at the boundaries of what art is and testing out new modes of working together, these artists express deep ambivalence toward a field they entered largely by chance. With intensifying debates about the market, museum ethics, and institutional politics, the art world stands to benefit from the provocative examples that Kanwar, Margolles, and Abounaddara set, adept as they are at translating chaotic violence into meaningful works of art.
My Review
This was a great book. I couldn't put it down and had to binge read it. This book is definitely eye opening to the darker side of the art world. I really couldn't believe what I was reading at times . This is definitely the most controversial side of art. Some would even question if it is art at all. It seemed so wrong but it was created for a reason and to make a point that was very important to each artist. The point of there art was to shock people to make them understand what is wrong in the world so it certainly made a statement with me and made me think hard about each artist and there work. Yes they are very wrong so bad even that the book doesn't have any pictures. Without these controversies there point nor artwork would be even taken serious. To be honest I wish there was pictures in this book as it would of made the book even more powerful but would the reader be able to stomach this hmm. I love reading books about art especially those who's art is very different and this book did not disappoint at all. It was very well researched and well wrote it had me hooked from the very start and when it finished I wanted more. I could of read books like this one forever as they are so interesting. I learnt a lot from reading this. I only wished it was longer as it flowed so well. I definitely recommend reading this book if you love reading about the darker more gorey side of art.
So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for bringing us this very interesting and very different artists story to life.
Where you can buy this book
Amazon US K $9.76, AUDIBLE, PB $15.99
Waterstones pb £11.99
B&N PB $16.00, EBOOK $12.49, AUDIOBOOK
Kobo AUDIOBOOK £7.99, PB £8.99
Amazon UK K £8.99, AUDIBLE, PB £11.99
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HAPPY READING