First published 2024
Bianca Bosker enters the art world as an outsider and becomes consumed by its mysteries. The Cork Dork author encounters artists who hyperventilate over favorite colors and collectors who drain their credit cards for metal sculptures they believe will transform society. Bosker decides to understand why art matters and how anyone can connect with it more meaningfully. She stretches canvases until her fingers blister and talks her way into exclusive parties packed with billionaire collectors. A performance artist sits on her face. She works as a museum security guard and forces herself to stare at individual sculptures for hours. Through gallerists, curators, collectors, and struggling artists who juggle multiple jobs to afford studio space, Bosker uncovers how the art world operates. Her investigation spans cave paintings to Instagram posts and explores the science of vision alongside beauty's cultural importance. The journey reveals both the machinery that determines artistic success and a broader approach to experiencing life.
Genres: biography, art, non-fiction, art-history, cultural-studies
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water
370 pages · Hardcover · Viking