Charles Saatchi's "?"

Charles Saatchi: Question by Charles Saatchi

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


One of those non-books about an non-subject matter. One star usually means i hated it, and two stars mean I hate it but it got me thinking about stuff.

"?" by Charles Saatchi is book length (but could be read in one sitting) Q&A on various subject matters - but mostly there is an overall contempt for Rich Artists, and basically advertising wizz Saatchi can make or break an artist's career. Which I think is an overstatement. Or at the very least that's the drift from the questions. Saatchi seems to be pretty much a straight forward type of guy, although I don't see why "green" (he doesn't like this movement that much) issues upset him so much. And there is no sense of passion in why he collects and likes art. My gut feeling is that he loves art. It rocks his world. But reading this book all I get is surface stuff.

So I imagine people who buy this book (good impulse buy design) they want to know about the "art world." And the "art world" is not that interesting compared to the aesthetics of the artist or what the work is or how it communicates to the viewer. That's interesting. But how rich an artist is or does he deserve the attention - all of that is really a matter of taste, which comes and goes.

So in the nutshell, like "the film business" with regards how much money the work made - is a false issus in my world. A book about Saatchi talking about individual artists and what it means to him would be way more interesting. And maybe he discussed that in his first book. Nevertheless "?" is pointless, but interesting in what it doesn't talk about.

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