Pablo Helguera's "Manual of Contemporary Art"
Tue, May 8 2007
'The Pablo Helguera's Manual of Contemporary Art Style' offers an ironic, insightful, and humorous look at the inner social workings of the contemporary art scene, while functioning at the same time as an accurate and useful etiquette manual for understanding the intricate professional dynamics that take place in the art community today.
El libro fue originalmente publicado en Español ('Manual de estilo del arte contemporáneo') por Tumbona Ediciones. The English edition is published under the Books in Translation series of Jorge Pinto Books Inc.
Everyone should read it! It even includes a diagram of the ideal choreography for an artist at an opening; a 'Chart of Sentimental Relationships' (i.e. artist with artist = acceptable, curator with museum director = problematic; artist with art dealer = unacceptable) and a memorable glossary describing:
"Gesamtkunstwerk: Any project by Matthew Barney, or any art project with a budget of 5 million dollars or more."
or
"Public Art: Cultural tradition consisting of commissioning artwork that would take as much space as possible in an urban environment, so that they can be restored and preserved by future generations."
About the writer: Pablo Helguera (English) or here in Spanish
