I finished Get the Picture. I feel like a woman on a mission (see the world!) and slightly unsettled by the book. Let me explain…
The book ended really well. I enjoyed the framework for a Bosker-led art tour, even though I thought it was interesting that I was leaning towards a more prescriptive way of seeing art. Granted, the prescription is to keep your internal aperture more open from the everyday framework the mind expects but still, it’s a prescription. Hoo-boy, that last sentence is a doozy. I swear it would make a little more sense if you read the book but I’m not completely sure. But I don’t want to contextualize it too much because I might take away from the art arc the reader experiences during the book.
Bosker is a really good writer. That’s why I picked up this book- I loved Cork Dork. And I had read about this book on a blog and thought it would be interesting to see how she makes sense of modern art: what is art, what is good art, etc. Those questions are kind of impossible to answer, but I think she does a really good job of getting different perspectives and presents them along a timeline that makes sense.
It is a hard book to get into though and even once I was into it, it still felt slow. One major element is that the first section features an unlikable, pretentious gallerist that honestly, just seems like a real jerk. Granted, it’s one portrayal of a man I don’t even know so maybe there are great things about him, but in this book, he’s a jerk to the author and just generally a boor with no redemptive greater qualities. The second element is that Bosker will occasionally go into these asides of insecurity where she wonders is she capable of the task she’s set up for herself, is she worthy, why her, will she ever understand, blah. It honestly reads as a little affectatious. Maybe it’s because I’m reading it in the context of reading her book so clearly, something worked out. But she did the same thing in Cork Dork and it’s a little over-cutsie, little-ol’-me feeling that seems disingenuous.
BUT, overall, I think it’s worth the read. There are several other strong sections: I loved Julie Curtiss’ entire section, the discussion of color, being a security guard at the Guggenheim, and the Icy Gays. Her experience at Art Basel was also an interesting read. I’m excited to move onto the rest of my very large, Kindle-based TBR pile. Next up is Table for Two by Amor Towles 1. because I like his other work and 2. once I read it, I can take my Kindle off airplane mode and load other books!