Seven Days In the Art World

Thornton, Sarah. Seven Days in the Art World. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Print.

Seven Days… is an outsider’s account of the art world’s sphere in a contemporary context. Through investigative journalism and ethnography, Thornton evaluates seven aspects of the art world, in an attempt to understand how it functions as a whole and what forces are active in its manipulation and articulation. The picture she paints is bleak, portraying an exclusive society of art-consumers and art exhibitioners. Those consumers who make up the largest proportion of money exchanged are shown as having little concern for the artists, the foundation of the pyramid. Thornton also portrays gallery conventions, nationalist conferences of art, the scene of the critics and literature, and the insides of the artist as manufacturer and brand. She sheds light on the operations of this obscurest of worlds and gives personality and face to its cogs.