{"product_id":"9781905464722-pirates-and-farmers","title":"Pirates and Farmers","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEssays on Taste\u003cbr\u003eDave Hickey examines contemporary art phenomena, from super-collectors to the trope of the biennale, in essays from 1999 to 2013.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“As an art critic, [Hickey] doesn’t do what most people want from art criticism. He doesn’t provide his readers with a neat intellectual framework through which to view everything they see, like a Clement Greenberg or a Michael Fried, and he doesn’t really do beautiful description either . Instead, Hickey gives you intricately structured argument and gorgeous prose . Reading him you want to forget that the art market is a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos between Ukrainian oligarchs and Qatari princesses . You want to be the thing you advocate; you want to ride the wave, mount the dais, and speak the truth.”\u003c\/em\u003e – \u003cstrong\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArguably one of the most astute critics working today, Dave Hickey's multi-decade career as a leading cultural commentator is characterised by his blend of high and mass culture and his fervent critique of the celebrity-driven culture of the 21st-century art world. Following his 2012 announcement of self-imposed exile from art criticism, this new body of essays once again questions and challenges the cultural status quo. \u003cbr\u003eWith his trademark humour, Hickey has declared that: ‘I miss being an elitist and not having to talk to idiots’ in a field that, he believes, is defined by the commoditisation of art and the self-referential tendencies of criticism itself. This new body of shorter essays by the author of \u003cem\u003eAir Guitar: Essays on Art \u0026amp; Democracy\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty\u003c\/em\u003e looks at more contemporary phenomena: super-collectors, the trope of the biennale and the loss of looking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56171499356534,"sku":"9781905464722","price":13.11,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_30083779.jpg?v=1756407513","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781905464722-pirates-and-farmers","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}