In 2008; anthropologist Matti Bunzl was given rare access to observe the curatorial department of Chicagorsquo;s Museum of Contemporary Art. For five months; he sat with the institutionrsquo;s staff; witnessing firsthand what truly goes on behind the scenes at a contemporary art museum. From fund-raising and owner loans to museum-artist relations to the immense effort involved in safely shipping sixty works from twenty-seven lenders in fourteen cities and five countries; Matti Bunzlrsquo;s In Search of a Lost Avant-Garde illustrates the inner workings of one of Chicagorsquo;s premier cultural institutions.Bunzlrsquo;s ethnography is designed to show how a commitment to the avant-garde can come into conflict with an imperative for growth; leading to the abandonment of the new and difficult in favor of the entertaining and profitable. Jeff Koons; whose massive retrospective debuted during Bunzls research; occupies a central place in his book and exposes the anxieties caused by such seemingly pornographic work as the infamous Made in Heaven series. Featuring cameos by other leading artists; including Liam Gillick; Jenny Holzer; Karen Kilimnik; and Tino Sehgal; the drama Bunzl narrates is palpable and entertaining and sheds an altogether new light on the contemporary art boom.
#4431960 in eBooks 2014-08-07 2014-08-07File Name: B00MHUXP44
Review
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful. A broad introduction; but better lyric writing books existBy A StudentHalf the book is on the craft of songwriting: song structures; lyrics and titles; and melodies. The other half of the book is on the business of songwriting. It covers how to record a demo; how songwriters make money; publishing; song pitching. The author also talks about how it took him 16 years to really feel successful and comfortable; adding in a few chapters on being persistent and having realistic expectations.I like the quotes from professionals (writers and industry people) on all the subjects he covers; everything from the writing process; the business; melodies; hooks. The examples of lyric writing are mostly contemporary as of the early 2000s (unlike a few other books I have read) which is nice.However; I think there are better books about lyric writing and song structure; namely: Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling and Writing Better Lyrics; which is why Im giving this 4 stars.Finally; my advice to someone wants to write songs is that its fine to pick up a book or two to learn the basics. But ultimately; I believe that to write good songs; you should1) Put away the books2) Listen to songs that you love and analyze why you like them3) Actually write songs. It doesnt matter how good they are; it only matters that you keep finishing complete songs. Thats the only way to actually get better.I say this as someone whos read a lot of songwriting books and not written as much as I should have. Good luck!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. EXCELLENT BOOKBy legaleaseThis is an excellent book on learning everything about songwriting; lyrics; melody etc etc. Im so glad I bought this book and will get all books on the subject by this author. He really knows this business.20 of 21 people found the following review helpful. A good comprehensive book to read if interested in songwritingBy B-RockSolidIf youre keen to get into the game of songwriting; its a good book to read. It tries to provide details about the entire process involved in songwriting - from idea generation to marketing your songs. However; like any one book that tries to cover all bases in a very large and complex undertaking like the songwriting business it ends up lacking in detail in every area. Lots of topics are summarily treated; especially areas on writing lyrics and composing melodies.The plus to the book are that its got lots of great insights into the music business and is very matter of fact and brutally honest about the music industry and how it works and that helps in dispelling any rosy myths one might have when thinking of getting into it. That pushes you to realistically assess your talents and work harder to step up your game or decide if this career is one you really want to get into.My advice though is that this one book will not be enough if you really want to learn everything you need to know about songwriting; especially the musical aspects of composing and writing great lyrics.Some other books I found very very helpful as a companion to this were:Shortcuts to Hit songwriting - Robin FrederickThe Craft and Business of Songwriting - John Braheny
