Bianca Bosker with Julie Curtiss and Robert Dimin: Get the Picture

Award-winning journalist and author Bianca Bosker has a conversation about her new book, 'Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See,' with artist Julie Curtiss and gallerist Robert Dimin. Author Benjamin Lorr moderates.
An award-winning journalist obsessed with obsession, Bianca Bosker’s existence was upended when she wandered into the art world-and couldn’t look away. Intrigued by artists who hyperventilate around their favorite colors and art fiends who max out credit cards to show hunks of metal they think can change the world, Bosker grew fixated on understanding why art matters and how she-or any of us-could engage with it more deeply.
In 'Get the Picture,' Bosker throws herself into the nerve center of art and the people who live for it: gallerists, collectors, curators, and, of course, artists themselves-the kind who work multiple jobs to afford their studios while scrabbling to get eyes on their art. As she stretches canvases until her fingers blister, talks her way into A-list parties full of billionaire collectors, has her face sat on by a nearly-naked performance artist, and forces herself to stare at a single sculpture for hours on end while working as a museum security guard, she discovers not only the inner workings of the art-canonization machine but also a more expansive way of living.
Probing everything from cave paintings to Instagram, and from the science of sight to the importance of beauty as it examines art’s role in our culture, our economy, and our hearts, 'Get the Picture' is a rollicking adventure that will change the way you see forever.
This 7 Stories Up event was recorded live on September 18, 2024, at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL).
This program was made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).