Owning Art: The Contemporary Art Collector's Handbook

This sharp, practical look at the contemporary art market declares its irreverence early with a full-page, large print citation of Jenny Holzer's truism, "Money creates taste." Louisa Buck and Judith Greer's analyses of buyers' interests and responsibilities (including a section on how artists see the market and how collectors should treat them) make Owning Art a guidebook of interest to armchair travelers as well as its ostensible target market--it's not just collectors who seek to understand more about dealers, auction houses, art fairs, selection, pricing and conservation. The authors are equally comfortable going over the pitfalls of caring for contemporary media (they quote Agnes Gund on rescuing Christo's "Nine Packed Bottles" from a well-intentioned trip to the recycling bin), and tackling more serious questions like, who makes a good collector? What should you be looking for? Who gets offered the best work? What role do institutions play in the market?