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  • What Are You Looking At?

  • 150 Years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye
  • By: Will Gompertz
  • Narrated by: Roy McMillan
  • Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (229 ratings)
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What Are You Looking At? cover art

What Are You Looking At?

By: Will Gompertz
Narrated by: Roy McMillan
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Summary

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of What Are You Looking At? by Will Gompertz, read by Roy McMilllan. What is modern art? Why do we either love it or loathe it? And why is it worth so much damn money? Join Will Gompertz on a dazzling tour that will change the way you look at modern art forever. From Monet's water lilies to Van Gogh's sunflowers, from Warhol's soup cans to Hirst's pickled shark, hear the stories behind the masterpieces, meet the artists as they really were, and discover the real point of modern art. You will learn: not all conceptual art is bollocks; Picasso is king (but zanne is better); Pollock is no drip; Dali painted with his moustache; a urinal changed the course of art; and why your 5-year-old really couldn't do it. Refreshing, irreverent and always straightforward, What Are You Looking At? asks all the basic questions that you were too afraid to ask. Your next gallery trip is going to be a little less intimidating and a lot more interesting.

©2014 Will Gompertz (P)2014 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about What Are You Looking At?

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Humorous, on-point & refreshing

For someone like me, doing a degree in art but having neither background nor interest in art history (actually, history of any sort fi I'm being honest), this book is perfect. I have it on Audible and within a very short time, also bought it in paperback (to flick through) and for Kindle (for the links and notes facility). Gompertz, who I knew only as a film and theatre critic (who was not inclined to be pompous or obfuscating about it), writes with a refreshing lack of reverence for the art history schtick that so turns me off; and while he claims not to be entirely accurate (because he's expressing opinions just like everyone else) his humorous gallop through the basics of modern art is just what I needed. Suddenly, names mean more to me, the reasons behind the almost limitless movements make sense to me (at least insofar as they make actual sense at all), and the politics and machinations of the (overwhelmingly) male makers of the art makes sense to me. With Gompertz to hand, I can tackle some of the less welcoming tomes because I have a touchstone. Of all the art books I've bought, this (and Henry Moore's sheep sketchbook with no writing in it at all) is my absolute art undergrad life-saving favourite. Did I say it was a good read? It's a good read, a very good read.

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Its a great listen. Intelligent and engaging.

Its a great example of an audio text that is well read, intelligent with a good central voice that is keen to teach the history of modern art to all without being too light and poppy or too wordy and heavy. perfect balance. I'll be listening to this again.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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brilliant

super interesting, reads like a novel, makes not only the art accessible, but the lives of the artists as well. would highly recommend.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

excellent

this book is excellent. So informative while also being gripping. It is also well narrated

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1 person found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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If only there were some great female artists……

Misogynistic garbage.I’m sorry but a whole book dedicated to how utterly compelling and brilliant only male artists are is out of date and irrelevant.
Typically referring to the women as ‘mistresses and muses’….really….still we have to listen to how men formed the art world and the women made the food and went shopping (Picasso’s dinner party)….come on now.Disappointing and behind the times.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Go and get a print version.

It sparked an interest for the subject, for which I’m grateful but, as an audio book, it’s a dire mis-match for the topic. You do need to see the images referred to and you don’t, in my opinion, need to hear the whole web address of a museum read out loud every time a picture is referenced.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant- listen to it please

I’m sure I’ll listen to this again. Not a word is wasted. (I’d finish there but Audible asked me for more words.)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommended!

A must read for anybody just getting into art or already deeply immersed in this fascinating world!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Useful for artists and art lovers

Infomative, whirlwind tour through the art world from early impressionism to present day.
Adding clarity to the many isms in art, and showing how one movement informed the other.
Easy and entertaining to follow , and explained in simple language.
Only problem was with the narrator, who spoke so fast, I had to alter the speed of the playback. First time I have had to do that on audible!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant intro to Modern Art

Wonderful clear writing, straightforward explanations, introductions to the main protagonists. Brilliant book. So good I bought a hard copy.

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