
Art Is Life
Icons and Iconoclasts, Visionaries and Vigilantes, and Flashes of Hope in the Night
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Narrated by:
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Jerry Saltz
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Mark Bramhall
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By:
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Jerry Saltz
About this listen
From the Pulitzer Prize winner and best-selling author of How to Be an Artist: a deliciously comprehensible survey of the art world in turbulent times.
Jerry Saltz is one of our most-watched writers about art and artists and a passionate champion of the importance of art in our shared cultural life. Since the 1990s he has been an indispensable cultural voice: Witty and provocative, he has attracted contemporary listeners to fine art as few critics have. An early champion of forgotten and overlooked women artists, he has also celebrated the pioneering work of African American, LGBTQ+, and other long-marginalized creators. Sotheby's Institute of Art has called him, simply, “the art critic”.
Now, in Art Is Life, Jerry Saltz draws on two decades of work to offer a real-time survey of contemporary art as a barometer of our times. Chronicling a period punctuated by dramatic turning points—from the cultural reset of 9/11 to the rolling social crises of today—Saltz traces how visionary artists have both documented and challenged the culture. Art Is Life offers Saltz’s eye-opening appraisals of trailblazers like Kara Walker, David Wojnarowicz, Hilma af Klint, and Jasper Johns; provocateurs like Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, and Marina Abramović; and visionaries like Jackson Pollock, Bill Traylor, and Willem de Kooning. Saltz celebrates landmarks like the Obama portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, writes searchingly about disturbing moments such as the Ankara gallery assassination, and offers surprising takes on figures from Thomas Kinkade to Kim Kardashian. And he shares stories of his own haunted childhood, his time as a “failed artist”, and his epiphanies upon beholding work by Botticelli, Delacroix, and the cave painters of Niaux.
With his signature blend of candor and conviction, Jerry Saltz argues in Art Is Life for the importance of the fearless artist—reminding us that art is a kind of channeled voice of human experience, a necessary window onto our times. The result is an openhearted and irresistibly enjoyable appraisal by one of our most important cultural observers.
©2022 Jerry Saltz (P)2022 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“The world’s most famous and celebrated contemporary art critic.”—GQ
“One of the most powerful art critics today.”—Time Out
“A critic of the people, bringing art to a broader audience.”—Architectural Digest
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Story
Fatima Ali won the hearts of viewers as the Fan Favorite of Bravo’s Top Chef in season fifteen. Twenty-nine years old, she was a dynamic, boundary-breaking chef and a bright new voice for change in the food world. After the taping wrapped and before the show aired, Fati was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. Not one to ever slow down or admit defeat, the star chef vowed to spend her final year traveling the world, eating delicious food, and making memories with her loved ones. But when her condition abruptly worsened, her plans were sidelined.
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Outstanding story & narration
- By Lynne on 09-14-24
By: Fatima Ali, and others
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Hollywood Ending
- Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence
- By: Ken Auletta
- Narrated by: Jonathan Coleman
- Length: 19 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Twenty years ago, Ken Auletta wrote an iconic New Yorker profile of the Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who was then at the height of his powers. The profile made waves for exposing how volatile, even violent, Weinstein was to his employees and collaborators. But there was a much darker story that was just out of reach: rumors had long swirled that Weinstein was a sexual predator. Auletta confronted Weinstein, who denied the claims. Since no one was willing to go on the record, Auletta and the magazine concluded they couldn’t close the case.
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Compelling but too long, with some strange errors
- By bugsmeany on 11-16-22
By: Ken Auletta
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Into the Soul of the World
- My Journey to Healing
- By: Brad Wetzler
- Narrated by: Andrew Eiden
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Suffering from PTSD and severe depression from past trauma, battling an addiction to overprescribed psychiatric medication, and at the rock bottom of his career, journalist Brad Wetzler had nowhere to go. So he set out on a journey to wander and hopefully find himself—and the world—again. Into the Soul of the World is Wetzler’s thrilling, impactful, and heartrending memoir of healing—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. An adventure journalist at heart, Wetzler mixes travelogue with empowering insights about his inner journey to better care for his own mental health.
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Wonderful story well told (and read)
- By Pamela Olson on 05-25-23
By: Brad Wetzler
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Personality and Power
- Builders and Destroyers of Modern Europe
- By: Ian Kershaw
- Narrated by: Matt Bates
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From one of the leading historians of twentieth-century Europe and the author of the definitive biography of Hitler, Personality and Power is a masterful reckoning with how character conspired with opportunity to create the modern age’s uniquely devastating despots—and how and why other countries found better paths. The modern era saw the emergence of individuals who had command over a terrifying array of instruments of control, persuasion and death. Whole societies were reshaped and wars were fought, often with a merciless contempt for the most basic norms.
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Great book, but needs work on human groups
- By Thomas F. Winterbottom on 12-07-22
By: Ian Kershaw
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Ready for Absolutely Nothing
- A Memoir
- By: Susannah Constantine
- Narrated by: Susannah Constantine
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The fact that Susannah Constantine made her name as a "style guru" as part of “Trinny and Susannah” from What Not to Wear is the least interesting thing about her. Susannah grew up amongst the great and good of British aristocracy and (unwittingly) trained to be a society bride. Fittingly, Barbara Cartland was her touchstone for romance: she wanted to be the underdog heroine who ended up marrying a prince.
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A surprise
- By Suzanna on 02-02-23
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Walk Through Walls
- A Memoir
- By: Marina Abramovic
- Narrated by: Marina Abramovic
- Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 2010 more than 750,000 people stood in line at Marina Abramović's MoMA retrospective for the chance to sit across from her and communicate with her nonverbally in an unprecedented durational performance that lasted more than 700 hours. This celebration of nearly 50 years of groundbreaking performance art demonstrated once again that Marina Abramović is truly a force of nature.
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Fascinating read
- By V. Ledovsky on 11-20-16
By: Marina Abramovic
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Sonic Life
- A Memoir
- By: Thurston Moore
- Narrated by: Thurston Moore
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Thurston Moore moved to Manhattan’s East Village in 1978 with a yearning for music. He wanted to be immersed in downtown New York’s sights and sounds—the feral energy of its nightclubs, the angular roar of its bands, the magnetic personalities within its orbit. But more than anything, he wanted to make music—to create indelible sounds that would move, provoke, and inspire. His dream came to life in 1981 with the formation of Sonic Youth, a band Moore cofounded with Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo.
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I feel like I just lost my new best friend
- By David Beale on 11-09-23
By: Thurston Moore
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It Starts with One
- The Legend and Legacy of Linkin Park
- By: Jason Lipshutz
- Narrated by: Jason Lipshutz, James Fouhey, Helen Laser
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Linkin Park is one of the 21st Century’s biggest, and most important, rock bands. All it takes is one quick glance at the numbers—11 Top 40 hits on the Hot 100 and six No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, over a dozen massive tours, 27 major award wins, 100+ million records sold worldwide, over 30 million monthly Spotify listeners—to realize that when it comes to the metrics of music consumption and fandom, there’s no bigger group in recent memory. And yet, despite their enduring legacy within rock, there’s never been a full, comprehensive biography of Linkin Park—until now.
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Enjoyed hearing Linkin Parks Story
- By Daniel Pappalardo on 10-03-24
By: Jason Lipshutz
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The Witching Year
- A Memoir of Earnest Fumbling Through Modern Witchcraft
- By: Diana Helmuth
- Narrated by: Diana Helmuth
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Diana Helmuth, thirty-three, is skeptical of organized religion. She is also skeptical of disorganized religion. But, more than anything, she is tired of God being dead. So, she decides to try on the fastest-growing, self-directed faith in America: Witchcraft. The result is 366 days of observation, trial, error, wit, and back spasms. Witches today are often presented as confident and finished, proud and powerful. Diana is eager to join them. She wants to follow all the rules, memorize all the incantations, and read all the liturgy. But there’s one glaring problem.
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Not for me
- By Moria Vulcanus on 01-06-25
By: Diana Helmuth
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The Color of Everything
- A Journey to Quiet the Chaos Within
- By: Cory Richards
- Narrated by: Cory Richards
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Color of Everything is a thrilling tale of risk and adventure, written by a man who has done it all: he’s stood at the top of the world, climbed imposing mountain faces alone in the dark and become the only American to summit an 8,000-meter peak in winter. But it is also the story of a tumultuous life--a stirring, lyrical memoir that captures the profound musings of a brilliant and unquiet mind grappling with the meaning of success, the cost of fame, addiction, and whether it is possible to outrun your demons.
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Best book in this genre since Into Thin Air
- By E. Vaughan on 12-04-24
By: Cory Richards
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Nothing's Bad Luck
- The Lives of Warren Zevon
- By: C. M. Kushins
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As is the case with so many musicians, the life of Warren Zevon was blessed with talent and opportunity yet also beset by tragedy and setbacks. Raised mostly by his mother with an occasional cameo from his gangster father, Warren had an affinity and talent for music at an early age. After an impromptu performance in the right place at the right time, a record deal landed on the lap of a teenager who was eager to set out on his own and make a name for himself. But of course, where fame is concerned, things are never quite so simple.
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Great Content ......but
- By Art Lover on 06-26-19
By: C. M. Kushins
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Cork Dork
- A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste
- By: Bianca Bosker
- Narrated by: Bianca Bosker
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Professional journalist and amateur drinker Bianca Bosker didn’t know much about wine - until she discovered an alternate universe where taste reigns supreme, a world of elite sommeliers who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of flavor. Astounded by their fervor and seemingly superhuman sensory powers, she set out to uncover what drove their obsession and whether she, too, could become a “cork dork”.
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Interesting but not educational
- By Blake Brasher on 10-14-17
By: Bianca Bosker
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The Office
- The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History
- By: Andy Greene
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Holter Graham, P.J. Ochlan, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
When did you last hang out with Jim, Pam, Dwight, Michael, and the rest of Dunder Mifflin? It might have been back in 2013, when the series finale aired...or it might have been last night, when you watched three episodes in a row. But either way, long after the show first aired, it’s more popular than ever, and fans have only one problem - what to watch, or listen to, next. Fortunately, writer Andy Greene has that answer. In his brand-new oral history, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, Greene takes listeners behind the scenes.
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Good, but some missing info for the true fan...
- By Molly on 03-29-20
By: Andy Greene
Must read
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Saltz did it again!
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Looking forward to reading more.
Thanks Jerry!!
Why have i just now discovered…
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I laughed. I cried. I learned a lot!
Feeling inspired to get in the studio AND I’m looking forward to sharing some of this information with my painting and art history students.
Thanks Jerry!
A “Must Listen” for artists and art teachers!
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I loved it. It captures the complex makeup
Of the art world from a singular soul ..
Candid
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My Favorite Critic
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Criticism as ART
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Art doesn't have any boundaries nor definition.
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Jerry is an honest writer and he writes from the heart. The glimpses he provides into the magical world of art, it’s makers and the enterprise surrounding it is fascinating & illuminating. Jer’s voice is a companions’ voice; right alongside of you, getting you to look a little longer & think a little deeper.
I can’t wait for my next museum or gallery visit.
Lover of art, the artists that make it, how it’s made & what it (might) mean?
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super collection of essays on contemporary art
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