Poor Artists, Zarina Muhammad & Gabrielle de la Puente

Why make art? Faced with a capitalist system that has turned art into artwork and creative expression into cut-throat competition, why do so many artists try anyway?

In this eye-opening journey through the bizarre world of contemporary art, criticism duo 'The White Pube' tell the story of art like never before. 'Poor Artists' follows aspiring artist Quest Talukdar through childhood obsessions, art school lessons and her professional debut. In surreal encounters with other artists, Quest learns profound truths about money and power, and must decide whether she cares more about success or staying true to herself.

Featuring dialogue from anonymised interviews with real people in the art world who have all had to wrestle with the same decisions - including a Turner Prize winner or two, a few ghosts, a Venice Biennale fraudster and a communist messiah - 'Poor Artists' is a powerful testimony to the emotional, existential and financial experience of artists today.

Published by Particular Books
Hardcover
320 pages
140 mm x 220 mm
ISBN 9780241633762