Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See

Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See, by Bianca Bosker, offers an immersive exploration of contemporary art through the lens of a cultural journalist venturing into an unfamiliar world. Bosker, previously known for her wine culture investigation in the bestselling Cork Dork (2017), applies her experiential reporting style to the contemporary art scene, working as a guard at the Guggenheim Museum, attending exclusive art fairs, and forging relationships with artists, collectors, and other art world insiders. The book arrives at a pivotal moment in art history, as traditional art institutions grapple with questions of accessibility, authenticity, and relevance in an era of digital art, NFTs, and shifting cultural values. Through her journey from skeptical outsider to engaged participant, Bosker examines how people learn to see and appreciate art while questioning the mechanisms determining artistic value in contemporary society. This investigation offers both a critique of the art world’s exclusivity and a celebration of art’s capacity to transform perception and experience.

This study guide refers to the 2024 Penguin Publishing Group e-book edition.

Summary

Bosker chronicles her transformation from art skeptic to passionate advocate through a hands-on investigation of the contemporary art world. Her journey began with a deeply personal discovery: her grandmother’s watercolor paintings from a World War II displaced persons camp. This prompted her to question her highly structured life in New York and investigate art’s fundamental significance. Despite encountering significant resistance from art world insiders (collectively known as “the Heads”), who expressed reluctance to speak openly about their work, Bosker’s curiosity only intensified as she began her quest of Developing an Eye for Art.

She gained her first significant role in the art world when she became an assistant at gallerist Jack Barrett’s 315 Gallery in Brooklyn. This role introduced her to The Art World’s Culture of Exclusivity, Hierarchy, and Secrecy. Through her exposure to Barrett, Bosker learned about the fundamentals of gallery operations, including the specialized language known as International Art English and the historical significance of the “white cube” gallery aesthetic. However, their relationship grew increasingly strained as Barrett became more controlling about what information Bosker could document, revealing the industry’s deep-seated resistance to transparency. Barrett explicitly told her that the art world’s opacity was essential to maintaining its power structure, demonstrating how galleries often maintain subtle barriers based on social criteria rather than wealth.

Bosker transitioned to working at Denny Dimin Gallery, owned by Elizabeth Denny and Rob Dimin. There, she encountered the commercial aspects of the art world, particularly through her experience at Art Basel Miami Beach. Working alongside Elizabeth and Rob, she learned the intricate details of art pricing, sales techniques, and the constant financial pressures galleries faced to maintain their spaces and retain artists. This experience provided crucial insights into Why People Make and Buy Art, as she observed how galleries had to balance artistic integrity with commercial viability, often relying on sales from a small subset of their represented artists to sustain operations. The gallery’s expansion plans, including a new Tribeca space and Hong Kong location, revealed how commercial success became necessary for galleries to provide their artists with increasingly prestigious opportunities.

Next, Bosker left Denny Dimin and secured a job as a studio assistant to artist Julie Curtiss, which allowed her to gain unprecedented access to the creative process during a pivotal moment in the artist’s career. She witnessed firsthand how Curtiss navigated rapid market success, including the challenges of seeing her work’s value skyrocket from $600 to over $100,000 at auction. Through this relationship, Bosker learned the physical and technical demands of creating art, from the precise science of color mixing to the psychological toll of public criticism and social media harassment. Curtiss’s approach to art-making, focused on creating images that embed themselves in viewers’ minds, helped Bosker understand how artists develop their distinctive visual language and why collectors become deeply invested in their work.

Once she moved on to a role as a Guggenheim Museum security guard, Bosker observed the diverse ways people interacted with art. She identified patterns in visitor behavior while developing her own deeper appreciation for specific works through extended viewing. She discovered how early American museums had transformed from democratic spaces into elite institutions, implementing strict behavioral codes that persist today. This experience led her to challenge traditional museum practices, particularly the reliance on wall text for interpretation, and she began advocating for more personal, direct engagement with artwork rather than institutional mediation.

Through her encounter with North Dakota-based art collectors Rob and Eric Thomas-Sewall, known as the “Icy Gays,” Bosker explored how art collecting can transcend mere financial investment to become a meaningful cultural practice. The Icy Gays—who went from purchasing a single $5,000 painting to investing over $100,000 annually in emerging female and queer artists’ work—demonstrated to Bosker how collectors outside traditional art world centers could create significant impact. The couple’s approach to using their collection to spark cultural dialogue in their conservative North Dakota community challenged conventional assumptions about who can participate meaningfully in the art world.

Bosker concludes her narrative with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Limited access to art institutions forced her to develop her own artistic practice through virtual painting sessions with artist Liz Ainslie. This period of isolation led to a profound shift in her perception, as she discovered artistic beauty in everyday surroundings, from shower droplets to supermarket displays. Her transformation from conducting a journalistic investigation to fundamentally altering how she experiences the world through art suggests that meaningful engagement with art requires active choice and a willingness to see the world differently. The book ultimately argues that while the contemporary art world can be dauntingly complex, the experience of art itself can expand human perception and enrich daily life.