Set in contemporary galleries, studios and offices, The Studio Game portrays an art world in danger of imploding. The book makes light of how young artists struggle for recognition and discusses the contemporary art world’s fascination for conceptual work. Popular works of art are referenced throughout, offering a running commentary on a story that is both a tale of young love and an insider’s take on the eccentricities of our present-day art world. Guy Poynting’s lover is dead and she has left 58 artworks that are increasing in price each day. Guy’s mission is to satisfy his lover’s last wishes and destroy all 58 pieces, before the last one can be sold for the most astronomical sum of all. Liska and Guy suspect that an artist cannot be considered truly great until he or she is dead. At least – some kind of suicidal statement would be just the thing to propel their work from obscurity into the infamous A-List of the art world. With their work completed, Liska and Guy attempt to immortalise themselves by following many of the greats to an early grave. Guy loses his courage however, and he’s left alive and able to see how Liska’s work is valued after her death.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Taking the premise that the work of a deceased artist tends to increase demand, Peter Burnett s latest novel, The Studio Game questions the fashionable demand for conceptual art. Tracing the brushstrokes of Duchamp and Dali, is it all rather tongue in cheek expressionism or true creative talent? Set around the mean streets, pubs and galleries of Aberdeen, two young artists Liska and Guy, struggle for recognition and mega bucks. Blending self-deprecation, witty asides and academic debate on the role of the artist, we follow their plight trying to understand who can judge commercial status and market value. Guy soon begins to realise that artists don t define art or the concepts that justify it. Art lovers bring the art world into being and the artists are always innocent. Burnett has created a lovable, slightly eccentric anti-hero surrounded by a weird and wonderful plethora of characters. This bittersweet, dreamlike tale may be fiction but the astutely-researched narrative is set within today s real art auction market of Warhol, Emin, Hirst and Creed. Burnett s previous novels, The Supper Book and The Machine Doctor received high praise – hilarious, informative and just a tad crazy … an exhilarating and anarchic comedy. Likewise, The Studio Game is a cleverly constructed, rollercoaster ride, rich in humour, taking us on an intellectual and emotional journey which also challenges our own notion of what is art along the way. –Vivien Devlin
While I found I couldn’t put this book down I also found it relatively slow to read because it was very thought provoking. Many of the arguments the author put forward I had already thought about and he gave much more reason to think on those and other aspects of the art world. The idea of suicide is always one that will be controversial but here it is an accepted ‘is’ – I didn’t understand the feelings behind it so couldn’t argue against it and it just becomes an accepted part of the story. But one of the biggest underlying themes has to be Guy’s guilt at not joining Liska and the only reason he has that guilt is because he is so in love with her and therefore this is a love story and about how it is tearing Guy up. An extremely well told story that is difficult to classify as any one thing except as literary. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it left a big impression on me. –http://ourbookreviewsonline.blogspot.co.uk/
About the Author
Peter Burnett lives in Edinburgh. He is the author of The Machine Doctor, Odium and The Supper Book.
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