Booker was intrigued by artists who hyperventilate around their favorite colors and art fiends who max out credit cards to show hunks of metal they think can change the world. She grew fixated on understanding why art matters and how she—or any of us—could engage with it more deeply.
In Get the Picture, Bosker throws herself into the nerve center of art and the people who live for it: gallerists, collectors, curators, and, of course, artists themselves—the kind who work multiple jobs to afford their studios and get eyes on their art. As she stretches canvases until her fingers blister; talks her way into A-list parties full of billionaire collectors; has her face sat on by a nearly naked performance artist; and forces herself to stare at a single sculpture for hours on end while working as a museum security guard, she discovers the inner workings of the art-canonization machine and a more expansive way of living.
