In conversation with broadcast journalist, Charlie Rose, Martin says, "I want to write something. I have an urge to do it." He's not the only one – but what separates Mr. Martin from many wannabes is that he "has the luxury of not having to make a living as a writer so I write when I want to," and, as he says himself, "I do it when I want to."
An Object of Beauty is a Novel About the New York Art World
You know the old adage – write what you know – that's what Steve Martin does in this his first full length novel. Martin has written two novellas. One, Shopgirl, was made into a major motion picture starring Claire Danes and Jason Schwarztman. Martin knows the art world. "Enough to get going," he says, "and I'm excited about it." Martin is an art collector. According to artmarketblog.com Martin has owned works by Picasso, Edward Hopper, Willem de Kooning, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cy Twombly, Helen Frankenthaler, Roy Lichtenstein, and Franz Kline. He first became interested in art in his 20s around the time Warhol was making news. It has been said that his collection is cohesive – a challenge in the modern art world where movements in art have ceased to exist.
A Behind the Scenes Look at the High-End Art World of New York City
The central character of An Object of Beauty is Lacey Yeager, an aspiring and determined art dealer who stops at nothing to make it to the top of the high-end art scene in New York City. She's a woman on the make and her territory is art. She's the kind of woman that women hate. At the root of it, however, is aesthetics and not cynicism. Martin's objective in creating Lacey was to portray a woman who, although will do what she needs to to advance her career, is still emotive and thrilled by the world of art. She is enchanting but ultimately her actions are harmful.
Boom and Bust of the Art World is the Background to Martin's Novel
The last three decades in the art world have been a period of great inflation providing Martin with a great backdrop to his story. The decades of boom and bust created a lot of artists, Martin remarks in an audio interview on Amazon. "But none of it would be happening if aesthetics wasn't involved." Being a member of the art community as a collector he knowingly proclaims that "dealers and collectors are not cynical about art" and that the emotion and love for art is real. He also believes there was so much opportunity created for artists that it will take years and years to digest.
Alexandra Jacobs writing in The New York Times says, "The text is as useful an idiosyncratic art-history primer as it is a piece of fiction," referring to the 22 works of art that are reproduced throughout the text, including John Singer Sargent's El Jaleo. "All art is thrilling," Martin says. And that's what makes it so exciting.
An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin is published by Grand Central Publishing; Illustrated; 295 pp
ISBN 978-0446573641
Christine Breen-Williams - Writer, Homeopath, Gardener Christine has a MA in Literature from University College, Dublin and is a published writer.
