Saatchi Says

The notoriously media-shy and cantankerous art collector Charles Saatchi has finally let himself be captured by ravenous journalists in an interview not limited to a series of grunts and insults. This time, Saatchi cooperates and answers an array of questions concerning his attitude toward contemporary art, collectors, critics and artists. Part of the interview focuses on the release of his book, “My Name is Charles Saatchi and I Am an Artoholic (Everything You Need To Know About Art, Ads, Life, God And Other Mysteries And Weren't Afraid To Ask)” which came out on September 8. The interview follows a similar format to the book: a straightforward question-and-answer layout, ranging from personal questions (which he usually refuses to answer) to art-related questions. There are not many reviews yet, perhaps because of the esoteric nature of the book or because the book came out only yesterday and critics are still mulling over their opinions of it. The Independent briefly comments on Saatchi’s little book: 

“Brutally frank”, says the blurb, but a recurring note is defensiveness, and the sore spot is "vulgarity". “The snobbery of those who think an interest in art is the province of gentle souls of rarefied sensibility never fails to entertain. Lord forbid that anyone in 'trade' should enter the hallowed portals of the aesthete. I liked working in advertising, but don't believe my taste in art, such as it is, was entirely formed by TV commercials!”

The Independent also remarks that Saatchi seems bitter in the interviews, but his critiques of the art world seem reasonable. In all, the book is short, but for what it lacks in length, it seems to make up in grandiloquence and spunk.

The guardian interviews Charles Saatchi

The Independent takes a look at Saatchi’s book