21 milestones that, with humour and clarity, help us to understand what has happened in the convulsive art market in the first quarter of the 21st century.

"A vibrant and meaningful essay that captures the pulse of an art that no longer wants to or can resemble that of the past". Joan Fontcuberta

The journalist and art critic Laura Revuelta investigates the keys to understanding why a banana stuck to the wall with insulating tape exhibited in a museum, whose photo has gone around the world, can be auctioned for millions of dollars despite the fact that almost everyone laughs at it.

This work by Maurizio Cattelan is a direct heir to the urinal with which Marcel Duchamp surprised us the previous century. It is time to reply to the hackneyed phrase "this is what my son would do", to which an astute creator once replied with: "Contemporary art is the parents": "Contemporary art is the parents".

Arte parece, plátano es aims to bring contemporary art down from its pedestal of snobbery and bring it closer to the public so that they can laugh with it and not at it. Or, at least, so that they know exactly what we are laughing at, so that no one is left looking foolish.

In its pages nothing is taken for granted and some of the main events of these twenty-five years are reviewed and explained: from the first cancellation of Picasso for his macho behaviour to the appearance of the NFTS and artificial intelligence.

Revuelta doesn't forget fundamental creators who are still very much alive, such as Duchamp and Warhol, others who are still talking, even if they are not at their best, such as Damien Hirst, and those who have produced the most iconic images of the last century (Yayoi Kusama, Alicia Framis, Banksy...). In this desire to leave no puddle untouched, he also dives into controversial issues such as the decolonisation of museums and climate activism, which puts the media spotlight on major works.

Critics:

"Laura Revuelta guides us with mastery and precision through the multiple layers that make up the current art system, from the culture wars to the omnipresence of social networks, from feminism to the decolonial movement."- Manuel Borja-Villel

"Laura Revuelta has immediately understood that the great transformation of the 21st century is the incorporation of AI in art. This book is, above all, a valuable tool for new creators and the possibilities of the 22nd century." Alicia Framis

"A vibrant and meaningful essay that captures the pulse of an art that no longer wants to and can no longer resemble that of the past." Joan Fontcuberta

"Laura has contributed to training the gaze, facilitating the understanding of contemporary art, distancing herself from the jargon to make us participants in the scene and inviting us to form part of the environment and fully enjoy the artistic manifestations from her critical reflections, always documented, without apriorisms". Rosina Gómez-Baeza

"Laura Revuelta has approached cultural processes from an interdisciplinary perspective in which she has mixed high and low culture with any artistic manifestation to defend the fact that culture is essential in the formation of critical citizens". Gloria Moure

• Pages: 256
• Language: Spanish
• Author: Laura Revuelta
• Year: 2025
• MODEL: 9788430627363

Publisher: Taurus