Christie’s is one of the world’s two largest auction houses.
The author, Katsura Yamaguchi, is president of the Japanese subsidiary, having also served as International Director of the Asian Art Department, and as a specialist in Japanese art he has encountered a great many artworks and served as a bridge between them and their new owners.
This book, “The Price of Aesthetic Sensibility,” is a true account introducing the colourful figures surrounding the auction world, the tactical exchanges on the sales floor, extraordinary encounters with artworks, methods for distinguishing genuine from fake, the pride of top collectors entrusted with “a piece of history,” and anecdotes about the relationship between auction houses and their clientele in Europe and America.
Through his passion for Japanese art, he proposes a life lived alongside art, and this fine volume offers a perspective on how to hone one’s aesthetic sensibility and put it to work in business and in life.
The Price of Aesthetic Sensibility: Katsura Yamaguchi
The author Katsura Yamaguchi’s father was Keizaburo Yamaguchi, a scholar of ukiyo-e and former chairman of the International Ukiyo-e Society. Although his father’s name never appears in the book, episodes about being taught Japanese art in a Spartan fashion are woven throughout.
Author Biography
Katsura Yamaguchi
Born in Tokyo in 1963. President and Representative Director of Christie’s Japan. Visiting Professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design. Graduate of the College of Arts, Rikkyo University.
In 1992, he joined Christie’s and has been active as a specialist in Japanese and Asian art.
He worked overseas — in New York and elsewhere — for 19 years, and has a distinguished record of achievements including the 2008 sale of a Buddhist statue attributed to Unkei, the 2017 Fujita Museum Collection sale, and the 2019 private sale of 190 works from the Price Collection famed for its holdings of Ito Jakuchu.
Table of Contents
Please see below for the table of contents of “The Price of Aesthetic Sensibility.”
The book is organised into six chapters. Here we pull out the principal sections.
Chapter 1: The World Known as the Art Auction
Your chance of acquiring works from famous collectors is “the 3 Ds”
How is the price of an artwork actually determined?
The awareness of top collectors: to be entrusted with “a piece of history”
Chapter 2: My Half-Century with Art
My half-century with art
My connection with Christie’s
Chapter 3: The Strangest Tales of the Art World
Dramas over authenticity
A jar enthroned in a business-class seat
Chapter 4: Japanese Art, and the Manner of Appreciating It
Why museums sell works from their collections
Why does the world value Japanese art?
Contemporary Japanese art in the world’s spotlight
My “Must-See Japanese Art” Top 30
Chapter 5: How to Hone the Aesthetic Eye
My recommended methods of appreciation
How to train the eye that recognises “the real thing”
What Banksy is asking us
Chapter 6: Bringing Aesthetic Sensibility Into Everyday Life
How should you display the artworks you love?
What it means to buy a work of art
An encounter with a work of art is an encounter with a person
Having Read It
The book is packed with episodes that reveal the behind-the-scenes of dealings at the auction house Christie’s, and just these alone make for thoroughly enjoyable reading.
From methods of distinguishing genuine from fake, to the author’s relationships with the people involved in transactions, his recommended ways of appreciating art, his opinions on the market, and his considerations of contemporary Japanese art — the range of stories unfolded from the author’s unique perspective made for a very absorbing read.
What left the strongest impression on this writer was the author’s warm gaze upon art.
The section titled “My ‘Must-See Japanese Art’ Top 30” introduces not only famous artworks the author has been involved in transactions with, but also works of contemporary art.
One phrase struck me in particular.
Every first-rate work of art is, forever, “contemporary art.”
Yes — every work of art was “contemporary art” at the moment it was made. It sounds obvious, but it is a fact all too easily forgotten.
The end of each chapter describes the joy and richness of collecting art.
This is an art book to recommend to collectors. We warmly invite you to pick it up and read it.
Overview
The Price of Aesthetic Sensibility
Author: Katsura Yamaguchi
Publisher: Shueisha
Format: Shinsho paperback, 208 pages
Release Date: 17 January 2020
Price: 840 yen + tax
Katsura Yamaguchi
1963年生于东京都。佳士得日本（Christie’s Japan）代表取缔役社长。京都造形艺术大学（Kyoto University of Art and Design）客座教授。毕业于立教大学文学部。
1992年进入佳士得，作为日本及东洋美术专家开展工作。
在纽约等地海外任职长达19年，取得众多业绩，包括2008年传运庆佛像拍卖、2017年藤田美术馆藏品拍卖、2019年以伊藤若冲作品闻名的Price Collection共190件作品的私人洽购等。
세계 2대 경매 회사 중 하나인 ‘크리스티(Christie’s)’.
본서의 저자이자 일본 법인 사장인 Katsura Yamaguchi 씨는 동양 미술 부문 인터내셔널 디렉터를 역임했으며, 일본 미술 전문가로서 수많은 미술품을 만나며 작품과 그 새로운 소장처를 잇는 다리 역할을 해왔습니다.
본서 『미의식의 가격』은 경매를 둘러싼 개성 넘치는 관계자들, 세일 현장에서의 치열한 흥정은 물론, 미술품과의 기묘한 만남, 진위 감정법, ‘역사의 일부’를 맡는 톱 컬렉터들의 자부심, 그리고 서구권 경매 회사와 사람들의 관계 등 다양한 일화를 소개하는 실록입니다.
일본 미술을 향한 애정을 통해 예술과 함께하는 삶을 제안하며, 미의식을 갈고닦는 법과 이를 비즈니스와 인생에 활용하는 관점을 제시하는 좋은 책입니다.
미의식의 가격 : Katsura Yamaguchi
저자 Katsura Yamaguchi 씨의 아버지는 우키요에 연구자였던 Keizaburo Yamaguchi 씨로, 국제 우키요에 학회(International Ukiyo-e Society)의 회장을 역임한 분입니다. 본서에 실명이 등장하지는 않지만, 일본 미술을 스파르타식으로 배웠다는 에피소드가 곳곳에 담겨 있습니다.
저자 약력
Katsura Yamaguchi
1963년 도쿄도 출생. 크리스티 재팬(Christie’s Japan) 대표이사 사장. 교토조형예술대학(Kyoto University of Art and Design) 객원교수. 릿쿄대학 문학부 졸업.
1992년 크리스티에 입사하여 일본·동양 미술 전문가로 활동.
19년간 뉴욕 등지에서 해외 근무를 하며 2008년 전운경(傳運慶) 불상 세일, 2017년 후지타 미술관 컬렉션 세일, 2019년 이토 자쿠추 작품으로 유명한 프라이스 컬렉션(Price Collection) 190점의 프라이빗 세일 등 다수의 실적을 남겼습니다.
경매 회사 ‘크리스티’에서 경험한 거래의 이면을 담은 에피소드가 풍부하게 실려 있어, 그것만으로도 충분히 즐길 수 있습니다.
진위 감정법부터 거래에 얽힌 관계자들과의 교류, 추천 미술 감상법, 마켓에 대한 견해, 일본 현대 미술에 대한 논고까지 저자 특유의 시선으로 폭넓게 펼쳐지는 이야기는 매우 흥미로웠습니다.
필자에게 특히 인상적이었던 것은 미술을 향한 저자의 따뜻한 눈길이었습니다. “내가 뽑은 ‘반드시 봐야 할 일본 미술’ 베스트 30” 항에서는, 거래에 관여했던 유명 미술 작품뿐 아니라 현대 미술 작품까지 폭넓게 소개하고 있습니다.
인상 깊은 문구가 있었습니다.
일급의 미술품은 모두 영원한 ‘현대 미술’이다
그렇습니다, 모든 미술품은 만들어졌을 그때에는 ‘현대 미술’이었습니다. 당연한 이야기이지만, 자칫 잊혀지기 쉬운 사실이라 생각합니다.
각 장의 말미에는 아트 컬렉션의 즐거움과 풍요로움이 서술되어 있습니다.
컬렉터에게 추천하고 싶은 아트 서적입니다. 꼭 한 번 손에 잡고 읽어 보시길 권해 드립니다.
개요
미의식의 가격
저자: Katsura Yamaguchi
출판사: 슈에이샤(Shueisha)
단행본: 신서판 208페이지
발매일: 2020년 1월 17일
정가 840엔+세금
