The velvet grind

A contributor to magazines such as Real life in the 1980s, Purple Prose and Art issues in the 1990s, as well as Artforum and Parkett more recently. David Robbins is one of the first artists to investigate the art world's entrance into the culture industry. His objects and images, as much as his writings, bear witness to reflections on the spectacle, the transformation of the position of the artist in the visual system, and the complex negotiation between refinement and show business. This volume brings together his key interviews with Richard Prince and Allan McCollum, his writings on television, Hollywood, and Warhol, as well as thoughts on comedy, art, and entertainment by the founder of the Institute for Advanced Comedic Behaviour. A compilation of non-fiction and fiction, the book is structured with the subtle psychological rewards of the novel in mind.