Conversations with Kostabi

the long version

Mark Kostabi is one of the world's most controversial artists, making no secret of the fact that he neither paints most of the works that bear his name nor conceives all of them. Generally, his paintings are designed by hired idea people, executed by painting assistants, titled by poets, approved by committees - and finally signed by Kostabi. Conversations with Kostabi, his seventh book, is a self-interview, which once and for all explores Kostabi's controversial "bad boy" image. Through penetrating questions and candid answers, Kostabi illuminates how his work has evolved, his philosophy of society and his depiction of that philosophy in his work. Kostabi also explores the art marketplace - a place where artists must learn the rituals needed to break into the inner sanctums of the art dealers.