--- product_id: 17688309 title: "What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art" price: "₨783" currency: SCR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.sc/products/17688309-what-are-you-looking-at-the-surprising-shocking-and-sometimes store_origin: SC region: Seychelles --- # What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art **Price:** ₨783 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art - **How much does it cost?** ₨783 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sc](https://www.desertcart.sc/products/17688309-what-are-you-looking-at-the-surprising-shocking-and-sometimes) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The perfect gift for the art lover in your life. In the tradition of Eats, Shoots & Leaves , Will Gompertz teaches art history with a sense of humor Every year, millions of museum and gallery visitors ponder the modern art on display and secretly ask themselves, "Is this art?" A former director at London's Tate Gallery and now the BBC arts editor, Will Gompertz made it his mission to bring modern art's exciting history alive for everyone, explaining why an unmade bed or a pickled shark can be art—and why a five-year-old couldn't really do it. Rich with extraordinary tales and anecdotes, What Are You Looking At ? entertains as it arms readers with the knowledge to truly understand and enjoy what it is they’re looking at. Review: Interesting & Informative - I think like others have mentioned, not all the images were included which is a little annoying.... But it is more a matter of curiosity, personally, I am too lazy to go see the paintings off of the internet, but I don't feel like I have missed much as the paintings mentioned but not displayed tend not to have much depth in their explanation. They are merely a historical point without much analysis of the painting itself. I think the book gives a great analysis of paintings as it puts them in a historical timeline, which is necessary, because context is everything, which most art books don't do. They just talk amount motion, focus, lighting etc.... But now you know why this artist was famous what he did well, what areas of painting he sacrificed on etc.... The analysis is not on the specific painting so much as the painter as whole and what his goals were. It really gives you a chance to walk up to one of his/her paintings and appreciate it even if it wasn't analyzed in the book. That being said it is written in a very light and enjoyable manner. I would prefer sometimes that the book stick to factual conversations, but to be fair the assumed conversations do help make the book very readable. Review: Understand and Appreciate - Will Gompertz takes you through the evolution of modern art with intelligence, ease, and humor. I originally picked up this book at the local library. Once I started reading it, I knew I needed a copy of my own to write in and reference. I dug in and began to learn the language of modern art and see the spontaneous, and often unconscious, parallel of art and cultural history. There are many photos, however, there isn’t a photo of every art discussed. Thankfully, a quick search on my cell phone and I’ll see a picture of the artist and the art. I’ve always been interested in art – now my appreciation and understanding has grown. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #179,604 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #52 in Art Movements (Books) #96 in Arts & Photography Criticism #174 in Art History (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 913 Reviews | ## Images ![What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81NciyFX0LL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Interesting & Informative *by M***. on May 11, 2014* I think like others have mentioned, not all the images were included which is a little annoying.... But it is more a matter of curiosity, personally, I am too lazy to go see the paintings off of the internet, but I don't feel like I have missed much as the paintings mentioned but not displayed tend not to have much depth in their explanation. They are merely a historical point without much analysis of the painting itself. I think the book gives a great analysis of paintings as it puts them in a historical timeline, which is necessary, because context is everything, which most art books don't do. They just talk amount motion, focus, lighting etc.... But now you know why this artist was famous what he did well, what areas of painting he sacrificed on etc.... The analysis is not on the specific painting so much as the painter as whole and what his goals were. It really gives you a chance to walk up to one of his/her paintings and appreciate it even if it wasn't analyzed in the book. That being said it is written in a very light and enjoyable manner. I would prefer sometimes that the book stick to factual conversations, but to be fair the assumed conversations do help make the book very readable. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Understand and Appreciate *by S***S on August 18, 2024* Will Gompertz takes you through the evolution of modern art with intelligence, ease, and humor. I originally picked up this book at the local library. Once I started reading it, I knew I needed a copy of my own to write in and reference. I dug in and began to learn the language of modern art and see the spontaneous, and often unconscious, parallel of art and cultural history. There are many photos, however, there isn’t a photo of every art discussed. Thankfully, a quick search on my cell phone and I’ll see a picture of the artist and the art. I’ve always been interested in art – now my appreciation and understanding has grown. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The book reads like a story and is very entertaining *by E***O on March 20, 2016* Effective book for someone who wants to begin to understand modern art. I bought this book because for years I had wandered through museums and became curious about modern art pieces. I found that when I took the time to understand a piece and what the artist was saying, I was grateful I did. Hence taking the plunge to educate myself more! This book contributed greatly to my understanding and appreciation of modern art. It was very readable in that the author tells interesting stories about the artists that really pull the reader in, and the chapters are sized that one chapter takes about 25 to 45 minutes to read. The book reads like a story and is very entertaining. I appreciated how well the different art movements were woven into the historical and philosophical contexts. I gave the book 4 stars because I thought there could be two improvements. The first was providing more pictures, even if they are black and white. Many times I had to go back and forth between the computer to look up different pieces in order to follow along. The second suggestion would be to provide a small summary at the end about the movements. I used a highlighter and pad of paper to keep track of characteristics of the different types. There are about 20 chapters and each chapter details a different movement, so it can be useful to keep a reference handy in case the movements start to blend together (or if you're like me, and you forget some details from a specific type.) However, I found the visual at the beginning and end of the book extremely helpful. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sc/products/17688309-what-are-you-looking-at-the-surprising-shocking-and-sometimes](https://www.desertcart.sc/products/17688309-what-are-you-looking-at-the-surprising-shocking-and-sometimes) --- *Product available on Desertcart Seychelles* *Store origin: SC* *Last updated: 2026-10-10*