Joost Zwagerman's first Schwarzsatirischer excursion into the world of art & artists. Walter van Raamsdonk (Raam) lives in the world of young, successful artists in Amsterdam. These are mainly concerned with money, sex and drugs and, even that, occasionally produce art. However, Raam does not care about art. He tries to cover his lovesickness with the lost girlfriend Sammie with videos (mostly porn), MTV and music. At night he gets drunk in the nightclub "Gimmick," the meeting place of postmodern artists, where he was so often with Sammie. After all, he travels around in world history to numb his grief - but even in New York, he does not get rid of his old love. Back home, he receives a highly-paid job, but has no artwork for it. And he is unable to create a new work. Then he remembers that three of his friend Alex's works are still standing in the corner of his studio ... In a parodic manner, Joost Zwagerman draws a drastic picture of the late 1980s, in which art degenerates into a game of money and vanity. The first-person narrative of the protagonist exemplifies a whole generation that strives for fast fame and fortune. Full of self-irony and cynicism, Zwagerman lets his protagonist comment on the self-centeredness and money-obsession of his fellow artists. In gimmick! Artists become mere business people; art is no longer measured by its uniqueness but by its market value. Even in love, it's all about business, there's no room for sentimentality. Sexuality becomes pure obsession, is omnipresent - and sterile. The value system of society is completely hollowed out: everything is allowed in the empty art, nothing can shock more, the artists and their works become interchangeable. After only a few months, the "gimmick" is out again. The postmodern artist scene is behind the rapidity of the market. »Abstract Art is the Biedermeier culture of the twentieth century.«