18/02/2021
ART BOOKS selection for this week
Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity
David Lynch
When you admire an artist's work, you often wonder, “how do they even get these ideas?” David Lynch charmingly takes readers through his process of finding and harnessing creativity. A longtime practitioner of transcendental meditation, Lynch offers deeply delightful insights into generating ideas. Weaving together life, art and consciousness, this book turns the idea of the suffering artist on its head and instead replaces it with the idea that our mental capacity, and ability to reach inner peace acts as our biggest creative driver.
Do It: The Compendium
Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist
As part of an ongoing twenty-year project, curator Hans Ulrich Obrist recruited more than 60 renowned artists to contribute instructions for creating and exhibiting artwork. These wacky, fun and off-the-wall essays give you “do it yourself” directions to creating contemporary art and will spark some creative ideas of your own. It’s also quite exciting to read the writings and connect with such prominent contemporary artists as Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramovic, Jon Baldessari, Matthew Barney, Christian Boltanski, and Louise Bourgeois … just to name a few.
Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
David Bayles & Ted Orland
Art and Fear is one of those books that we have highlighted, creased, and bookmarked with dozens of torn up sticky notes. It’s a book that artists continue to recommend and connect with. Written in a straightforward manner, this book tackles the insecurities all artists face when finishing projects or putting your work out to be critiqued. It’s concise, clear, compelling and worth coming back to over and over. For anyone that has felt either internal or external pressures that have kept them from creating (and who hasn’t?), this book deserves a prominent place in your bookshelf.
Taking the Leap: Building a Career as a Visual Artist (the Insider’s Guide to Exhibiting and Selling Your Art)
Cay Lang
This is another one of those heavily bookmarked finds with lots of handwritten notes in the margins. Cay Lang takes you through the (very practical) steps you need to take to establish a career as a professional artist. From insiders tips on how to promote yourself online to the best contemporary business practices, this book helps you understand the ins-and-outs of galleries as well as alternative platforms for selling your work. Taking the Leap provides a concrete guide for artists looking to exhibit their work from someone who has had years of experience.
Art/Work
Jonathan Melber, Heather Darcy Bhandari
Feeling lost when it comes to galleries, contracts, and documentation? This book digs into the day-to-day aspects of what you need to know for running your art business. While there isn’t a magic bullet for gaining representation, Art/Work offers some practical advice on professional presentation, shipping work, and legal documents.
