In a culture with the best, newest, greatest blockbusters and bestsellers, it is difficult to find books that can teach and inspire artists and art lovers. There are books on art history, art theory, biography of great artists of the past, books on the perspectives of good and bad art, and technical books on making art, it keeps on.
It is important and refreshing to dive into books that artists themselves create art. Many people know Vincent Van Gogh's letterhe wrote about his joy and efforts to struggle in painting and life. Observation method John Berger is a classic that opens up readers to different ways of thinking and observing art. Two basic and inspiring books that study artistic creativity Philip Guston: Collection of works, lectures and dialogues and artwork Adam Moss.
The painter Philip Guston was a vast and profound thinker. His views are broad and precise. In this compilation, we can read about his thinking and creation, his views on art, how to make art, his views on the art world, and more. The book includes interviews with Harold Rosenberg, Morton Feldman, and others; Guston held talks on panels at Yale University and Chicago and Philadelphia; he was in Artnews, Books and Studio notes of writing.
Each section is insightful and concise, providing a unique perspective for the creation of the art and the art world. “My quarrel with a lot of modern painting is that it requires too much sympathy.” He talks about how to know when the job is done: “A decision that cannot be tolerated anywhere…but you have to rest somewhere.”
Guston's observations in the book are as important as when he died in 1944 in 1940 as when he died in 1944. The art without experimentation disappears at a glance: it is too primitive or hopeful, merely conceptual, or just shocking, or just another means to make life tolerable. ”
His strict view of the art and the art world is subject to his censorship of his work. He never had a comfortable, relaxed, always a deeper understanding of the possibilities of work, never a static point. “In the beginning, it was a conversation between you and the surface…I tried to eliminate my thinking and doing it. Then, when you were willing to eliminate something that always looked good, there was a long view. You had One measure – Once you have experienced it, it can meet your needs – some people or power are commanding you: Only this You can, can you accept it? “This is the mystery of the creation that every artist works hard to create. What is this, this power wandering around the edge or inside the artwork?
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Guston studied and respected two painters: Piero Della Francesca and Rembrandt. He felt that Piero was “a far apart from the other masters…a different passion, grave and elaborate…judging distance, gravity and different forms of position just as visitors came to the earth.” He often Talking about Piero's paintings, the places where these paintings do not exist, belong to a world that Guston had never seen in his life. He wanted to draw like this, but he didn't know how to draw. He thinks Piero's The Baptism of Christ It is not the photos we see, “but the necessary and generous law.” Regarding Rembrandt, he said: “Paint is the ambiguity of images and images, which is very mysterious… to remove art The plane. This is not a painting, but a real man-a substitute, golem. He is indeed the only painter in the world!”
Philip Guston was born in 1913 and died at the age of 66. He painted on average until 1978. This is an amazing feat. Production. ”
There are many other art books that provide similar insights into art and artists, Art Writing: Papers by Modern and Contemporary Artists Richard Shiff and Great work: 50 paintings explored By Tom Lubbock The Spirit of Abstract Expressionism: Selected Works By Elaine de Kooning and Van Gogh: Self-portrait Edited by WH Auden, but for anyone interested in the creative process artwork Adam Moss, published in 2024, is an essential reading.
Moss is a former editor of New York Magazine and is now painting. Because he was struggling with how to draw, he felt that he was not good at painting, so he decided to interview artists to reveal their creative process. This book contains forty-three conversations he had. Including: visual artist Kara Walker, cartoonist Roz Chast, poet Louise Glück, painter Amy Sillman, fashion designer Marc Jacobs, Cook/Writer Samin Nosrat (Salt, fat, acid, calories), choreographer Twyla Tharp, writers Sheila Heti and George Saunders, Pupzer Will Shortz, Sandcastlers Ian Adelman and Calvin Seibert, among others.
Each artist chose a work they created and strolled Moss in the process of creating the work. Using graffiti, notebook entries, journals, and photos, readers travel through the mysterious journey of artists in the pain of creation. There are similarities such as self-doubt and procrastination, and moments of revelation and ecstasy. Throughout the process, you witness the duality of creation. The way artists absorb and reject. Allow to enter and kick out. Turn on and close. Soft and hard, yang and yang, high and low.
Focus, fantasy, and faith are all elements of every artist’s struggle. Tony Kushner takes us into a dream, through many versions, Angel of America. Composer Nico Muhly asked himself, “What should I do? How do I write something meaningful, not just showing off shit?” Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks promised himself, no matter what. , she shows up every day. “When you work, there's a lot of self-loathing,” said Sofia Coppola, screenwriter and director. After making many movies, she also said, “…I don't do it because I've done enough,” she said. Too much despair. I think We will pass it. I'll turn it into something. ”
Throughout the book, Moss comments with footnotes, highlighting his thoughts about what the artist says or reviews his ideas. He has a pleasant rapport with the artist and is a lively, very interested audience. You will understand why they are open to him and believe in him.
Moss wrote in his excellent conclusion: “Those who try to encourage creativity do not rely on skills or emphasize that training is indispensable for teenage training in artistic creation, perhaps because it seems undemocratic to say so. But the skills of these artists Just like the physical memory of an athlete is integrated early on, making the rest possible. In most cases, you have to know how before you do anything. Craftsmanship issues. A master’s research is important. Experience is important. There is no shortcut.” Amen about this.
