Few living artists can claim to have had the influence of Michael Craig-Martin (born 1941). Celebrated globally for his distinctive art, with numerous retrospectives and honors to his name, he has helped nurture generations of younger artists.
In On Being an Artist, now published in paperback, Craig-Martin reflects with wit and candor on the people, ideas and events that have shaped his professional life. In a series of short, entertaining episodes, he recounts his time studying under Josef Albers at Yale University School of Art alongside Chuck Close, Richard Serra and others; his memories of meeting personal heroes such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and John Cage; and his surreal experience of staking out Christine Keeler at the height of the Profumo scandal.
He recalls, too, his first tentative steps as an artist and emergence as a key figure of early conceptual art, and looks back on his achievements as a teacher at Goldsmiths, where he nurtured two generations of students, among them Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas, earning himself the sobriquet “the godfather of the YBAs.”
Craig-Martin tackles controversial issues such as the fashionability of contemporary art, the enduring status of painting, the relevance of life drawing and practical skills, the qualities of art schools, the role of commercial dealers and the judgment of what is good and bad in art.
More than the life of one of the most creative minds of our age, On Being an Artist provides lesson after valuable lesson to anyone wishing to know what it means and what it takes to be an artist today.
"An erudite, insightful and hugely readable collection." –It's Nice That
"A gloriously illustrated credo-cum-memoir." –artsjournal.com
Featured image is reproduced from 'On Being an Artist.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
It's Nice That
Rob Alderson
...an erudite, insightful and hugely readable collection of his own writing; 150 short essays ranging from a couple of paragraphs to a few pages covering practical topics On finding a mentor, or On commercial galleries to more theoretical musings On Catholicism and On ideas.
ArtsJournal
Paul Levy
a gloriously illustrated credo-cum-memoir by the distinguished Irish-born, American-raised, Yale-educated, British-resident senior artist.
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“Untitled (bulb)” (2014) is reproduced from the new paperback edition of On Being an Artist, renowned British conceptual artist and longtime Goldsmiths professor Michael Craig-Martin’s collected writings. A Back-to-School staff favorite, this witty and fast-paced 304-page short essay collection features texts on such topics as passion, ideas and being vulnerable to the world. In the latter, Craig-Martin writes, “There is nothing that happens in an artist’s life—whether good or bad, no matter how dramatically important or apparently trivial—that cannot be turned to effective use in their art. Any crummy part-time job, any minor incident, any childhood memory. Other people can read a book for pleasure or enlightenment. An artist may read a book and it can alter the whole course of their life’s work. Artists are unusually vulnerable to the world in this way. And they, in turn, use their work to seduce others into valuing what they value.” continue to blog
FORMAT: Pbk, 6 x 9 in. / 304 pgs / 60 color / 33 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $20.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $29.95 ISBN: 9781908970503 PUBLISHER: Art / Books AVAILABLE: 8/20/2019 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Published by Art / Books. By Michael Craig-Martin.
Few living artists can claim to have had the influence of Michael Craig-Martin (born 1941). Celebrated globally for his distinctive art, with numerous retrospectives and honors to his name, he has helped nurture generations of younger artists.
In On Being an Artist, now published in paperback, Craig-Martin reflects with wit and candor on the people, ideas and events that have shaped his professional life. In a series of short, entertaining episodes, he recounts his time studying under Josef Albers at Yale University School of Art alongside Chuck Close, Richard Serra and others; his memories of meeting personal heroes such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and John Cage; and his surreal experience of staking out Christine Keeler at the height of the Profumo scandal.
He recalls, too, his first tentative steps as an artist and emergence as a key figure of early conceptual art, and looks back on his achievements as a teacher at Goldsmiths, where he nurtured two generations of students, among them Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas, earning himself the sobriquet “the godfather of the YBAs.”
Craig-Martin tackles controversial issues such as the fashionability of contemporary art, the enduring status of painting, the relevance of life drawing and practical skills, the qualities of art schools, the role of commercial dealers and the judgment of what is good and bad in art.
More than the life of one of the most creative minds of our age, On Being an Artist provides lesson after valuable lesson to anyone wishing to know what it means and what it takes to be an artist today.
"An erudite, insightful and hugely readable collection." –It's Nice That
"A gloriously illustrated credo-cum-memoir." –artsjournal.com
