Art Book Club: The Practical Handbook For The Emerging Artist, Third Edition
“Artwork is both object and an activity; art exists between its maker and its audience. The art object goes out from the artist to the audience, who, by their active looking, experience it as aesthetic and meaningful.”
Last fall I picked up this book while in NYC with my sister. The bookstore was an old townhouse, remodeled to sell books, completely ostentatious. I loved it. This book is bright yellow green and leaps out at you from the shelves. I wasn’t looking for it, but instinctively picked it up, and it was exactly the sort of book I needed in that moment.
Back during my time at Cornish, my only resource for art business was a book called Art/Work, which this book is comparable to. Art/Work was more about documents while The Practical Handbook For The Emerging Artist has solid advice for every part of the creative process. From making, documenting, selling, and shipping- this book provides advice for everything.
One thing I love about this handbook is that it gets straight to the point for every subject it talks about. There's no whimsy to it, like the start of this review, but it tells you exactly what you need to know right away. I've been a professional artist for 10 years now, and a lot of the advice given in this book is advice I would give too.
“Immerse yourself in art by going to museums, galleries, and art talks. Read art books and magazines regularly, or check out what other artists have posted on Instagram. Take note of work you like.”
“Time is so valuable. Take your work time seriously and protect it from interruptions or encroachment. Make a work schedule and stick to it.”
My favorite advice from the book is in Chapter 8 about contracts. I have shown my work in many different settings, and rarely does the venue have a contract or documentation of the proceedings. In Chapter 8 the author goes into hyper detail about gallery shows, but all of that advice can be translated into any kind of art selling business you have. Even with coffee shop shows: I now make up a list of what art pieces I'm showing, what the sales process is like, when I'm expecting payment if the shop takes a commission or handles sales, etc. I wouldn’t have learned to do that without art advice books like this one.
“As your work progresses, you need to know how well your messages are coming through. In school, you had a built-in audience for this purpose: your teachers and the other students. Out of school, you need to develop a regular group of intelligent, perceptive individuals who spend time with your work and listen to your ideas as you refine them.”
For the artist who is done with art schools or any sort of formal teaching, books like these are invaluable. 20 year old me who was just getting started in the art industry would have suffered far fewer mistakes if she had a book like this. It makes me wonder what kind of advice and learning opportunities the great painters in the world like Georgia O'Keeffe or Rosa Bonheur would have given if they wrote a handbook for emerging artist like this.
Final thoughts: Highly recommend this book for student/emerging artists. It's inspiring: perfect for guiding the young artist who isn't sure what to do next for their art business. One thing to note: It is directed at residents of the United States. While most advice can be translated to being an artist in other countries, some of it will not be useful if you live elsewhere.
“To gain opportunity means I am constantly looking for them.”
The next Art Book Club session will be on February 13th, 2022. The next book is How To See by David Salle
Interested in being on the stream and chatting about the book? Send me a message or comment below! The ABC is hosted on Twitch on Second Sundays every month at www.twitch.tv/cheerssteph