Customer Reviews

The Art World Dream: Alternative Strategies for Working Artists

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Art World Dream is a book written for young, developing artists and should not be taken as advice or instruction for casual, weekend painters. It is essentially the real-life guidance counselor that art schools don't provide. The book addresses issues like how to make enough money to actually be an artist, how to find materials and new processes- again, the things that it is harder to learn in art school. The tone of the book is one of tough love, unabashedly tearing down the romantic notions of a career in the art world, unfettered by material and economic realiy.

In all fairness, no career advice book can help an inspiring artist, whether an actor, musician, painter, dancer etc. do great work. On some level, you either have it or you don't. So while this book may read as a bit harsh or didacdic to the more casual art-maker, it offers a host of real life knowledge and perspective for an artist embarking on what will be a long and fruitful career. There is also no book available that offers visual artists this sort of career advice.

Perhaps it is more interesting and helpful coming from a working artist who is admittedly not an "art star". As much as I hope to have the career of Julian Schabel, Lorna Simpson or Cindy Sherman, for example, the reality is that professionally, most artists will not experience quick fame and wealth. On that basis, the more sober, realistic sort of perspective that the author offers is all the more helpful.

Multi-media artist Eric Rudd is not writing for hobby painters or market-driven artists who measure success by the number of prints sold. He has written this book for artists with vision, who see themselves producing great art that has potential for recognition in museums and perhaps a legacy in art history. Rudd sees this as a relatively small group among those who claim to be artists and he pulls no punches in revealing the sacrifices and hard work necessary to achieve these goals. He details his own successes and failures both as an artist and developer of loft art studios from Washington, D.C. to North Adams, Massachussetts. His ideas aren't for the faint-hearted or the hobby painter but rather for the artist with a strong belief in the greatness of the work and a willingness to take risks to create a space where this can happen. "The Art World Dream: Alternative Strategies for Working Artists sets forth this premise."

Making one's way through the art world is not for the squeamish. The wide-eyed optimism of art creation and the cold stare of business realities have to work together if one's art world dreams are to be realized. Rudd's book is the best "road map" I've seen for the artist who truly wants to make a mark.

feels dated, he hardly mentions uses the internet, and spends way too much time promoting buying property, - on the good side a few good pointers

I am always interested in art criticism and art promotion...these are rarely compatable. This book seems to be another promotion for someone who has so many fingers in so many "professions" that he can hardly call himself a full-time artist (whatever that means). I don't know if his art is any good or not; I've never seen it. But I do know that each artist makes their choice about how to run their life. I know lots of artists whose art has more energy, cognative depth and artistic merit than many of the so-called great artists who equate marketing with substance. Though there are some aspects of this book worth ruminating about, a better tale could have been told - that might be of help to other artists - if Rudd kept his ego out of this book....or is ego the name of his game?