Creative Space: The Urban Homes of Artists and Creatives [Paperback]

Francesca Gavin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 2009

Creative Space looks at the studios, apartments, and homes of the designers, directors, stylists, artists, graffiti writers, curators, novelists, and innovators that are pushing the boundaries of contemporary culture. These are interiors created by people who shop in Colette in Paris, live on the Lower East Side in New York and travel to Tokyo. The domestic spaces are often DIY and strongly reflect pop culture.

Filled with post-modern pop collectables, vintage junk finds, camouflage and graffiti, clothing and toy collections, contemporary art resting in bookshelves and crammed onto walls, these homes are an antidote to the sterility of minimalism.

Looking at these interiors city by city, among the 30 homes featured in the book are those of artist and designer Julie Verhoeven and Maharishi founder Hardy Blechmann in London, graffiti artist Fafi in Paris, artists Ryan McGinness and Wes Lang in New York, innovative creatives Jaybo and Lucio Auri in Berlin, Barcelona filmmaker Roger Gual, and Tokyo's cult photographer Yasumasa Yonehara and artist Aya Takano. The spaces they inhabit and work in give a real image of today's avant garde.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Francesca Gavin is a writer and editor based in London. She is currently Visual Arts Editor at Dazed & Confused magazine. She has written features and reviews for publications including Another, Blueprint, i-D, Art Review, Contemporary, Intersection, Marmalade, RA magazine, The Sunday Times, and Wonderland. She has written two books: Street Renegades: New Underground Art (2007), and Hell Bound: New Gothic Art (2008), both published by Laurence King.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Laurence King Publishers; 1 edition (April 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1856695883
• ISBN-13: 978-1856695886
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #860,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creativity is Alive and Strong, May 6, 2009

By 

Kerry Louise Schofield (St. Petersburg, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creative Space: The Urban Homes of Artists and Creatives (Paperback)

Urban Homes of Artists and Innovators infuses inspiration with guided examples for any artist who wants to create art in their living space in the here and now. This book is written for all creative types who aspire to create great art no matter what their current living conditions. It offers short biographies of working artists including photographs of their homes where they live and work. Website addresses are provided for further evaluation.

This is not a book about "minimalism" as the author, Francesca Gavin, so aptly states. Rather it is about the collectible state of an artist's mind where living and creating intertwine in their chosen home. The non-visionary may not be attracted to the more is more philosophy that many artists aspire to as Gavin points out, "blank space with clean lines is an easy aesthetic choice for those lacking in creative imagination."

At first glance the bold typeface used liberally in the book is blaring. But after reading and viewing the photographs, the large, black typeface blends with the smaller copy into a perfectly seamless combination. The book is value-packed with color photographs and extensive copy and features more than 30 successful, worldly artists. Also included is an introduction and city guide along with a pre-introduction front and publisher back inset.

Full-size photographs accompany a one-page biography of each artist. There are many examples and ideas for organizing space to accommodate supplies, collectibles, and found objects--all fuel for creative thought. Some of the spaces are large, some small, some cluttered, some not-so. You will be driven to read and view all of the 207 pages.

The important and underlying theme of the book allows the reader to accept his or her own personal space for creating art no matter what the circumstances. There is a theme of collective thought among the artists presented running throughout the book. Artists are inclined by nature with energy and drive to create. This book fills that yearning partly because it presents unity of thought and habit among creative individuals. I would like to see a similar book published featuring struggling artists in shabby interiors.

There are other books and magazines available on creative space, but Urban Homes of Artists and Innovators reflects in its pages the everyday artist who has made art his or her livelihood. It shows by example that creativity is alive and strong in a homogenized world. You will be inclined to put this book in your satchel to take on a journey where you can steal away some time for intimate reading and dreaming.

2.0 out of 5 stars Quite a disappointment, July 15, 2010

By 

LahTeeDah "LahTeeDah" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Creative Space: The Urban Homes of Artists and Creatives (Paperback)

Normally I adore eclectic, funky and creative use of space and thought this book would fit that bill. I love all things fun, urban and even kitschy and am always interested to see how artists live and what inspires them. So I was surprised to see how uninspiring and flat this book felt. To be generous I found two spaces worthy of attention. Sorry, I gave the book away and can't remember which ones they were. The rest I found to be very dull. Cannot recommend.