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Making Contemporary Art: How Today's Artists Think and Work
 
 
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Making Contemporary Art: How Today's Artists Think and Work (Turtleback)

by Linda Weintraub (Author) "Production and consumption comprise complementary aspects of art's cultural course..." (more)
Key Phrases: corporate hype, artistic attitude, installation view, New York, Los Angeles, Charles Ray (more...)
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review
The book's strength is its insightful, accessible approach to each artist's work. -- Modern Painter --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
Making Contemporary Art is the ideal launchpad for anyone wanting to understand all the essential, but sometimes elusive, aspects of art-making today. In her inimitable voice - accessible, straightforward and jargon-free - Linda Weintraub explores the conceptual and practical concerns that go into making contemporary art. Six clearly defined thematic sections - Scoping an Audience, Sourcing Inspiration, Crafting and Artistic 'Self', Expressing an Artistic Attitude, Choosing a Mission and Measuring Success - draw on the work of forty contemporary artists, including Matthew Barney, Chris Ofili, Isaac Julien, Nan Goldin and Mariko Mori, to create a complex understanding of how to make and look at contemporary art. A series of interviews with various artists sheds light on every aspect of their work, from how they conceive and create their pieces to their more prosaic, practical concerns. In addition to being a fine read for anyone who simply wants to understand how to look at contemporary art, Making Contemporary Art is also an exceptional teaching tool, and one that plugs a huge gap in the art education market.

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Product Details

  • Turtleback: 415 pages
  • Publisher: Thames & Hudson (January 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0500284237
  • ISBN-13: 978-0500284230
  • Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.9 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,382,813 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
Production and consumption comprise complementary aspects of art's cultural course. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
corporate hype, artistic attitude, installation view, data bodies, work allocated
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Los Angeles, Charles Ray, Nan Goldin, United States, Tony Oursler, Marco Maggi, Matthew Barney, Thomas Kinkade, Mariko Mori, China Adams, Isaac Julien, Vanessa Beecroft, Pipilotti Rist, Ethan Acres, Gillian Wearing, Victoria Vesna, Virgin Mary, Yves Fissiault, Betsy Damon, Kim Jones, Living Water Garden, Marcia Lyons, Matthew Ritchie, South Africa
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11 Reviews
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35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars An awful, frustrating read, December 17, 2006
This review is from: In the Making (Paperback)
Now, I've never written a review on Amazon before, but, then again, I've never felt so passionately about a book before.

I'm being forced to read this book for a class and I'm finding it incredibly torturous. Despite that, I'm going to struggle to keep my emotions out of this review.

The Preface of this book begins with questions:

"Why am I an artist? Who is my audience? How can I communicate with this audience? What is art's function in society?"

As a fledgling artist myself I have found myself asking these questions often. I know that there are no answers and I didn't expect this book to provide any. But I thought this book would at least probe and examine these questions. I had my hopes up that this thick text would provide some meaningful insights that would expand my knowledge, change my perspectives, and maybe even tell me how flat-out wrong some of my assumptions are.

Boy, was I disappointed.

Past the introduction, Weintraub, the author, ceases to ask anything. In fact, there is hardly any investigation into any of these questions period.

There is no critical thinking. There are no references to contemporary theorists or philosophers. Instead, the book is composed entirely of articles about contemporary artists who are meant to illustrate various strategies for tackling these problems. For example, to answer the question "who is my audience?" there is an article about Thomas Kinkade as an example of someone who makes "art-for-all."

But once you start reading the articles, the questions fly out the window. Instead, each article reads like an extended press release. The artists' works are written about in superlative, round-about ways. If one were to take away all the fluffy descriptions and half-baked interpretations there might be one or two paragraphs for each artist.

The articles are full of statements like "The artist does this, this, and this" and "The viewer experiences this, this, and this," but there is no critical examination of what the artist is actually doing or what the viewer is actually experiencing. These examinations wouldn't be too difficult to accomplish either. Why not talk with art critics or art historians about what they think about the artists' works or why not interview actual viewers seeing the works what they think about the works? We, the readers aren't provided these options. We are told what to think and experience. The artworks function exactly the way the artist and Weintraub tells us they do.

On top of this, any and all context is removed. Weintraub places each of these artists in their own separate bubbles. No one looks at other art. No one goes to museums. No one has done any reading regarding their chosen subject matter. Weintraub writes as if each artist has miraculously created their ideas out of nothing and are amazingly original even if their concepts are far from new.

For example, Weintraub has write-up on artist Scott Grieger. A major aspect of Grieger's work deals with consumer and advertising culture. Yet apparently neither Weintraub nor Grieger are familiar with Baudrillard's "System of Objects" or Jameson's "Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism" or Naomi Klein's "No Logo" which are all very relevant and very major writings on that very topic.

Additionally, Weintraub writes with a very awkward style that obscures what she is trying to say. This works to her advantage, however, because much of what she is trying to say makes little to no sense. For example, here is a quote from the Grieger article (where she is discussing a work about global warming that incorporates a time/temperature digital display):

"In his determination to make visitors realize that these digital measuring devices actually report instantaneous environmental change with absolute accuracy, and that these changes portend dire circumstances, Grieger used another propagandist tactic: surprise. Exploiting the power of letters and numbers to exceed their role as information-conveyers, he harnessed their ability to captivate attention, and thus to provoke thought. As visitors turn to exit the gallery they confront two painted replicas of LED displays. The stasis of these representations highlights the movement of the functioning devices. The text inscribed on one is 'hELLO.' The other reads '07734.' The perplexing appearance of the lower case 'h' is the clue that helps reveal that the two apparently unrelated signs are actually the same. By turning the sign with the numbers upside down, the viewers realizes that it too spells the word 'hELLO.' As they depart, visitors receive a greeting instead of a farewell."

This long paragraph is mostly nonsense. How does the propagandist tactic of surprise fit into any of these LED displays? How do the "hELLO" signs lead us to think that the other ones "report instantaneous environmental change with absolute accuracy"? Why does Weintraub place so much emphasis on the profundity of the "hELLO" signs when any 3rd grader in math class already knows how to make their own on their calculators?

This review has gotten way too long. And yet I've barely scratched the surface of this book. Each article makes me want to bang my head against the wall. Each paragraph make me want to gouge my eyes out with a spoon. Hopefully I can prevent some of you from experiencing this same torture.

Thank you for reading.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars perfect for emerging artists, April 14, 2004
This review is from: In the Making (Paperback)
I'm your typical college art student with dirt for self-esteem, and whenever I really begin to question my abilities or doubt if I want be doing art in the first place I haul out this book. I highly recommend it for anybody needing a breath of fresh air regarding the art world.

Cool thing: It has spaces for notes at the end of each section so I can jot down all the down-to-earth, pragmatic and yet encouraging pearls of wisdom that Weintraub has extracted from these artists in her interviews.

Also, all kinds of media are represented here... from traditional painting to digital film and performance art. There's even a section about Thomas Kinkade! This book also does away with typical artsy-snottisms and elitist attitudes...all of the artists are looked at from a neutral/inquisitive point of view, (including Kinkade), and written about in interesting, accesible, and ultimately inspiring essays.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars textbook material meets fun presentation, June 30, 2004
By m jones (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: In the Making (Paperback)
I think this would be an excellent resource for any artist, especially as a classroom tool (textbook?) TONS of color pictures!! While this book is basically an overview of contemporary artists it takes an interesting form in that it breaks the artists up into 5 'groups' (chapters.) Each artist is looked at in terms of their own oeuvre but also in relation to whatever category they have been placed in. Categories include: "Measuring Success" "Sourcing Inspiration" "Choosing a Mission" "Scoping an Audience" etc. Despite how 'buisness oriented' these topics sound, they are very poignant for contemporary artists, as Weintraub demonstrates. It has a great variety of artists, mediums and styles and a very good representation of women and minority artists. The writing is easy to understand and although there is a lack of heavy critique in this book, it still manages to present challenges: The artists themselves pose questions and challenges both through the interviews and through their work.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars incredibly helpful and a good read
I haven't written a review on amazon before, but want to do one now after reading the negative response above. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Jantine

4.0 out of 5 stars behind the scenes of new and contemporary art and artmaking
Weintraub has done the footwork here--for a lot of people that would read her book. She demonstrates her curious mind and is able to convert that into a series of reviews of what... Read more
Published on March 8, 2007 by alex israel

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent tool, one to buy
This book was reccomended by tutors as one of three books to buy at the start of our Fine Art degree course. Read more
Published on January 6, 2007 by Scribe

5.0 out of 5 stars Superior Writing, Excellent Production Values
This book is meant to be read in bits and pieces or from the first page to the last. You can get inspired and educated by every word and image. Read more
Published on January 3, 2007 by Artemisia Cantante

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful resource that is fun to read
I picked up this book for an art class that I am taking. Most texts would sit under my desk. However, this book has been easy to read without dumbing the matterial down. Read more
Published on September 30, 2005 by Lex

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for teaching contemporary art
This is an impressive introductory survey of where contemporary art is today, and gives a fair account of the myriad options open to young artists. Read more
Published on January 6, 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars In search of relevance
For all you aspiring artist out there SAVE YOUR MONEY. This book does little to further any critical thought about the contemporary art world. Read more
Published on November 26, 2003 by r maguire

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
As always, Weintraub gets to the essence of the art and the artists. The student interviews are also quite insightful!
Published on September 18, 2003

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