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PRODUCT
The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing
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Original price was: $45.00.$35.01Current price is: $35.01.
Detailed description:
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“The book is a visual feast, full of drafts, sketches, and scribbled notebook pages. Every page shows how an idea becomes a finished design.” —Ari Shapiro, All Things Considered
From former editor of New York magazine Adam Moss, a collection of illuminating conversations examining the very personal, rigorous, complex, and elusive work of making art
What is the work of art? In this guided tour inside the artist’s head, Adam Moss traces the evolution of transcendent novels, paintings, jokes, movies, songs, and more. Weaving conversations with some of the most accomplished artists of our time together with the journal entries, napkin doodles, and sketches that were their tools, Moss breaks down the work—the tortuous paths and artistic decisions—that led to great art. From first glimmers to second thoughts, roads not taken, crises, breakthroughs, on to one triumphant finish after another.
Featuring: Kara Walker, Tony Kushner, Roz Chast, Michael Cunningham, Moses Sumney, Sofia Coppola, Stephen Sondheim, Susan Meiselas, Louise Glück, Maria de Los Angeles, Nico Muhly, Thomas Bartlett, Twyla Tharp, John Derian, Barbara Kruger, David Mandel, Gregory Crewdson, Marie Howe, Gay Talese, Cheryl Pope, Samin Nosrat, Joanna Quinn & Les Mills, Wesley Morris, Amy Sillman, Andrew Jarecki, Rostam, Ira Glass, Simphiwe Ndzube, Dean Baquet & Tom Bodkin, Max Porter, Elizabeth Diller, Ian Adelman / Calvin Seibert, Tyler Hobbs, Marc Jacobs, Grady West (Dina Martina), Will Shortz, Sheila Heti, Gerald Lovell, Jody Williams & Rita Sodi, Taylor Mac & Machine Dazzle, David Simon, George Saunders, Suzan-Lori Parks
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Categories: Arts & Photography
Product name:
The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing
Price:
Original price was: $45.00.$35.01Current price is: $35.01.
Doris VDB –
I have bought this book for myself and for two creative friends. It looks at the creative process of a variety of artists across the realm of visual art, music, writing and composing.
peter s –
A thoughtful and well written exploration of the art of creating a work of art. Highly recommended!
Hailin –
The title, “The Work of Art” sums up well the labor, mental or physical, that goes into the production of art. “Art” in this book covers visual arts, music, radio program creations. The artists covered are primarily east coast/NY people, but these are individuals that the author knows best—and in return, he gains some intimate insights into each artist’s creative process.
MAB –
Compelling design and engaging honest voice. Didn’t anticipate a cover to cover read, but I just kept going because it gripped me. .
Mickie Kennedy –
“The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing” by Adam Moss is an illuminating exploration of creativity, capturing the intricate and often unpredictable journey from idea to masterpiece. Through engaging conversations with over 40 renowned artists—including Stephen Sondheim, Kara Walker, and Ira Glass—Moss offers an intimate look at their creative processes, enriched by personal sketches, drafts, and journal entries. This beautifully designed book not only demystifies the artistic endeavor but also celebrates the resilience and ingenuity required to transform inspiration into reality. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in the inner workings of the artistic mind.
Michael J. Cox –
Very beautifully designed book, great interviews, lots of inspiration here for an artist or background info for anyone interested in creativity of any kind: cooking, singing, writing, painting, photography, choreography, it’s all in here. Very New York-centric as many of the people interviewed were friends of the author, or he knew them from his editorial work, but still, they are “famous” in their fields and it is fascinating reading. I’ve recommended it to several friends (but the price puts them off).
Brendan Howley –
My Irish granny, a woman given to few words, best delivered after her second afternoon sherry, told me that ‘the greatest books are the ones you use like tools, the ones you keep going back to, again and again.’ I am now ordering my third hardcover copy of this profound, confiding, wise and utterly inspiring book to give to each of my adult children and sig/other. Two more birthdays to go to complete the cycle. Don’t even think about not buying WORK OF ART. It’ll change lives. Books can do no more. Onward
Andrew Carroll –
…and I have since bought and am giving to the most creative people I know. There are, of course, many books (and documentaries and podcasts and TV series) about the creative experience, but what Adam Moss has put together is truly a “work of art” in itself. The attention to detail, the wonderful surprises pertaining to how different artists create, the colorful (literally and figuratively) examples all result in a stunning masterpiece.
Richard –
These are interesting profiles of 42 creative people. Not all of these will be interesting to everyone, but most are interesting. Some are amazing!
Mardee Goff –
Beautiful cover and book… exquisitely designed and executed. Ambitious topic to tackle and done very well. Moss is a great writer, funny and engaging—and easy and enjoyable to read. You will not be disappointed, and will return often and enjoy as an object on the table in between reads. Also a perfect gift!
Mari –
I find myself buying multiple copies so I can gift them to friends and colleagues. This book is inspiring for anyone who wonders about the creative process and its many twists and turns.
PROS
– organized into 4-8 page interviews, so you can read a little at a time
– highly visual!
– inclusive of all kinds of creatives
– humble
– funny
CONS
– heavy? Weighs like 5lbs bc the paper is nice 😍
J. Rich –
I am just going through it, but this is a very interesting book!
Conrad J. Obregon –
I live in a community of artists. I shoot videos that I spend time editing and considering how best to tell my story or express my vision of the subject. I’m reluctant to call myself an artist, but I like to think that there is a great deal that I can learn from artists that will help me to create better (whatever that means) videos. The advertising for this book made it sound…well, useful.
The book consists of interviews that the author conducted with forty-three artists about their work. I am perhaps inferring too much, but from the author’s forward and afterward, Moss seemed to be looking at the process of transforming a first idea into a final product. He interviewed a variety of artists including painters, poets, photographers, and video producers. There are also a lengthy forward and an afterward attempting to sum up the interviews. There is a generous number of illustrations of the works of the artists and copies of the notes they made during the process of creation.
I learned many things about the processes of the different media these artists worked in. I learned that Gregory Crewdson, with whose work I thought I was familiar, was more a producer and director of his photographs, using large crews, cameramen, and actors to create an image. I learned that David Simon, the creator of “The Wire”, scarcely considered himself an artist. I learned that Moss considered crossword editor Will Shortz to be an artist. Overall I was able to see the importance of persisting no matter how frustrated; of modifying the work based upon feedback from the work; and of being willing to “kill your babies”, that is, to reject your own ideas when they don’t work.
Many of these artists practiced a more modern form of art, or one so different in process from the my video practice that it made it difficult for me to fully appreciate the interviews, but some readers may be perfectly attuned. On the other hand I had problems that were not related to my aesthetic outlook.
In the first instance, there is too much Moss in the interviews. My own interview practice is to make the interviewer invisible, but the author continually interjects his own life into the interviews.
The copies of the notes made by the artists were small size, difficult to read, and ultimately of little use to me. I wondered if they were just padding.
The book designers relished their task. Unfortunately they sometimes lost sight of readability. For example, the text on a page was divided into two columns. However, the footnotes were placed into the middle of the columns, reducing the length of a line to 30 or less spaces, which is short for readability. Moreover occasionally, the foot-note appeared on a different page from its referring super-script number, which was occasionally confusing.
Most importantly, I would have expected Moss to have edited the interviews in a way that allowed the reader to draw some inferences about the similar items in each artist’s process, but I often found the interviews meandering.
Notwithstanding all of this, if you are not looking for utility in reading about how a variety of artists approach their work, you might enjoy dipping into this book.