Letters To A Young Artist --- (((Inspiration)))

This pocket-sized book inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet contains a collection of two dozen letters all commissioned from established artists to a fictitious "young artist," a recent art-school graduate who is struggling with the moral and practical implications of being an artist in New York. The "young artist" asked a selection of his heroes, "Is it possible to maintain one’s integrity and freedom of thought and still participate in the art world?" --- Artists Responses (excerpts):

"Young artist, it is highly unlikely that you will be rewarded professionally for reaching this point. Nor will it make you popular. On the contrary: you will develop a reputation for being ‘difficult,’ ‘uncooperative,’ ‘inflexible,’ or even ‘self-destructive;’ and treated (or mistreated, or ostracized, or blacklisted) accordingly."

--- Adrian Piper

"The world is your oyster: It will provide you with unlimited material for your art. Look at it again from that point of view. Suddenly the world is a different place, so interesting, so beautiful, and so mysterious. Have fun with it. And share your fun with us."

--- Yoko Ono

"You should have grandiose ideas about your future success. No one with small ambitions and vague goals ever amounted to much in this game."

--- Kerry James Marshall

"Art is not about making sense but determining meaning."

---Lawrence Weiner

"You are a person, armed with free will and the tools to discover that will."

---Jessica Stockholder

"Having ambition is not a problem. In fact, ambition is necessary to be able to carve out the time needed to produce your work from the multitude of other demands on your life."

--- Stephen Shore

"Be aware of the system. Don't be afraid to stand up and criticize it. Be inventive. Do some creative complaining!"

---Guerilla Girls

"If there is one essential survival skill that you must learn, it is how to sustain yourself and your work over the years. There is really only one way to do this, and that is by loving what you do, being fascinated by your work, and by being obsessed with making art."

--- Thomas Nozkowski

"The answer is the Work. To Work. To care about the Work."

---Joan Jonas