Make Art or Die Trying: The Only Art Book You’ll Ever Need If You Want to Make Art That Changes the World

by Stuart Semple

Learn to make art that can change the world.

Multidisciplinary artist, entrepreneur, and activist Stuart Semple believes that art is for everyone, and that everyone is an artist. Every single human has an inner spark of creativity that can make the world a better place. Art can change people, places, attitudes, and communities, healing and communicating when words aren’t enough.

Make Art or Die Trying empowers you to understand and connect with big art ideas and embrace your creative potential, no matter where you’re starting from. This stunning, informative, and inspiring book demystifies influential art concepts of the 20th and 21st centuries, including happenings, performance art, Bauhaus, and Fluxus, making them super-approachable and inviting you to learn, make art, and make change.

Each
 
Let Make Art or Die Trying be your guide to harnessing the power of creative ideas to create art and change in your life and community.

Genres: Art, Self Help, Nonfiction, Design

224 pages, Hardcover

Published June 11, 2024

Reviews

[Lavender · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good! This wasn't just a book, it was an experience. Stuart Semple is passionate about art and sharing the process of making art and that passion is infectious. You only need to come into this book with an open mind, and a curiosity to try something new. Anything can be art and art is for everyone. Do I believe that after reading this book? I wouldn't say I agree with the anything part yet but this book certainly gave plenty of examples that made me consider the question rather than just dismiss it as a simple no.

This book has exercises for you to do. You don't have to be good at drawing. There are no expectations to meet. The only skill you need is being willing to try it. I haven't managed to do all of them yet at the time of writing this, but it's given me a lot of ideas I want to explore. And that's really the beauty of the book, you'll leave with a creative energy, at the very least ideas, even if you don't do the exercises. It'll be hard not to come up with ideas, because apart from the guidance the book is filled with examples of so much art from so many artists that it's bound to evoke something in your mind. He encourages the reader - and now artist - to share what they've made using # makeartordietrying on social media, making the book itself a collaborative art project, which is delightful.

Lastly, I want to mention the videos that accompany the book. Each chapter has a QR code you can scan that leads to a video. These videos also have something extra and worth the extra few clicks to get to them, because they really make the book feel like a labour of love, even more than the book itself, which clearly has been drafted with thought put into every aspect of it, including the typography, illustrations, and just the overall explosion of colour.

I highly, highly recommend this book.

Thank you Stuart Temple, Quarto Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for an honest review.

[Crimson Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review...

I want to thank Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I want to start by saying I am a huge lover of art & have been since I was a child & I love museums. Along with libraries, I find them my sanctuary where I feel most at peace but modern art has been off and on love for me since I don't understand it all.

I got this book today and I have been reading through it absorbing its pages one after the other, (I don't get a lot of modern art or certain styles) but this book mentions so many of the artists from these kinds of art styles I didn't understand opening my eyes up to see what they have made or done in a new light & to get a bit more of an appreciation for them and their work. I am thankful for this because I also want to understand art beyond my field of view, but this book also shares a little bit about the (Artist. Author) his beliefs as well as the passion he has not just in art but in life & people. He wants everyone to look at the art shown in the book & then to look at themselves to research inside and do the kind of art that speaks through and to them, to me this is a beautiful message to put out in the world and also a beautiful form of showing the art of the soul (connection and unity).

I have always believed that the world we live in is one big canvas and we are the brushes that stroke across it making a difference in the smallest or largest of ways, each day the world changes and so do we so we are the art of our designs but what path we take all depends on the strokes we take. ( this is and has always been my belief since I was a child).

This was a book full of insight with a guy who has passion and compassion and was a joy to read.

3.5 star

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an inspirational book. I hesitated to write that, because the word inspirational can sometimes come across as sappy or sentimental and that isn't at all what this book is about. Semple takes movements from art history that have been pivotal in inspiring him and which have informed some of the artworks he has made. He explains these movements, art pieces and thought processes in a simple way and shows you how he has translated it across into his work. Then, at the end of each chapter are a series of exercises that you can do yourself to start your own art practice, or enlarge and enrich the practice you already have. You don't need expensive materials or equipment. Semple shows you that it's about how you see the world and how you think about things in relation to the things you see. I've already started doing some of the exercises and incorporating them into my own work. I absolutely loved this. It's a book I will buy and gift multiple times.

[Willow]

Art is for everyone is clearly the message of this book. Every chapter ends with an exercise that's related to the text. None of them ask for much skill, only a few simple tools and some courage.

Although well written, this book didn't work for me. It mainly focuses on Stuart Semple's work and inspirations. They are modern, connect with the world and are more than just pretty pictures. But that is not the type of art that inspires me. So where the book has plenty of depth, I wish it was broader, so it could connect with more people and their different tastes.

I'm not Anish Kapoor nor in any way associated with him.

Thank you NetGalley and Rockport Publishers for giving me access to this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cool book by an artist about making art like performance art and modern art. He talks a lot about what inspired various things he’s done and other modern artists have done with pushes for the reader to do their own. I am not really moved to do such abstract art and was hoping for more traditional stuff but this is great for people who want to make public statements. It’s packed with examples of modern artists I wasn’t familiar with and does a great job of showing the meanings of them all.

I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book to be confusing and unhelpful for boosting creativity. I read a review on Amazon that suggested it might have been written by AI, which would explain a lot.
Just an FYI if you order anything through the Culture Hustle site: it is impossible to get in touch with anyone if there are issues or you want a return. Buyer beware.

[Lael Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Make Art or Die Trying was interesting in that it appears to be trying to combine the idea of art as doing something "out there" or not thought of before with art that anyone can do. The descriptions of various art history events that inspired the author were fascinating but unfortunately imo the projects were not impressive. Making it seem more of a bio than an art project book.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found that it took me a while to read this book. For some reason, I just couldn't really get into the book. There were a few things that inspired me, but for the most part I found myself skipping ahead to the prompts at the end of each chapter.

*Thank you NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.*

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked best about this is that it has context for each concept along with exercises to do yourself, and none of it feels overly ambitious. You’re already an artist, this book will help you hone and direct your art.

[MaKai Magie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to follow and fun. If you do all of the chapters by the end of the book your artwork will be amazing.

[WordMorris · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much inspiration, beautiful, lovely. Adore this book. Practical, or coffee table book. Share with friends!

[L]

What a great book! Stewart not only shows how Art is born, but he also holds up a mirror. We often think too complicatedly about the origins of Art.
His personal note also touched me deeply.

[Tim Mathis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great easy read that gets right into why art is important and how to do it yourself.

[LibraryKath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite what I expected but an interesting read nonetheless. Artist Stuart Semple uses his work to make social commentary and as activism, while also injecting it with whimsy and humour. Through this book he encourages the thinking that art is for everyone and that everyone should be making art. Semple goes through a selection of art movements, explaining how they each made art accessible and inspired people to create. He then details how those art movements influence his work, and provides activities and exercises to challenge the reader to try creating something inspired by those movements.

Sometimes I found it a little dry, but generally speaking it was an interesting and enjoyable read, and gave me food for thought for my own creativity.

[Andrya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Semple pares down contemporary ways of creating, presenting and propelling our own art. How to harness ideas and engage with an audience, how to collaborate.
I have read through in first instance, ready to go back in and follow his suggestions to see where I end up.

Semple’s manner and language have added depth to viewing works of art and artists generally.