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Be Extraordinary: Philosophical Advice for Photographic and Other Artists
248 pages, Hardcover
Published November 12, 2024
6 people want to read
About the author
Guy Tal
10 books13 followersI am a professional writer and photographic artist living in Utah. I am the author of several books, a blogger, and an educator. In my photographs, I aim to express emotions and moods rather than to document or commemorate the appearances of places or events.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 23, 2025
Upon finishing Guy Tal’s ‘Be Extraordinary’, I felt as if I had just completed an important journey. In another age the journey would have involved some degree of effort to find the wise yogi living in some hard-to-find, remote location. Fortunately (?) this book is easily available, though making your way through this dense collection of essays will leave you feeling like you had navigated the road less traveled. I have enjoyed Tal’s essays in various photography publications over the years, either as stand-alone-pieces or grouped into categories in his books. This book seems more directed, distilling a lifetime of wisdom and study into a coherent arc beginning with a philosophical grounding on living an authentic life, continuing with what art is and what it means to be an artist, and ending with a call to action for becoming an artist yourself.
If you had asked me if I thought philosophers from ancient Greece had offered much applicable wisdom to our current days of smart phone stunted attention spans, vapid sharing via socials, and deeply entrenched identities across the political and religious spectrums, I would have been skeptical. I also wouldn’t have had any idea of where to start looking. The beginning of “Be Extraordinary” is a masterclass introduction to what philosophers from across the ages have said about how one should live their life. Tal creates chords of wisdom plucked from across the ages challenging the reader to live a deeper life, a life filled with meaning, a life that is true to their own identity, a life that is not ordinary.
The book moves on to discuss art and what it means to be an artist. Tal submits that art, specifically fine art, is not simply reproducing reality but, instead, suffuses the work with the emotions and experiences of the artist. Ironically (tragically?), ordinary art which reproduces reality is often more popular but Tal makes the case that creating these works will leave the artist unfulfilled (my word). Tal’s belief is that pursuing more meaningful work will lead to fulfillment and to the more meaningful life he extolled in the first part of the book.
The final section of the book is a call to action. Tal uses his own experiences and related frustrations with creating ordinary art as examples and details how his life improved as he pursued more meaningful work. He then outlines how the reader might go about accomplishing this for themselves, in the truest guru fashion. This is to say that since nobody can tell you what your true self is, nobody can tell you precisely how to go about finding your artistic voice. In spite of this, Tal finds a way to describe a path and encourage us to begin our own journeys.
I found this book deeply meaningful and, at first, wanted everyone I knew to read it. I do still believe that this is an amazing book for all types of people, especially for those pursuing the making of fine art, but I have begrudgingly realized that this book is not for everyone. If you are someone who has realized that the constant distraction of the modern world is not making your life better and stopped to ponder why, this book may be what you are looking for. If you are an artist looking to make more meaningful work and wondering what that means, this book is likely a good read. And if you are a photographer that has bought the latest camera(s),taken ‘The’ shots at ‘The’ locations, and won the awards only to feel a little empty, this is your next book. I look forward to meeting you on my travels because you will, no doubt, end up being extraordinary.
If you had asked me if I thought philosophers from ancient Greece had offered much applicable wisdom to our current days of smart phone stunted attention spans, vapid sharing via socials, and deeply entrenched identities across the political and religious spectrums, I would have been skeptical. I also wouldn’t have had any idea of where to start looking. The beginning of “Be Extraordinary” is a masterclass introduction to what philosophers from across the ages have said about how one should live their life. Tal creates chords of wisdom plucked from across the ages challenging the reader to live a deeper life, a life filled with meaning, a life that is true to their own identity, a life that is not ordinary.
The book moves on to discuss art and what it means to be an artist. Tal submits that art, specifically fine art, is not simply reproducing reality but, instead, suffuses the work with the emotions and experiences of the artist. Ironically (tragically?), ordinary art which reproduces reality is often more popular but Tal makes the case that creating these works will leave the artist unfulfilled (my word). Tal’s belief is that pursuing more meaningful work will lead to fulfillment and to the more meaningful life he extolled in the first part of the book.
The final section of the book is a call to action. Tal uses his own experiences and related frustrations with creating ordinary art as examples and details how his life improved as he pursued more meaningful work. He then outlines how the reader might go about accomplishing this for themselves, in the truest guru fashion. This is to say that since nobody can tell you what your true self is, nobody can tell you precisely how to go about finding your artistic voice. In spite of this, Tal finds a way to describe a path and encourage us to begin our own journeys.
I found this book deeply meaningful and, at first, wanted everyone I knew to read it. I do still believe that this is an amazing book for all types of people, especially for those pursuing the making of fine art, but I have begrudgingly realized that this book is not for everyone. If you are someone who has realized that the constant distraction of the modern world is not making your life better and stopped to ponder why, this book may be what you are looking for. If you are an artist looking to make more meaningful work and wondering what that means, this book is likely a good read. And if you are a photographer that has bought the latest camera(s),taken ‘The’ shots at ‘The’ locations, and won the awards only to feel a little empty, this is your next book. I look forward to meeting you on my travels because you will, no doubt, end up being extraordinary.
April 21, 2025
Fantastic book. Definitely something I will reread often!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews