In the Making: Creative Options for Contemporary Art

by Linda Weintraub (Editor)

From the first page to the last, from Thomas Kinkaid (really!) to Matthew Barney, this book serves as a launching pad. Conclusions are perpetually delayed. Resolutions are continually postponed. The text is written for takeoff, not arrival. It is a first step for readers' explorations of current modes of art making and for their own future artistic achievements. The much-anticipated follow-up to Art on the Edge... and Over , Linda Weintraub's highly accessible introduction to contemporary art since the 1970s, In the Creative Options for Contemporary Art explores essential but sometimes elusive facets of art making today. In her trademark writing style--straightforward and jargon-free--Weintraub sets out to itemize the conceptual and practical concerns that go into making contemporary art in all its endless permutations. In six clearly defined thematic sections--”Scoping an Audience,” “Sourcing Inspiration,” “Crafting an Artistic 'Self',” “Expressing an Artistic Attitude,” “Choosing a Mission,” and “Measuring Success”--Weintraub moves artist by artist, in 40 individual chapters, using each to explain a different aspect of art making. Isaac Julien makes work for a highly specific audience; Michal Rovner communicates through metaphor and symbol; Charles Ray disrupts the viewer's assumptions; Pipilotti Rist is inspired by female emotions; William Kentridge is moved by apartheid and redemption; Vanessa Beecroft epitomizes the biography of a smart, attractive, Caucasian woman; and Matthew Barney achieves success through resistance. Through a compelling combination of renowned and up-and-coming artists, Weintraub creates a complex understanding of how to make and look at contemporary art--but in a simple, easily digestible format and language.

In addition to being a fine read for anyone who simply wants to understand how to look at contemporary art, In the Making is also an exceptional pedagogical tool, one that addresses what is fast becoming a huge gap in art education. Teaching artistic techniques no longer provides young artists with a sufficient education--a full range of conceptual issues needs to be considered in any well-rounded studio practice. Yet these very same conceptual issues are often those that are dealt with textually in art history and criticism classes. Weintraub persuasively offers a series of texts that fit squarely into this gap, addressing issues that concern anyone who is learning how to make art or how to understand it.

In addition, In the Making includes a series of interviews in which many of the artists discuss the practical issues of their life's work. Conducted by Weintraub's students at Oberlin College, the interviews pose questions about the artists' schooling, their studio space, and how they support themselves if their main income doesn't come from their art--the kind of questions every art student has always wanted to ask the artists whose work they see on gallery walls.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History

415 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2003

Reviews

[Shannon Baxter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, unlike some of my more ridgedly minded classmates. It includes articles on 41 contemporary artists and their processes. There are six sections: Scoping an Audience, Sourcing Inspiration, Crafting an Artistic Self, Expressing an Artistic Attitude, Choosing a Mission, and Measuring Success. This book helped me to more clearly see the purpose and possibilities of art and that an artist is not limited to self-expression and superfluousness.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected. The most interesting parts for me were the interviews; living artists discuss the economic and social choices and consequences of art-making in 2003. This information feels freshly revealed.

The essays vary, though. I was hoping for critical and contextual writings and was disappointed with how isolated each essay is in the context of the book, and how isolated each artist is presented as being. This made me occasionally distrustful of Weintraub's information and insights, since it is obvious that each artist is working in a specific context with specific histories informing their work and this is never addressed. Why?

[Ori Fienberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect book for uber-hipster-poser-art-school-wannabes! But seriously, if you think the Guggenheim (any of them) have contemporary/edgy art, you should check this book out.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book on contemporary artists. A wonderful intro to the current art world.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most impressive collections of writings about contemporary art I have read to date.

[Bethany]

ah, art school. i actually read all of my art school text books, still have them, and still use them. this is one of the more useful books i own.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Variety of artists, but getting a little out of date.

[Megan Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will never get rid of this book. I have it from undergrad. It reminds me, among many things, the purposes for creating.