Tell Them I Said No

by Martin Herbert

Essays on artists who have withdrawn from the art world or have adopted an openly antagonistic position against it.

This collection of essays by Martin Herbert considers various artists who have withdrawn from the art world or adopted an antagonistic position toward its mechanisms. A large part of the artist's role in today's professionalized art system is being present. Providing a counterargument to this concept of self-marketing, Herbert examines the nature of retreat, whether in protest, as a deliberate conceptual act, or out of necessity. By illuminating these motives, Tell Them I Said No offers a unique perspective on where and how the needs of the artist and the needs of the art world diverge. Essays on Lutz Bacher, Stanley Brouwn, Christopher D'Arcangelo, Trisha Donnelly, David Hammons, Agnes Martin, Cady Noland, Laurie Parsons, Charlotte Posenenske, and Albert York.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Essays, Philosophy

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 18, 2017

Reviews

[Bethany Moody · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems “withdrawing from art”, for Herbert, means moving away from NYC. The artists discussed were either educated at highly regarding art institutions or were the children of revered artists. They had every chance at success but rejected it. I’m much more interested in the artists who are regularly denied opportunities at success due to the discriminatory nature of the art world, but that’s not what this book is about.

[Soo-Min · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art world needs this book now more than ever... (and I wonder how the issues raised in this book would be relevant w reliance on digital platforms & online personas by artists today)... I want to write about art lyrically like this... I want to be able to infuse my own art history writing with so much poetry... I want to say no, I want to believe in my right to refuse and reject and resist.

[Jade]

wouldve rather read about this from an artist than from a critic but i love this topic!

[Jacob Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Herbert writes:

Concerning those who don’t leave, what one longs for – or what this writer, who sees too many exhibitions that are blatantly products of the studio treadmill, which circularly pay for the assistants and the fair-booth acreage, longs for – is some tactical thinking. No artist needs to undertake a half-dozen solo shows per year, plus fairs, plus a continual side salad of group shows. Artists who do this, given the unassailable fact that most of them are not modern-day Picassos, will in most cases burn out and deliver diminishing returns in the meantime. One wishes, however vainly – one writes, at least in part, to accrue useful examples of such – for artists to make statements when necessary and be silent when not. We have no shortage of art, or of galleries, and, as Mark Twain once said, "No word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause."

[Bill Arning · Rating 5 out of 5]

this slim volume is consistently entertaining and insightful. The artists I knew well, Cady Noland, Lutz Bacher and David Hammons are well analyzed. Those i have been puzzled by like Trisha Donnelly the author's treatment made me renew a commitment to learn more about. Only Agnes Martin felt overly familiar but as she is used to ground Herbert's discussion of all the other lesser known makers that was likely a useful strategy. The perversity of pulling artists who appear to have desired to vanish fully to the point of no longer being discussed exhibited or reproduced (Laurie Parsons, Charlotte Poseneske) back into a discussion they chose to leave might be seen sadistic but nonetheless I am grateful for having read their chapters. Only with Christopher D'Arcangelo, as with the missing Lee Lozano was the entering then leaving art clearly tied to psychological pathologies and does one worry that the romance around these artists refusals can feel somewhat tragic.

[Victoria Gillespie · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best and most interesting things I’ve read in a while

[Kaitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lucid and considered set of essays, Tell Them I Said No was a fascinating and brief overview of some of the artists who have rejected the art world's rules. Herbert is a precise critic—he acknowledges arguments that were better articulated elsewhere, and narrows in to what he feels is at the crux of each artist's practice: no mean feat to accomplish in just 9-10 pages. These essays are exceptional in that no prior knowledge of each artist is required, though in some instances, like with David Hammons, it helped to have seen the artist's work in person. Tell Them I Said No is a reminder that refusal is a powerful political strategy for drawing attention to an industry's toxicity or hypocrisies.

[Emily Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone with little background in art theory, I found some of the essays inaccessible because they assume a developed knowledge of the movements and their players (+ some of the more inscrutable jargon in art critique). Still dug the questions posed at the heart of it.

[Léon Nullans · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stadelschule bible. The book was beaten to death and the pages were all yellow as if it was a grimoire released 200 years ago (it was published in 2016 lol).

I really like it overall, especially the intro, the Brouwn, D'Arcangelo, Donnelly, and Parsons of course.

[elayna]

If I had a better understanding of the fine art world, I would’ve probably enjoyed this more

[Linus Bonduelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best essays on artists I've ever read.

[Em Adamo]

Remember this being somewhat informative but overly academic in terminology, yet not necessarily practice, a big pet peeve of mine. I like a rebellious nature around art systems but the narration felt a little cynical and bitter. I don’t understand why people only want to write about their experiences surrounding other peoples’ art and not their experiences of it as a function of their own life. Felt like he was hiding some kind of former grief

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Herbert, an art critic, puts forth several artists for discussion who are perhaps “withdrawn” at some point, in one way or another, from the art world. The commentary balances the autobiographical and critic/ personal-thought really well. It’s also a feat to be able to recount in such depth so much detail across so many decades, for several persons. It reminded me of Olivia Laing’s ‘the lonely city’ except it feels somewhat more ‘authentic’, but perhaps by authentic I simply mean more political.

[Spencer Saunders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall found many of the essays hard to parse. Maybe they're meant for a more art-literate audience, or meant to be read with a screen nearby to view the pieces as they are referenced. Lots of big words getting in the way of what the author is trying to say about the people.

I do appreciate it for introducing me to several artists whose lives and works sound interesting, and I'll be looking more into in the future.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really found myself compelled by this. Herbert’s choice of artists was thoughtful, and the various ways they use isolation in their work, or otherwise in their lives, was fascinating. He’s a gifted and succinct writer, which I always appreciate. In some ways felt like a really amazing group show. I recommend!

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting series of essays on artists who have walked away from art, or who don't engage with the art world and its consumers in the expected ways. Although a lot of the art references went over my head (I was constantly googling things in this book), there was enough in here to keep me moving forward. I like people who challenge our expectations and this book is full of those people.

[Rachel Loh · Rating 5 out of 5]

So inspiring in the delivery and insights to both the art as well as artists’ lives. Maybe it’s the romantic in me but the book has extended more evidence that there are ways to be an artist without having to be in the art world.

[Rouzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is poetic. I enjoyed reading about Agnes Martin and Trisha Donnelly, they became one of my favorites. I would say most of the artists would used unconventional materials or push concepts that would not fit into the market world. It is amazing to read names such as Christopher d’arcangelo that were excluded and wanted to be excluded from history textbooks aiming to remain ephemeral.

[Ned · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art of being difficult that I’m clearly yet to master.

Really enjoyed the experiments written in the book - the artist making maps from handwritten directions from strangers, the person who held MoMA hostage and David Hammons selling snowballs

[severyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intimate and elegant.

[Samuel Schwindt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book, and it really told me a lot about the life I want to live as an artist. Super insightful. My favorite essay in it was about Agnes Martin. Highly recommend!

[Koulma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pas eu le temps de finir mais j'aime bcp l'idée d'écrire un livre avec des exemples d'artistes qui se mettent en retrait du monde de l'art.

[David Moran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Academic in approach, writing can be rigid. Interesting theory about artists’ relationship with their work

[Owen P · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it but I wish he went a bit deeper.

[Gamze Seckin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was hard to find and then hard to read. I didn't know many of the artists or their works. Also I didn't understand how their withdrawal from the art world or art itself helped with anything. That being said I do understand the underlying resentment with the art world's celebrity culture, excessive commercialization and demands of galleries.

[Giovanni García-Fenech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Herbert is an outstanding stylist and writes sensitively and beautifully about the problematic relationship of artists to the art world. The 10 figures he profiles fall, roughly, into three categories: those who play with the system, those who struggle against it, and the ones who walked away in dissatisfaction.

The first group, all descendants of Marcel Duchamp, includes David Hammons, who, among other things, has placed installations made of refuse in vacant lots in Harlem and sold snowballs on the street; Stanley Brouwn, who, since 1972, has insisted that no images of his whimsical work or any biographical information be published; Lutz Bacher (a pseudonym), whose mixed-media work spurns categorization, who refuses interviews, and whose gender wasn’t even known for years; and Trisha Donnelly, who has used rumor as part of her artwork, who forbids her gallery to write press releases, and who also refuses interviews (the title of the book is her response through her gallery to a request from Herbert).

The second group’s relationship to the art world seems to be dictated in part by the artists’ temperaments. Agnes Martin suffered from schizophrenia and moved to New Mexico just as her career started taking off. Albert York had difficulty speaking to people and was so tortured by the feeling that his paintings were inadequate, he often avoided exhibitions and sales. Cady Noland said she can no longer make art because tracking how her installation work is misrepresented takes up all her time. And the career of the nearly forgotten Christopher D’Arcangelo — who once had an exhibition in which he asked that his name be replaced by a blank space on publicity materials — only lasted four years before he committed suicide.

The third group simply found the art world insufficient. Charlotte Posenenske stopped making conceptual minimal sculpture to become a social worker, and Laurie Parsons, mortified by the idea that people were buying her work, responded to an invitation for an exhibition in Germany by choosing instead to work at a psychiatric hospital and with developmentally challenged children.

[Majla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refined language...