You Are an Artist: Assignments to Spark Creation

by Sarah Urist Green

A few years ago curator Sarah Urist Green left her office in the basement of an art museum to travel and visit a diverse range of artists, asking them to share prompts that relate to their own ways of working. The result is You Are an Artist, a journey of creation through which you'll invent imaginary friends, sort books, declare a cause, construct a landscape, find your band, and become someone else (or at least try). Your challenge is to filter these assignments through the lens of your own experience and make art that reflects the world as you see it.

You don't have to know how to draw well, stretch a canvas, or mix a paint colour that perfectly matches that of a mountain stream. This book is for anyone who wants to make art, regardless of experience level. The only materials you'll need are what you already have on hand or can source for free.

You Are an Artist brings together more than 50 assignments gathered from some of the most innovative creators working today, including Sonya Clark, Michelle Grabner, The Guerrilla Girls, Fritz Haeg, Pablo Helguera, Nina Katchadourian, Toyin Ojih Odutola, J. Morgan Puett, Dread Scott, Alec Soth, Gillian Wearing, and many others.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Design, Self Help, Reference, Art Design, Audiobook

208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 2020

About the author

Sarah Urist Green is a curator and art educator seeking to demystify the worlds of art, artists, and museums for wide audiences. Green is the creator of The Art Assignment, an educational web series developed in partnership with PBS and Complexly. Since launching in 2013, The Art Assignment has grown to become one of the most widely viewed and respected art education projects online, with over 500,000 subscribers and nearly 30 million total views.

With the 2020 release of her book You Are an Artist, Green combines art history with art prompts offered by some of the most innovative artists working today. The book has helped thousands of "aspiring artists and makers to open their imaginations and begin to create," as NPR put it.

Green is the former curator of contemporary art at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, where she organized the exhibitions Graphite and Andy Warhol Enterprises, among others, and was instrumental in developing The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres. She holds a master of arts in modern art history from Columbia University and a bachelor of arts from Northwestern University. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband, John Green, and two children.

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

I'm really excited to read this! I recently discovered The Art Assignment channel on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/theartas... ) and all of the videos have been very thought-provoking and well-crafted. Thinking about art and making art has become more important to me lately. I have expanded my 'art horizons' to include more than just reading and thinking about novels (I still love books though, I've just been looking for stories in other places too).

Maybe this book will change the way I look at the world and encourage me to pay attention to the beauty around me. I look forward to finding out.

[Diz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book profiles 53 working artists and briefly presents how each artist approaches their art. The profiles include assignments for readers that allow them to experiment with the approaches introduced by the artists. The types of art presented here are very diverse and there is a strong focus on the importance of concept in creating art.

If you are looking to diversify your practice or are interested in getting inside of the minds of artist, this is a book worth reading. I've tried a few of the projects and they are quite a lot of fun. Even the projects I haven't tried were thought provoking and made me look at the world from different perspectives.

If you are a student who is building a portfolio in order to apply to an art school, you can find a few project ideas here. The assignments are broad and open to interpretation, so it is very likely that the pieces you make will be very different from those made by others reading this book. Also, if you haven't been exposed to art school before, this will help you understand the conceptual side of art. The more you know about that, the better you will be able to do in interviews during the application process. Good luck!

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading about different artists and different types of art that I would definitely never have heard about. This is a very approachable book for non-artists (although, according to the title, those don't exist). I haven't done any of the prompts in the book yet, but there are several that I think I will be trying, and even though I haven't done them, there are several that have caused me to look at the world a different way.

[Megan Mellino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very rarely read non-fiction books. It's just not my vibe as a person. But I absolutely adored this book, like I had a feeling I would. I've loved Sarah's work since I discovered the Art Assignment youtube channel. I loved learning about all the featured artists, and have tabbed at least a dozen of the featured works to try for myself because they sounded so fun! Hearing Sarah talk about art and artists is one of my favorite things- it's always great to attain knowledge from someone who is very clearly an expert in her field- and her humor and kindness make her writing really relatable and fun to read. This book was inspiring, fun, and creative, and I know I'll enjoy it for many years to come.

[Kieran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t really my type of book, as I don’t usually get motivated to do art projects via reading. However, even I tried a few of these cool ideas! As a means of artistic inspiration and exploration, it is perfect. It’s a beautiful book, filled with interesting art projects, philosophical musings, and historical facts. For anyone who is into creating, this book is, truly, a work of art.

[Elana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a completely delightful guide to sparking your inner artist. I love art, but I find I don't have much time to actually do art. This book is full of great little assignments from a diverse array of artists that are achievable for all, art skills and availability of resources notwithstanding. Green keeps in mind that there might be people who won't be able to complete these assignments easily, so she provides tips, cheats, and variations so that everyone has an opportunity to create. I can't wait to dive into some of these assignments. I probably should buy a copy so that I can keep returning back to it.

☞ 5 stars

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I may not ever actually do all of these assignments, reading this has shown me that art is whatever you want it to be. Each "chapter" is only a few pages. It's laid out as some background and context of the artists, then their assignment for you. But then it has tips/cheats/variations which provides numerous ways to do the assignment which I find really helpful because I tend to get "stuck" in my creativity. Each assignment and artist is super thoughtful. I have watched some of Green's YouTube videos and reading this I could really hear her voice, which is also very thoughtful and kind.

[Duckpondwithoutducks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This art book includes 50+ accessible art assignments for the reader to complete. Along the way, the reader learns about various art concepts and about many contemporary artists. It also reinforces that art is not just drawings or paintings or sculptures by famous people in a museum, but art is in creation and performance by anyone. It has inspired me to want to do a bunch of these art assignments!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, I borrowed this book from the library. Now I must go and buy myself a copy to treasure. You not only get wonderful prompts for creativity but also a good dose of art history. Assignments vary..... relate a musical score, picture time, create a nonsensical flyer..... wow. Jumpstart my creativity, why don’t you?

Also... check out the you tube channel, The Art Assignment. Wonderful!!!

[Maggie Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to listen to while painting; would be fun to have a physical copy to actually do some of the assignments

This is a book of out of the box art prompts that are given from various artists & supported with art history examples; it is a good read if you are interested in any of those things

[Allison Janicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this all the way through first—now I’m excited to go back through and do some projects.

[Kelly Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly delightful. Need to get this for my permanent shelf to spark creativity on demand.

[Mizannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me survive the pandemic. This book connected me with friends and sent ripples of collaboration out into the world. This book is a gift not just from the author but from all of the artists who collaborated with her to create it. This book is a universe.

[Marta Pelrine-Bacon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of inspiring, adaptable ideas. A great companion to the YouTube series.

[Rea Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Sarah, for making art and art making simultaneously infinite and attainable.

[kallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i WILL be making a rug of old tshirts

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fantastic book!

I’d recommend it to anyone, any age. It would make a great gift. Especially during these times of staying at home, for homeschool parents, teachers, as well any individual experiencing creative blocks within any type of media, and those looking to explore their untapped artistic mind and skills.

I would like to thank Penguin Press UK for providing me with an advance reader copy via access to the galley for free through the NetGalley program.

The Story
This was out of the box, almost quirky, sometimes the bizarre. The peculiar, the types of art and art exercises I wouldn’t necessarily be inclined to make or decorate my house with or be typically drawn to.

However, I had a blast doing them!

The art exercises focus on the actual participation in challenges, rather than an in-depth review of art interpretation, which is unique to the world of art books.

I found the projects in this book bringing out my imagination, in addition to the much more hidden and less explored areas of my art perspective and it was a great creative outlet for my life in general.

I should also mention, and it was a real plus to the projects contained in this book, that you wouldn't have to go out and buy tons of art supplies to complete the projects. You can pretty much use any items you'd typically find in any junk drawer in the kitchen. Paper, scissors, pen/pencil, and also easily use your phone for any of the photo activities.

The activities brought out ideas, rich sentiment, variations of emotion, which would otherwise be unexpressed. Some of the more unconventional projects contained in this book, combined with the background of select artists, made each exercise thoroughly enjoyable, insightful, and stimulated my mind.

The Writing
Easy to follow.

I enjoyed the facts about each artist mentioned. Somewhat of an encyclopedia-type approach, such as demographical data, like when and where they were born. It did not discuss their influences, accomplishments, or personal/artistic challenges in-depth.

Perhaps we will see some of this in a subsequent book, which would be awesome, along with some of the psychology behind the routes toward finding creativity and self-reflection for those who may want to explore personal style and what types of media may express or suit an artist’s voice in the way they’d like to achieve.

I'd also be curious which ones would be the best exercises for certain people to do on more than one occasion and how to vary them to bring out even more of the elements behind the reasoning of including them in the book.

Illustrations
Great display of art exercises.

So fun!

Blog post

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A combination (recent) art history and art course. Each chapter features one current artist, briefly discussing their art, how its created, and the thought process behind it, before challenging the reader to create something from a similar thought process. The artists are varied, and so are the products. If you did every challenge in this book, you'd have an eclectic mix of drawn, painted, sculpted, constructed, photographed, and filmed work. The instructions are both clear and filled with encouragements to go off the rails in creative ways. I can see this working really well for anybody interested in expanding their creativity. Even if you don't do every challenge in this book, or even physically create anything at all, you'll still have spent time seriously considering your own creative potential, and that's always worthwhile.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

In You Are an Artist, over fifty artists from around the world share their creative techniques, and give you brilliantly imaginative exercises to inspire you to make your own art.

I feel like, as I am currently in lockdown, this book is a perfect purchase for right now as it allows you to use what you have and create something new. I took some time to review this book as I wanted to use it for it’s purpose, and honestly this book and it’s different activities and ideas will keep you busy.

I find the range of easy to difficult they are really good, nothing is too complicated and can be done if you are in lockdown currently on your exercise time for example if it needs to be done outside. I am working on a rug right now based on one of the projects in this book and my sister who I did a lot of these ideas with has been enjoying the photography projects, especially ideas like ‘The Muster’ that appear in the book.

This book has filled my time and kept my mind busy from the world outside and I highly recommend it to anyone who needs right now a little creativity in their lives as this book is packed with new ideas that can be adapted for any age really in my opinion as this book is written in really eloquent way and helps you understand new artistic ideas.

(I received an ARC from Netgalley for honest review).

[Mariana Correia · Rating 5 out of 5]

You Are An Artist is a book filled with people’s creations and what made us create a certain thing. What inspired them, the process, the goal, the meaning behind it. All of the artist contributed and even created assignments for the reader to try and as the book says “spark your creations”.
A lot of the assignments were gathered from the author’s YouTube channel called The Art Assignment and even if you don’t get the book I still recommend checking out the channel since it has helped me before for school assignments related to art.

This book is amazing and you definitely learn a lot about the artists and the meaning behind their masterpieces. Most of them were unknown to me so it was really nice to get to know new ones and what moves them.
I also think that this book is actually really good for the times we’re going through with new lockdowns and quarantine because every artist in this book, gives an assignment to us so that we can try different creation methods based on what they did so in case you’re at home and feeling bored, just open a page and get to work. A lot of them are very easy and quick and others need more work so there are exercises for everyone. I think this would be even good for kids so if you need to entertain your children now that everybody is home again, here’s a recommendation.

[Jordan Byers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always wanted to watch more of The Art Assignment on youtube, but never got around to it, so I love having them in a physical form for me to go back to.

I had seen a few (and re-saw them in this book) in an art class I had that for some reason emphasized the art of walking. In class it was interesting, but so way out of left field based on my interests, I wish the teacher had shared a wider range of contemporary art methods. Anyways - I share that because it caused contemporary art to have a bitter taste in my mouth, so I was hesitant seeing that's all this book was.

In the intro, Green acknowledges that this is what she is trying to overcome. And I think she accomplished that goal.

While some of the assignments might not be my thing, I got SO much inspiration from almost every prompt, whether it was the type of art i like to "do" or not. Some just seemed like fun activities.

Part of me wishes for (but will probably never do) an almost Julie & Julia project where you go through and do every assignment.

It is almost like a prompt book for date nights, friend hangouts (or arty parties), family activities, youth groups, or class activities.

It reminds you that to be an artist isn't hoity toity, it's to commit to the bit.

I feel like I will definitely be coming back to this a LOT.

[Melissa ~ Missy (FrayedBooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic! If you're looking for a new spark of creativity - this is the book for you. Pick a page, any page, and make something.

This is what I expected and what I needed. I miss having "assignments" from school and this book gives me some assignments.

I ended up listening to the audiobook, and I enjoyed that the author read it herself. It was nice to listen to the prompts, but I hope to obtain the physical book soon so I can flip through and bookmark ones I particularly like.

I enjoyed that she gave us information about the artist, and how they work, and then the prompt based on what they do to make our own art. Having some background history is always nice. A lot of these were modern artists, still living and practicing today, and while the classics are good - knowing how living artists are creating art in our present time is important too.

This is great for any age group and I think this will be a great guide for teachers. Now to get my hands dirty and make some art!

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this!

This is a book for everyone. Anyone that wants to awaken their creative side. For me I always appreciated art and ways of expression through art but thought there was no point in attempting it if I'm not 'good'. The opinion of what's good is purely an own perspective. It's so important to remember that art is about escape and expression feelings and passion.

You Are an Artist is such an interesting different read and doesn't feel impossible for me who doesn't really do anything deemed artistic.

I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to get back into it or anyone or believes that they aren't artisitic.

Great read.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great projects for homeschooling and distance learning

I borrowed this book looking for ideas to be more creative. Usually when I think 'art' I'm thinking about things made with graphite or paints. Sometimes sculpture and pottery. This book offers sooooo much more. And without much need for expensive materials. Much is stuff people can do on their own or with friends. Green starts each (of like 40) project with a historical precedent and explains why the artist did what they did. She also gives "cheats" so people don't feel too confined by the original project as devised by the historical artist. Very user friendly. I'm planning to tell art teachers and others about it. It can help with many other subjects in schools, too.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

For the artist or the dreamer.

Highly accessible prompts follow a wide array of artists and their mediums. This non-art teacher (but writing teacher) found the possibilities fascinating. I particularly liked the prompt asking to envision something you will never see, following the rhinoceros example from the 16th century, and the artist’s rendering of her never-before-seen-father. Followed closely behind the army boots prompt-it reminded me of Hemingway’s ‘for sale: baby shoes, never worn.’ My response to that prompt evoked a sensory memory of mine from when I was a girl and my dad spent a good portion of time each night dutifully polishing his black army boots, and juxtaposed it to what he might remember using one of his senses during his time in Vietnam.

[Mircah Foxwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

In essence, Green provides prompts for art-making. A work by a contemporary artist is shown and discussed: for example “Constructed Landscape” by Paula McCartney, in which McCartney photographs fake wildlife into a real landscape, to encourage the viewer to look closer, and not take for granted what they are being shown. Green also provides another “historic” example of the concept, and in the Your Turn section, provides parameters for the reader to attempt their own response to the work. While it’s not what I’m looking for at this moment, I think the book is well done and a good resource for someone who is trying to learn and grow as an artist. You learn about what other artists have done, and use each as a jumping off point to stretch yourself. I may come back to this book later.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sometimes have trouble being conceptual with art and I’m an Art Teacher. This book has many art prompts that can be done by any one of any age with few materials and they really make the reader think conceptually in a way that is connected to them personally. I may use a few of these prompts for digital learning if corona continues into the fall and I’ve thought of many in person one class activities I could do with students that would be engaging.

I know this book is not intended for art teachers but I think these ideas are new exciting and interesting and that’s what I’m trying to create-an art class that is all of those things!

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This basically the youtube channel The Art Assignment in book format. It's still pleasant and enjoyable, but I think I prefer the videos. I was a little worried that the book wouldn't have anything new in it for long time fans, but there are new assignments included, as well as helpful tips for how to do the assignments or just how to think about them that are clearly the result of experience. Ultimately this is a great book to pull out on a rainy day or for art teachers to have on standby for sub days. I love that the most if not all of these can be done without access to materials or technology or skills or anything really. There's no pre-reqs for this course, if you will.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Another of my book club selections. Yes, and a couple months late. Hey, I am trying over here. We all are right now, right? I have been watching the Art Assignment on YouTube since it started in 2014. I have collaborated with others to complete missions (art assignments) and was thrilled when PBS joined. Now this book! Not only is it a wealth of creative activities but it is the best book/collection of contemporary artists working today. You do not have to be an artist, teacher, or student to enjoy this book. I truly believe everyone can benefit from learning about art, artists, practice, and creation.

[crtlion · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could give this a 3.5. I would almost certainly have appreciated it more as a paper book instead of on audiobook format, and if I had intended to stop after each section and do the exercises. The descriptions are sufficiently instructive, if you do plan to use the audiobook as your guide for the exercises.

In the future I expect to reread this with the intent to follow along instead of just listen, and I would be shocked if my rating doesn’t go up to a 4+ then. However, I still intend to (next time) have a paper copy of the book to flip through. So many of the projects are tangible and about connection that a physical book will suit my needs better.