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Making It: The Artist's Survival Guide
What Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential did for the world of chefs and restaurants, Making It does for the art world.
Making It is a gonzo memoir of an established artist crossed with objective advice, tips and tricks fleshed out by a best-selling art historian and Pulitzer finalist writer on art. It peels back the shroud and reveals the highs and struggles in the life and career of a working artist.
Specifically aimed at aspiring artists and art students, it will be of interest to anyone who wants to know what it is like to have an artist's-eye-view of the art world, asking the tough and often glossed-over questions that rising artists inevitably have, not only about the creative process, but about navigating the turbulent waters of the social, professional, academic, critical, museum and trade elements of a career as a visual artist.
How best to deal with the abundance of alcohol, drugs and sex while wire-walking your own artistic dilemmas? How can an artist launch his or her career and help it flourish? What's it like to achieve every artist's dream, including showing at the Venice Biennale? What does it really mean to "make it" and how can you maintain your groove once you've arrived?
All these questions and more are answered in this combination tell-all memoir and how-to manual for rising artists and anyone wanting a behind-the-scenes tour of what it's like to be an artist.
Making It is a gonzo memoir of an established artist crossed with objective advice, tips and tricks fleshed out by a best-selling art historian and Pulitzer finalist writer on art. It peels back the shroud and reveals the highs and struggles in the life and career of a working artist.
Specifically aimed at aspiring artists and art students, it will be of interest to anyone who wants to know what it is like to have an artist's-eye-view of the art world, asking the tough and often glossed-over questions that rising artists inevitably have, not only about the creative process, but about navigating the turbulent waters of the social, professional, academic, critical, museum and trade elements of a career as a visual artist.
How best to deal with the abundance of alcohol, drugs and sex while wire-walking your own artistic dilemmas? How can an artist launch his or her career and help it flourish? What's it like to achieve every artist's dream, including showing at the Venice Biennale? What does it really mean to "make it" and how can you maintain your groove once you've arrived?
All these questions and more are answered in this combination tell-all memoir and how-to manual for rising artists and anyone wanting a behind-the-scenes tour of what it's like to be an artist.
- GenresNonfictionArt DesignArt
183 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 15, 2021
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51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 26, 2022
This book reads as a classic narcissist's attempt to create a lasting legacy for himself via a self-important memoir irrelevant to most American readers, despite the publisher's attempt to dampen the narcissism by packaging the book as a guide for young artists.
What constitutes "making it" in the art world will vary from artist to artist, but the steps laid out in this guide are almost completely non-applicable to young American artists seeking careers in major art centers like New York or LA. To start, Jaša is Slovenian and Europe has a long tradition of financially supporting artists, whereas government support for individual artists in the United States was largely eliminated in the 1990s and traditional patronage models have always been rare. More than that, most American artists who complete both a BFA and MFA at top-tier schools will start their career with over $100k in student loan debt. This level of student debt is unheard of in most other countries and, when combined with the lack of government financial support and the extremely high cost of living in major art centers, has a great, negative effect on young American artists' abilities to survive, let alone nurture a thriving practice. Financial realities impede budding art careers more than any other issue, so a guide that overlooks student debt and the high cost of living fails to address the most common and pressing situations young American artists face today.
The last chapter highlights the author's experience in the Venice Biennale as the Slovenian Pavilion exhibitor in 2015 and is the best example of "making it" the artist presents. However, focus on this exhibition further demonstrates that Jaša is completely out of touch with the American art world. In large countries like the United States, high-level, blue chip artists whose work is featured in prominent museums, magazines, and auction houses generally do not expect to have their work presented in the Biennale because the competition is so incredibly stiff. In other words, living American artists who have made millions off of their work frequently have no realistic expectations of seeing their work grace the U.S. Pavilion. Slovenia, on the other hand, is a country with a population smaller than Brooklyn's and undoubtedly has much fewer artists than the fair borough. Jaša's presence in the Venice Biennale is less about the global power and relevance of his art than it is about the simple fact that he lives and works in a small country with far less competition than larger countries. Young American artists do not have the same opportunities and should be advised to never base their sense of professional worth or cultural value on whether or not their work appears in the Venice Biennale.
Additionally, Jasa's biography falsely claims that his work was exhibited at Frieze London and Frieze New York, two prominent art fairs in which high-performing young artists could realistically exhibit their work. Local and international galleries that exhibit at Frieze must apply to exhibit and also pay a substantial fee to showcase their gallery's artist(s) at the fair, after being accepted. All related Frieze events, such as panels, performances, and talks, are prominently advertised on the company's website. Yet Jaša's name does not appear on Frieze's website in any city, any year, or under any context at all. The London and New York events he claims were part of Frieze were simply unendorsed, unrelated art events that occurred at the same time the art fair was in each respective city. Though I respect the artist's hustle and know most galleries in a host city will open exhibitions and present events in attempt to attract the interests of high net worth collectors and art world gatekeepers who regularly attend Frieze, there is a critical, massive difference between exhibiting at Frieze and exhibiting at any gallery in the city while Frieze is open to the public. For someone to pretend otherwise, especially someone who claims to be so notable that their story is worthy of a memoir aimed at advising young artists, is a complete and total farce more reflective of their desire to situate themselves within art world prominence and convince others that their self-aggrandizing, narcissistic tales are wholly true.
Take it all with a grain of salt, if you bother. Young artists seeking true guidance would do best by seeking advice from those who work in the same social and cultural climates as themselves. There are a number of ways to exist in the art world, so young artists should discuss strategies and opportunities with current/former professors. Attending established artist residencies and building connections with peers, curators, and other art world professionals will also support career growth and provide far more for young artists than this book ever will. The Art of Making It, a recent documentary, effectively presents what young artists go through as they rise in their careers and focuses on a group of diverse young artists who display none of the narcissism and privilege upon which the foundations of Jaša's book are built. Above all else, know that making it takes persistence, dedication, and a refusal to give up despite the odds.
What constitutes "making it" in the art world will vary from artist to artist, but the steps laid out in this guide are almost completely non-applicable to young American artists seeking careers in major art centers like New York or LA. To start, Jaša is Slovenian and Europe has a long tradition of financially supporting artists, whereas government support for individual artists in the United States was largely eliminated in the 1990s and traditional patronage models have always been rare. More than that, most American artists who complete both a BFA and MFA at top-tier schools will start their career with over $100k in student loan debt. This level of student debt is unheard of in most other countries and, when combined with the lack of government financial support and the extremely high cost of living in major art centers, has a great, negative effect on young American artists' abilities to survive, let alone nurture a thriving practice. Financial realities impede budding art careers more than any other issue, so a guide that overlooks student debt and the high cost of living fails to address the most common and pressing situations young American artists face today.
The last chapter highlights the author's experience in the Venice Biennale as the Slovenian Pavilion exhibitor in 2015 and is the best example of "making it" the artist presents. However, focus on this exhibition further demonstrates that Jaša is completely out of touch with the American art world. In large countries like the United States, high-level, blue chip artists whose work is featured in prominent museums, magazines, and auction houses generally do not expect to have their work presented in the Biennale because the competition is so incredibly stiff. In other words, living American artists who have made millions off of their work frequently have no realistic expectations of seeing their work grace the U.S. Pavilion. Slovenia, on the other hand, is a country with a population smaller than Brooklyn's and undoubtedly has much fewer artists than the fair borough. Jaša's presence in the Venice Biennale is less about the global power and relevance of his art than it is about the simple fact that he lives and works in a small country with far less competition than larger countries. Young American artists do not have the same opportunities and should be advised to never base their sense of professional worth or cultural value on whether or not their work appears in the Venice Biennale.
Additionally, Jasa's biography falsely claims that his work was exhibited at Frieze London and Frieze New York, two prominent art fairs in which high-performing young artists could realistically exhibit their work. Local and international galleries that exhibit at Frieze must apply to exhibit and also pay a substantial fee to showcase their gallery's artist(s) at the fair, after being accepted. All related Frieze events, such as panels, performances, and talks, are prominently advertised on the company's website. Yet Jaša's name does not appear on Frieze's website in any city, any year, or under any context at all. The London and New York events he claims were part of Frieze were simply unendorsed, unrelated art events that occurred at the same time the art fair was in each respective city. Though I respect the artist's hustle and know most galleries in a host city will open exhibitions and present events in attempt to attract the interests of high net worth collectors and art world gatekeepers who regularly attend Frieze, there is a critical, massive difference between exhibiting at Frieze and exhibiting at any gallery in the city while Frieze is open to the public. For someone to pretend otherwise, especially someone who claims to be so notable that their story is worthy of a memoir aimed at advising young artists, is a complete and total farce more reflective of their desire to situate themselves within art world prominence and convince others that their self-aggrandizing, narcissistic tales are wholly true.
Take it all with a grain of salt, if you bother. Young artists seeking true guidance would do best by seeking advice from those who work in the same social and cultural climates as themselves. There are a number of ways to exist in the art world, so young artists should discuss strategies and opportunities with current/former professors. Attending established artist residencies and building connections with peers, curators, and other art world professionals will also support career growth and provide far more for young artists than this book ever will. The Art of Making It, a recent documentary, effectively presents what young artists go through as they rise in their careers and focuses on a group of diverse young artists who display none of the narcissism and privilege upon which the foundations of Jaša's book are built. Above all else, know that making it takes persistence, dedication, and a refusal to give up despite the odds.
March 14, 2023
Not a guide for artists as much as it is the biography of one (somewhat irritating) artist.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews