Everything for Art: How to be a successful artist

by Tizian Baldinger, Timon R. Böse, N.N.

Are you an artist? Are you interested in studying art? Do you want to know what drives the art market? Or do you simply want to know how to become a successful artist? From the first-hand experience of a world-renowned artist, this book gives you a deep insight into the art world and reveals how you can become successful yourself.

Also available in German. Original title “Alles für die Kunst”.

The two authors got together with a world-famous artist and asked for some advice. From these conversations – supplemented with input from fellow artists, gallery owners, collectors, and curators, as well as their own rich experiences in the art world – this book was written. It is the first book that analyzes the art system from the inside out and gives you all the necessary knowledge for your career as an artist in a clearly structured form.

“This book is not recommended for romantics, and definitely not for professional romantics.” — an international curator

It’s not a conventional how-to manual, because it doesn’t try to motivate as many people as possible and make them happy. But neither is it a classic textbook that regurgitates existing knowledge. Rather, it is a pioneering work, written from the active artist’s perspective of an insider. It is written with the aim of providing the reader with an overview of the current art system that is as comprehensible, structured, and objective as possible. It tries to be helpful and practical without ignoring the fact that success eludes many artists not because of a lack of talent but because of a lack of compatibility with the current art system.

Genres: Art

168 pages, Paperback

First published November 27, 2020

Reviews

[Aurora Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Condensed and to the point, will 100% be rereading/referencing back to over the years to reorient myself as needed.

[Raven Burnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some helpful information

This book is almost exclusively for people who want to find “success” in the traditional art world, the equivalent of the Salon at the dawn of Impressionism. It’s very limited in scope, very repetitive that you’re probably not going to make it (why bother writing the book then?), and very in-the-box with its thinking. However I’m glad I finished the book as there are some helpful considerations here and there. You just very much have to pick through the dogma to find information that may be relevant to you and your situation.

[Jay Perennial · Rating 4 out of 5]

A no filler overview of what it takes to be a “successful” artist. A lot of hard truths that are not sugar coated but essential to understand about how difficult it really is to make it.
This is a must read for anyone who is serious about a career as an artist.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the first part of this book; ignore the second. Portions of this book, specifically the earlier ones which describe aspects of how parts of the art world work, are an indispensible read for a seriously aspiring artist. On the other hand, the aspects of the book that deal with personal practice, while well-intended and perhaps useful to some, are trite and one dimensional.

[Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically a very dense book about being a gallery artist but with little to none substantial examples.