Tell Me I'm An Artist

by Chelsea Martin

A portrait of the artist as a work-in-progress (Sharma Shields), this hilarious and incisive coming-of-age novel about an art student from a poor family struggling to find her place in a new social class of rich, well-connected peers is perfect for fans of Elif Batuman's The Idiot and Weike Wang's Chemistry

At her San Francisco art school, Joey enrolls in a film elective that requires her to complete what seems like a straightforward assignment: create a self-portrait. Joey inexplicably decides to remake Wes Anderson's Rushmore despite having never seen the movie. As Tell Me I'm An Artist unfolds over the course of the semester, the assignment hangs over her as she struggles to exist in a well-heeled world that is hugely different from any she has known.

Miles away, Joey's sister goes missing, leaving her toddler with their mother, who in turn suggests that Joey might be the selfish one for pursuing her dreams. Meanwhile, her only friend at school, the enigmatic Suz, makes meaningful, appealing art, a product of Suz's own singular drive and talent as well as decades of careful nurturing by wealthy, sophisticated parents.

A masterful novel from an author known for her candid and searching prose, Tell Me I'm An Artist examines the invisible divide created by class and privilege, ruminates on the shame that follows choosing a path that has not been laid out for you, and interrogates what makes someone an artist at all.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Coming Of Age, Literary Fiction, Art, Young Adult, Novels

368 pages, Hardcover

First published September 20, 2022

Reviews

[Tao · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What was an artist but someone who wanted to be understood but didn't know how to communicate normally?"

[Sunny Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book about class and art making and womanhood and gesturing at the inherently ephemeral…. Yayyyy

[luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

❀ blog ❀ thestorygraph ❀ letterboxd ❀ tumblr ❀ ko-fi ❀

3 ½ stars

Restrained yet acutely realistic, Tell Me I’m An Artist presents its readers with the unfinished portrait of an artist as a young woman. Throughout the course of this novel, we read of the trials and tribulations of an art school student Joey, who attempts to reconcile herself with a new existence in San Francisco. She struggles to navigate her new surroundings and often feels alienated by the wealth and stability her peers seem to enjoy. Joey enrols in a film elective and is given an assignment that despite its seeming simplicity sees her moored in procrastination. As she struggles with her initial conceit, that of remaking Wes Anderson’s 'Rushmore' despite having never seen it and relying only on other people’s recollections of it, she adopts a self-doubting mindset, and not only does she begin to doubt her portrait idea but her identity as an artist. Amidst her internal confusion Joey also has external worries pressing on her: her sister, an addict with a long history of erratic behavior, has gone MIA and left her toddler with their mother who in turn blames Joey for not helping more. Joey oscillates between feeling guilty and resentful of her mother and sister, and as she glimpses the lifestyles of her peers, well, she becomes all the more aware of how different her situation is. Her loneliness sees her seeking solace in her friendship with Suz, who seems much more sophisticated and put-together than her. Yet Suz soon reveals herself to be far less enthusiastic about their friendship. Joey’s finances also preoccupy her, especially when her family asks her for bailouts.
Tell Me I’m an Artist interrogates the meaning of art, artistry, creativity and authenticity as well as questions the ways in which we attribute meaning or value to our and other people’s art. In doing so the novel offers a lot of food for thought.
I appreciate Joey’s narration, which was full of acts of introspection, navel-gazing, and self-doubting, and permeated by longing and disorientation. Joey’s morphing anxieties and desires are articulated in razor-sharp prose that captures with clarity her various moods and states of mind. She may not be likeable but her likability is certainly not the point of this novel. Chelsea Martin allows her to be thorny yet occasionally pathetic, solipsistic yet perspective. Her observations of the people and world around her as well as her reflections on art, academia, and privilege all resonated with me. In rendering Joey’s unease, ennui, and disenchantment Martin demonstrates a keen eye for these difficult-to-pin-down feelings and emotions. We see how Joey’s sense of self-worth affects her art and her self-belief, leading her to procrastinate. The more she worries and agonizes over this portrait, the less she wants to do it. Personally, I found her idea somewhat interesting but as she oscillates between various methods or ways of going about it, I found myself kind of bored by it (which was probably intentional).
I would have liked more from the secondary characters, as they seemed kind of hazy around the edges in terms of characterisation. In reading about Suz (whom i disliked given that she disses radiohead fairly early on in the book) I found myself wishing for Selin and Svetlana's friendship in The Idiot and Either/Or. Speaking of Batuman, Tell Me I’m an Artist will definitely appeal to fans of hers. While Martin’s novel lacks Batuman’s deadpan humor it definitely has a similar vibe, especially if we consider the way both these authors have a penchant for describing and detailing the minutiae of their narrator’s day-to-day lives. The settings too are also similar as we follow young women trying to navigate the world of academia and questioning the functions of art, language, etc.
All in all, I found this novel to make for a really immersive reading experience. I liked the atmosphere, the unadorned writing (we even get pages with joey’s google searches), and the themes that are at play in it and I look forward to whatever Martin publishes next.
If you are a fan of character studies and/or books focused on young women searching for something, even themselves, and attempting to understand themselves and their role in the world, such as Lucy & Wish Me Something, definitely add this to your tbr pile. I could also see this debut to readers who look for books exploring female creativity, such as Writers & Lovers by Lily King, We Play Ourselves by Jen Silverman, and Self-Portrait with Boy by Rachel Lyon.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook….read by Devon Sorvari
….7 hours and 15 minutes

Chelsea Martin is an author and a comic illustrator.
This is her first novel. It caught my eye-and-interest because it takes place in San Francisco in an Art School.
….[I have artist friends who attended “Academy of the Art University” in San Francisco years ago]— my husband is an artist, and both of our two adult daughters are artists.
I’m surrounded by talented successful artists (none in our family are ‘starving’ in any shape or form) …
I’m very thankful for this.

Plus,
recently we purchased a few — gorgeous—Art pieces since remodeling our house this past year from Goodreads member/New York Artist: Jennifer….
[beautiful collage prints from [nestedmoon.com] —

So…
I thought it might be intriguing to read this book….an inside modern day look at the blood, sweat, and tears of ‘becoming’ an artist’ in this crazy mixed up world we are all now living in.

I liked the premises about a young girl finding her way into the art world.
TELL HER SHE IS AN ARTIST!!!!
I was curious to see where the book might go.. and be entertained at the same time.

Joey Barry is financially struggling as an art student at an unnamed film school in San Francisco.
Her sister, Jenny, living in Lodi, California, is a struggling mother of a small child with a a drug ( crack) addiction.

Jenny’s struggles are not far from Joey’s mind.
Both sisters grew up with an abusive mother … and some of the best parts of this novel is when their - sister- relationship is at the forefront.

Joey feels guilty - on top of insecure with her artistic creative desires and abilities- for trying to get ahead - away from her mother and sister in Lodi (who seem to be constantly pulling her back).
Also…
A question lingers for Joey…
….How does she paint a portrait (her assignment for the semester), of an artist when she isn’t even sure what art is.
Joey feels the pressure. Is she good enough?
Her new friend, Suz has a much more privileged and supported life than Joey. The contrast tests Joey’s confidence.
Paying her rent, paying for art supplies, and eating are daily financial concerns —the very opposite from Suz.
None of Joey’s classmates seem to have any of the financial worries that she does.
There is a constant push and pull inner struggle between Joey’s independent dreams and the weight of her family.

Joey chose to remake the classic Wes Anderson 1998 film, ‘Rushmore’ .. a movie with Bill Murray … [a movie she had never seen]… to fulfill her school assignment.
The themes in ‘Rushmore’ resonated with Joey.
Max, the protagonist in the film, was also a struggling artist. (he also needed loans and scholarships in order to attend an elite art school)….in an environment where other students were financially comforted by their families.

There was a lot of struggling going on —
Joey wanted to create — make something for herself.
She was filled self-doubt not only about her artistic capabilities- but about her place in the world-coming from the messed up poor family she is connected with.

The book is not perfect - but it does have strong and tender moments …
I especially liked the way superficiality was explored against personal real problems.

“Tell Me I’m An Artist”, has heart, art, family exploration, youth-coming-of-age struggles, and portrays class division realities intimately.

The wonderful comic/tragic dialogue gives this debut novel its heartbeat.

3.5 rating up.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! TELL ME I’M AN ARTIST by Chelsea Martin is an amazing novel! It’s about Joey, who’s trying to navigate her new life at a San Francisco art school. In her film class she’s assigned to make a self-portrait and decides to remake the movie Rushmore despite never seeing the movie. I loved the art school setting as Joey has to give and receive critiques on her work, try to find a job and balance school work with friendships. While she procrastinates making her film project the anxious feeling of whether she’ll finish it on time is palpable. I loved the writing style which includes little snippets of diary like entries and the first person narration worked perfectly to get into Joey’s headspace. This is a fabulous coming of age story of a creative mind. I found it extremely relatable as Joey tries to make sense of Rushmore since I’ve never seen the movie either. There were some really witty and funny parts in this book and it made me reminisce on my time in art classes. I rarely stay up late to finish a book but I did with this one! I loved it from start to finish! It’s five stars for me!
.
Thank you to Soft Skull Press for my advance reading copy!

[Vincent Scarpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Someone once told me, though I wasn’t sure why they thought this, or maybe I misunderstood, or maybe it was something I made up in a dream, but anyway: When you went to sleep your brain shut down and the cells that made you who you were got put back together in a different way and in the morning you were someone else and the subconscious of your new brain had to quickly assess its surroundings and come up with some plausible story for who you were and why you were there and what you’d been through without your conscious self realizing that the subconscious mind was inventing a reality. And this happened to every person in the whole world. Every day. And that made a lot of sense given that I did not know what the fuck was going on and that every morning I was surprised that I still didn’t know what the fuck to do.”

I’ve read all of Chelsea’s books, and I always want to be living in a world wherein she’s producing literature. Thank you, Chelsea Martin.

[Cash_kaiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dumb sex, dumb art, and one girl just trying to fucking live it all up. It’s an art school story that will give you pain and joy. A story of family, class, and someone trying to get away.

I experienced a range of emotions when I read this book. Mostly related to the Jo’s struggles with family, but also felt like I was learning to empathize with parts of her family’s lives. Most of it, I had never experienced in my own real life. Parts made me anxious. Some of the narrative about art school was very accurate to what getting an art degree is like. Which is to say if you like art biography or art about another type of art in another time. . . then you will dig this book.

[jocelyn • coolgalreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED

[Claire Hopple · Rating 5 out of 5]

She was already an incredible writer and this is her best one yet.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise is a young woman, Joey's coming of age, as they say, in San Francisco at art school.

Part of the story is her quest to do a project revealing herself for her art project, and she decides to do a remake of Rushmore, a film she never saw.

Part of the story is the drama of her sister leaving her baby son at home with their mother, and taking off on some adventure.

Part of the story is Joey's feelings about the friends she meets in school, and her shifting relationships with them.

Part of the story is Joey correlating her current relationships with philosophy, and her own upbringing.

The problem for me in reading this is that there is no separation, either in chapters, paragraphs, OR sentences between Joey's musing on these issues. Many paragraphs discuss one topic and disjointedly launch into another topic.

I feel this book would have done well with better editing, and more organization from the author.

She wanted to portray a random, eclectic life and she did so in the writing of the book.

Many thanks to Soft Skull and Edelweiss Plus for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Emily Lyons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughly enjoyed this one. Was reminiscent of My Year of Rest & Relaxation. Relatable 20 something vibes of existential crises :)

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a lot of nuance and detail that make the writing feel real - I actually had to Google to see if this was autobiographical. I think anyone who’s very creative or “artsy” may enjoy this book, particularly those who went to art school. It lacked real purpose for me, it felt a little like a book with a plot hidden in between a book with less of a plot. Probably just a case of every book NOT being for every person!

[Lindsay Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have a dysfunctional family and/or went to art school or you think about art a lot or you like books about art and dysfunctional families and wondering why we’re all so weird, this book is for you. It’s so funny and wonderful and sad.

[Sadie McGuire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me both happy I didn’t go to art school and wish I could go now more than ever.

[Richard Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book that Sirens & Muses, which I read two weeks ago, should have been. Both books deal with two girls in art school, one a scholarship student, the other from a background of privilege. In Sirens & Muses, they go to a top school, and the heroines are beautiful and talented; their art and their opinions about art and their careers develop over the book, and there are a few bumps along the way, but it's pretty much a triumphal march toward artistic greatness for both of them. In Tell Me I'm an Artist, the characters may or may not be beautiful and talented, and they may or may not be at a good art school. All of that is beside the point of the story. Instead, the characters are much more like the confused teenager that I was when I went to college. The rich girl is a decent person, who will definitely make a career for herself, but even she has some serious self doubt, and we never get enough of a sense of her art to be able to decide whether she is really talented. Joey, the poor girl in this book has much more serious challenges than the poor girl in Sirens & Muses. She doubts her talent; she doubts her friends; she doubts her looks. She has no idea of what her career in art will or won't be. Sound familiar when you think about your own teenage years? It rang true for me. But Joey has a unique voice, a strong mind and an authenticity that shine through all of her confusion and family problems. I instantly liked her and kept my warm feelings for her all the way through the book. I even liked her Rushmore project. This is a person who I would like to be my friend and who will have a successful life, whether she is an artist or something else.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If only I could afford therapy. Then I wouldn’t need this art degree.”

4.5/5 I loved this book! Beautifully written and a super well done story of a moment in time during a girl’s time at her art school.
Throughout this book we see Joey’s struggle with her family, friends, her interests, and with a looming project she procrastinated completing throughout the novel.
I truly felt like I was inside Joey’s mind as I was reading. She was so funny and relatable and I loved how the author allowed her thoughts to spiral and interconnect with one another. It did a fantastic job of expressing young adult friendships, relationships, and self doubts. Joey is a fantastic main character and this book was such a fun read!

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I've always been a big fan of Chelsea Martin's writing, so it was nice to finally sit down with her debut novel. I appreciate that she explores how challenging it is to make art when your access to housing/food/safety is precarious, and there's a lot of depth to the story.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Što više razmišljam o ovom romanu, sve mi je jasnije da mi neće ostati dugo u sećanju. Uzela sam da ga čitam jer sam htela da odmorim od nekih knjiga koje razvlačim (jer su ili prosto predugačke, a par mi je emotivno teško da svarim trenutno), ali je na kraju ispalo da ovo nije bio nikakav "mali zalogaj" od romana, već jedna teška tema za sebe.

Glavna junakinja je upisala umetnički koledž (univerzitet? nikad mi 100% neće biti jasan američki obrazovni sistem), i dok tamo pokušava da izgradi novi život, dobijamo i kratka poglavlja o njenoj zabrinjavajućoj porodičnoj situaciji i toksičnim odnosima. Naravno, tu je i njena najbolja drugarica (ili makar ona misli da su drugarice) kojoj se potajno divi, ali je i mrzi u isto vreme.

Ima dosta ambivalentnih odnosa kao i u svakom coming-of-age romanu, što ljubavnih, što prijateljskih, i iako sam podvukla gomilu smešnih rečenica, cela priča je malo izgubila poentu, a film/autoportret koji je junakinja pokušavala da snimi tokom cele knjige nije izneo sve ono što sam želela. Dopalo mi se što se na kraju "probudila" i shvatila da njena drugarica jednostavno nije "njena" osoba, i što nije potonula onoliko koliko sam se bojala, ali malo mi je previše bilo mračno/tužno (ali to je moj problem jer sam htela nešto "laganije" da čitam.)

TL;DR: milenijalka na artsy koledžu misli da je svi mrze, nesnađena i tužna, Elif Batuman The Idiot vibes

Evo u nastavku i meni najsmešnijih momenata:

- Love? Fear? Something gastrointestinal?

- But I was sick of reminders that there were other ways to be, and that I could be improving myself as a person.

"This is important to me and I want you to care", my character would say, breaking the fourth wall.
"Yes! We do! Totally!" the audience would say, checking their phones.

"You should watch it. I'll give you the DVD and you can return it to the library for me," she said.
"Okay, sweet," I said, fairly sure I wouldn't watch it.

I had to excuse myself so I could quietly rage about my wildly lopsided expectations of reality in my bathroom.

Me: [pretending to read Kafka]

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broke, uninspired, and questioning whether she fits in at all, Joey struggles at a San Francisco art school while the family drama she hoped to escape continues to haunt her with guilt.

I couldn’t put this book down. It’s like The Perks of Being a Wallflower meets John Berger’s Ways of Seeing. It’s an addictive, quick, coming-of-age story with an uneasy, self-conscious protagonist who felt all too real. I also absolutely loved the window into the academic and social aspects of Joey’s art school experience, which combined humor and heartache to tell a story about family, class, and finding one own’s identity.

[Sierra Rowley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think if someone read this book 100 years from now they would have an extremely accurate picture of life right now as a college age girl trying to find meaning in life while battling anxiety (minus the family problems). I also just graduated from a college where people valued creativity over anything else (even though they all got high paying jobs in finance and consulting afterwards 🫢) and Joey’s shallow interactions with her classmates felt familiar (maybe it’s lack of understanding on my end or maybe other people are just making shit up).

I really liked how the book was written so it didn’t feel like a story, it felt like I was living Joey’s life in real time. This made the way her guilt and dependency and fears were expressed feel real. Even though this wasn’t my favorite book I’ve read, I give 5 stars for how well Chelsea Martin captured this experience.

[Calyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Something about this one just didn't really work as a whole novel. The concept was great, and even some of the characters were realistic and the sort of pretentious art school twit you meet in real life, or passive aggressive awful family members, but the way this was done into a novel did not work. There was no sense of immediacy or true, gnawing worry about finances or being jobless or being a mediocre art student in San Francisco.

I enjoyed the little segments that showed Venn diagrams or search history, because it really injected a sense of defeat and sadness, and accentuated art family trouble, school poverty, and self-doubt. Those were actually more demonstrative of what the main character is going through than the novel itself does.

This one just missed the mark and opportunity to become a humorous novel or to become a cutting critique on class and art, and how one cuts off or destroys the capacity for the other. But this one rejected either label and decided to exist as neither, becoming middling and toothless.

This would have been better as a series of short stories from the viewpoint of several characters or just one short story told from Joelle. One of the fatal flaws of this was that it was sucked into how much she hates her art and how little she knows about the movie Rushmore, which she bases her art project around. Her life and her wet gym sock personality and mediocrity could not sustain this book. She has no charisma or sense of humor besides self-deprecation. It's bad enough I meet and know people like Joelle, I don't want to read about her too.

This novel told through the viewpoint of Suz, one of the best characters in here, would have been much more fun and meaningful, because her personality had more depth and precision than Joelle's.

Thanks to Soft Skull and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What we don't yet understand about family is why it continues after it stops benefiting anyone."

Fans of "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" and "Luster" will likely enjoy this book. It's told from the perspective of a 20 something year old who is quite aimless and struggling to fit into the art world. The book was able to balance being a funny and relatable read while also tackling heavy topics like class, privilege and the guilt that comes with making your own path.

The format was non-traditional with no chapters or clear breaks. The transitions from scene to scene (or to a memory) could be quite sudden. I really enjoyed the writing style and format, but it may not be for everyone.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

“If only I could afford therapy. Then I wouldn't need this art degree.” This novel follows Joey an art student over a final semester of sophomore year in college while she’s supposed to make a self portrait, and she uses a film she’s never even seen. This book, to me is seems, about relationships and how they are messy, how different lives affect these relationships etc.). This book was a quick read as through the days I read it I was able to do it in three sittings. I hope the book is given a chance.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two thoughts come to mind:

1) this girl needs a lot of therapy

2) thank god this is how everyone thinks whenever they do something the least but creative. At least it’s how I think, too, about 96% of the time

This is certainly a wonderful coming-of age that is full of wonderful quips to inspire my next breakthrough

[Malorie Kerouac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fucking great

[amy ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

finally. the representation for low-income students in a course that seems heavily oversaturated by trust fund kids

[Em Bainbish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful ending made the rating creep closer to 4.5.

This book evoked memories of being a self-critical teen, navigating art, community, and a place in the world at large. I imagine the insight into the beliefs constructed through the protagonists upbringing will stick with me.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and all the ways it described art and wanting to create. The writing was witty and poetic, existential at times (what more could I ask for? bonus: it’s set in San Francisco!)
One of my favorite pages was a Venn diagram with “reasons to keep trying” and “reasons to give up” with “art” overlapping in the center.

[Vivi · Rating 2 out of 5]

nočem bit hejter ampak bom

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before looking up the author I already knew she had been to art school. The crit scenes were too real.