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Letters to a Young Artist
This pocket-sized book contains a collection of two dozen letters all commissioned from established artists to a fictitious "young artist," a recent art-school graduate who is struggling with the moral and practical implications of being an artist in New York. The "young artist" asked a selection of his heroes, "Is it possible to maintain one's integrity and freedom of thought and still participate in the art world?" Responding artists--including Gregory Amenoff, Jo Baer, John Baldessari, Jimmie Durham, Joan Jonas, Adrian Piper, William Pope Lawrence Weiner and Richard Tuttle wrote back with advice (Gregory "Keep away from art fairs."); encouragement (Joan "The answer is the Work. To Work. To care about the Work."); and cautionary tales (Adrian "Young artist, it is highly unlikely that you will be rewarded professionally for reaching this point. Nor will it make you popular. On the you will develop a reputation for being 'difficult,' 'uncooperative,' 'inflexible,' or even 'self-destructive;' and treated [or mistreated, or ostracized, or blacklisted] accordingly."). Twelve of these letters were originally published in Art on Paper . This book expands considerably upon that project.
- GenresArtNonfictionArt History
80 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2006
8 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 30, 2014
A little context: About a century ago, there was a correspondence between a student of a military academy and aspiring poet Franz Xaver Kappus with Rainer Maria Rilke, resulting in about ten letters. They came from the same military academy, so they had more to talk about than Rilke and his other young correspondents did. (Rilke was enrolled there at his father's whim after his mother had dressed him in girls' clothes and called him Sophia for the entirety of his young life, but that's another story.) Within their correspondence, Rilke imparted advice and -- in his strange and roundabout way -- tried to connect with the young Kappus. With the greater artistic interest in Rilke following his untimely demise, thousands of similar books transpired, all with the same theme: advice for the serious youth entering of a certain craft.
Which leads us to this book. Same premise, although the "young artist" was fictional -- the collaborators manufactured her so they could have someone to which they could give advice -- and the artists writing pretended she was real. This was very forced, faked for their own personal gain, which held the original in contempt. If you've ever read _Letters to a Young Poet_, you'll notice how intimate it is, the passage of knowledge of a craft necessary for Rilke's being onto familiar and willing ears. You would think from this that art was supposed to be sincere, something personal and precious, then the editors decided "Let's make up someone moving to New York! An aspiring artist! Let's make them ask questions literally anyone would ask! So we can give young artists advice from the greats!"
That's not how it works. Not that I'm a professional artist, but I have the ego of one which dictates that my art is precious, not to be exploited at the hands of people I do not know who enjoy playing make-believe to further their own reputations -- which, you could argue, all art is. This particular brand of fiction however I cannot withstand, not with its hypocrisy, saying that art is personal while giving advice on it to a "young artist" who is entirely fictitious.
There were parts I did like, though -- the bit about art school being a crack den, where you inhale bullshit, and the "real world" is a place not so kind or recognizing of your talent. As an art student who cannot even receive legitimate criticism in her own creative writing class, and must skip said class to get actually useful critique from her Latin teacher, this spoke to me. It really sucks, getting shitty advice.
Most of the advice was shitty, really -- at least, shitty in the fact that it has all been said before. You seek out enough advice on how to be an artist and it all starts to sound the same. There were more than a couple of sections on navigating the art world as a minority, useful advice on how to tap the ceiling, this coming from a diverse group of artists including Frida Kahlo and Yoko Ono.
Which is to say it is dated, but on the whole I would recommend this, especially if you are a painter. If you however are a poet like me, seek out the original.
Which leads us to this book. Same premise, although the "young artist" was fictional -- the collaborators manufactured her so they could have someone to which they could give advice -- and the artists writing pretended she was real. This was very forced, faked for their own personal gain, which held the original in contempt. If you've ever read _Letters to a Young Poet_, you'll notice how intimate it is, the passage of knowledge of a craft necessary for Rilke's being onto familiar and willing ears. You would think from this that art was supposed to be sincere, something personal and precious, then the editors decided "Let's make up someone moving to New York! An aspiring artist! Let's make them ask questions literally anyone would ask! So we can give young artists advice from the greats!"
That's not how it works. Not that I'm a professional artist, but I have the ego of one which dictates that my art is precious, not to be exploited at the hands of people I do not know who enjoy playing make-believe to further their own reputations -- which, you could argue, all art is. This particular brand of fiction however I cannot withstand, not with its hypocrisy, saying that art is personal while giving advice on it to a "young artist" who is entirely fictitious.
There were parts I did like, though -- the bit about art school being a crack den, where you inhale bullshit, and the "real world" is a place not so kind or recognizing of your talent. As an art student who cannot even receive legitimate criticism in her own creative writing class, and must skip said class to get actually useful critique from her Latin teacher, this spoke to me. It really sucks, getting shitty advice.
Most of the advice was shitty, really -- at least, shitty in the fact that it has all been said before. You seek out enough advice on how to be an artist and it all starts to sound the same. There were more than a couple of sections on navigating the art world as a minority, useful advice on how to tap the ceiling, this coming from a diverse group of artists including Frida Kahlo and Yoko Ono.
Which is to say it is dated, but on the whole I would recommend this, especially if you are a painter. If you however are a poet like me, seek out the original.
February 21, 2024
Read this for class, so inspiring and helpful, took away lots of notes as a young artist. I want a copy of this just reread and keep going back to.
February 19, 2018
A light, assuring and interesting read which feels like an encouraging hug from someone who has walked the walk through the art world.
April 16, 2024
I think my biggest takeaway from this is how different the perspectives included are from each other. focus on commerce, ignore it, accept it. show your work early, keep it secret, show it when you feel the time is right. use historical artists as inspiration, use your peers as inspiration, use only things that have nothing to do with art as inspiration. that opened my eyes more than anything else ..
December 10, 2023
Inspiring in the same way that graduation speeches are- emotionally touching, vague, & sincere. Served as a push back into creativity. Also loved reading the letter and then finding out who wrote them after, it was s’cute.
“If you have problems you have art”
“If you have problems you have art”
September 2, 2024
I got this from a used bookstore for $6.89, annotated basically every page in pen, just finished it and looked it up, and I guess these are selling for $100+ on eBay! I like this book a lot and I love learning about different artist’s perspectives on life, art, etc.
March 5, 2025
nothing particularly mind-blowing but certainly full of inspirational and wise pieces of advice from some amazing artists.
3.5!
3.5!
August 30, 2008
Excellent! This is a book intended for young artists currently enrolled (or having just exited from ) MFA programs. It's rare that you find yourself in the exact intended audience for a piece of writing -- that experience alone makes the reading worth it -- these are letters that are written literally to you.
The range of artists (and practices) covered by the donated letters here is interesting -- no mention is made as to how these individuals were selected, which makes the whole project a little more mysterious, but rich nonetheless. By and large, these are working artists who have dedicated much of their lives to their craft, and (on the whole) have made solid careers out of doing so. Here, we begin to see how they have done that, and imagine if we could do this as well. Some advice is more abstract and philosophical than anything, but some is remarkable straightforward (I'm thinking of Howardena Pindell's advice to teh young art, "make sure you keep your mind sharp. Read every night or every morning. I myself try to read every night from the hours of 11pm until 1am.")
A quick read, and handy to have in the studio. Recommended.
The range of artists (and practices) covered by the donated letters here is interesting -- no mention is made as to how these individuals were selected, which makes the whole project a little more mysterious, but rich nonetheless. By and large, these are working artists who have dedicated much of their lives to their craft, and (on the whole) have made solid careers out of doing so. Here, we begin to see how they have done that, and imagine if we could do this as well. Some advice is more abstract and philosophical than anything, but some is remarkable straightforward (I'm thinking of Howardena Pindell's advice to teh young art, "make sure you keep your mind sharp. Read every night or every morning. I myself try to read every night from the hours of 11pm until 1am.")
A quick read, and handy to have in the studio. Recommended.
December 20, 2013
"Letters to a Young Artist" is quite a 'different' book. It's less of a book and more of a compilation of works. The book is full of letters, from artists all over the world, directed toward young aspiring artists, or really anyone with a passion. The book has no single author for there is no story line. It's complete with letters from 23 artist, from Yoko Ono, a famous artist and musician, to Stephen Shore, a well known american photographer. The letters touch on topics such as what it means to be an artist, and some features of the vast, endless, idea galaxy, that is the art industry. I think the main reason I liked the book is that really, there is no over-arching message among the letters. Each writer has something different to say and I think that is what makes this book unique. Another reason I liked the book is that, as a aspiring artist, it helped me open my mind to new ideas, and helped me translate those ideas to all aspects of my life. This book is not a "nail biter", and it won't "leave you wanting more", but it sure will get you thinking, and more importantly, doing. I deem this book a refreshing blast of perspective and insight, and would recommend it to all.
January 3, 2016
I read the book, Letters to a Young Artist, a collection of 23 letters written by famous artists as they write about their struggles, achievements, and the journey they took to get where they are. People like Yoko Ono, William Pope .L, and the Guerrilla Girls all write to a fictional character, Young Artist, and try to teach the Young Artist ways to “make it” in the art world. It was extraordinary to see all the different viewpoints each artist had and to see what advice they would give to a young artist. Not only were they amazing letters from artists as they talked about there work, but each letter was an art piece on its own.
November 8, 2025
each letter alone does not possess enough for me to give this book 5 stars, but together, in context, as you read each perspective and output by each artist, your convictions take what stand out to you and challenge what you disagree with. this book changed the way I see art, the world, the art world, forever. If you don't bother reading it all, PLEASE read Adrian Piper's letter, for it was the best in my humble and integral opinion. I have no words. Just gratitude for the wisdom in this tiny green book.
June 6, 2008
An inspirational read that helps give artist's guidance from many great mentors and reminds them they are not alone in the struggles they face. There may not be one path to get to the finish line, but that's okay.
November 10, 2008
This one is a keeper, as in keep it in your purse, your bookbag, your car, anywhere where you need a book to remind you of the whole reason why you do art in the first place. Some of the letters within are the kind of letters that change your entire life.
December 9, 2008
Some of the best advice I'd ever received (even indirectly):
"Find some way to give yourself a chance- and time -to experiment, take risks, play, fool around, even fail, before trying to launch a career".
Had it come earlier, I could have listened.
"Find some way to give yourself a chance- and time -to experiment, take risks, play, fool around, even fail, before trying to launch a career".
Had it come earlier, I could have listened.
August 6, 2011
I love this. I want my kids to have the intuitive, inquisitive, and holistic mentality attributed to artists, whether they paint, kick things, or construct formulas and binary code. I want my own copy of this.
February 6, 2008
A great insight to realizing studio practices and maintaining a positive perspective.
February 27, 2010
A charming collection.
June 21, 2014
i loved the advice and words of wisdom and even the absurdity in these letters, i just wish there were more of them.
Want to read
April 25, 2008Chris got me this book for my 21st birthday. He loves me.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews