THE MIXED MEDIA ARTIST - SETH 5/9/2017
The Mixed-Media Artist Art Tips, Tricks, Secrets and Dreams from over 40 Amazing Artists Seth Apter ISBN 978-1-4403-2933-3 Price £16.99 / $24.99 Published by North Light Books http://www.northlightshop.com/ A very interesting premise for a book, in that Seth Apter, both an artist and a psychologist, has combined these areas and created a book looking inside the minds of mixed-media artists to try and unlock the mystery of hidden messages in art. Divided into three main sections, the first part introduces 30 artists, showing a photo of them at work, a piece of their art, three things they are inspired by and four things on their studio table. The latter particularly offers an insight into how all these artists work, with such diverse inspirations as ‘the tin box in the movie Amelie’ or ‘a great espresso drink’, and tools such as ‘a racoon spinal column’ or ‘Uncertainty’. Moving on, the next section looks at further works of art created by thought-provoking prompts, such as The Child Within, Free Association or My Destiny. These are interspersed with a series of questions put to each artist, such as ‘What is the best piece of advice you have ever received with respect to being an artist?’ The answers are illuminating and make interesting reading. Also in this section are several spotlights on pieces of work being created, so you get illustrated steps to show how a piece evolved. This is followed by a Gallery of fourteen more artists who created works from one of four prompts and who give a small explanation of what the art means. You can see the influence of Seth Apter’s psychology background very clearly in the book. It looks at how artists operate and function as part of the process of creating art and gives us some background into how these particular artists think, feel and approach their art. It isn’t a book which teaches you any particular techniques, although there are elements of that here. It digs deeper and lays bare the insecurities, priorities and inspirations of the artists. The surveys that are dotted around are very revealing and give the reader a feeling of kinship with other artists, and knowing that most people, no matter how successful or established, are still susceptible to feelings of unworthiness and doubt. This is a very interesting book and an unexpected approach to mixed-media art which I enjoyed reading. In moments of self-doubt or creative block, this would be a good book to refer back to, because there are so many artists with different approaches and the guidance inside can act as a reassurance and inspiration.
1 Comment
12/1/2018 04:55:38 am
Mixed media and all reviews have been done for the humans. The new design of the media is framed for the clips and all ideas for the humans. The reflection is enhanced for the struggle for the parts.
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