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Archive: Books, books, books…and films, films, films!
Tell us what book you’ve recently read that has inspired or informed you as an artist. And be sure to note what your takeaway was, what did you learn? Why was this book important to you?
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32 Replies
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Can anybody recommend any inspirational and moving art films or documentaries?
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Lily, there is currently a really nice and inspiring documentary about artist Eva Hesse on Netflix streaming. Before watching this documentary, I was not aware of Eva Hesse or her work. She was a very talented and ground-breaking artist/sculptor during the late 50s and into the 60s. Considering all the issues and challenges we are exploring in this course, I highly recommend this documentary. There’s a lot to take away from this film.
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HOW TO DRAW A BUNNY is a great documentary film about the artist Ray Johnson. Also <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry</span> kinda blew my mind and is totally inspirational.
For books lately it’s been Celestine Prophesy
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I have not read my favourite book in a couple of decades so I can’t say how it would effect me now. But as a young adult, “My Name is Asher Lev” by Chaim Potok was my favourite book and had a profound effect on my decision to go to art school and pursue my art. At the time I was struggling with art being frivolous and a luxury item for the wealthy when I idealistically felt everyone should be tackling world poverty and unequal global wealth distribution. The fictional book follows a young art prodigy who belongs to an orthodox Jewish community and his coming to terms with pursuing his art. In fact, I wanted to name any future son Chaim after reading it.
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Michal, that’s quite a testimonial. I’m putting this book on my list!
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Wow, what a beautiful story Michal <3 and what a beautiful way to share your gifts xx
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That really speaks to me, Michal. It’ll be interesting to see how you find the book. My theory is that from each inspiring book one takes only the idea one most needs at the time. Years ago I read Scott Peck’s The Road Less Travelled once a year, for three years.. and in the fourth year it didn’t grab me. Guess I had taken from it what I needed.
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I like the sound of that book Michal – I too have had similar struggles with art and wealth in the past and at one time nearly gave up my art degree to do social work for similar reasons. In fact, I ended up working in the field of art and health for over 20 years so it remained close to my heart I guess. I see things differently now but that book sounds like a must! Thanks for sharing – Beverley
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I really should read that book again because I barely remember what it was like, only the impact it had on me. And it wasn’t a conclusive arrow pointing in an obvious direction. It sat more like a French film…a bit dark and ruminating and left you wondering what it was saying about your own life. I read it while I was volunteering in Haiti in primary health and not finding the fulfilment there that I was expecting. Isn’t this what I had always believed we all should be doing? Yet, that call to be an artist…
Then years later I found myself volunteering on the Mercy Ships (a hospital ship in West Africa) in war torn Liberia for a year. This time my partner’s work had brought me there. I was already an artist, but on board I worked as a chef and photographer and writer for the charity. I struggled with the strict rules and roles on board. In the end I broke some rules and sat with patients who had survived 14 years of civil war, child soldiers, rape, etc. I asked simply if I could draw their portraits. They all said yes. I had a chance to authenticate their experiences through sitting with them, giving them my time and focus and listening to their stories. I hope that I offered them some dignity in their long suffering. I gave each of them a full size image of what I had made and then exhibited the originals on the ship for all the crew and again in a small solo show in Canada alongside a lot of the writing I had done while on board. The impact and response was so powerful for me that I knew this was how I could best try (in an extremely small way) to help fix the inequality in the world. The gallery owners in Canada told me they brought their grandchildren to see the show because they thought it was so important for them to see and hear. Several years later a I was invited to take part in an exhibition on war and the body in London, UK, with that series.
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OK. Just got this based on your recommendation … after reading the summary also ;-P
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