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.