Few living artists can claim to have had the influence of Michael
Craig-Martin (born 1941). Celebrated globally for his distinctive art,
with numerous retrospectives and honors to his name, he has helped
nurture generations of younger artists.
In On Being an Artist, now published in paperback, Craig-Martin
reflects with wit and candor on the people, ideas and events that have
shaped his professional life. In a series of short, entertaining
episodes, he recounts his time studying under Josef Albers at Yale
University School of Art alongside Chuck Close, Richard Serra and
others; his memories of meeting personal heroes such as Andy Warhol,
Jasper Johns and John Cage; and his surreal experience of staking out
Christine Keeler at the height of the Profumo scandal.
He recalls, too, his first tentative steps as an artist and emergence as
a key figure of early conceptual art, and looks back on his achievements
as a teacher at Goldsmiths, where he nurtured two generations of
students, among them Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas, earning himself the
sobriquet "the godfather of the YBAs."
Craig-Martin tackles controversial issues such as the fashionability of
contemporary art, the enduring status of painting, the relevance of life
drawing and practical skills, the qualities of art schools, the role of
commercial dealers and the judgment of what is good and bad in art.
More than the life of one of the most creative minds of our age, On
Being an Artist provides lesson after valuable lesson to anyone wishing
to know what it means and what it takes to be an artist today.
An erudite, insightful and hugely readable collection. -It's Nice That
A gloriously illustrated credo-cum-memoir. -artsjournal.com
