Introduction / Chapter One

Introduction / Chapter One

Lang says to be a successful artist you should have three characteristics:

1. Curiosity, an adventurous mind is at the center of all creative endeavors.

2. Commitment, give you the tenacity to hang in there when the road becomes rough.

3. Good wok habits are a necessity, as dreaming and planning accomplish nothing.

While having all three qualities would be desirable Lang has observed successful artists with nothing more than the meticulous work ethic.

· Lang dispels the myth of talent being God given quoting Einstein “Genius in ten percent inspiration, ninety percent perspiration”. I totally agree that aptitude is but the starting point but it is hard work that brings about success.

· The secret of creating art is to gain access to who we are and all that we know.

· Terry Allen said, “An artist can’t stop himself. He really has no choice about it.” Lang’s interpretation: What Allen was really talking about was obsession. It didn’t matter if Lang was making art or not, because when he wasn’t, he was torturing myself for not doing so. He couldn’t stop himself. He had no choice. There fore it wasn’t a choice as to whether or not be an artist, but whether to be an artist who worked or one who didn’t.

· The life of an artist is not an easy one; do not choose it unless, for you, any other choice would be unthinkable.

· Your need to make art will be the one constant in your life; it is what will sustain you.

· The e artist listens to what has been said before, listens to their inner voices and then speaks hoping to say something new. It is difficult to find something fresh to say; even more difficult is to be true to yourself regardless of what others are saying. That kind of authenticity is a lifetime job.

· Finding you voice by bringing your hands, your eyes, your heart and your mind into alignment within you work.

· A visual diary, journal ideas and thoughts about your art. It worked for da Vinci. Make it a daily habit of sketching ideas and writing down insights.

· Before bed take 5 minutes and write or sketch three ideas for your journal. After a while look back at your journal you will find a pattern has emerged. Pay attention to the ideas you like, it is your heart speaking telling you where your work wants to go. After you begin a project continue the journal, the work will become clearer with time.

· Knowing when to exhibiting your work. Being led astray by our egos and then falling on our face the next moment.

· Look to artists and teachers who are accomplished and knowledgeable.

· Be carefully who you choose to ask, don’t allow one person’s opinion to carry too much weight.

· Check out galleries in a major city.

· Have a developed body of work before exposing it to public scrutiny or you might receive so much praise you won’t feel the need to finish the work or so much criticism your creative impulse is destroyed.

· A body of wok holds together in some way, has something in common. United thematically or stylistically or both.

· Our need to make art will be the one constant in your life; it is what will sustain you. Make a point to begin integrating some of the things learned into your life now. Choosing to become an artist is a good and generous act, as the world needs artists, whether it knows it or not.

· Problem of the gallery system is that it models the parent-child relationship. Leaving the artist in the child’s position and relinquishing control over to the gallery.

· Exhibition Spaces:

1. Museums

2. Nonprofit galleries

3. Alternative spaces

4. Commercial galleries

5. University galleries

6. Artist co-ops

7. Online galleries

8. Nontraditional venues

· The Players

1. The Artist

2. The Curator

3. The Art Dealer

4. The Art Consultant

5. The Agent

6. The Art Collector

7. The Critic

· People Who Found Creative Ways to Exists as Artists

1. Reverend Howard Finster

2. The Guerrilla Girls

3. The Art*O*Mat

4. J.S.G. Boggs

5. The Taxicab Gallery

6. Keith Haring

7. Christo and Jeanne-Claude