Art Work: On the Creative Life
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The much-anticipated new book by acclaimed artist and New York Times bestselling author Sally Mann about the challenges and transcendent pleasures of the creative process
In sparkling prose and thoughtfully juxtaposed visuals and ephemera, Art Work: On the Creative Life, by acclaimed artist and New York Times bestselling author Sally Mann, is a generous, provocative, and compulsively readable exploration of creativity by one of our most original thinkers. Written in the same frank, fearless, and at times outrageously funny tone of her bestselling memoir, Hold Still, Art Work offers a spellbinding mix of wild and illuminating stories, practical (and some impractical) advice, and life lessons.
Illustrated throughout with photographs, journal entries, and letters that bring immediacy and poignancy to the narrative, Art Work is full of thought-provoking insights about the hazards of early promise; the unpredictable role of luck; the value of work, work, work, and more hard work; the challenges of rejection and distraction; the importance of risk-taking; and the rewards of knowing why and when to say yes. Mann writes vividly about her experiences with crushing failure and rejection, and, through evocative storytelling, shows how she willed herself to persevere, over and over again. She also explores the importance of pushing boundaries—trespassing to get just the right photograph, not shying away from sensitive subject matter—and how this has played out for her in life and work.
Art Work reaffirms Mann as a unique and resonant voice for our times and is destined to become a classic.
“If it’s possible to learn fearlessness—or cussedness or dust-yourself-offedness or stick-to-itiveness—Sally Mann is the one who could teach it to you. Sally Mann may be the only one who could teach it to you. This book will make you brave.”
—Margaret Renkl, bestselling author of The Comfort of Crows
“I love this book. It’s not just about art—if anyone’s asking me—it’s about being a human. And it is really wise about that business.”
—James Rebanks, bestselling author of The Shepherd’s Life
“Full of inspiration and sage advice, it should be required reading for young artists setting out to work in any medium.”
—Amor Towles, bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and The Lincoln Highway
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