How To Art Book Review

Art is an interesting thing. On one hand, we have galleries and museums filled with paintings, sculptures, and other forms of art from hundreds of years of creative souls. Then we have modern street art, from people like Banksy who create an air of mystery by keeping their identity secret while making bold statements about the world we live in. Add to this the eye-watering figures the media likes to report being paid for certain pieces of art, and it’s easy to be overwhelmed or feel detached from it all.

Then in steps Kate Bryan to explain the world of art and how everyone can enjoy it.

I had two go-to lines all set to use for this book: mentioning “the emperor’s new clothes” and “pulling back the curtain to reveal the wizard is just a normal man.” But Kate uses them, so it would seem like cheating to repeat them, though I will come back to the first one anyway. What Kate does here is indeed take the reader behind the scenes of the art world. In doing so, she both shows it for what we have been led to believe it is but also explains that we don’t have to be afraid of it. I got the impression it’s almost like a book form of “you do you” in the sense that you can enjoy art however you want. You don’t need a degree or an exclusive job or anything like that. We can all experience art wherever and however we want (within reason).

But Kate goes beyond just how to enjoy art. She also covers how to create art and includes some advice for budding artists who want to make a career of their art. I’m sure many would appreciate this, as it’s coming from someone who has worked in the field for a number of years now and unquestionably knows her stuff. Kate also uses the familiar line “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like,” and in a way, that also somewhat sums up the message of the book. You don’t have to know why you like something; it can just be the way it makes you feel, and that in itself is a valid reason.

What I really enjoyed were the explanations of “how to enjoy art,” which is a bit of a loaded statement. Fortunately, it’s not intended as a “you must enjoy it in this way or you aren’t doing it correctly.” Rather, Kate explains the sorts of things to look for or note when you are engaging with art. It’s the sort of thing I think many art teachers could do with teaching. She explains the experience as being not just the art itself but the environment it’s in, the sense of its place in time and space. She encourages you to take note of what your eye is drawn to and how it makes you feel. But most important of all is the fact that Kate not only gives you permission to dislike art but also encourages it. That may sound counterproductive, but the point is you won’t like all art from all artists. I’ll jump in on this notion: I really don’t like the art of Picasso! It doesn’t make you any more or less of an art appreciator whether you do or don’t like something, but she does encourage you to think about why you don’t like a given piece.

The only thing I would have liked—and I completely understand why it might not be present, with licensing costs not being the least of the reasons—is for some images of the pieces being mentioned in the book. It’s true that we can (as pointed out in the book) do an internet search and no doubt will be presented with many different copies of the images, but it’s just handy to have them there in the book in front of us.

Final Thoughts:

As a big fan of art but also someone who thinks the “elite” levels do get very “emperor’s new clothes,” it’s kind of nice to read of someone from within that world explaining that despite the outward appearance of snobbery (and the acknowledgment that there is indeed a degree of snobbery around the art world), it is still possible to enjoy art of all levels, from the local artisan to the “hottest new thing,” from as little as no cost to whatever cost you are comfortable with. I mean, come on, someone taped a banana to a wall, and then, after it had no doubt been replaced many times due to decay, someone paid an obscene amount of money for it and then claimed it was the best banana they had ever eaten.

A great read for anyone interested in the world of art!

Also, everyone is free to create their own art, so to that end, here’s one of my sketches from a former job working with memorabilia. Believe it or not, someone spotted it while Browse in the store and asked if they could have it. I said sure and handed it to them. Who knows how much it’s worth now? ;)