Letters to a Young Artist

Contributions by: Gregory Amenoff, Jo Baer, John Baldessari, Xu Bing, Jimmie Durham, Joseph Grigely, Guerrilla Girls, Cai Guo-Qiang, Joan Jonas, Alex Katz, John McCracken, Kerry James Marshall, Elizabeth Murray, Thomas Nozkowski, Yoko Ono, Howardena Pindell, Adrian Piper, William Pope.L, Yvonne Rainer, Stephen Shore, Jessica Stockholder, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, and Lawrence Weiner

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 Amenoff: "Keep away from art fairs."); encouragement (Joan Jonas: "The answer is the Work. To Work. To care about the Work."); and cautionary tales (Adrian Piper: "Young artist, it is highly unlikely that you will be rewarded professionally for reaching this point. Nor will it make you popular. On the contrary: 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.

Edited by Shelly Bancroft, Peter Nesbett, and Sarah Andress
5 x 7 in. / 96 pages / $15 ea.

To order, call 917.279.6842 or email triplecandie@aol.com with "Letters" in subject line. We will call you to arrange payment and delivery.