“Most artists work alone, with little to steer them save crummy ‘how to’ guides.” So writes author and curator Hettie Judah in her new book, How to Enter the Art World.
At first glance, the book’s presentation might mislead the reader into believing it to be another giant crumb from the loaf of bad guidance. The title is set out in an authoritative, broadsheet newspaper font, the sort with decorative feet attached to the longer strokes: a font of wisdom. Dashed beneath this is an apparently hand-scrawled note: “AFTER a late start, a first career, illness, raising children, a crisis of confidence, leaving it in disgust…”
Throughout, the book is punctuated with day-glow reminders of the complexity of life. These break the book into bite-size chunks and, I imagine, establish rapport. This softening of authority’s edges, metaphorically the transition from serif to scrawl, can also be detected in occasional parenthetical discursions and statements of bland goodwill:
It’s brutal out there. I would wish for all artists to be able to support themselves through their art, whatever it may involve. (OK, perhaps not forgery. Or photorealism.)
Don’t be put off. The design, illustrations and occasional digressions notwithstanding, the book is a smørgasbord of sagacity.
Anyone in a hurry for insight on a given topic will be aided by a decent index and a clear structure. Chapters are short, descriptively titled and broken further into choppy sections. While it reads a little bit like an inventory at times, Judah deftly plots a middle course between being comprehensive and concise.
The scale of the book is like a medieval map: most of the known art world is there and there is room for the occasional outsized creature to loom into view, like the rollcall of gallerists we meet in part seven, The Sell. But a lot of detail is necessarily missing. This is not a deficiency so much as a feature. There is space in this book for the artist to find themselves and see clearly the options before them. But it is not Judah’s job to tell them what to do.
A springboard, not a manifesto
There are several features that distinguish How to Enter the Art World from other “how tos”. Like most opportunities for artists, advice is generally aimed at the young. But Judah does not imagine her reader to be a blank tablet. She writes assuming that her reader already has a life. Less likely a student than someone “at a transitional point as an artist”, perhaps a parent, changing career, or returning to something that they once loved after a necessary career or lifetime of care. This is a book that takes the complex needs of older artists seriously.
The second point of distinction is that Judah expects her reader to have the character and disposition of an artist.
This sounds like it should be a given. However, as she puts it: “Career advice doled out to artists tends to favour those who are extroverted, charismatic and socially adept … The trouble is that very few artists take naturally to such upfront behaviour, and many are actively terrified of it.” In other words, the solutions offered to artists are often those that they will not – or cannot – follow.
In my experience, it is exactly these idiosyncrasies that lead many artists to follow a creative path in the first place. Why should artists be expected to leave their professionally introverted bent at home and hustle like a silicon valley bro? This is a book that meets artists where they are. Part nine, Misfits Among Misfits, presents strategies sourced from interviews with 50 artists, which are creative and practical. One artist describes “a very simple trick. I intentionally became my ‘dog self’ during events and then retreated to my normal ‘cat self’ afterwards.”
Finally, this book does not prefigure what success might mean to the reader. Neither does it anticipate that success, once attained, will be consummate. The art world is not a singular thing. It is a collection of multiple, overlapping and sometimes contradictory forms of association and practice, a “multiverse”. Success is something that artists have to negotiate, and that changes throughout life:
By mid-career, after witnessing or experiencing burnout, many would consider themselves successful if they could support themselves through their work or afford decent time in the studio. Later in life, thoughts turn to legacy.“
How To Enter The Art World is a well structured guide to professional artistic practice. It is a useful resource for teaching professional practice in art school, or as a touchstone for artists wanting to develop their career.
It is a springboard, not a manifesto. Artists are as varied as the art world is multifarious. It would be a mistake to be prescriptive. However, there are a few moments when Judah lets herself give direct advice. Take yourself seriously. Set your own agenda. Be generous. And, if you happen to be one of the rare artists who can hustle, “do try not to be a total wanker”.
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