AKADEMIE X

Lessons in Art + Life

Learn to think, see and live like an artist with this

inspirational and practical guide on how to live a

creative life written by the world’s most thought-

provoking artists.

Each of these 36 ‘tutors’ has provided a unique

lesson that aims to provoke, inspire and stimulate.

Lively, entertaining and poignant, the contributors

draw on their extensive experience in the

contemporary art world, to share previously untold

stories and identify the crucial things they wish

they’d known at the start of their careers.

Their advice ranges from practical

considerations about making art and managing

professional relationships, to ideological

perspectives on the nature of learning and the state

of art education in the twenty-first century.

Save 20% today with coupon code: AK20XX

2

200

AKADEMIE X is an art school without

walls. Unrestricted by geography and

open to all, it brings together the fnest

faculty of arts educators from across

the globe.

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AKADEMIE X has links to the top

international art institutions, from

CalArts, Yale University, the School

of the Art Institute of Chicago and

Bard College in the USA, to the Royal

College of Art, Rijksakademie and

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in Europe.

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Its tutors have the freedom to instruct

and guide according to their individual

style, revealing wisdom drawn from

their own experiences or setting

structured assignments and tasks.

2 AKADEMIE X

Lessons in Art + Life

Introduction

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They inspire creativity by presenting

examples of their work, while their

resources lists ofer stimulating

guidance for self-directed study.

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AKADEMIE X's educational philosophy

is that, above all, students need

preparation for professional life –

in practical, fnancial and ideological

terms. Here, they can become fully

prepared for the real business of

being an artist in the fast-changing

environment of the contemporary

art world.

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AKADEMIE X aims to empower its

students, providing the essential

toolbox for thinking, seeing and living

as an artist.

3 AKADEMIE X

Lessons in Art + Life

Introduction

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401

BORN /

LIVES AND WORKS:

TRAINING:

TEACHING POSTS:

KEY WORKS:

AWARDS:

RECENT SOLO

EXHIBITIONS:

RECENT GROUP

EXHIBITIONS:

Belgrade, Serbia, (former Yugoslavia), 1946 /

New York

Honorary doctorates:

• Instituto Superior de Arte, Cuba, 2012

• Williams College, Williamstown, MA, 2011

• University of Plymouth, UK, 2009

• Art Institute of Chicago, IL, 2004

MA, Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, 1972

BA, Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, 1970

• Founder, Marina Abramović Institute, New York

• Professor at the Hochschule für Bildende Kunst,

Hamburg, Germany, 1992–96

• Visiting Professor, Hochschule der Kunst, Berlin, 1990–91

• Visiting Professor, Académie des Beaux-Arts, Paris,

1990–91

• Teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts, Novi Sad,

Serbia, 1973–77

• Places of Power, Waterfall, 2013

• Art Must Be Beautiful, Artist Must Be Beautiful,

1975–2010

• The Artist is Present, 2010

• Seven Easy Pieces, 2005

• Balkan Baroque, 1997

• Works with Ulay, 1976–88

• Rhythm series, 1973–74

• Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Offcier, for work in Bolero, Paris, 2013

• The Diaghilev Award for The Life and Death of Marina Abramović at

The Diaghilev Festival, Perm, Russia, 2012

• The Austrian Decoration of Honour for Science and Art, Vienna, 2008

• AECA Gran Premio Award, Madrid, 2007

• International Association of Art Critics, 2007

• AICA-USA Award for Seven Easy Pieces, New York, 2007

• Guggenheim Museum Award for Best Exhibition of Time Based Art (Vi deo,

Film or Performance) for Seven Easy Pieces, New York, 2006

• Golden Lion Award for Best Artist, Balkan Baroque (Performance)

47th Venice Biennale, Italy, 1997

2014: Entering the Other Side, Kistefos-Museet, Jevnaker, Norway // Marina

Abramović: 512 Hours, Serpentine Gallery, London // 2013: Holding Empti-

ness, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Spain // The Life and Death

of Marina Abramović, MIF13, The Lowry, Salford, UK // 2012: Marina Abram-

ović, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria // Balkan Stories, Kunsthalle

Vienna // 2011: The Artist is Present, Garage Center for Contemporary Cul-

ture, Moscow // Marina Abramović, Pinnacle Gallery, Savannah, GA // 2010:

Personal Archaeology, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York // Marina Abramović,

Lisson Gallery, London // The Artist is Present, MoMA, New York //

2013: The Temptation of AA Bronson, Witte de With, Rotterdam, Netherlands

// Bad Girls, Fonds regional d'art contemporain de Lorraine, Metz, France

// 2012: Feast: Radical Hospitality in Con tem porary Art, Smart Museum of

Art, University of Chicago, IL // Faces: The Phenomen on of Faces in Video

Art, Galerie Rudolfnum, Prague // dOCUMENTA (13): The Worldly House,

Karlsaue Park, Kassel, Germany // Beyond Time: International Video Art

Today, Kulturhuset, Stockholm // 2011: Eleven Rooms, MIF11, Manchester

Art Gallery, MIF11, UK // Heroinas, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza y Fundacion

Caja, Madrid // Publics and Counter-publics, Centro Andaluz de Arte

Contemporaneo, Seville, Spain // 2010: 100 YEARS, MoMA PS1, Long Island

City, NY //

Tutor:

Marina Abramović

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Marina Abramović

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601

← Rest Energy, 1980, performance/Polaroid,

ROSC, Dublin/Amsterdam. Collaboration

with Ulay

↙ Rhythm 4, 1974, performance, Galleria

Diagramma, Milan, Italy

↓ Waiting for an Idea, 1991, Maraba, Brazil

→ The Artist is Present, 2010, three-month

performance, Museum of Modern Art, New York

↘ Balkan Baroque, June 1997, performance-

installation (detail), 47th Venice Biennale

Selected WorksTutor:

Marina Abramović

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Marina Abramović

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AN ARTIST ’S CONDUCT IN HIS L IFE :

• An artist should not lie to himself or to others

• An artist should not steal ideas from other artists

• An artist should not compromise himself with regard to the art market

• An artist should not kill other human beings

• An artist should not make himself into an idol

• An artist should not make himself into an idol

• An artist should not make himself into an idol

AN ARTIST ’S REL ATION TO HIS LOVE L IFE :

• An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist

• An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist

• An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist

AN ARTIST ’S REL ATION TO THE EROTIC :

• An artist should develop an erotic point of view on the world

• An artist should be erotic

• An artist should be erotic

• An artist should be erotic

AN ARTIST ’S REL ATION TO SUFFERING :

• An artist should sufer

• From sufering comes the best work

• Sufering brings transformation

• Through sufering an artist transcends his spirit

• Through sufering an artist transcends his spirit

• Through sufering an artist transcends his spirit

AN ARTIST ’S REL ATION TO DEPRESSION:

• An artist should not be depressed

• Depression is a disease and should be cured

• Depression is not productive for an artist

• Depression is not productive for an artist

• Depression is not productive for an artist

AN ARTIST ’S REL ATION TO SUICIDE:

• Suicide is a crime against life

• An artist should not commit suicide

• An artist should not commit suicide

• An artist should not commit suicide

AN ARTIST ’S REL ATION TO INSPIRATION:

• An artist should not lie to himself or to others

• An artist should look deep inside himself for inspiration

• The deeper he looks inside himself, the more universal he becomes

• The artist is universe

• The artist is universe

• The artist is universe

1

01 Tutor:

Marina Abramović

Lesson:

An Artist’s Life Manifesto

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AN ARTIST ’S REL ATION TO SELF -CONTROL:

• The artist should not have self-control about his life

• The artist should have total self-control about his work

• The artist should not have self-control about his life

• The artist should have total self-control about his work

AN ARTIST ’S REL ATION TO TRANSPARENCY:

• The artist should give and receive at the same time

• Transparency means receptivity

• Transparency means to give

• Transparency means to receive

• Transparency means receptivity

• Transparency means to give

• Transparency means to receive

• Transparency means receptivity

• Transparency means to give

• Transparency means to receive

AN ARTIST ’S REL ATION TO SYMBOLS:

• An artist creates his own symbols

• Symbols are an artist’s language

• The language must then be translated

• Sometimes it is difcult to fnd the key

• Sometimes it is difcult to fnd the key

• Sometimes it is difcult to fnd the key

AN ARTIST ’S REL ATION TO SILENCE:

• An artist has to understand silence

• An artist has to create a space for silence to enter his work

• Silence is like an island in the middle of a turbulent ocean

• Silence is like an island in the middle of a turbulent ocean

• Silence is like an island in the middle of a turbulent ocean

AN ARTIST ’S REL ATION TO SOLITUDE:

• An artist must make time for long periods of solitude

• Solitude is extremely important

• Away from home

• Away from the studio

• Away from family

• Away from friends

• An artist should stay for long periods of time at waterfalls

• An artist should stay for long periods of time at exploding volcanoes

• An artist should stay for long periods of time looking at fast-running rivers

• An artist should stay for long periods of time looking at the horizon where

the ocean and sky meet

• An artist should stay for long periods of time looking at the stars

in the night sky

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Tutor:

Marina Abramović

Lesson:

An Artist’s Life Manifesto

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AN ARTIST ’S CONDUCT IN REL ATION TO WORK:

• An artist should avoid going to the studio every day

• An artist should not treat his work schedule as a bank employee does

• An artist should explore life and work only when an idea comes

to him in a dream or during the day as a vision that arises as a surprise

• An artist should not repeat himself

• An artist should not overproduce

• An artist should avoid his own art pollution

• An artist should avoid his own art pollution

• An artist should avoid his own art pollution

AN ARTIST ’S POSSESSIONS:

• Buddhist monks advise that it is best to have nine possessions

in one’s life:

1 robe for the summer

1 robe for the winter

1 pair of shoes

1 begging bowl for food

1 mosquito net

1 prayer book

1 umbrella

1 mat to sleep on

1 pair of glasses if needed

• An artist should decide for himself the minimum personal possessions

he should have

• An artist should have more and more of less and less

• An artist should have more and more of less and less

• An artist should have more and more of less and less

A L IST OF AN ARTIST ’S FRIENDS:

• An artist should have friends who lift his spirits

• An artist should have friends who lift his spirits

• An artist should have friends who lift his spirits

A L IST OF AN ARTIST ’S ENEMIES:

• Enemies are very important

• The Dalai Lama has said that it is easy to have compassion for

friends but much more difcult to have compassion for enemies

• An artist has to learn to forgive

• An artist has to learn to forgive

• An artist has to learn to forgive

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Tutor:

Marina Abramović

Lesson:

An Artist’s Life Manifesto

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DIFFERENT DEATH SCENARIOS:

• An artist has to be aware of his own mortality

• For an artist, it is not only important how he lives his life but also how

he dies

• An artist should look at the symbols of his work for the signs

of diferent death scenarios

• An artist should die consciously without fear

• An artist should die consciously without fear

• An artist should die consciously without fear

DIFFERENT FUNERAL SCENARIOS:

• An artist should give instructions before his funeral so that everything

is done the way he wants it

• The funeral is the artist’s last art piece before leaving

• The funeral is the artist’s last art piece before leaving

• The funeral is the artist’s last art piece before leaving

4

ASSIGNED READING AND VIEWING

READING:

Graham-Dixon, Andrew. ‘Caravaggio: A LifeSacred and Profane’. New York: W. W. Norton &Company, 2011

Caravaggio had a fascinating life. He somehow succeeded in making fantastic work from his personal mess of thievery and murder that changed the way paintings were made.  

McEvilly, Thomas. ‘Yves the Provocateur:Yves Klein and Twentieth-Century Art’. New York:McPherson & Co., 2010

This should be inspirational for the young performance artist.

Ouspensky, P. D. 'In Search of the Miraculous'.New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1949

This was an important book for me to start understanding and thinking about diferent realities. 

VIEWING:

Parajanov, Sergei, dir. ‘Sayat Nova’ (‘The Colour of Pomegranates’). Cosmos Film, 1968. Film

This is one of the most beautiful flms ever made. I feel deeply connected to Parajanov’s work.

Pasolini, Pier Paolo, dir. ‘Teorema’ (‘Theorem’). Euro International Film, 1968. Film

This flm will show the student, in very original ways, the questioning of morality. 

Resnais, Alain, dir. ‘L’Année Dernière à Marienbad’(‘Last Year in Marienbad’). Cocinor-Marceau,1961. Film

This is a captivating flm about time and memory, two themes that interest me very much. Additionally, I believe a lot can be learned from looking at the way in which the flm is edited.

Tutor:

Marina Abramović

Lesson:

An Artist’s Life Manifesto

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1201 Tutor:

Marina Abramović

Lesson:

An Artist’s Life Manifesto

↑ Workshop and training for re-performers for

The Artist is Present exhibition, 2011, Garage

Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow

← Workshop with Pierre Luigi Tazzi, 1982,

Grenoble, France

↓ Workshop and training the re-performers

for the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2010

→ Workshop, 1996, France

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1301 Tutor:

Marina Abramović

Lesson:

An Artist’s Life Manifesto

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Tutor:

Carol Bove

BORN /

LIVES AND WORKS:

TRAINING:

TEACHING POSTS:

KEY WORKS AND

INSTALLATIONS:

AWARDS:

RECENT SOLO AND

TWO–PERSON

EXHIBITIONS:

RECENT GROUP

EXHIBITIONS:

Geneva, Switzerland, 1971 /

Brooklyn, NY

BS, Steinhardt School of Education, New York University,

2000

Clinical Associate Professor of Studio Art, Steinhardt

Department of Art and Art Professions, New York

University, 2008–11

• The Equinox, 2013

• Celeste, 2013

• Flora's Garden II, 2012–13

• The Foamy Saliva of a Horse, 2011

• Cuneiforms, 2011

• La Traversée Difficile, 2008

• The Night Sky Over New York, October 21, 2007,

9 p.m., 2007

• At Home in the Universe, 2001

FIAC Prix Lafayette for Le Traversee Difficile at Palais

de Tokyo, Paris, 2009

2014: Carol Bove/Carlo Scarpa, Museion – Museo d'Arte Moderna e Contempo-

ranea, Bolzano, Italy, and touring to Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, UK;

Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium // 2013: Carol Bove: The Equinox,

MoMA, New York // Caterpillar, High Line at the Rail Yards, New York

// The Foamy Saliva Of a Horse, The Common Guild, Glasgow, UK // RA, or

Why is an orange like a bell?, Maccarone, New York // 2010: Carol Bove,

Kimmerich Gallery, New York // 2009: Prix Lafayette 2009: Carol Bove,

La Traversée Difficile, Palais de Toyko, Paris // Plants and Mammals,

Hor ticultural Society of New York // 2008: Bronze Peanut, Galerie Dennis

Kimmerich, Düsseldorf, Germany // 2007: The Middle Pillar, Maccarone,

New York // 2006: Carol Bove, Georg Kargl, Vienna // Moonspikes and Vedas,

Galerie Dennis Kimmerich, Düsseldorf, Germany // The Night Sky Over Ber-

lin, REC., Berlin // Setting for A. Pomodoro, Blanton Museum of Art,

Austin, TX // 2004: A Pattern Language: Intimacy Gradient, Hotel, London

// Carol Bove, Kunsthalle Zürich // Momentum 1: Carol Bove, ICA, Boston,

MA // 2003: Experiment in Total Freedom, Team Gallery, New York // The

Joy of Sex: Carol Bove & Charles Raymond, Cubitt, London // The Science

of Being and the Art of Living, Kunstverein Hamburg, Germany // 2002:

Statements Team Gallery presentation at Art Basel 33, Basel, Switzerland

// 2001: Carol Bove (with Erik Wesselo), Team Gallery, New York // 2000:

Carol Bove, Bronwyn Keenan Gallery, New York //

2013: The Angel of History, Palais des Beaux Arts, Paris // Dark

Stars, MCA, Cleveland, OH // A Place in Two Dimensions: A Selection

from Colección Jumex + Fred Sandback, Museo Jumex, Mexico City // 2012:

dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany // Sculptural Matter, Australian Centre

for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, Australia // 2011: 54th Venice Biennale:

ILLUMInazioni – ILLUMInations, Italy // After Images, Musée Juif de

Belgique, Brussels // The Age of Aquarius, The Renaissance Society at

the University of Chicago, IL // The Language of Less (Then and Now),

MCA, Chicago, IL // We Will Live, We Will See, Zabludowicz Collection,

London // 2010: Curious? Art in the 21st Century from Private Collec tions,

Kunst-und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik, Bonn, Germany // Con -

templating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum, New York

// Looking Back/The Fifth White Columns Annual, New York // 2009:

Contemporary Fine and Applied Arts: 1928–2009, Tate St Ives, UK // 2008:

Art Now: The Way In Which It Landed, Tate Britain, London // Heavy Metal,

Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Germany // Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of

American Art, New York // 2007: Every Revolution is a Roll of the Dice,

Ballroom Marfa, TX // Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century, New

Museum, New York // 2006: Draft Deceit, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo //

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Tutor:

Carol Bove

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Tutor:

Carol Bove

↖ La Traversée Difficile, 2008, steel,

glass, wood, concrete, silver, brass,

bronze, wax, insulating foam and

steel, coral, aluminium, seeds, rocks,

shells, paper and photograph,

187 x 243.8 x 121.9 cm

↑ Cuneiforms, 2011, sea shells,

steel, concrete and bronze,

188 x 30.5 x 30.5 cm

← The Occult Technology of Power,

2006, wood and metal shelves, books,

peacock feather and concrete,

111.8 x 165.1 x 25.4 cm

↙ The Night Sky Over Berlin,

March 2, 2006, 9 p.m., 2006, wax,

concrete, driftwood, polyurethane

foam, peacock feather, steel,

bronze, wood, Plexiglas and gold,

121.9 x 121.9 x 243.8 cm

→ Flora's Garden, 2012, tubular

glyph (welded steel tube with smooth

joints painted with glass enamel);

silicon bronze and stainless steel

platform; bronze, concrete and steel

sculpture; petrifed wood and steel

I-beam sculpture, variable dimensions,

installation view, dOCUMENTA (13),

Kassel, Germany, 2012

Selected Works

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Tutor:

Carol Bove

Selected Works

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WORK

Years ago, from 1995–2000, I used to live in

an illegal loft building under the Manhattan

Bridge. It was one of the few artists’ buildings in

DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge

Overpass) at the time, and it was known for its

ridiculous DIY door buzzers. On the ground

foor was a paper recycling plant and there

were always clouds of fies. There must have

been more than a hundred people living there,

along with lots of dogs and other pets. One loft

housed a black-market exotic animal dealer.

When he was busted, people claimed to have

seen a kangaroo, but all I ever saw, when he

once held the front door open for me, was a box

full of prairie dogs.

A friend of mine lived upstairs and he was

photographing a special breed of butterfy

that he’d mail-ordered in advance of his

participation at the Venice Biennale. He was

planning to make a butterfy garden there. While

he was out getting lunch one day, a neighbour’s

cat hunted and killed every one of his subjects.

It was a disaster for him, but I couldn’t help

laughing, even though I think of myself as a

very kind and sympathetic friend. It was just

so thrilling that this art-studio problem was

so common, primal, fragile, fantastical, violent

and yet silly, all at the same time. It makes me

laugh even now as I’m writing. A cat hunting

butterfies is a much clearer, more available

image of the drama of a studio emergency than

‘I overworked my painting’.

Two German girls lived in the loft next to

mine and I overheard them talking one day.

I wasn’t eavesdropping – the old industrial

building was crudely constructed to begin with

and the additions were all makeshift, so noise

travelled. For several months the sounds in my

studio consisted of someone sculpting with a

chainsaw (upstairs), continuous jazz practice

(downstairs) and the German girls talking

(next door). I only understood a few words of

German at the time. I knew the word for work:

arbeit. So as they talked I would hear a string of

syllables and then this word, arbeit … ano ther

string of syllables, arbeit … string of syllables,

arbeit … I couldn’t believe how much they

used the word. And I wondered to myself if

I used that word as often.

I decided to stop using the word ‘work’ as an

experiment. It was very diffcult! I had to

compensate by substituting a more specifc des -

cription of the activity. For example, instead

of ‘I’m going to my studio to work’, I’d have

to say, ‘I’m going to make some drawings.’ Or

instead of ‘I’m going to work around the house’,

I’d have to say, ‘I’m going to clean the kitchen

and fold some laundry.’ I discovered that

the absence of the word ‘work’ forced me to

reconsider assumptions about leisure, because

the idea of work implied its opposite. I let go

of the notion that I deserved a certain amount

of downtime from being productive or from

being active. The labour/leisure dichotomy be-

came uncoupled and then dissolved. I couldn’t

use labour to allay guilt or self-punish or feel

superior. Work didn’t exist, so all the psy-

chological payoff of work for work’s sake had

nowhere to go.

WHAT IS AN ARTIST’S

ACTIVITY IF IT’S NOT WORK?

I started to adjust my thinking about produc-

tivity so that it was no longer valued in and

of itself. It strikes me as vulgar always to have

1

Tutor:

Carol Bove

Lesson:

Self–Expression

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to apply a cost/beneft analysis to days lived;

it’s like understanding an exchange of gifts

only as barter. The work exercise made me

feel as if I was awakening from one of the

spells of capitalism. And there was more to it

than that: I was able to begin the process of

withdrawal from my culture’s ideology around

the instrumentality of time, i.e. that you can

use time. I think the ability to withdraw from

consensus reality is one of the most important

skills for an artist to learn because it helps her

to recognize invisible forces.

TIME AND INFORMATION

MANAGEMENT

Your time is not a separate thing from you; it’s

not an instrument. Time is part of what you’re

made from. Emerson said, ‘A man is what he

thinks about all day long.’ Everything that

you do and think about is going to be in your

artwork. The computer-science idea ‘garbage

in, garbage out’ applies to artists. This is

something to consider when you’re choosing

your habitual activities.

One question is, how do you create a way of

being in the world that allows new things (ideas,

information, people, places) into your life

without letting everything in? I want to point

out that your tolerance for media satu ration

might be lower than you realize. You need to

conduct an open-ended search that doesn’t

overwhelm you with information and at the

same time doesn’t limit the search in a way that

pre-determines your fndings. That is a puzzle.

The frst self-help book I want to recommend is

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. This book

is based on the idea of artistic recovery, similar

to Alcoholics Anonymous, but it’s recovery for

a stuck artist. I don’t consider myself stuck,

but I still get a lot out of most of the exercises.

Cameron addresses the idea of work and to a

certain extent, information management, but

the book came out in 1992, before the internet

really came into our lives. She understands

the creative process and how to teach it; the

techniques she describes work. I know what

you’re thinking: ‘Carol, I’m scared. That

sounds New Agey.’ I can’t promise you that it

will help you or that you will like it or that

your friends won’t tease you for reading it.

But I can promise that it won’t diminish your

critical faculties, or your intellectual ability, or

your access to rational thought or anything

like that. If you’re scared or squeamish about

New Agey sounding books, I say that’s all the

more reason to read them. A willingness to

take psychological risks is another one of the

most important skills for an artist to develop.

The other self-help book I want to recommend

is Tim Ferris’s The 4-Hour Workweek. What’s

2

Charles Barsotti, Nobody laughs at my library of self-help books

now, 2002, The New Yorker magazine

Tutor:

Carol Bove

Lesson:

Self–Expression

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the opposite of New Agey? Hiring a virtual

assistant in India to take care of your everyday

tasks, as Ferris recommends. I didn’t take that

particular piece of advice, but his techniques for

time-management, dealing with information

overload and email addiction are really helpful.

I also liked some of his ideas regarding income

automation.

UNCENSORING

Before I went to New York University to get my

bachelor’s degree, and after an initial attempt

at art school that only lasted a semester, I took

several years off. I quickly realized in my frst

attempt that at the rate I was going there was

no way I was going to be transformed into an

artist by the school and that I’d be better off

waiting till I was ready to apply myself. It

was a wise decision, but it didn’t come from

intellect; I simply knew in an urgent, emotional

way that I wasn’t capable of getting anything

out of the classroom at that time. I was lucky

that my parents didn’t pressure me to complete

school. On the contrary; they were paying for

it and reasoned that if I couldn’t get straight

As in the frst semester of art school I was

wasting their money. (Here’s something that

strikes me as very different now from back

then in 1988: in those days, going to art

school wasn’t considered a reasonable thing to

do. The reasonable people went into graphic

design or architecture or something with a

practical application. Art school was for irres -

ponsible freakazoids with no plan. Or you

could say, romantics. Now, it seems as if there’s

a perception that going to art school is part

of a clear career path that you can follow to -

wards a respectable profession. The market is

bigger and can support more people, sure, but

if it seems as if there is a clear path, that’s an

illusion. Academicism, professionalism, bu-

reaucracy and offcialdom are all toxic to art-

making. They are necessary interference and

shaping obstacles, not facilitators.)

Going back to school was great – after four-

teen semesters off, I was ready. The worst part

about being back in school was making art

and having to explain it at the same time. It

made it impossible for me to feel safe when

experimenting. As a consequence of my pro-

found self-doubt and insecurity, I was censoring

what I really felt compelled to make, reasoning

that since I was stupid, whatever I truly wanted

to make would be stupid. I thought I would be

better off faking it.

As soon as I got out of school, I was very cu-

ri ous to know what exactly it was that I was

censoring, because the repression was so

assiduous that I had absolutely no idea what

it might be. I decided to try an experiment.

I would make whatever I wanted for three

months with the understanding that I would

not show what I dredged up. Not to anyone.

But I felt the need to discover my secret.

I can tell you now, since a lot of time has passed,

that I discovered I wanted to draw portraits of

pretty women. It seemed dumb at frst, but I

was patient and nonjudgmental and just let my

desire take me wherever it wanted to go, and

that’s been my modus operandi ever since.

Creating a nonpurposive, free space in which

to play and have fun is essential. You can tell

when you’re looking at art that was a drag to

make: it’s a drag to look at. On the other hand,

it’s thrilling to watch someone work through

a problem that’s exciting for him, even if the

subject matter wouldn’t normally move you.

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I’ve watched kids playing with exciting, fun

toys like bubble guns – they’re good for ten

minutes. But something like a doctor’s kit that

allows them to rehearse the drama of their

lives is inexhaustibly interesting; they’ll carry

it everywhere for months. Your art should be

like that kind of toy. It may be an intellectual

project, but it needs to be invested with your

psychic life and driven by emotional necessity.

This uncensoring exercise was so helpful for

me. I recommend it. I did it in my late twenties,

when I already had some education and exper

ience and I was trying to fnd an authentic

way to respond to all the ideas and artworks

that already existed or that were coming into

existence around me.

RHYTHM OF WORKING

The format of school dictates a certain rhythm

or pace of working. In the same way that in

the Law and Order universe a murderer needs

to be caught and brought to justice in roughly

ffty minutes, artworks need to be completed

and critiqued during the semester. I get the

feeling that people set their speed in school and

then it’s reinforced by the art-fair schedule,

and with the multiplying venues, our ability to

fy cheaply and send high-res images instantly,

everything is accelerating. But it’s up to you

to decide whether or not your work benefts

from that pace. I always fnd Jay DeFeo’s, The

Rose inspiring when I need a reminder that it

doesn’t have to happen so fast.

MONEY

Becoming an artist is not a good business plan.

GETTING A CAREER

I’m assuming you want to be an artist for life.

I can see that people in their twenties have a

lot of anxiety when their peers are showing

and they’re not, and I worried about that too.

But I understand now that it’s not a race and I

wish I hadn’t wasted all that energy worrying.

In almost every instance I can think of, getting

off to an early start hasn’t been an advantage

to artists’ careers. You probably shouldn’t

even get serious about showing your work in a

commercial context until you’re close to thirty.

Until then, it’s best to observe. While you’re

learning how the art world works, keep the

4

Jay DeFeo working on The Rose, 1958–66

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stakes low. That’s to say, keep the career stakes

low. It’s never the wrong time to embrace

psychological risk.

I’ve just more or less equated selling with

career, but those things are not equivalent and

it’s obviously more complicated than that. The

Gift: The imagination and the erotic life of

property a book by Lewis Hyde, has been parti-

cularly helpful for me in adopting the right

attitude to releasing artworks into the market.

It contains an analysis of gift economies that

de ve lops a picture of unalienated labour. The

frst half of the book, which looks at gift-giving

practices in tribal society and in folklore, has

shaped my thinking even more than the treat-

ments on artistic expression in the second half.

HISTORY

You do need to know some art history. As a prod-

ucer of art objects/gestures, the conventions

you decide to ignore and the conventions you

decide to repeat are as important, if not more

so, than what you invent. If you’re a total

novice start with Cubism to Surrealism and

then study 1945–75, then take it from there.

Everybody my age read Art After Modernism:

Rethinking Representation. If you ever want to

understand something about our subconscious,

our unarticulated assumptions, you could get

some clues from that book. The theory of the

1980s is important for the very reason that it

formed our mentality, but it has receded from

our conscious thoughts. The subconscious

realm of unarticulated assumptions is a power-

ful, invisible shaping force in the world.

FINDING YOURSELF

Artwork comes from the total personality:

ego, self, id, conscious and unconscious, trans-

personal, linguistic and nonlinguistic, histo ri -

cally determined, sensual, emotional, physi cal,

mental, ideological and cultural. I believe that

in order to make something that’s mea ning-

ful you have to start by fguring your self out

psychologically. In order to fgure my self out

I’ve applied different modes of critique such

as Marxism, feminist theory, psychoanalytic

theory, history, ayurvedic principles, philoso-

phy, Feldenkrais technique, anthropology, as -

tro logy, the physiology of perception, con-

templating life as a caveman, health-food

re gimens, psychedelic experiences, reading self-

help books, ebay, falling in love, practising

magical rites, teaching, the scientifc method,

psychotherapy, yoga, meditation and dharmic

traditions, fasting and other austerities, ex er-

cise, napping, resonance repatterning, literature

and poetry, friendships, parenting, humour and

countless others. Artwork is self-expression,

and clearly I’m talking about a notion of self

that radiates far outside of one’s body or even

one’s time.

5

Louise Lawler and Allan McCollum, For

Presentation and Display: Ideal Settings, 1983/4

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READING:

* Benjamin, Walter. Illuminationen:

Ausgewahlte Schriften. Frankfurt am Main:

Suhrkamp, 1961. Translated by Harry Zohn

as Illuminations. New York: Harcourt,

Brace & World, Inc., 1968

Benjamin’s essay ‘The Work of Art in The Age

of Mechanical Reproduction’ is completely

different every time I read it. He’s making a

projection about what will happen as a result

of images becoming reproducible, and we

have to use all of our powers of imagination

to dismantle our media environment for long

enough to know what he must have meant.

And then we compare this refection to the text

measured against our own time. I also often

come back to one line from the essay ‘Theses

on the Philosophy of History’: ‘For every

image of the past that is not recognized by the

present as one of its own concerns threatens to

disappear irretrievably.’

* Cameron, Julia. The Artist’s Way; A

Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. New

York: The Putnam Publishing Group, 1992

* Ferris, Timothy. The 4-Hour Workweek:

Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the

New Rich. New York: Crown Publishing

Group, 2007

* Kwon, Miwon. ‘One Place after Another:

Notes on Site Specifcity.’ October. Vol. 80

(March–May 1997): pp. 85–110

There’s more to site-specifcity, as this text

shows, than art objects being infuenced by

their environments or made with a specifc

location in mind.

* Wallis, Brian and Marcia Tucker, eds.

Art After Modernism: Rethinking

Representation. New York: The New

Museum of Contemporary Art, 1984

* Fifteen-year-old art magazines.

Fifteen years is about half of a fashion cycle, so

you see artworks in their least fattering light.

VIEWING:

* Curtis, Adam, dir. The Century of the Self.

BBC Four, 2002. Television series

This British television documentary series

offers a fascinating history of the valorization

of self-expression as it was popularized over

the twentieth century.

6

ASSIGNED READING AND VIEWING

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BORN /

LIVES AND WORKS:

TRAINING:

KEY WORKS:

AWARDS:

RECENT SOLO

EXHIBITIONS:

RECENT GROUP

EXHIBITIONS:

Urbana, IL, 1942 /

New York

Founder, John Daniels Gallery, New York, 1964

• Norwegian Wood Lattice Bisected By Curved 2-Way-Mirror,

2010

• Waterloo Sunset at the Hayward Gallery, London, 2002–03

• Bisected Triangle, Interior Curve, 2002

• Greek Meander Pavilion, Open, 2001

• Girls Make-Up Room, 1998–2000

• Untitled Sculpture, 1996

• Pavilion Infuenced by Moon Windows, 1989

• Back-Yard New Housing Project, 1978

• Opposing Mirrors and Video Monitors on Time Delay, 1974

• Homes for America, 1967

• City of Nantes Award, France, 1993

• Skowhegan Award for Mixed Media, New York, 1992

• Coutts Contemporary Art Foundation Award, Zürich, 1992

2014: The Roof Garden Commission: Dan Graham, The Metropolitan Museum of

Art, New York // Models and Beyond, De Pont Foundation, Tilburg, Nether-

lands // Dan Graham/Heimo Zobernig. Art as Design/Design as Art, Galerie

Christine Mayer, Munich, Germany// 2013: Dan Graham: Past Future Split

Attention, Manchester International Festival, UK // Dan Graham: Two

Cubes, One Rotated 45°, Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK // Dan Graham:

Performance Café with Perforated Sides, Plug In Institute of Contempo-

rary Art, Winnipeg, Canada // 2012: Rock'n'Roll Show. Unrealized Projects

for Children and Boutique Architecture, Hauser & Wirth, Zürich // 2011:

Through the Looking Brain: A Swiss Collection of Conceptual Photography,

Kunstmuseum St Gallen, Switzerland // Dan Graham, Protocinema, Istanbul

// Dan Graham Models and Videos, Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK //

2010: Center for Contemporary Art, Kitakyushu, Tokyo // Dan Graham, Taka

Ishii Gallery, Tokyo // Regen Projects, Los Angeles // 2009: Dan Graham

presents New Jersey, Portikus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany // Theatre,

Lisson Gallery, London // Beyond, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN,

and touring to MOCA, Los Angeles; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

// Marian Goodman Gallery, New York // Death by Chocolate, Daadgalerie,

Berlin // 2008: Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen // Francesca Minini,

Milan, Italy // More of the Same, Hauser & Wirth, Zürich // 2007: Marian

Goodman Galerie, Paris // Dead Already, Reena Spaulings Fine Art, New York

// 2006: Castello di Rivoli – Museo D'Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli, Italy //

Johnen Galerie, Berlin // Dan Graham. Death by Chocolate: West Edmonton

Shopping Mall, Orchard, New York // 2005: Galerie Micheline Szwajcer,

Antwerp, Belgium //

2014: Retro·active: Performance Art from 1964–1987, Delaware Art Museum,

Wilmington // ‘69/96’, Gebert Foundation, Rapperswil, Switzerland // 2013:

Being, Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York // Dan Graham and

Antoine Catala Collaboration Work, Dolphin's Smile (And More), 3A Gallery,

New York // Minimal Resistance: Between Late Modernism and Globalization:

Artistic Practices during the 80s and 90s, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte

Reina Sofa, Madrid // Against Method, Generali Foundation, Vienna //

The Content of Form, Generali Foundation, Vienna // 2012: Traffc: Concep-

tual Art in Canada 1965–1980, Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada // Move: Art

and Dance Since the 1960s, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul,

South Korea // Architektonika, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin // True Stories,

Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany // 2011: Through the Looking Brain

– A Swiss Collection of Conceptual Photography, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany

// Alice in Wonderland, Tate Liverpool, UK, and touring to Museo d'Arte

Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Italy, and Hamburger Kunst-

halle, Hamburg, Germany // Beziehungsarbeit – Kunst und Institution,

Künstlerhaus Wien, Vienna // 2010: Focus on Artists, SFMOMA, San Francisco

// Ordinary Madness, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA // Che Cos

Sono le Nuvole? Artworks from the Enea Righi Collection, Museion, Museum

for Modern and Contemporary Art, Bolzano, Italy //

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Selected Works

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← Eleven Sugar Cubes, 1970/2012, colour

photograph, 24 parts, each 24 x 36 cm

↙ Two-Way Mirror Curve Bisected by Norwegian

Wood Lattice, 2010

→ Lax/Relax, frst performance at New York

University Loeb Student Center, New York,

May 1969

↘ Pavilion for Showing Rock Videos/Films,

2012, two-way mirror glass and stainless steel

250 x 834 x 420 cm

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BEST

1.) Visitingartists:lecturesandstudiovisits.

2.) Classtrips.

3.) Availabilityofvideo,flmandaudioequipmentwithtechnicians.

4.) Practicaltraininginareassuchasgraphicdesign.

5.) Goodlibraries.

WORST

1.) Theemphasis,sincethe1980s,onmakingartasaspecialist

professional‘career’ratherthanasapassionateexperiment.

2.) Theobsessionwiththeartistasafuture‘artstar’.

3.) Theobsessionwithmakinganacademicrationaleforart,

agoodexamplebeingtheoveruseoftheword‘problematize’.

4.) Teachingonlythecontemporaryartthatisfoundintheart

magazinesinthelibrary.

Mypersonalobservationisthatmostofmyfavouriteartistshaveeither

comeoutofareasotherthanart,orlikemyself,neverwenttoeitherart

schooloruniversity–beingself-taught.Inmycase,Iinitiallywanted tobeawriter.WhenIaccidentallystartedtheJohnDanielsGallery, Ipursuedbeinganartist-writerduetomyadmirationof‘young’artist-

writerswhomIshowedinmygallery.ThesewereDonJudd,whomade

hislivingwritingartreviews,DanFlavin,whohadamonthlycolumn

inArtforum,andSolLeWitt,whohadstudiedarchitectureandthenworkedbothinamajorarchitect’sofceandasamagazinegraphic

designer.Hesharedmyloveofliteratureandalsowroteoccasionally.

Aftermygalleryfailed,Isupportedmyselfthroughwritingabout

culturalphenomenasuchasrockmusicortelevision.Becauseofmy

publishedarticlesonart,artschoolsinvitedmetodolecturesor

limitedteaching.IinvitedmyselftoashortresidencyatNovaScotia

CollegeofArt(NSCAD)inHalifaxinthelate1960stotryoutvideo

andperformanceartprojects,utilizingtheschool’sflmandvideo

equipmentandmystudentsasparticipantsintheseprojects.Theshared

communicationandfeedbackinthesmallgroupsettinginthisart

schoolfacilitatedtherealizationofthoseideas.

WhenIfrststartedteachingatNSCADIwantedtheschool

tobeplacedintothelocalcommunity.Iusedlocalcabletelevision’s

public-accessstationsforstudentprojects.IfrstannouncedmyLikes: A Computer Astrological Dating ServicethroughmyappearanceasaguestonalocalTVnewsprogramme.Althoughtheschoolhaddonealimited

editionofprintsbythreevisitingartistsincludingmyself,Ithoughtthis

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Art Schools at Their

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useoftheschool’sfacilitiesverylimited,soIsuggestedthattheschool

invitemyfriendKasperKönig,andlaterBenjaminBuchloh,tooversee

theNSCAD–NYUPresstomakemonographicbooksthatwouldinvolve

suchartists,musiciansanddancersasSimoneForti,YvonneRainer,Dara Birnbaum,SteveReich,MichaelAsherandmyself,aswellasrepublishing thepreviouslyout-of-printearlyreviewsandarticlesofDonJudd.The

schoolhadpreviouslyinvitedvisitingartiststocomeforshortstaysof

twoorthreedays,soIinitiatedacoursewhereIwoulddoathree-week

stinttobefollowedbythree-weekstintsbyaseriesofvisitingartists whohadnevertaughtbefore.Attheendoftheyear,Iwoulddoanother

threeweeksofteaching(JefWall,MichaelAsher,DaraBirnbaumand

MarthaRoslerwerethefrstartist-teachersIinvitedforthiscourse).

Fromthepositionofthevisiting-artistteacheratanartschool,

Iseeteachingasbothagreatplacetoearnsomecashandtohavevery

focusedconversationswithyoungartiststudents,whoseworksareoften

moreinspiringwheninfrstbloomthanwhenlaterrefnedinagallery

setting.Ihavealsoenjoyedtalkingaboutothersharedpassionslikerock

music.Iespeciallyenjoylearningfromtheculturalcontextandpersonal

biographyofforeignstudents.Finally,theartschoolsettingisawayfor

artistswhoarefriendsbutrarelyseeeachotheranymoretospendfun

timetogetheragain.

AssignedReading

Benjamin,Walter.‘DasKunstwerkimZeitalterSeinerTechnischen

Reproduzierbarkeit’inIlluminationen: Ausgewahlte Schriften.FrankfurtamMain:Suhrkamp,1961.TranslatedbyHarryZohnas‘TheWorkof

ArtintheAgeofMechanicalReproduction’inIlluminations.NewYork:Harcourt,Brace&World,Inc.,1968

Clark,T.J.Image of the People.London:Thames&Hudson,1973

Dick,PhilipK.Ubik.NewYork:Doubleday,1969

Eshun,Kodwo.Dan Graham: Rock My Religion.Cambridge,MA: TheMITPress,1994

Marcus,Greil.Mystery Train: Images in Rock and Roll Music.NewYork: E.P.Dutton,1975

Rosenblum,Robert.Modern Painting and the Northern Romantic Tradition: Friedrich to Rothko.NewYork:Harper&Row,1975

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↖ Installation view of opening group

exhibition at Daniels Gallery, New York,

1964–65

←← Production/Reception (Piece for Two Cable

TV Channels), 1976

← Local Television News Program Analysis for

Public Access Cable Television, 1978

↑ + → Likes: A Computer-Astrological Dating

Placement Service, 1967–69

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