In this beautifully illustrated collection of interviews, fifty contemporary artists discuss the artworks that inspire them from museums around the world.
Imagine your favourite artist leading you through a museum to the very work of art they can't stop thinking about. That's the experience at the heart of It Speaks to Me. In lively and intimate interviews, some of today's most acclaimed artists share the compelling details that make an artwork memorable and meaningful to them. Together these artists bring to life a wide range of museum pieces, from celebrated masterpieces to little-known gems, or from a Rembrandt self-portrait to a social-protest drawing. In the process they remind us of why we look at art at all: to share in the spark of creativity that can jump from an artwork across countries and centuries and to experience the extraordinary sensation of being inspired. Highlights include: David Hockney on Edgar Degas, Marina Abramovic on Umberto Boccioni, Ai Weiwei on a Shang Dynasty jade, Nick Cave on Jasper Johns, Judy Chicago on Agnes Pelton, William Kentridge on Antoine Bourdelle, Luc Tuymans on Jan van Eyck, and Gillian Wearing on Rembrandt.
Book Features:
- 50 contemporary artists from around the world discuss 50 different artworks that inspire them in interviews with author Jori Finkel.
- The artists interviewed are a diverse mix and the art they chose is also diverse and stretches across many genres, media, and art periods.
- Each artist has a spread that includes a full page reproduction of the work selected and a text about why the artist chose it and finds it inspiring.
- Some of the artists included in this book are Suzanne Lacy, John Baldessari, David Hockney, Diana Thater, Jimmie Durham, William Kentridge, Judy Chicago, Teresita Fernandez, Candida Hofer, Pipilotti Rist, James Welling, Mark Bradford, Luc Tuymans, Nick Cave, Marina Abramovic, and Ai Weiwei talking about work by artists such as René Magritte, Edgar Degas, Roy Lichtenstein, Van Eyck, Robert Rauschenberg, Andrew Wyeth, Mark Rothko, Agnes Pelton, Andrea Bowers, Jasper Johns, Rembrandt, Joseph Beuys, and Umberto Boccioni.
100 colour images
About the Author
Jori Finkel covers art for
The New York Times from Los Angeles and is the West Coast correspondent for The Art Newspaper. She has also written for
Artnews, Art in America, Town & Country, and
Art+Auction magazine, where she was formerly senior editor, and has contributed to broadcasts on NPR, PBS, and CNN.
Industry Reviews
"An argument for why art museums matter" -New York Magazine
"In her sparkling new book, It Speaks to Me, Finkel speaks to acclaimed artists from diverse mediums, styles, and nations about specific works of art that had unique impacts on their own creative development...The book is must-read material for anyone interested in how art history shapes itself across time, place, and the lives of individuals."-L.A. Weekly
"Arts writer Finkel offers an idiosyncratic and entertaining tour of works that have inspired artists in this winning compilation of intimate interviews. This thoughtful work makes artistry accessible and also serves as an educational tool for those interested in exploring art and those who create it." -Publishers Weekly
"The artists in It Speaks To Me explore the insistent pull of objects on the self and soul, one the "art curious" can experience right alongside art professionals. Finkel's excellent book, neither full of jargon nor dumbed down, speaks persuasively to both."-Hyperallergic
"These comments will, no doubt, come in handy for critics and art historians who need to explain artists' working methods, ideas and borrowings, and will be helpful to readers who want insight into the works." -The Art Newspaper
