Think Like an Artist . . . and Lead a More Creative, Productive Life

Will Gompertz is one of England’s most influential cultural journalists. For seven years he was one of the directors of London’s Tate Gallery, until the BBC made him its first art correspondent. They even call him in Britain, their nation’s art teacher. During his long career, he has interviewed many renowned artists, directors, writers, musicians, actors and designers, and draws on the experience of their narratives, which he compiles in this beautiful book. It provides a lot of interesting background knowledge, especially if you are interested in art. Using the example of various artists, it describes where they draw their creativity and motivation from. However, it is not about technical specifications, such as how to prime canvases or choose the best painting technique, but about the artists’ working style and the mindset they use to deliver creative highlights. The goal is to shed some light on how the creative elite approach their imagination and use it as a productive tool. Various insights into creativity are explained in the individual chapters of the book. The bottom line here is also that we basically can’t produce anything really interesting if we’re not interested in anything. I liked the last chapter best, in which Will makes a thesis about what it would be like if we had an economy more like that of artists, in which the majority of people were self-employed. Everyone would have their own specialty and work with the entrepreneurial mindset of an artist. I found this to be very motivating, perhaps because it is so much like my current way of life. Absolutely recommended for people who want to better understand what the conditions for personal creativity can be. Or what they can amend to develop their personal creativity.

An vielen anschaulichen Beispielen, sowohl aus der Kunstgeschichte als auch aus der zeitgenössischen Kunstszene, erklärt Will Gompertz was einen Künstler ausmacht und wie man der eigenen Kreativität auf die Sprünge helfen kann.