Danielle Krysa - A Big Important Art Book (Now with Women): Profiles of Unstoppable Female Artists--and Projects to Help You Become One

Copyright 2018 Danielle Krysa

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First Edition: October 2018

Published by Running Press, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Running Press name and logo is a trademark of the Hachette Book Group.

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Images appearing on the front cover, endpapers, and pages i, ii, iv, viii, and xi Danielle Krysa.

Back cover features artwork by Ann Carrington, Annie Kevans, Bobbie Burgers, Bunnie Reiss, Carolina Antich, Hagar Vardimon, Ilona Szalay, Kyeok Kim, Lola Donoghue, Natalie Baxter, Nathalie Lt, Nike Schroeder, Phyllis Bramson, Samantha Fields, Seonna Hong, and Severija Inirauskait-Kriauneviien.

Additional image credits information can be found .

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018943838

ISBNs: 978-0-7624-6379-4 (hardcover), 978-0-7624-6380-0 (ebook)

E3-20180719-JV-PC

H ave you ever flipped through a beautiful art history book, or studied art history for that matter, and wondered, Um, where are the women?

I vividly remember being a sweet, first-year art student, sitting in a dimly lit lecture hall and watching the work of Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso slide by on the projection screen. I was a little sponge, soaking up every bit of artsy information put in front of me. I took meticulous notes on every image and studied my textbooks religiously. As an art major, I daydreamed that one day my work would be displayed in those books and on that big screen. But it wasnt long into my first art history class that I was raising my hand with a lot of questions. Surely there must have been women making art at this time, too?

How could I be the next great artist if I didnt know who had come before me? We all knew about Frida Kahlo, Mary Cassatt, and Georgia OKeeffebut even as a naive freshman, I was quite sure there were more than three women who had ever made art. I wanted to learn morewho else had created meaningful work, what were they making, and why? I needed to know their stories, to understand their struggles, and to be inspired by their victories. My professors assured me there were in fact women making art for centuries but, unfortunately, many of them were never written about, nor was their work documented

Lets change that, shall we?

Several years after sitting in those classrooms, I was given the opportunity to write this book, and I plan to fill it to the brim with the work and stories of some of the women artists I most admire. I have been writing daily posts on my contemporary art website, The Jealous Curator, since early 2009 and, without even being conscious of it, more often than not I am jealous of female artists. (Note the quotation marks around jealouswhile I did start out being truly green-eyed, it only took a month or two of writing those posts before that toxic, soul-crushing emotion changed into a fine blend of admiration and get-your-butt-back-in-the-studio inspiration.) Im honestly not sure why I am so drawn to the work and stories of women artists, but Im guessing it goes back to being that art student desperately wanting to explore what other artiststhe sort of people I aspired to be likewere doing.

But enough about the past! Lets get back to the thrill of writing the book youre holding right now. When I set out to write it, I knew this was about to be a massive undertakingwhere would I even begin? Well, one of my favorite things about art history is going behind the scenes to really get to know the artists instead of just reading their rsums. Unfortunately, once an artist is dead, there are no more questions to be asked (at least, not of her!), so I decided to start my mission with forty-five contemporary artists, all of whom are very much alive and making art history as we speak. I spent a huge amount of time immersed in their storiesand, lucky for me, I was able to ask them all of my questions. Their inspirational work is featured as well, because who wants a big important art book that doesnt contain hundreds of stunning images, right? The personal stories in these pages explain where each artist came from, why she makes art, her process, the obstacles shes had to face, and the triumphs shes experienced. I asked them about motherhood and art making, the importance of art in politics, art vs. craftthe list goes on. Their personal stories are smart, funny, and honest; my hope is that they serve as kindling for your own creative fire.

And, because looking back in order to look forward is so very important, I have also shone a light on dozens of remarkable women who came before these contemporary artists. Some of these women started art movements, others defied societys gender rules, and all of them proved their art was worthy and important. There are some very juicy tidbits and historical did you knows sprinkled throughout that are just too interesting not to know. And okay, yes, Frida is in here too because, well, shes Frida and there really is so much about her to love!

Alright, thats the past and present taken care of, but what about the great artists of the future? Not to worry, theyre covered too.

The chapters in this book, fifteen in total, are each centered around an art genre or theme. My goal is to cover as many recurring categories in the world of fine art as possible. And each chapter begins with a project to tackle on your ownsomething that will get your hands dirty and inspire you to become the next great artist of your generation. These creative jump-starters are supported by profiles of the contemporary artists whose work, style, or medium will give you ideas and insights into that particular genre. For example, what springs into your mind when I say, portrait? You probably have a very specific idea of what a portrait is, and I will bet ten dollars that your very specific idea is totally different from what the person next to you might envision. And, on top of that, your inner critic may very well chime in , Play with Portraits, the works highlighted range from meticulous scenes painted by an artist from Japan to emotional self-portraits by an American trans woman to the loose, quick strokes of a French painter who imagines her famous subjects as children. When it comes to creativity, there truly is no such thing as the wrong way; its simply your way.

These projects will give you structurebecause making rules and then playing within them is a wonderful way to sneak around a creative blockbut at the same time Ive left the prompts open enough so that youre free to bring your own genius to each challenge.