Fifty years in the trenches of the art world thickens the skin and teaches a lot of lessons. American photographer Sally Mann (Hold Still) imparts some of that wisdom in Art Work, an appealingly edgy memoir that mixes sage advice with irreverent prose. This book, "written by an old woman primarily for young artists and writers," is meant to help them "avoid some of the pits into which I fell." To that end, she focuses not on her work but "the other things that both buttress the art-making life and hinder it," including constant distractions and the need for a support network. It's a book, Mann writes, about "how to get shit done."
With this volume, Mann has given young artists a gift that is neither pessimistic nor Pollyannaish. She acknowledges the role of talent, but she's forthright about the need for good luck, as when the man next to her on a plane in the 1970s just happened to be a wealthy jeweler who "believed in my work way before I did" and ultimately gave her a much-needed grant. More advice follows, such as the importance of being organized and the best ways of handling rejection. And any artist who thinks they're uniquely plagued by hindrances should read the story of the trailer Mann bought as an artist's retreat and the tenants from hell who rented it. "Somehow, despite all the distractions and the despair, art gets made," Mann writes. Artists will reach the same conclusion after reading this iconoclastic book. --Michael Magras, freelance book reviewer