It Speaks to Me: Art That Inspires Artists

Arts writer Finkel offers an idiosyncratic and entertaining tour of works that have inspired artists in this winning compilation of intimate interviews. Contemporary artists including David Hockney, John Baldessari, Judy Chicago, and Ai Weiwei provide fascinating details about what makes works of art meaningful to them and, as Finkel writes, “give us example of artists thinking out loud about how to make the most of art.” Chinese artist and activist Ai describes a piece of Shang Dynasty jade and its feeling of translucency, conceptual artist Baldessari calls Rene Magritte’s The Treachery of Images (This Is Not a Pipe) a “great teaching device,” feminist intellectual Chicago interprets Agnes Pelton’s Awakening Memory of Father as conveying the painter’s personal reality, and painter Hockney reveals how Edgar Degas’s The Rape of the Sabines (After Nicolas Poussin) furthered his use of shadows and figures. The second half of the book gives short biographies of all 50 contributors along with an image of their work. This thoughtful work makes artistry accessible and also serves as an educational tool for those interested in exploring art and those who create it. [em](June) [/em]