Make Art or Die Trying - by Stuart Semple (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In Make Art or Die Trying, multidisciplinary artist Stuart Semple demystifies art concepts, shares inspiring examples, and offers DIY ideas that allow readers to start and explore their own practice"--

Book Synopsis

Learn to make art that can change the world.

Multidisciplinary artist, entrepreneur, and activist Stuart Semple believes that art is for everyone, and that everyone is an artist. Every single human has an inner spark of creativity that can make the world a better place. Art can change people, places, attitudes, and communities, healing and communicating when words aren't enough.

Make Art or Die Trying empowers you to understand and connect with big art ideas and embrace your creative potential, no matter where you're starting from. This stunning, informative, and inspiring book demystifies influential art concepts of the 20th and 21st centuries, including happenings, performance art, Bauhaus, and Fluxus, making them super-approachable and inviting you to learn, make art, and make change.

Each chapter:

• Explains a transformative art concept in a simple, straightforward, jargon-free way.
• Shares examples by amazing and innovative artists.
• Offers DIY ideas and exercises that encourage you to explore the concept yourself and ultimately develop your own unique conversation with the wider world.
• Includes a QR code that allows access to an exclusive video by Stuart that takes the conversation to a deeper level.

Let Make Art or Die Trying be your guide to harnessing the power of creative ideas to create art and change in your life and community.

Review Quotes

"Informative and inspiring. It aims to empower readers to connect with significant art concepts while embracing their creative potential."

--Artlyst

"Stunning, informative, and inspiring."

--Entree Travel Newsletter

"Profusely illustrated throughout, exceptionally well organized, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in presentation."

--Midwest Book Review

"A liberatory book. . . . a must-have for every artist. Semple gives permission and pathways to light up every artist's practice. Artists: Stuart is your loving guide. Join him!" --Beth Pickens, author of Make Your Art No Matter What

"Stuart Semple is the most amazing human. In real life and in art."

--Gail Porter, actress, model, TV personality

"I searched for the chapter on 'abject pessimism' but couldn't find it. Like Stuart, this book is bursting with unbound positivity and ideas. It is an incredibly generous book, and I wholeheartedly recommend it."--Jake Chapman, artist

"There was too much to think about. It was too interesting. Too inspiring. I'd need to live another thousand years to bring to life all the new ideas this book gave me."--Ben Kay, creative director

"What I admire about Stuart is his prodding, finger-in-the-wound of the art world's sacred cows and their indomitable egos, something I readily identify with. A swashbuckling, frolicking good ride of a read."--Kenny Schachter, artist, collector, curator, professor, and columnist

"Your turn to move! Stuart is a force of nature, and with a little help from this magical book, you can be as well. Inspiration on every single page."--Seth Godin, author of The Practice

About the Author

Stuart Semple is a world-renowned contemporary artist, curator, and activist. His multidisciplinary approach spans painting, printmaking, video, technology, sculpture, happenings, and performances. His works have been exhibited at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts)/UK, Denver Art Museum, Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Barbican, the Whitworth, and several other museums and institutions. Stuart has written for The Guardian, VogueSpain, and Art of England magazine, and has presented for the BBC, including the BBC Radio Documentary "Hostile Design," which was nominated for an ARIA (an "Academy Award" for radio). As a curator, Semple founded GIANT, the UK's largest artist-run gallery space, where he presents a program of international contemporary art. He received a Happiness Hero medal from the United Nations on their first International Day of Happiness, in recognition of his artwork Happy Clouds, which took place outside Tate Modern. Stuart also founded culturehustle.com, which distributes art materials made in his studio, including his iconic Pinkest Pink and Blackest Black paints, to artists around the globe. Semple has spoken at Southbank Centre, Frieze Art Fair, Dublin Museum, Denver Art Museum, Oxford University, and the Royal College of Art, and he is an ambassador for mental health charity Mind, where he initiated a fund to provide arts therapies throughout England and Wales. He lives in Bournemouth, UK.

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