Steal Like an Artist
2012 • 160 pages
Ratings91
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings91
Average rating4.2
When asked to talk to students at Broome Community College in upstate New York in the spring of 2011, Austin Kleon wrote a simple list often things he wished he'd heard when he was their age: 'Steal like an artist; Don't wait until you know who you are to start making things; Write the book you want to read; Use your hands; Side projects are important; Do good work and put it where people can see it; Geography is no longer our master; Be nice (the world is a small town.); Be boring (it's the only way to get work done.); and, Creativity is subtraction.' After giving the speech, he posted the text and slides to his popular blog, where it quickly went viral. Now Kleon has expanded his original manifesto into an illustrated guide to the creative life for writers, artists, entrepreneurs, designers, photographers, musicians, and anyone attempting to make things - art, a career, a life - in the digital age. Brief, direct, and visually interactive, the book includes illustrative anecdotes and mini-exercise sections calling out practical actions readers can take to unleash their own creative spirits.
Reviews with the most likes.
It might seem silly to give this five stars, but it's absolutely brilliant and fun in its simplicity, a great “right before bed” read that gives you plenty to think about for at least a couple weeks and can be read and re-read time and again for continued inspiration. I look forward to reading his other books.
Honestly, I'd struggle to give this less than 4 stars anyway, but it's such a quick read that it would feel silly. Less than an hour for a quick one-two punch of inspirtation? Yes, please!
This is full of little bits of advice that Austin Kleon has collected (read: stolen lmao) over the years. Will I use all of his advice? Absolutley not! I live in a studio apartment! I can't have two desks!
But I will start doing the daily log. I'd like to start a swipe file. I'm about to go find a really nice email an old professor wrote to me and put it in my rainy day folder. In a few months/years/decades I might read this again and see what new tips I can glean from it. I'm so excited!
Probably more suited to artists/writers who are at the start of taking their creative lives more seriously, this book nevertheless contains good advice on how to “steal like an artist” ie, how to have the right mindset to create art without ending up an impoverished, half-crazed artist locked in a cockroach-infested attic room. Okay, I jest, but it's close enough.
