ARTISTS TALKING

At the beginning of this century the scope of visual arts practice is vast and appears to be expanding. One might be tempted to say it is complex, but surely that is just because a great deal of what is happening in the name of art – be it the practice, the production, the mediation or the exposure – no longer resembles, or rather is restricted to, the familiar. The conventional paradigms of even a few years ago that were, to varying degrees, seen as comfortable and fitting have become insufficient tools to frame our interpretation and understanding of it all.

Making Contemporary Art, a new book by Linda Weintraub, sets out to illuminate the current scene. Wientraub is a curator, critic and writer who was Professor of Emerging Arts at Oberlin College in the USA from 2000 to 2003. During this period she developed this book with the intent of contributing to the understanding of the "amorphous character of contemporary art" primarily by discussing the work, the concerns and practises of forty artists. The title of her post gives an indication of her orientation.

The book is organised into six strands: Scoping an Audience, Sourcing Inspiration, Crafting an Artistic Self, Expressing an Artistic Attitude, Choosing a Mission and Sourcing Inspiration. Weintraub has written a short introduction to each strand and essays on each artist to illustrate a particular aspect. For example, in the section Sourcing Inspiration, the essay on Chris Ofili is called 'The Kaleidoscope of Black Experience'; the Measuring Success section features an essay about Daniel Joseph Martinez entitled 'Political Success – Diffusing Concentrations of Power'. Extracts from interviews with nineteen of the artists conducted by Weintraub's students appear alongside her essays.

The expansion of the visual arts universe has given artists more options. As she points out, "artists are free to choose among countless goals, systems of measurement and criteria for accomplishment' [they can] construct their own professional destinations", although the majority cited here have at least some connection with the fairly conventional nexus of gallery-museum-dealer-collector, or variations on this system.

Her comment is remarkably similar to Leadbeater and Oakley in The Independents, 1999, who wrote that creative entrepreneurs were "negotiating a space within the market economy where they can pursue their interests and develop their own products". Here in the UK there is no universal agreement that artists' practice is firmly within the concept of creative industries. But the evidence in this book, rich in information about the ambitions, career paths and professional decisions would leave little doubt about the issue.

Arnaldo Morale, one of the artists interviewed, says "Artists really have to find out where to be and how to get close to the possibilities". The importance of knowing the appropriate arena or artworld networking is clear in many of these case studies – a theme for professional success also often mentioned. An essential element of this 'connectedness' is to develop an understanding of the role played by others, who have variously been called mediators, intermediaries, culture brokers working within and beyond the evolving gallery system.

Many of the artists operate portfolio careers, combining their practice with teaching and a variety of other income-producing activities. Equally, many employ others to help with studio projects, while some speak of their relationship with mediators as partnerships. These are working arrangements which are infrequently discussed in detail.

Making Contemporary Art covers a wide-ranging territory of artists' practices, (essentially New York-centric) but is not exhaustive of the choices artists can and do make for professional practice. A weighty book, in every sense of the word.

We have five copies of Making Contemporary Art: How Today's Artists Think and Work by Linda Weintraub to be won.