The Do It Yourself Artwork

Viewers of contemporary art are often invited to involve themselves actively in artworks, by entering installations, touching objects, performing instructions, or clicking on interactive websites. Why have artists sought to engage spectators in these new forms of participation? In what ways does active participation affect the viewer's experience and the status of the artwork? Spanning a range of practices, including kinetic art, happenings, environments, performance, installations, relational and new media art from the 1950s to the present, this critical anthology sheds light on the history and specificity of artworks that only come to life when you – the viewer - are invited to "do it yourself." Rather than a specialist topic in the history of twentieth- and twenty-first century art, the "do-it-yourself" artwork raises broader issues concerning the role of the viewer in art, the status of the artwork, and the socio-political relations between art and its contexts.

The book invites you into the private studios of seventeen of the most celebrated contemporary artists as they draw, paint, sculpt, or design an original project for readers to recreate at home. It demystifies the studio practice through the fun, accessible format of D.I.Y., leading you step-by-step through each artist's project. Eight inserts specially designed by the artists for completing their projects - from stencils to cut-outs - are included. The result can inspire people everywhere to blaze their own creative trails

50 of the world's most exciting designers and visionary artists have devised simple objects that anyone can make at home. Do It Yourself collects 50 simple, beautiful projects by the world's best designers and artists. From lamps and tables to toys and chairs, all items can be constructed using basic tools and everyday items, making designer classics from the everyday. Each project is illustrated with full color photographs of the finished piece and all tools and materials required to make it, in addition to hand-drawn illustrations for the step-by-step instructions. Text for each object describes the design concept and gives a bio for the designer plus the price of materials and time to complete. The book features designers and artists from all over the globe and from a variety of disciplines, including Konstantin Grcic, Rafael Horzon, Hella Jongerius, Sarah Sze, and Ai Weiwei. This book offers readers affordable access to world-class design – as well as hours of fun – and will inspire young designers for years to come.

In this collection of taxidermy art, you’ll find a winged monkey with a fez and a martini glass, a jewel-encrusted piglet, a bionic fawn, and a polar bear balancing on a floating refrigerator. Author Robert Marbury makes for a friendly (and often funny) guide, addressing the three big questions people have about taxidermy art: What is it all about? Can I see some examples? and How can I make my own? He takes readers through a brief history of taxidermy (and what sets artistic taxidermy apart) and presents stunning pieces from the most influential artists in the field. Rounding out the book are illustrated how-to lessons to get readers started on their own work, with sources for taxidermy materials and resources for the budding taxidermist.

Discover the happiness benefits of putting brush to paper with a guide that puts judgment aside and “encourages simple enjoyment of painting” (Library Journal). Meditative, peaceful, and calming, watercolour painting offers a sense of control and self-worth to everyone, with no judgment or goal beyond the joy of painting itself. This book shows you how to calm and enhance your outlook through the movement of brush on paper. Master artist Jean Haines leads you through the journey, putting the emphasis on the joy of play rather than on pressure to perform or produce—and showing you how to wipe away your worries with the soothing, gentle strokes of watercolour paint. “Starting from the premise that everyone can paint, Haines frees readers of the goals and expectations of end results, and encourages simple enjoyment of painting. Open-ended, detailed exercises guide readers through experimenting with paint to gain a sense of control; to relieve stress; to escape; or to be in a better mood. The emotional and psychological properties of color are discussed as are obstacles to creativity and happiness. . . . [a] unique blend of self-care and expression.” —Library Journal

This book considers the history of Do It Yourself art, music and publishing, demonstrating how DIY strategies have transitioned from being marginal, to emergent, to embedded. Through secondary research, observation and 30 original interviews, each chapter analyses one of 15 creative cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dusseldorf, New York, London, Manchester, Cologne, Washington DC, Detroit, Berlin, Glasgow, Olympia (Washington), Portland (Oregon), Moscow and Istanbul) and assesses the contemporary situation in each in the post-subcultural era of digital and internet technologies. The book challenges existing subcultural histories by examining less well-known scenes as well as exploring DIY "best practices" to trace a template of best approaches for sustainable, independent, locally owned creative enterprises.

The severe financial austerity imposed on New York City during the 1975 fiscal crisis resulted in a city falling apart. Broken windows, crumbling walls, and piles of bricks were everywhere. While, for many, this physical decay was a sign that the postwar welfare state had failed, for others, it represented a site of risky opportunity that could stimulate novel forms of creativity and community. In this book, Andrew Strombeck explores the legacy of this crisis for the city's literature and art, focusing on one neighborhood where changes were acutely felt—the Lower East Side. In what became a paradigmatic example of gentrification, the Lower East Side's population shifted from working-class people to Wall Street traders and ad agents. This transformation occurred, in part, because of high-profile local artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, and Kiki Smith, but Strombeck argues that neighborhood writers also played a role. Drawing on archival research and original author interviews, he examines the innovative work of Kathy Acker, David Wojnarowicz, Miguel Piñero, Sylvère Lotringer, Lynne Tillman, and others and concludes that these writers still have much to teach us about changes in the nature of work and the emergence of a do-it-yourself ethos. DIY on the Lower East Side shows how place and politics shaped literature, and how New York City policies adopted at the time continue to shape our world.

"With its gentle affirmations, inspirational quotes, fill-in-the-blank lists and tasks — write yourself a thank-you letter, describe yourself at 80, for example — The Artist’s Way proposes an egalitarian view of creativity: Everyone’s got it."—The New York Times "Morning Pages have become a household name, a shorthand for unlocking your creative potential"—Vogue Over four million copies sold! Since its first publication, The Artist's Way phenomena has inspired the genius of Elizabeth Gilbert and millions of readers to embark on a creative journey and find a deeper connection to process and purpose. Julia Cameron's novel approach guides readers in uncovering problems areas and pressure points that may be restricting their creative flow and offers techniques to free up any areas where they might be stuck, opening up opportunities for self-growth and self-discovery. The program begins with Cameron’s most vital tools for creative recovery – The Morning Pages, a daily writing ritual of three pages of stream-of-conscious, and The Artist Date, a dedicated block of time to nurture your inner artist. From there, she shares hundreds of exercises, activities, and prompts to help readers thoroughly explore each chapter. She also offers guidance on starting a “Creative Cluster” of fellow artists who will support you in your creative endeavors. A revolutionary program for personal renewal, The Artist's Way will help get you back on track, rediscover your passions, and take the steps you need to change your life.

In the mid-1990s a fresh, Do-It-Yourself approach to producing album art began to percolate through the post-punk, emo and hardcore music scenes in the US and Europe. The visual material that is gathered together inDIY Album Art: Paper Bags & Office Suppliesshowcases a unique aesthetic and usage of materials borne out of financial necessity and creative imperatives. While a great number of the bands have not endured, their hand-made, screen-printed, glued, photocopied, drawn on, sewn together packaging paved the way for the potential of innovative, non-traditional music packaging.

Namechecked as the "LeBron James of plant styling..." by "Good Morning America", Hilton Carter now shows how you can make, style, decorate and care for your own stunning plant-inspired interior with his 25 step-by-step DIY projects and plant hacks. Carter, the Instagram star of the plant world and creator of green interiors has given us glimpses into many stunning plant-filled homes where ivy and creeping figs hang miraculously from ceilings, moss and ferns grow effortlessly to create living walls, fiddle leaf ferns and cheese plants thrive, whilst air plants beautify artworks and succulents flourish whether in pots on windowsills or planted in terrariums... Now in his third book, Wild Creations, Hilton actually shows you how you can create these amazing fixtures that enable plants to become such an integral part of an interior. Divided into four sections, Wild Ideas, Wild Hacks, Wild Rants and Wild Plants, Wild Creations shows you step by step how you can create air plant wreaths, moss walls, leather hanging plant stands, terrariums and many more stunning projects that will give you the green interior you crave. And just so your plants feel at home in your interior there is even a painting by numbers jungle mural, plus plant-scented candles to make sure your interior not only stays wild but that you and all its inhabitants thrive from the health giving benefits of greenery.