Gilda Williams’ “How to Write About Contemporary Art” is the best handbook to teach you how to write engagingly about the art of our time. Indispensable for students, art professionals, and others interested in writing, this book first provides an overview of basic issues of style and content, the goals and structure of the text, as well as setting and language. The second part of the book is full of practical tips across the spectrum of art writing, focusing on specific writing formats such as academic essays, press releases and news stories, auction and exhibition catalog texts, exhibition introductions and wall texts, opinion pieces and exhibition reviews, and writing for websites and blogs.
Helping to avoid more common stumbling blocks such as unnecessary jargon and poor story structure, Gilda Williams emphasizes the importance of careful immersion and background research, and shows how to use language effectively, develop fresh ideas, and structure the text convincingly. The best examples of text from 64 authors, including Claire Bishop, Thomas Crow, T. J. Demos, Okwui Enwezor, Dave Hickey, John Kelsey, Chris Kraus, Rosalind Krauss, Stuart Morgan, Hito Steyerl, and Adam Szymczyk, are analyzed in depth, supported by more than 30 illustrations. In addition, the book contains a list of relevant literature and good advice on how to build your own contemporary art library.
“How to write about contemporary art” is an essential handbook for anyone interested in articulating and communicating the ideology of contemporary art.
Translated by Ingrid Ruudi
Edited by Maarin Ektermann
Language editor: Tiina Hallik
Editor-in-chief: Neeme Lopp
Graphic design: Studio Studio
Original design: Sarah Praill
240 pages, in Estonian
Estonian Academy of Arts Press, 2017
ISBN 978-9949-594-09-2