What Artists See, What Inspires Them, When They Look

December 15, 2017  |   News
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“The Artist Project: What Artists See When They Look at Art” is the book version of the web series the Met produced in 2015-16. The museum selected 120 critically acclaimed contemporary artists and released brief videos (available online) in which each shared “what they see” when they look at art in the Met’s collection, which dates back 5,000 years. The project provided a platform to highlight the museum’s holdings and draw connections between largely historical works and the fresh perspectives of artists working today.

In Culture Type’s online review by Victoria L. Valentine, she wrote that: [pictured above] Mark Bradford connects with the paintings of Clyfford Still, including “Untitled,” 1950. | From left, Bradford portrait, Photo by Jackie Neale/Kathryn Hurni © The Met (page 46); Still painting, © 2017 City & County of Denver. Courtesy Clyfford Still Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Photo: The Met (page 47)
A number of African American artists participated in the project. Nick Cave, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Kerry James Marshall, Julie Mehretu, Hank Willis Thomas, Mickalene Thomas, and Kehinde Wiley, and several others, were among those who revealed the artists and works in the museum’s collection that inspire them and may influence their own work.

This book, “The Artist Project” by The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a good read!