“While exploring what it truly means to be an artist, this book asks honest and important questions about how our definition of identity influences our shared concept of art.” Time
Description
Following her retirement from Princeton University, celebrated historian Dr. Nell Irvin Painter surprised everyone in her life by returning to school―in her sixties―to earn a BFA and MFA in painting. In Old in Art School, she travels from her beloved Newark to the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design; finds meaning in the artists she loves, even as she comes to understand how they may be undervalued; and struggles with the unstable balance between the pursuit of art and the inevitable, sometimes painful demands of a life fully lived.
How are women and artists seen and judged by their age, looks, and race? What does it mean when someone says, “You will never be an artist?” Who defines what “an artist” is and all that goes with such an identity, and how are these ideas tied to our shared conceptions of beauty, value, and difference?
Old in Art School is Nell Painter’s ongoing exploration of those crucial questions. Bringing to bear incisive insights from two careers, Painter weaves a frank, funny, and often surprising tale of her move from academia to art.
Praise
“While exploring what it truly means to be an artist, this book asks honest and important questions about how our definition of identity influences our shared concept of art.” Time
“In this sweet, nuanced memoir, revered historian Painter recounts…how getting an up-close view to all things art changed her life.” Entertainment Weekly
“With honest and elegant prose…her narrative weaves expertly among her art school experience, family upbringing, the loss of her mother, caring for her father at a distance, and art itself…as well as the potentially damaging subculture of art school.” Library Journal (starred review)
“The author offers perceptive insights about the meaning of art: the difference between thinking like a historian and an artist; the ‘contented concentration’ she feels when making art; and the works of many black artists. A spirited chronicle of transformation and personal triumph.” Kirkus Reviews
“A cup of courage for everyone who wants to change their lives. This is not a story about starting over; it’s about continuing on the journey.” Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Jun 18, 2018 |
| Release Date | June 19, 2018 |
| Release Date Machine | 1529366400 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Health & Wellness, Biographies & Memoirs, Women, Politics & Social Sciences, Social Sciences, Psychology & Mental Health, Art & Literature, Nonfiction - Adult, Nonfiction - All |
Author Bio
Nell Irvin Painter is the award-winning author of many books, including Sojourner Truth, Southern History across the Color Line, Creating Black Americans, The History of White People, and Standing at Armageddon. She is the Edwards Professor of American History, emerita, at Princeton University. In 2020, she was named the chair of the board of directors of the MacDowell Colony, one of the nation’s leading contemporary arts organizations.
Narrator Bio
Nell Irvin Painter is the award-winning author of many books, including Sojourner Truth, Southern History across the Color Line, Creating Black Americans, The History of White People, and Standing at Armageddon. She is the Edwards Professor of American History, emerita, at Princeton University. In 2020, she was named the chair of the board of directors of the MacDowell Colony, one of the nation’s leading contemporary arts organizations.
Overview
Following her retirement from Princeton University, celebrated historian Dr. Nell Irvin Painter surprised everyone in her life by returning to school―in her sixties―to earn a BFA and MFA in painting. In Old in Art School, she travels from her beloved Newark to the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design; finds meaning in the artists she loves, even as she comes to understand how they may be undervalued; and struggles with the unstable balance between the pursuit of art and the inevitable, sometimes painful demands of a life fully lived.
How are women and artists seen and judged by their age, looks, and race? What does it mean when someone says, “You will never be an artist?” Who defines what “an artist” is and all that goes with such an identity, and how are these ideas tied to our shared conceptions of beauty, value, and difference?
Old in Art School is Nell Painter’s ongoing exploration of those crucial questions. Bringing to bear incisive insights from two careers, Painter weaves a frank, funny, and often surprising tale of her move from academia to art.
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