The Artist Project: What Artists See When They Look At Art

Noey, Christopher with a foreword by Thomas P. Campbell (2017)

This title is in print.

Preview online Buy the book

Watsonline WorldCat

Watch the trailer
Inside the Publication—“The Artist Project: What Artists See When They Look at Art.”

Read blog posts about The Artist Project on Now at The Met.

Publication Details

Description

Artists have long been stimulated and motivated by the work of those who came before them—sometimes, centuries before them. In this volume, 120 international contemporary artists discuss works from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection that spark their imagination. Their insightful musings shed new light on art-making, museums, and the creative process. Images of works from The Met collection appear alongside images of the contemporary artists' work, allowing readers to discover a rich web of visual connections that spans cultures and millennia.

Table of contents

Foreword—Thomas P. Campbell

How Artists See Art—Chris Noey

The Artist Project

Artist Biographies

Captions and Credits

Acknowledgments

About the authors

Christopher Noey provides the introduction and was series director of The Artist Project web feature and is currently Senior Advisor in the Office of the Director at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Thomas P. Campbell is the former director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Press reviews

Artists & Illustrators

“As fascinating as it is beautiful… an engrossing exploration of both the history of art and contemporary practice.'"

Culture Trip

“The Artist Project not only draws links between history and contemporary practices, but also gives you rare insight into a museum’s collection.'"

Culture Type

“Handsome…provides prime examples of intellectual, conceptual, and aesthetic connections overriding tendencies toward homogeneity…The printed volume provides an alternative, more intimate, way of accessing the information, understanding the artists’s perspectives, and studying the images from the collection. If you followed the online project, you will appreciate the book. Similar to an exhibition catalog, it’s a tangible documentation of the online project. Page after page, artists speak with candor and passion about what they 'see when they look at art.'"

Design Observer

“The insights from these artists, now gathered with photos in this 272-page volume, offer additional context and a fresh angle into the way artists think and speak about art.'"

Format magazine

“A recommended read for visual artists looking for some motivation and inspiration.”

The Guardian

“The choices made and the commentaries that explain them are endlessly fascinating: here is the voluminous proof of Proust’s belief that art multiplies reality, enabling us to see the world from inside someone else’s head.”

Happening

“Gives a unique insight on not only works from the New York collection but also on the ways in which artists engage with art and how this impacts their creative process.”

Mature Times

“The book encourages readers to study and reconsider, to look and to look again.”

Nashville Arts Magazine

“This timeless coffee-table book contains essays by contemporary artists discussing iconic pieces at the MET, taking you on a detailed tour into the heart of the museum and capturing the works that inspired them to create. Artists and art lovers will cherish this look at the creative process and the art of influence, complete with stunning images.”

Natalie Frank for New York Magazine

“A fascinating look at how contemporary artists dialogue with this historic collection, in often surprising pairings!”

New York Times Holiday Gift Guide

“The book has the effect of what it would feel like to be blissfully trapped in the museum's halls with John Baldessari, Roz Chast and Nan Goldin.”

Readings

“All of the interviewed artists have excellent takes on their chosen works – some quirky, others intellectual, but all insightful. This volume will inspire you to look at old art in new ways.”

Vanity Fair

“The Met collects inspiration from innovators.”

Related Titles

Titles by thematic category (361)

Modern and Contemporary Art

Titles by author (19)

Thomas P. Campbell

Christopher Noey

Plan Ahead

MetPublications