See What You're Missing: 31 Ways Artists Notice the World - and How You Can Too

Description

The internationally bestselling author on how art can help us appreciate life in all its strange and exhilarating beauty Artists have learnt to pay attention. The rest of us spend most of our time on auto-pilot, rushing from place to place, our overfamiliarity blinding us to the marvellous, life-affirming phenomena of our world. But that doesn't have to be the case. In his typically engaging style, Will Gompertz takes us into the minds of artists - from contemporary stars to old masters, the well-known to those at the artistic vanguard - to show us how to look and experience the world with their heightened powers of perception. In See What You're Missing we learn, for example, how Rembrandt can help us see ourselves, how David Hockney helps us to see nature, and how Frida Kahlo can help us see through pain. In doing so we come to know the intoxicating feeling of being truly alive. 'Will Gompertz is the best teacher you never had' Guardian

Will Gompertz is a world-leading expert in, and champion of, the arts. Having spent seven years as a Director of the Tate Galleries followed by eleven years as the BBC's Arts Editor, he is now Artistic Director at the Barbican. Will has interviewed and observed many of the world's leading artists, actors, writers, musicians, directors and designers. Creativity magazine in New York ranked him as one of the 50 most original thinkers in the world. He is the author of the internationally bestselling What Are You Looking At? and Think Like an Artist, both translated into more than 20 languages.

Gompertz insightfully explores the processes and personalities of a remarkable roster of artists . . . effortless prose and laser focus on the communicative potential of art make this a worthwhile read -- James Woods Marshall * Library Journal * Thorough and diverse . . . Gompertz's illuminations of artists' lives and minds are accessible and full of valuable information. This is an exhilarating resource for personal growth, a consciousness-raising exploration for artists and art lovers, and an asset for anyone interested in the who, what, and why of great artworks * Booklist * Gompertz doesn't have it in him to be boring * The Times * He is a natural communicator whose passion for art is expressed with wit and verve -- Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England Will Gompertz is the best teacher you never had * Guardian * Hugely accessible . . . writes about difficult things without letting on that they are difficult * Independent on Sunday on What Are You Looking At? * The Shock of the New redone a la Bill Bryson . . . richly detailed and highly entertaining * Daily Telegraph on What Are You Looking At? * Lively, fresh, energetic . . . He explains movements and "isms" with clarity and humour * Scotsman on What Are You Looking At? *