How artists make a living and how money changes art
It may not be the worst time in history to get paid to make art, but it certainly is the strangest. The institutions and markets that have been supporting the arts are undergoing massive changes, some even disappearing. Meanwhile the tools to make art and find audiences have never been more accessible, and there are more people than ever making art.
How Artists Make Money and How Money Makes Artists is an attempt to reckon with the history of money in the arts - from Titian to Taylor Swift - and how that complicated relationship is changing. David Berry analyzes past and present financial dynamics in the arts to show the practicalities of how artists make a living and how that, in turn, affects the reception and perception of artists and their work: the impacts art has on wider society, how economic realities affect aesthetic judgements of art, what kind of people are able to work as artists, and how political and cultural ideas about the nature of art affect what kind of resources are made available to it.
David Berry explores how art has become central to our understanding of humanity by tying art to what makes the world go round: money. Along the way, he challenges popular ideas of what constitutes a successful artistic career and considers what our treatment of artists says about us.
"Berry's foray into the traditional discomfort artists have talking about money – especially coming out the tail of the "trying isn't cool; you're a sellout" '90s – is both refreshing and, at points, crushing." – Fish Griwkowsky, Edmonton Journal
"[How Artists Make Money and How Money Makes Artists] is a thorough interrogation of the intersection of creativity and wealth, both historic and contemporary." – Josh O'Kane, The Globe and Mail
Praise for On Nostalgia:
"Coming hot on the heels of the creator era, Berry's incredibly timely book deftly examines the delicate balance between art and commerce, providing for both the uninitiated and those with intimate knowledge a thoughtful glimpse at the tightrope that artists of all disciplines must walk." – Rollie Pemberton, musician and author of Bedroom Rapper
"Berry's subject is a wide-ranging one, but he pulls off the impressive feat of covering plenty of ground in a concise and compelling manner. " – Tobias Carroll, Literary Hub
"If nostalgia was a disease in the Good Old Days, then David Berry's cogently argued, intelligent, and witty book should be prescribed reading for anyone wishing to understand what sometimes feels like a peculiarly virulent epidemic of our current times." – Travis Elborough, author of Atlas of Improbable Places
"We're so lucky to have a writer as thoughtful, funny, smart, and cutting as David Berry. Nostalgia dictates so much of our world, and there isn't a better cataloger, critic, and guide through it than Berry." – Scaachi Koul, author of Sucker Punch
