Adam Moss, author: The Work of Art (book)

Subtitled “How Something Comes From Nothing,” this heavy, beautifully designed and written, 423-page book explores the “celebration of the art that happens when instinct meets rigor.” Author Moss interviews 43 creative folks, ranging from visual artists, filmmakers, and musicians to playwrights, architects, dancers, and even chefs. He’s particularly interested in unearthing early drafts of finished work and discussing the process from inspiration to final output with the artists while exploring all the effort and craft in between that went into the finished piece. Due to all the graphics involved, I highly recommend the hard copy printing rather than an eBook version. I would suggest this book to anybody interested in creating and recording music, even if they only read the in-depth and insightful interviews with musicians Moses Sumney [Tape Op #125], Nico Muhly, Thomas Bartlett, and Rostam. But it’s in reading interviews across all the different disciplines represented here that you’ll see the bigger picture and the commonality between creating art, regardless of the medium. When director Sofia Coppola talks about trusting your instincts and says, “…you shouldn’t doubt yourself – go with it. Later you’ll understand,” this is something we’ve all experienced while recording music. Reading a text exchange between producer Thomas Bartlett and artist Glen Hansard as they remotely collaborated on a song together is like a master class on how to work with an artist and steer them in a supportive way, while still pushing an artist into an interesting area they might not have tried themselves. This book is a joy to read – one to leave out in your creative space and dip in and out of randomly when you’re open to receiving some inspiration. Highly recommended.