Day Jobs

Day Jobs examines the overlooked, powerful impact of day jobs on the visual arts.Success for artists is often measured by their ability to quit a day job and focus full time on their practice. Yet these jobs can often spur creative growth by providing artists with new materials and methods, hands-on knowledge of a specific industry that becomes an area of artistic investigation, or a predictable paycheck and structure that enable unpredictable ideas. The book is comprised of thirty-nine chapters, one for each included artist, with images of their work, commissioned essays, and interviews. Included are creative pioneers such as Larry Bell, Mark Bradford, Tishan Hsu, Howardena Pindell, and Julia Scher, who offer firsthand accounts of how their day jobs—as a frame shop technician, hair stylist, word processor, museum employee, and security systems installer, respectively—altered their artistic trajectories in surprisingly profound ways. By examining the impact of day jobs on artists, Day Jobs seeks to demystify artistic production and overturn the romanticized concept of the artist sequestered in their studio, waiting forinspiration to strike. Conceived as a corrective to traditional art historical narratives, this book encourages us to more openly acknowledge the precarious and generative ways that economic and creative pursuits are intertwined. Day Jobs was on display at The Blanton Museum of Art from February 19-July 23, 2023. It then travelled to the Cantor Arts Center from March 6-July 21, 2024.

Table of Contents:
Artist Chapters (in order): 1) Emma Amos 2) Richard Artschwager 3) Genesis Belanger 4) Larry Bell 5) Gretchen Bender 6) Sara Bennett 7) Gregory Blackstock 8) Mark Bradford 9) Violette Bule 10) Jim Campbell 11) Lenka Clayton, 12) Marsha Cottrell 13) Jeffrey Gibson 14) Jay Lynn Gomez 15) Matthew Angelo Harrison 16) Tishan Hsu 17) Tom Kiefer 18) Margaret Kilgallen 19) Barbara Kruger 20) Ahree Lee 21) Nate Lewis 22) Sol LeWitt 23) Vivian Maier 24) Robert Mangold 25) Narsiso Martinez 26) Allan McCollum 27) Virginia L. Montgomery 28) Ragen Moss 29) Howardena Pindell 30) Chuck Ramirez 31) Manuel A. Rodríguez-Delgado 32) Sandy Rodriguez 33) James Rosenquist 34) Robert Ryman 35) Julia Scher 36) Lillian Schwartz 37) Frank Stella 38) Ricardo Valverde 39) Andy Warhol

About the Author :
Artists: Emma Amos, Richard Artschwager, Geneis Belander, Larry Bell, Gretchen Bender, Sara Bennett, Gregory Blackstock, Mark Bradford, Violette Blue, Jim Campbell, Lenka Clayton, Marsha Cottrell, Jeffrey Gibson, Jay Lynn Gomez, Matthew Angelo Harrison, Tishan Hsu, Tom Kiefer, Margaret Kilgallen, Barbara Kruger, Ahree Lee, Nate Lewis, Sol LeWitt, Vivian Maier, Robert Mangold, Narsiso Martinez, Allan McCollum, Virginia L. Montgomery, Ragen Moss, Howardena Pindell, Chuck Ramirez, Manuel A. Rodríguez-Delgado, Sandy Rodriguez, James Rosenquist, Robert Ryman, Julia Scher, Liliam Schwartz, Frank Stella, Ricardo Valverde, Andy Warhol Day Jobs is on view at the Cantor Arts Center from March 6-July 21, 2024.