HBL Book of the Week: The Art of Not Making by Michael Petry

Thursday 23 June 2011

Unique Mono-Block Resin Chairs xxx by Sam Durant


The Art of Not Making: The new artist/artisan relationship by Michael Petry (Thames & Hudson, 2011) is a weighty new coffee-table book which explores the relationship between successful artists and the artisans and craftspeople who realise their work for them. Featuring interviews with over a hundred contemporary artists, none of whom fabricate their own pieces, the book considers issues of authorship and creative originality.


HBL loves: the logical organisation of the book, which makes a potentially thorny subject very easy to read and understand. The artist interviews are split into five chapters, based on the dominant material they use in their work, and the writing is accessible at all times.

For more on this topic, subscribers can read our interview with Rolf Sachs, which touches on the theme, and also see our report from DMY Berlin, where one of the major projects on show involved young designers deliberately copying other people's work.