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Old In Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over

Ebook Download Old In Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over

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Praise for Old in Art School A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice One of O: The Oprah Magazine's Top Books of Summer One of Time's Best Memoirs of the Year So Far A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the YearNew & Noteworthy (The New York Times Book Review)1 of 26 Must-Read Race and Culture Books of the Summer (Colorlines) 1 of 16 Books You Should Read This June (Literary Hub)1 of 10 Stranger-Than-Fiction Books to Devour This Summer (Parade)1 of 15 Books Feminists Should Read in June (B*tch) Editors' Spring Pick: 1 of 34 Titles to Wave a Flag About (Library Journal) 1 of 11 Life-Changing New Memoirs You Need to Read This Summer (Hello Giggles) 1 of 5 New Books for the Woman Who Does It All (Ms. Career Girl) 1 of 7 New Beach Reads from Women of Color that You Won’t Be Able to Put Down (Cool Mom Picks) "In this sweet, nuanced memoir, revered historian Painter recounts her late-in-life (and post-retirement) decision to earn a BFA and MFA in painting, and how getting an up-close view to all things art changed her life." ―Entertainment Weekly "While exploring what it truly means to be an artist, this book asks honest and important questions about how our definition of identity influences our shared concept of art." ―Time "Candid and cheerfully irreverent . . . Bringing new energy and insight to questions that have long preoccupied the art world. As Painter puts it: 'What counts as art? Who is an artist? Who decides?' Painter gets more playful with these questions than she initially lets on. One of the most enjoyable aspects of Old in Art School is seeing her relax her historian’s grip on social meaning and open up to new ways of seeing . . . Old in Art School is . . . meandering, pleasingly and profoundly so, as Painter negotiates the artist she’s becoming: not identical with her historian self, but not running away from it either." ―The New York Times "A smart, funny and compelling case for going after your heart's desires, no matter your age or what your critics say." ―Essence "Painter claims her birthright as an artist, a black woman, and a woman of a certain age at a time and in a cultural milieu that ignores all three." ―CNN"Painter, most famous for her book The History of White People, now addresses the equally ambitious question of what it takes to be an artist―and whether or not she has it . . . If this book were a novel, the artist would have been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art by now, but Art School arrives at a messier, braver conclusion. Painter is a painter because she studied it, works hard at it and keeps doing it. Being able to paint is one kind of gift, this book suggests, but learning to paint is another, and just as precious." ―Time "Twelve years ago, at the age of 64, Princeton history professor emerita and best-selling author Nell Painter decided to reinvent herself as an artist, an avocation she had always longed to pursue but never had the confidence or opportunity to commit to . . . She tells her story with wit, honesty and insight as she learns to see her art, and herself, all over again." ―Diane Cole, The Wall Street Journal "This tension―between the private, idyllic state of making art and the social and political realities of being an artist―is central to Old in Art School. It’s very much to Painter’s credit that she refuses to become cynical . . . She writes about her experiences with grace and style . . . Painter’s background of writing history for a general audience serves her well in this regard; she’s able not only to narrate but also to analyze her trajectory in clear, accessible language, without relying on theory. The book moves easily between experiences and analysis, explanations of research and process, and is mixed with brief history lessons on the artists whose work she admires." ―The Nation "Historian Nell Painter was 64 when she stepped down from her job at Princeton to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. She chronicles that experience in her memoir Old in Art School (Counterpoint, June), bringing her fierce intelligence to questions not just of age but also race and what it means to be an artist." ―Los Angeles Times "One of the must-reads of the year." ―The Philadelphia Inquirer "This book is so brilliant and, like, delightful. One of our preeminent historians and intellectuals goes back to college and then grad school to study art, with college kids, and has all the confusions and pleasures and anxieties and disappointments and realizations you might expect, but don’t expect. I love this book." ―Ross Gay, Book Marks"Her memoir . . . is many things: an appraisal of artists living and dead, a hymn to her home state of New Jersey, a meditation on her parents’ deaths, a reflection on the travails of leading a scholarly association. It’s also a sharp critique of the teaching methods and social environment in M.F.A. programs." ―The Chronicle of Higher Education "When she was 64, famed historian Nell Painter decided to enroll at the Mason School of the Arts of Rutgers University as an undergraduate student. What does an emerita professor of Princeton University gain from starting college over again? That’s the journey Painter takes us on in her salient memoir about reinvention . . . Old in Art School is really a memoir about the meaning of art, and who gets to determine what art is." ―B*tch "Having just retired from teaching history at Princeton and authoring several books on race and identity, Painter is well-equipped to dissect the various forms of discrimination she faces in these programs. And she does it all with a sense of humor, honoring, above all else, creativity, and openness." ―Literary Hub "After years of writing history, Painter has become a visual artist, but she also discovers that she does not need to leave history behind. In this book, a memoir, she brings the two 'truths' together―the personal and the collective, the artistic and the historical―and the result is a heartening coming-of-age story for the retired set." ―The Washington Post"This feisty and delightfully irreverent memoir is a coming-of-age story for the over-60 set . . . The most impressive portrait that she achieves here is her own―an unstoppable force tethered to an iron will." ―The Boston Globe "A joyous book; a bumpy but unmistakable love story . . . Informal yet passionate, witty yet heartfelt, Old in Art School feels like a painting rendered in words; a vivid picture of an experience in time." ―The Seattle Times"There’s a satisfying emotional clarity to this book. Painter is confessional but never mawkish." ―Providence Journal "Inspiring and inspired." ―Albuquerque Journal "This is a story of a woman determined to redefine herself, a task made more difficult by the casual racism she faced in school and the increasing frailty of her parents, both approaching age 90 . . . She tells an inspiring tale of an older person pursuing a long delayed passion. And she has an entertaining writing style . . . It bears repeating: You’re never too old to tell your stories, or to find new ways of sharing them." ―Star Tribune (Minneapolis)"[Nell Painter] leaves us with a detailed record of her personal art history, a map to understanding her idiosyncratic works and a written means of insuring that her art is not forgotten." ―The Brooklyn Rail "Painter’s memoir, enhanced by her artwork as she progresses, bursts with explosions of self-knowledge as she deals with ideas of beauty, value, and identity in her ongoing journey." ―The National Book Review "The book is beautifully written, fun and funny, describing how, after a life of overcoming unfair treatment as a black woman, she is now fighting the discrimination of being OLD, black, and female . . . Old in Art School appeals not just to those who dream about becoming late-in-life artists, but anyone who grapples with how to direct their energies post-retirement. In this sense, being an 'artist' is more about designing your life, defying the kind of giving up that retiring sometimes implies." ―Hyperallergic "Probing and smart, often irreverent, surprisingly confessional, always lively." ―DAME "Painter's transition from academia to art is inspiring as is this 2018 release." ―Sophie Matthews, Women.com, One of the Best Books of the Year "Making important observations about age, gender, and looks in the art world, Old in Art School tells more than just Nell's story as she transitions from the academic world to the art world. For anyone who needs a pick-me-up this summer, this memoir will give you hope that it's never too late to pursue your passion and accomplish your lifelong goals." ―PopSugar "As a historian with years of incisive scholarship behind her, Painter is perfectly poised to examine her experience, and the larger art ecosystem, from a more nuanced lens . . . She makes the most of her talents as a writer and offers a story filled with passion, discovery, and, ultimately, her own encouraging triumph." ―Artsy"The book is less about the wounds inflicted over the journey than about the process of becoming an artist―of forging a new identity in the autumn of your life . . . It’s that spirit of embrace―of finding new ways to define your worth, and to do so without apology―that makes Painter’s story resonate." ―The Glow Up"An alert observer, Painter renders her experience with humor, with skepticism, with anxiety, and in many voices . . . Old in Art School succeeds as a story of a budding artist, and also as guidebook: you can design your own art education by following along with Painter’s readings and reflections on artists in the canon; women artists who Painter appreciates, and elevates, and sometimes befriends; artists who become important to Painter’s interests and to her cultivated eye . . . Painter communicates in language which is bodacious and, in moments, color-saturated . . . If you read Old in Art School, you will learn, from Nell Painter, what it means to speak in color." ―Women's Review of Books "If you love art and the creative process of expressing your passion, and if you are of a certain age, you will be inspired by her grit and work ethic . . . Her story has inspired me, as an older reader, to ask myself: What do I want to start after retirement?" ―Cascadia Weekly"Painter clearly enjoys the freedom of being an artist . . . Her memoir captures the adrenaline rush of learning and honing her artistic skills." ―New Jersey Monthly "Breezy and intimate . . . The heart of this book is Painter’s unshakeable dedication to making art. It is ultimately as much a manifesto as a memoir." ―Chapter 16 "An argument for the necessity of arts education and a critique of it, served up with generous doses of wit and charm . . . Painter allows herself to be challenged in ways that I wish were more common―perhaps it would improve our public discourse about art." ―The Undefeated"Painter’s absolute joy is infectious and her tenacity will inspire you." ―Ms. Career Girl "Bracingly honest . . . More than a fish-out-of-water tale, Painter’s memoir testifies to her unusual ambition." ―Harvard Magazine"Bold, brave . . . Old in Art School is a fascinating memoir about Painter’s daring choice to follow a passion with courage and intellect, even when the odds seemed firmly stacked against her." ―BookPage "Fascinating . . . That the diligence that was an asset throughout her academic career was viewed almost as a liability in art school is an intriguing tension; so too is Painter’s struggle to see art absent of the ideological analysis characteristic of her academic training . . . Painter, at 75, continues to paint, and that’s where the book’s greatest lesson lies." ―The Christian Science Monitor"Painter chronicles her experience of returning to art school as an older African American woman with honest and elegant prose. Her narrative weaves expertly among her art school experience, family upbringing, the loss of her mother, caring for her father at a distance, and art itself . . . Painter’s memoir presents her as an accessible artist, warm and inviting and keen to share her hard-won insights into her craft." ―Library Journal (starred review) "This is a courageous, intellectually stimulating, and wholly entertaining story of one woman reconciling two worlds and being open to the possibilities and changes life offers." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Painter is a personality par excellence; forthright, erudite, and perfectly profane, her voice enthralls . . . Filled with immense insight and presence, Painter’s memoir confronts a variety of issues and what it means to shoulder those burdens in the pursuit of art. Essential reading." ―Foreword Reviews (starred review) "Bracingly candid in her vividly analytical chronicling of her challenging adventure and its emotional, intellectual, and creative demands, she astutely critiques the way art is taught and charts her quest to figure out if her passion for history was detrimental or essential to her visual explorations. With her art displayed throughout this deeply inquisitive, involving memoir of transformation enriched by art history, Painter―funny, furious, brilliant, and mesmerizing―celebrates the hard work art requires and the profound freedom it engenders." ―Booklist "A candid, captivating memoir . . . The author offers perceptive insights about the meaning of art: the difference between thinking like a historian and an artist; the 'contented concentration' she feels when making art; and the works of many black artists. A spirited chronicle of transformation and personal triumph." ―Kirkus Reviews "Nell Painter’s masterful, disarmingly witty, and profound book Old in Art School will change your perspective about what is possible in the full arc of a life. Her probing book about [her] art school journey, as sage as it is humorous, revels in the untold magic of exploring how beginnings can happen at all stages of the journey. This book is indispensable nourishment for the creative soul." ―Sarah Lewis, Harvard University, author of The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery "Nell Painter has courage and intelligence. She reminds us that the only option as we grow older is to grow younger. Never forgetting our curiosity and passion, we are well armed for the challenge." ―Maira Kalman, author of The Principles of Uncertainty and Beloved Dog "Old in Art School is Nell Painter’s journey from famous historian to humble art student at age sixty-four. Along the way, she chronicles her own family history, including a mother who reinvented herself at the same age! Painter blows up treasured clichés about what it means to be 'an artist' and who fits that role, presenting us with comic scenes of questionable pedagogy. This book should have a corrective impact on art education―it deserves to be widely read and hotly discussed!" ―Joyce Kozloff, artist "Even before a teacher tells her, 'You’ll never be an artist,' Painter’s story wins us over with its contrarian premise. Among twenty-somethings, Painter proves herself a sharp observer―not just of art school partying, pedagogy, and process, but also of generational, sexual, and racial blind spots. Painter has produced a cheerful and beguiling memoir, one that will inspire readers of any age to consider starting again." ―Alexi Worth, artist"Reading Nell Painter’s Old in Art School gave me immense pleasure. Memoirs by black women artists are extremely rare, and this one is so beautifully written, so perfectly formed in terms of its storytelling trajectory, with so many delectable details about art techniques and subject matter, the relationship of the work to her previous projects as a celebrated historian, and her life struggles as the daughter of once-perfect parents, now aged and with health difficulties. Old in Art School seems both definitive and unforgettable. The idea that this brilliant woman would move from a field in which her accomplishments are regarded as superlative to one in which she is constantly plagued by self-doubt and the shortcomings of her 'twentieth-century eyes' alone makes it worth the price of admission." ―Michele Wallace, author of Dark Designs and Visual Culture "One of our most distinguished scholars of race and racism has written an incisive, surprising, eloquent, and often wry account of what it means to go back to school at 64, the age at which most academics contemplate retiring from it. Along the way, Nell Painter helps us to see the world as art, art as the world, and to understand arduous, creative self-transformation as toil worth the trouble. Old in Art School is as edgy as a contemporary work of art: bold in form, assured in line and shape, unflinching in its textured analysis of the ways race, gender, and age color how we perceive the world and how the world perceives us." ―Cathy N. Davidson, author of The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux "With wisdom, insight, brutal honesty, and flashes of humor, Nell Painter shares her journey to become an artist in this fascinating, original memoir. Old in Art School renders both the insecurity and elation of embarking on this path after a long and distinguished academic career. Her courage, sensitivity, and keen observation offer a rare and needed portrait of an older woman determined to live a creative life on her own terms." ―Farah Jasmine Griffin, author of Harlem Nocturne: Women Artists and Progressive Politics During World War II "Old in Art School is a glorious achievement―bighearted and critical, insightful and entertaining. This book is a cup of courage for everyone who wants to change their lives. This is not a story about starting over; it’s about continuing on the journey. Nell Painter has taken the coming of age story to a new level―this is what you get when a wise person gets even wiser, when a true artist spreads her wings." ―Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage and Silver Sparrow "Old in Art School is brilliantly written. A rare reflection of an artist and scholar who combines her voice and vision in this extraordinary work. Painter masterfully weaves a highly personal story into one that situates her art making with her history making . . . It is a book about belonging and longing; expectations and disappointments; beauty and humor. It is engrossing and heroic." ―Deborah Willis, New York University, author of Envisioning Emancipation "We all dream of starting over, but Nell Painter really did it. This unsparing account of inspiration and the creative process takes on racism, loneliness, self-loathing, the hazards of aging, and bad manners in the art world. Funny, edifying, and always mesmerizing, this book is also about searching for―and finding (most of the time)―happiness." ―Martha Hodes, author of Mourning Lincoln “‘There are no second acts in American lives,’ the doomed literary charmer F. Scott Fitzgerald famously lamented. Not so says Nell Painter. A distinguished professor of history at Princeton and author of the celebrated The History of White People, Painter has done what few academics dare―begin again by pursuing a different vocation: in her case, a long-standing drive to make art. In this lively account, she describes how she started over from scratch by enrolling as an undergraduate art major at Rutgers and then a graduate student at the Rhode Island School of Design. Much like her classmates, Painter’s dedication faces competition from ‘real life’―in her case, the declining health of her aged father rather than the social and romantic dramas of twentysomethings―but she also extracts important lessons about gender and racial politics in contemporary America that, contrary to the norm in art schools, demonstrate that such complex issues of ‘identity’ can be addressed in plain but vivid language, even as she gives artistic questions the edge. All in all, Painter makes an invigoratingly affirmative, refreshingly unjaded case―supported by her paintings, drawings, and books―for following one’s passion whenever it asserts itself and wherever it leads.” ―Robert Storr, professor of painting and printmaking, Yale University School of Art Praise for The History of White People "Presenting vivid psychological portraits of Emerson and dozens of other figures variously famous and obscure, and carefully mapping the links between them, Painter's narrative succeeds as an engaging and sophisticated intellectual history, as well as an eloquent reminder of the fluidity (and perhaps futility) of racial categories." ―Booklist (starred review) "Painter reviews the diverse cast in their intellectual milieus, linking them to one another across time and language barriers. Conceptions of beauty (ideals of white beauty [became] firmly embedded in the science of race), social science research, and persistent North/South stereotypes prove relevant to defining whiteness. What we can see, the author observes, depends heavily on what our culture has trained us to look for. For the variable, changing, and often capricious definition of whiteness, Painter offers a kaleidoscopic lens." ―Publishers Weekly "Deeply researched, intelligent, and wonderfully common-sensical, this is a ground-breaking book, and if we're ever going to get to that so- called 'post-racial' society, a necessary book. It locates race where it actually exists, inside our heads, and shows us how recently it came to reside there." ―Russell Banks, author of The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction "In this wide-ranging and passionate book, Nell Painter makes the story of American history into something new. Her array of writers, artists, and politicians, some familiar and some surprising, struggle mightily to create a concept many Americans of all backgrounds now take for granted: 'white people.' " ―Edward Ayers, author of In the Presence of Mine Enemies "The History of White People is a brilliant meditation on the invention of the idea of 'whiteness.' Deeply researched and elegantly written, Painter's presentation will certainly spark conversation and controversy―as it should. Painter's high-octane intelligence makes her perfectly suited to the task." ―Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello "Nell Painter's The History of White People is an amazing race-bending narrative. With grace and energy, she confronts the myth of white people as race-less. She offers an eye-opening examination of slavery, the creation of white-ness, and the way in which racial categories have been both false and destructive. This is story-telling at its best." ―Ellen Goodman, syndicated columnist, Washington Post Writers Group "Not since Stephen Jay Gould's The Mismeasure of Man has there been such a synoptically provocative appreciation of the myths by which a now demographically challenged people sustained themselves and restrained others." ―David Levering Lewis, professor of history, New York University Abu Dhabi, and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of W. E. B. Du Bois, 1868–1919: Biography of a Race Praise for Creating Black Americans "Princeton history professor Nell Irvin Painter brings her considerable skills and insight to Creating Black Americans. Her excellent introduction to the black American experience will serve any interested reader well, though it will find its largest audience in college classrooms. History, the author notes, exists in both the past and present. What we wish to know and how we understand it changes over time. And Painter's compelling use of black art, mostly created since the mid-20th century, to illustrate earlier times, emphasizes this point to great effect. Drawing on the research of a generation of African-American historians, Painter also sets the record straight on a number of questions of the country's past. She re-emphasizes that slavery was not just a Southern problem. Racial slavery in North America developed over several decades in the 18th century, laying the foundations for the entire American economy. Slaves grew the commodities that Americans exported across the globe, of course. But slavery and the Atlantic slave trade were the bedrock of vast fortunes in the North, too, including the precursors to the Bank of America and other financial houses. Artists―like historians, like ordinary people―sift the past to make sense of it for our times. Through word and image, Nell Irvin Painter has produced a narrative of African-American history that will profit its readers." ―New York Post "Painter, a Princeton professor of history, integrates art and history in this fascinating book, filled with powerful images of black art from photographs to paintings to quilts that tell the story of black America. The book begins with the history and imagery of slavery through the Civil War and emancipation, then traces the cultural influences of the civil rights movement, the black power era, and ends with the hip-hop era. Through each period, Painter offers historical context for the artistic expressions and examines how more contemporary sensibilities shaped remembrances of historical events. She explores the ways that context and historical interpretation influence the artist's perspective and is subject to great variation over time. Although most of the works presented were created after the mid-twentieth century, they reflect a broader historical span as black artists have attempted to fill in the void of black images from earlier American history. Readers interested in black American art and history will appreciate this beautiful and well-researched book." ―Booklist "This new study by Princeton historian Painter aims not merely to provide an updated scholarly account of African-American history, but to enrich our understanding of it with the subjective views of black artists, which she places alongside the more objective views of academics. The result is a book that contains both a compelling narrative and numerous arresting images, but that does not always successfully tie the two together. To be fair, Painter is a historian, not an art critic. Her primary purpose in including artworks is to illustrate historical points and to show black Americans as creators of their own history. Nevertheless, readers will likely be frustrated by the lack of analysis accompanying the images―Painter simply summarizes most of the art works, leaving much of their complexity and ambiguity unexplored. Thus, she inadvertently diminishes their power as complicated pieces of individual expression. Painter is clearly adept at writing straightforward history, however, and on this front the book is lucid, engaging and topical. It does an excellent job revealing both the African and the American dimensions of African-American history. And her work has the additional merit of following the past into the present, tracing the history of black Americans all the way up to the hip-hop era, the controversies surrounding black voters in the 2000 presidential election and the ongoing issues of incarceration and health care." ―Publishers Weekly "Nell Irvin Painter is a towering intellectual figure and pre-eminent historian in American life. This overarching narrative is the best we have that makes sense of the doings and sufferings of black people from 1619 to 2005." ―Cornel West, Princeton University "A brilliant historian, Nell Irvin Painter has written an innovative account of African Americans from the colonial era to our own. She challenges us to think critically about the historical meanings conveyed via artistic creations. In other words, Creating Black America offers a new way of knowing, imagining, and visualizing the past of our present." ―Darlene Clark Hine, co-author of The African-American Odyssey "There is a philosopher's axiom, 'To be is to be perceived.' Nell Painter's fascinatingly significant Creating Black Americans captures its subject-matter through the self-images people of color have produced over time. She has written a critical history of self-perception that deserves wide review and lively discussion." ―David Levering Lewis, University Professor and Professor of History, New York University "Utilizing her pathbreaking approach to historical writing, a hallmark in her brilliant career, Nell Painter interweaves straight-forward narrative with the vivid portraits of black artists to record how an unloved people created a vibrant but still endangered black America." ―Derrick Bell, author of Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform "From the Triangle Trade to Russel Simmons, this comprehensive review of African American history is a lively, lucid and indispensable resource. Nell Painter is our foremost chronicler of the black experience in the United States." ―Patricia Williams, Columbia University School of Law

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About the Author

NELL IRVIN PAINTER is the Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, at Princeton University. Her acclaimed works of history include Standing at Armageddon, Sojourner Truth, and the New York Times bestseller The History of White People, which have received widespread attention for their insights into how we have historically viewed and translated ideas of gender, value, hierarchy, and race. She holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts. Her visual artwork has been shown at numerous galleries and in many collections, including the San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, the Brooklyn Historical Society, and Gallery Aferro. She lives in Newark, New Jersey and the Adirondacks.

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Product details

Hardcover: 352 pages

Publisher: Counterpoint (June 19, 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1640090614

ISBN-13: 978-1640090613

Product Dimensions:

6 x 1.2 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.2 out of 5 stars

56 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#30,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

I was pleased to get this book because I started the same journey at 55, except I wasn't an academic. I give it 4 stars because sometimes the anecdotes seem overdone as if she is trying too hard to be interesting, adding, for example, descriptions of the people, scenes and interactions during her commute which don't elucidate her life. Her personal story is endearing and powerful enough as it is. Perhaps the author doesn't entirely believe readers will take her seriously. But at last, the flow of the writing became more natural and I really got into it. I can really relate to the age bias she describes. Her experience at RISD was enlightening. She manages to convey all the feelings one goes through on this path as the journey evolves. Becoming an artist is a long, long process of becoming self-reliant and confident in your goal. The journey is yours, and yours alone. Eventually, you can develop a healthy boundary between yourself and other people, find self-acceptance, and accept others as they are. I believe no one can prescribe an age limit for emerging artists or writers. There are no rules in creative freedom. This book is totally worth it, especially if you want to be creative. Go for it!

Painter's "Old in Art School" is many things, not the least of which is filled with joy. Joy in painting, creating, learning, and life itself. It's also wise, sometimes savage in its takedowns, even more its self-assessments, and sometimes very funny in its closely rendered and deeply considered examinations of race and gender and social class and age in America and the Art World, and it is unabashedly expressive of the wonders of New Jersey. Painter's voice rings out with exuberant, vivid observation and cool analysis. She tells the reader much about higher learning, the nature of art school and of the professional art world (not all of it pretty), making her book a great companion to Sarah Thornton's 2009, "Seven Days in the Art World". Painter also points her reader to a great many black and/or women artists. The urge to stop and Google search the people she mentions is hard to resist. And because Painter writes about the near whole of her life in this memoir, she also renders in aching detail the final years of her parents' lives. Early in the book, Painter goes off on a brief rant as she recounts being at once an undergraduate student and a historian trying to complete, The History of White People. Even though I'd read her earlier book, somehow it hadn't occurred to me until she mentions this confluence that Painter was continuing to write masterful and influential histories while she was also studying painting and art history.

Nell Painter is my hero! She's intelligent, funny, a good and engaging scholar/writer and oh so courageous for going to art school after retirement. As usual, an excellent and erudite commentator on the intersection-ality of race, age, gender and politics and this time through her very personal experience!

A woman who (in her late 60's at the time) writes a brilliant memoir about her journey through undergrad and graduate art school. Engaging, enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable. It’s like sitting down with a great friend who shares with you, in her unique voice, her observations and first hand experience of The Art World, her fellow students (generations younger), her mentors and detractors. Nell Painter is fearless in her determination to reach for a discipline that brings her euphoria and grief. How do you pursue an entirely new direction - in her case an MFA in art - after a long, successful, multi-degreed career as a historian? How do you cope with the disparity between your view of the world - in her case the 20th century - and that of your schoolmates? Nell Painter writes with great humor and human identity and insight. I applaud her fortitude. I admire her struggle.

Very interesting read, I am a retiree returning to art school after a different career. I am white but a woman. I dropped out of art school at the age of 20 after being taunted by male friends that there were no great woman artists so why bother.My father already insisted that I become a nurse which I did. I drew and painted whenever I could find spare time but with long absences since I found myself a single mom with 4 daughters.I too got the “ why are you not better at this?” “ isn’t it too late to travel down this road? “ when I returned to undergraduate classes. But I have greatly improved with love of the endeavor and lots of grit. The journey itself is definitely worth the struggle. Thanks for your insights.

This book interested me for its particulars on art, artists, nature of art, the art "world", and technical matters like colors and materials. But is was a lot more than this. It was a book about being old and female and black in the art and academic world. I could identify with the first two, and learned much about the third. As thought this were not enough, it is also a book about taking care of aging parents. This part of her book was not "pretty" and sometimes I found her responses to her father a bit cold and self absorbed. But isn't this how we always react when women don't drop everything to help family? I've been there too!! I was judging Painter as women are so often judged - and this got me thinking. The book is also beautifully produced, with lovely prints of Painter's work. I agree with other comments - I wish she had included some pictures of art she referenced beyond her own. There is no doubt this woman pays strong attention to her own self, but I am going to stand up and applaud. She earned it. I am grateful for her book, and will read others by her.

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Old In Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over PDF

Old In Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over PDF

Old In Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over PDF

Old In Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over PDF