Art Matters Read online

  THE ASSUMPTIONS,

  THE NOW WE’RE SUPPOSED TO’S

  OF HOW YOU GET YOUR WORK SEEN, AND WHAT YOU DO THEN,

  ARE BREAKING DOWN.

  THE GATEKEEPERS ARE LEAVING THEIR GATES.

  YOU CAN BE AS CREATIVE AS YOU NEED TO BE TO GET YOUR

  WORK SEEN. YOUTUBE AND THE WEB (AND WHATEVER

  COMES AFTER YOUTUBE AND THE WEB) CAN GIVE YOU

  MORE PEOPLE WATCHING THAN TELEVISION EVER

  DID.

  THE OLD RULES ARE CRUMBLING

  AND NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THE NEW RULES ARE.

  SO MAKE UP YOUR OWN RULES.

  SOMEONE ASKED ME RECENTLY HOW TO DO SOMETHING SHE

  THOUGHT WAS GOING TO BE DIFFICULT. IN THIS CASE RECORDING

  AN AUDIOBOOK, AND I SUGGESTED SHE PRETEND THAT SHE WAS

  SOMEONE WHO COULD DO IT. NOT PRETEND TO DO IT, BUT

  PRETEND SHE WAS SOMEONE WHO COULD. SHE PUT UP A NOTICE

  TO THIS EFFECT ON THE STUDIO WALL, AND SHE SAID IT HELPED.

  SO BE WISE,

  BECAUSE THE WORLD NEEDS MORE WISDOM.

  AND IF YOU CANNOT BE WISE, PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE WHO

  IS WISE, AND THEN JUST BEHAVE LIKE THEY WOULD.

  MAKE

  INTERESTING, AMAZING, GLORIOUS, FANTASTIC

  MISTAKES

  BREAK RULES.

  LEAVE THE WORLD MORE INTERESTING

  FOR YOUR BEING HERE.

  MAKE GOOD

  ART.

  FINIS.

  Neil Gaiman

  Neil Gaiman is the bestselling author and creator of

  books, graphic novels, short stories, film and television

  for all ages, including Neverwhere, Coraline, The

  Graveyard Book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane,

  The View from the Cheap Seats and the critically

  acclaimed, Emmy-nominated television adaptation

  of American Gods.

  The recipient of numerous literary honours, Neil has

  written scripts for Doctor Who, worked with authors

  and artists including Terry Pratchett, Chris Riddell and

  Dave McKean, and Sandman is established as one of the

  classic graphic novels. In 2017, he became a Goodwill

  Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

  As George R. R. Martin says: ‘There’s no one quite

  like Neil Gaiman.’

  @neilhimself

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com

  Chris Riddell

  Chris Riddell is one of the UK’s top contemporary

  illustrators. He has written and illustrated an exceptional

  range of books and is winner of many illustration awards,

  including the UNESCO Prize, the Greenaway Medal

  (three times) and the Hay Festival Medal for Illustration

  at the 2015 Hay Festival, where he was described as ‘the

  greatest illustrator of his generation’. He served as the

  Waterstones Children’s Laureate from 2015 to 2017.

  Chris is also a renowned political cartoonist whose

  work appears in the Observer, the Literary Review

  and the New Statesman.

  @chrisriddell50

  Credits

  The full texts were originally published as follows:

  ‘Credo’ copyright © 2015 by Neil Gaiman.

  First published in the New Statesman.

  ‘Why Our Future Depends on Libraries, Reading and

  Daydreaming: The Reading Agency Lecture, 2013’

  copyright © 2013 by Neil Gaiman.

  First published in ReadingAgency.org.uk.

  ‘Making a Chair’ copyright © 2011 by Neil Gaiman.

  First appeared on the CD An Evening with

  Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer.

  Biting Dog Press limited edition, Broadsheets, 2011.

  ‘Make Good Art’ copyright © 2012 by Neil Gaiman.

  First published on UArts.edu.

  Page 101 constitutes an extension of this copyright page.

  ART MATTERS. Copyright © 2018 by Neil Gaiman.

  Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Chris Riddell.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational,

  business, or sales promotional use. For information,

  please email the Special Markets Department

  at [email protected].

  Published in Great Britain in 2018 by

  Headline Publishing Group.

  FIRST U.S. EDITION

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

  Data has been applied for.

  Digital Edition JANUARY 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-294265-4

  Print ISBN: 978-0-06-290620-5

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