In our culture; artistic genius and poverty seem inevitably linked; but does it have to be that way? Jim Henson didnrsquo;t think so. An iconic creator and savvy businessman; Henson is a model for artists everywhere: without sacrificing his creative vision; Henson built an empire of lovable Muppets that continues to educate and inspiremdash;and a business that was worth $150 million at the time of his death. How did he ever pull it off? And how can other creators follow in his path? In Make Art Make Money: Lessons from Jim Henson on Fueling Your Creative Career; journalist and educator Elizabeth Hyde Stevens presents ten principles of Hensonrsquo;s art and business practices that will inspire artists everywhere. Part manifesto; part history; part cultural criticism; part self-help; Make Art Make Money is a new kind of business book for creative professionals: a guide for creating and succeeding thanks to lessons from the Muppet Master himself.This book was initially released in episodes as a Kindle Serial. All episodes are now available for immediate download as a complete book.
#1093045 in eBooks 1998-12-18 2016-02-25File Name: B00EUUUEXY
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Pleasant Memoir from a True Pop ArtistBy DannoNot everyone likes to read memoirs. Not everyone likes LeRoy Neimans artwork. But if youre interested in understanding mid-20th Century pop culture (particularly sports culture and the Playboy Magazine phenomenon); you could do far worse than to read through this book. It helps that no matter how rich he got; LeRoy Neiman never discarded his outsider attitude and his insights are expressed with both humility and classic Midwestern straightforwardness. Neiman came from a generation and a cultural background that did not reward trash talk; but that doesnt mean he was giddily uncritical of the lifestyles he portrayed.Neimans art is probably unfamiliar to any American born after 1973 or so but in its heyday; it was a widely imitated style of illustration. Its an odd combination of abstract expressionism and sketchy human forms; expressed with a confetti-like color scheme and an almost universally celebratory tone. In some aspects; this is a more psychedelic and stylized version of what Bernie Fuchs was doing in commercial art. Want to know more about the motivations of the artist to portray the world of leisure in this way? There are plenty of nuggets scattered throughout this memoir that strongly suggest that the carefree image Neiman projected on TV and in interviews was at odds with a live-and-let-live philosophy shaped by a hardscrabble background. A wide variety of art from Neimans entire career is represented here and while I am surprised at some of the omissions; its hard to quarrel with the fact that this is a representative sample. Although Neiman was never a "Pop Artist" in the academic sense; his work strikes me as far more Pop than most Pop painters. He knew his way around mainstream pop culture and what audiences responded to. Even though this was written fairly recently; I didnt expect a contemporary tell-all book but Neiman does become notoriously vague on certain personal details after he started working with Hugh Hefner. Instead; he swaps in some amusing celebrity anecdotes and enough namedropping to do Dick Cavett proud. Everyone will have their own take on this. I got the sense while reading this memoir that there was always more to Neiman than met the eye; and that Neiman himself liked it that way. My own take is that Neiman has spent so much time constructing a public image of the bon vivant and Daliesque dandy that he did not feel totally comfortable with strangers when he was "out of character."Regardless - I came away from this book with a better appreciation of Neiman and his artwork. Before reading this book; I mainly remembered some Super Bowl images he painted as well as a New York Times obituary that trashed his artistic legacy. I know better now; because LeRoy Neiman explained himself to me in his own words in this book. I think its well worth your time.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. name droppingBy Winston houghI was once a fellow at the Huntington Hartford Foundation In California. THe ex wife of a well known anthologist of poets spent some time with us. She would name drop every major American poet;Most people stopped listening to her ;Robert Frost said:......! It takes skill to name drop . LeRoys book does it with a little humor and insight. I met Leroy Neiman in 1951 at a party given by the A.E. painter James V. Harvey cited by Arthur Danto as an under-rated painter.I would see Leroy at school and his basement apartment on N.Wabash ;near Chicago Ave. only 3 blocks from my place at 17 East Erie. ;I visited his class on fashion illustration.He taught it successfully and his methods seemed sound to me. He mastered fashion illustration ;I would place him next to Rene Bouche.He had an flair and eacute;lan for this work. Something that is lacking in his work in color for Playboy.I went with my drawings to Playboy in the fall of 1953 ;Art Paul said the philosophy of Playboy was 3 things:Sex!;Sex and Sex! A friend; brought the production chief to a party I gave ;he said:the only one in the magazine interested in sex was Hef. After seeing Paul ; I went the block and a half to LeRoys place ;he was busy as always working..he said he hadnt been over to Playboy yet; although he had heard about the magazine.In 1957 I had a show at the Palmer House gallery.LeRoy came as well as some staff from the AIC.My impression of Leroy was he had a soft side but ;could muster great nerve and confidence.He said;one day that if you went out on the street and asked them who Dekooning was they wouldnt know. That isnt true of Leroy he is better known than a great many artists;today.I saw a painting;a still life by Leroy in the Corcoran Biennial in 1957; it was a credible piece of work;he could paint and he loved it.I called up and told him he should paint more. So;that he would be taken seriously.I liked reading about his early life;it seemed sad to me.Yet; he worked hard did a lot of work in most art media.Built a persona;no one would guess his early family life. I think he should of used more of the flair he had for line in his work in color.Valuable to artist working for reproduction is to make small swatches of color in abstract design ;the repros on my kindle dont do him justice.As a fellow sketchbook nut ; his love of the albums comes thru. I like the looks of his sketchbook carryall;but for details I would prefer a photo of it.His sketch of Mae West has some of the flair of his fashion illustration .When he came to Chicago for the memorial device for Ed Pashke ; he bragged how he like to spread his work around at 30;000 feet on the plane; when he worked at the fashion illustration studio he said the same thin he like to spread his work out and work more freely not sitting down.The studio didnt like it.As a popular artist he had to create a persona ; the book does very little to release to us the inner man that he never learned to release in his art.I enjoyed reading the book but; Kindle has its shortcomings as I never knew what page I was on. This was an purchase. Winston Hough0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. its a very good book about this influencial artistBy CustomerIm a bit biased... I went to high school with his personal assistant Lynn... otherwise; its a very good book about this influencial artist....