Over the years, I’ve steadily been working my way through prolific author Neil Gaiman’s publications, recommending them here on the blog and just about everywhere. The more I’ve read by him, the greater my appreciation for Gaiman. That someone can write in such an authentic, recognizable style and sustain it over time means you’re truly witnessing an artist who has a true vision and is able to lend you their perception so you, too, can see the world through their eyes. Plus, how can you not like Gaiman? He’s a generous, down-to-earth, and approachable writer. I feel like the barriers are not so big between Gaiman and his readers. You can tell he is genuinely interested in connecting with his many fans. In this book review of Art Matters by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Chris Riddell, I’ll introduce the book, analyze its strengths, and share why I think it’s a 5-star read. Let’s get going!
Art Matters (2018) is a collection of four pieces Gaiman has written. The book is not very long at just 112 (unnumbered) pages. I’ll here point out that the entire book is illustrated by Gaiman’s long-time collaborator, Chris Riddell. Rather than being set in type, the text appears in drawn letters. Each page is illustrated with beautiful scenes and rousing imagery. (Apologies that the images I’ve added to this post do not do the illustrations justice as they all look a bit pixelated on the screen.)
The book starts with “Credo,” a short, punchy argument for the power of ideas and free expression in a time when they are under assault. According to the book’s publisher, HarperCollins, this was delivered after the terrorist shootings at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. This deadly attack was believed to be due to the magazine’s cartoons spoofing the Prophet Mohammed. It’s hard to read “Credo” and not feel chills spring up due to the forceful, bold language. For instance, in “Credo,” Gaiman writes:
Ideas spring up where you do not expect them, like weeds, and are as difficult to control. I believe that repressing ideas spreads ideas.
Neil Gaiman, Art Matters (2018)
As a big believer in the right to freedom of expression, I connected with Gaiman’s attack on censorship, and I do believe he’s right: the more we try to suppress ideas—even harmful, toxic ones—the more power they have and the further they spread. I don’t believe censorship is the answer. This was a strong start to this book and set the tone, like a sharp punch to the gut, that Gaiman won’t be censoring his own beliefs about art, writing, and ideas, no matter how bold, “radical,” or unpopular they might seem.
In the next section, “Why Our Future Depends on Libraries, Reading, and Daydreaming,” Gaiman sings the praises of libraries and librarians. Gaiman discusses how libraries paid a big part in his development as a writer and reader.
You might know by now through this blog that I’m a librarian, though I consider myself a non-practicing librarian out in the greater library of the world, so this part really resonated with me. Given that President Trump has moved to defund libraries for the second year in a row, Gaiman’s passionate defense is all-the-more relevant. There’s something else that Gaiman talks about in this section. He advocates for reading fiction, evidently in response to people who find fiction a frivolous distraction. My favorite quote from Gaiman came from the passage where he pushes for adults to let children read whatever they want as it will help them love reading. Gaiman writes this about the period of excitement of reading when…:
You’re finding out something as you read that will be vitally important for making your way in the world. And it’s this: The world doesn’t have to be like this. Things can be different.
Neil Gaiman, Art Matters (2018)
This is so, so true, and I think any kid who found themselves “saved” in one way or the other by fiction and storytelling will recognize themselves in that quote.
When I was a little girl, I read primarily for escapism, and I had a lot I needed to escape in my life. But there’s something even deeper in this idea, that beyond escapism, young readers learn that there is another way to live. You can read a contemporary book about people who don’t live all that different from you and still see another way to live, that your challenging life isn’t the only possibility, and if that’s not a resounding advertisement for art’s soul-changing, soul-saving capacity to rescue us, I don’t know what is.
The third section, “Making a Chair,” I found to be the weakest part of the book. The poem is about Gaiman’s efforts to make a new office chair, partly as a distraction from writing. I don’t have much to say about this section, other than it felt a little out of place. I think it’s because the poem was so focused on this one experience Gaiman had that I struggled to connect it to myself, to other artists, and to art in general. But I also understand that it brought 14 pages to a 112 page book and, hey, who hasn’t needed filler in a book compiling previous work? I mean, I liked the illustrations!
In the fourth and final section, Gaiman prints his famous “Make Good Art,” commencement speech he delivered in 2012 at the University of the Arts (hey, Philly!).
I had never watched the speech, but I knew of it through various quotes from Gaiman that pop up here and there. I was familiar with the “make good art” refrain, but it wasn’t until I read it here in Art Matters that I felt the full impact of the speech. And man does it hit you in the mind, heart, and soul. For all artists and creatives, whenever you’re feeling down, discouraged, and unsure, whenever you’re feeling crushed by the world, “Make good art,” Gaiman answers. This is the answer. To not stop making good art, no matter what. It’s a deceptively simple instruction, but it’s so true. Where would we be if we just stopped making art? I’ve been feeling pretty down lately, and I appreciate how easy it is to hold onto and live up to Gaiman’s “make good art” command.
I was surprised on reading Gaiman’s speech how current it is. I had expected something a little more general, but Gaiman is speaking to and of the moment we are living in, and that includes freelance culture, self publication, and in general, when the rules of art and distribution are changing. For some, this is scary, and it’s tempting to want to stick your head in the sand and hope that it’ll all pass. But Gaiman feels as I do, that with the old rules breaking down, along with the gatekeepers and those who have been privileged to always be at the top, there’s never been a better opportunity to create new ones.
The old rules are crumbling, and nobody knows what the new rules are. So make up your own rules.
Neil Gaiman, Art Matters (2018)
It’s an exhilarating, shockingly chaotic time where it’s as easy to get your art (writing, whatever your mediums) out there as posting on Instagram, but in some ways, harder than ever to be recognized by “The Academy.” And yet, artists and creatives have more ways to reach more people. I’m doing an MFA right now, and traditional publishing is the last thing on my mind. I’d rather go the indie route, at least for now, in part because I would be able to reach readers more directly. To be doing an MFA and thinking “indie first” not as a last resort, but as the path of choice is a product of these shifting times. The rules are indeed breaking down, and good for Gaiman for not speaking in archaic platitudes but getting real.
All in all, I cannot recommend Art Matters highly enough, and honestly, since it takes about 30 minutes to read, what are you waiting for? (I’m definitely going to have to include Art Matters in the next update to my list of short books to read in a day or readathon.) The tiny bit of time you spend reading this book is lopsided. You might finish the book in half an hour, but the stirring manifesto you’ve just read will stay with you long afterward.
Read Art Matters now…
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