Plan and play, play and plan : defining your art practice

'Visual artist’ is a term with untold interpretations, nuances, variations and meanings. But how, as an artist (or designer, photographer, or other ‘independent creator’), do you become who you are and who you would like to be?
What fundamental questions, characteristics, dilemmas, ambitions, restrictions and realities play a part? How, as an artist, can you guide your artistic practice, the main criterion being to answer the question: ‘where do I stand and what do I stand for?’
Schrofer, from 1982 to 2010 the director of the Rijksakademie,knows from practical experience the complexity of the artist’s questions and dilemmas, the many areas in which the artist involved and how important self-reflection and self-determination are for artistic practice, without losing sight of the broader social context. He has scrutinized his considerations, assembled notes and pointers – based on many interviews with a wide variety of artists, from beginners to old hands, from unknown to internationally celebrated – assimilating them into an appealing book in which terminology, background, components and questions requiring reflection form a cohesive whole.
This log-cum-reflective book is intended for artists and those who wish to become artists, as well as anyone who works with or wants to work with artists. It can be explored and read linearly, but the reader can also zoom in on specific topics or questions.
The book does not provide ‘recipes’ or simple ‘solutions, but delves into the very fibre of the artist’s profession, and invites the reader to explore a sustainable artistic practice.
Surveys of the artist studios of, among others: Carlos Amorales, David Bade, Driessens & Verstappen, Marlene Dumas, Claudia Fontes, Alica Framis, Meschac Gaba, Ryan Gander, Anthony Gormley, Hama Goro, Sigurdur Gudmundsson, Hans van Houwelingen, Joan Jonas, Germaine Kruip, Matt Mullican, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jan van der Ploeg, Michael Raedecker, Jannie Regnerus, Auke de Vries, Guido van der Werve, Sylvie Zijlmans