What is art for?: Contemporary artists on their influences, inspirations and disciplines

Tacita Dean, Arthur Jafa, Roni Horn and other leading contemporary artists rhapsodize on the discipline's greater significance

Writer and broadcaster Ben Luke conceived and launched the A brush with... podcast with the Art Newspaper in 2020 to explore the influences, rituals and disciplines of artists working today through in-depth interviews. Titled after the final question he asks every guest, What is art for? draws on over 25 years' experience talking to artists and comprises 25 of these conversations, edited and illustrated to offer a tangible and visually rich version. The selected artists span cities, continents and even generations: they include Michael Armitage, Phyllida Barlow, Tacita Dean, Theaster Gates, Roni Horn, Arthur Jafa, Claudette Johnson, Ragnar Kjartansson, Julie Mehretu, Do Ho Suh, Sarah Sze, Stanley Whitney and more. The book also features texts by Luke drawing out the shared passions and fascinations of these different artists. Taken together, What is art for? paints a compelling and, at times, unexpected story of artists' inspirations and motivations.
Ben Luke is a contributing editor of the Art Newspaper, and presents its podcasts A brush with... and The Week in Art. From 2009 to 2024, he was an art critic at the Evening Standard.