Make Something, Be Something

The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing by Adam Moss
Random House, April 16, 2024

In The Work of Art, Adam Moss engages artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, chefs, editors, and designers to uncover how creativity begets “something from nothing.” Rather than an individual act of genius, Moss presents creativity as an iterative, often unpredictable process. Through the stories, interviews, and artifacts Moss curates, creativity emerges as a mindset as well, one that draws on – and out – various capacities. Novelist Michael Cunningham reflects on the capacity for self-surprise. Composer Stephen Sondheim celebrates precision fused with flexibility. Artist Kara Walker highlights feeling new at a project’s start. Chef Samin Nosrat values entangling a beginner’s mind with one's expertise. Perhaps surprisingly, The Work of Art also emphasizes capacities like practicing self-editing as strategic decision making and cultivating an inner faith that you can make something of what's before you. These insights about creativity implicitly invite readers to consider the potential of creativity in daily life and work. Imagine an approach to teaching, leading, or school design through which such creativity thrives. Imagine creativity as an aesthetic pursuit as well as a collective, civic one. Ultimately, The Work of Art invites us to consider how we might think of creativity not only as making, but as being.