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Five Things To Learn From Artists Like Marina Abramovic, James Franco and Raymond Pettibon

This article is more than 9 years old.

Photo: Bennett Raglin/WireImage/Getty Images

By Nadja Sayej

“Star quality is that extra little bit you give of yourself.”

–Lillian Gish

Every person has their star quality. Whether they’re charming or cold, they each have their distinctive character. As someone who has interviewed the stars, I can see the difference between people on screen and off screen. In my new book The ArtStars* Guide to Getting Your Shit Together, I interview several art world and film world celebrities and explain principles that younger artists can learn from the veterans. Here is my take on what famous artists are like in real life because they each have their own secret lesson in what it takes to succeed.

1. They’re considerate. When I met Marina Abramovic for the first time, she was running behind on her interview timeslots. “Oh hi, I’m so sorry,” were her first words. “Sorry I’m late.” She perfected her presence by being considerate for a journalist she didn’t know. Who was I? Of course, she could have just been another diva. But she wasn’t. You could feel that in her personal presence, even though she was getting makeup done in between TV interviews, she reached out her hand to shake mine.

2. They’re easygoing. James Franco approached a Berlin press conference early in the morning, so early, it seemed as though he didn’t have his morning coffee. As he stepped in the front doors, I leaned over and asked for a photo. He said “Sure.” He was totally easygoing, despite the swarm of agents and PR people around him. Seconds later, he walked into the media frenzy of the press conference. Even to someone he

didn’t know and wasn’t introduced to, he gave me a chance.

English: Interview with Oscar nominee James Franco (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

3. They stick to their message. Yoko Ono shines in the spotlight. While many people just get caught up in the “OMG its Yoko Ono” aspect of her presence (which is hard not to, as she is often surrounded by bodyguards), if there’s something you’ll notice about her, she sticks to her message. You’ll rarely hear her ramble about something unrelated to the topic that brought her there. She is incredibly focused and when she has the mic, you’ll hear every detail about the project on hand and what it means to her. Yoko always stays always on the rails of what brought her to a museum or a concert. She is great at public speaking, a very poetic person.

Yoko Ono 5 - Echo of Moscow (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4. They keep a sense of humor about what they do. When I met Gilbert & George, they were walking down the street after a five hour book signing to return to their hotel. I chased after them and said “Hey! Can we do a quick interview?” Their first response was no, they were too tired. But after snapping a selfie with me, they knew that Team ArtStars* were all about fun and we cajoled them into an interview. We literally had 15 minutes with them, but they were great sports and threw in a few hilarious anecdotes about the type of fashion they see on the London subway. It was a worthwhile chase.

5. They’re chill. Raymond Pettibon was a fascinating interview because it felt like a conversation. He spoke about his life, his opinions, his history and what inspired his new work. While we were doing a video interview, Ray was installing a show! He was literally hanging his own art on the walls. He even took the time to show me a book he was reading before disappearing backstage. The floodgate of fans opened the front door seconds after.

Nadja Sayej is a Berlin-based arts journalist and author of The ArtStars* Guide to Getting Your Shit Together. Find her on Twitter  @nadjasayej.