London Calling talked to sculptor Sabin Howard and his wife, author Traci L. Slatton, about their collaborative book, The Art of Life, a collection of essays and visually stunning photography detailing Sabin’s equally stunning sculptural work.

London Calling: What was the original genesis for the book project and how long did it take to complete?

Traci L. Satton: Sabin claims that he was talking about his work one morning, as he does obsessively, and I said, “We have to write a book. People need to know what you’re doing and why it matters.”

Sabin Howard: The whole idea was to reach a broader audience and to educate them. People have lost the concept that they can have an opinion about art that is contrary to the established academic status quo. The art world is run by critics and academicians who are not trained in the visual, but who are more trained as writers writing a manual explaining art. I see the title “visual art” as self explanatory. Art is visual first and foremost. The book returns to the idea that you need to look at the piece and be with it. Then you can write or talk about it. It’s not the other way around, as current “concept art” espouses.

LC: The book is very personal, almost a love letter in places. Was it a challenge making a book so close to home?

TLS: Yes! Sometimes our discussions grew rousing. Names might have been called, objects might have been hurled.

SH: Making the type of art that I do is already extremely personal. I understand that any choices I make in my art expose how I think. If you look at my sculptures, they are completely out in the open because they are nude. Explaining the human and personal process of making my art was not uncomfortable. Without Traci, I wouldn’t have been able to put this in writing that was accessible to the general public. I would write something that was more esoteric. It was really important that I follow Traci’s lead in how the narrative was assembled.