Art is Everything
The story of a woman whose dreams of being an artist are sidelined by an unexpected pregnancy.
In Art Is Everything by Yxta Maya Murray, Los Angeles native Amanda Ruiz is a successful Chicana performance artist who is madly in love with her girlfriend, Xochitl.
Amanda is about to enjoy a residency at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and plans to film a groundbreaking documentary in Mexico. Then Xochitl’s biological clock begins beeping, Amanda’s father dies, and Amanda is assaulted during an Uber ride. Her life and art are upended and she’s not sure how to get back on track.
Written as a series of web posts, Instagram essays, Snapchat posts, rejected Yelp reviews, Facebook screeds, and streams-of-consciousness that merge volcanic confession with eagle-eyed art criticism, Art Is Everything is about a woman who has to grapple with being derailed.
I loved talking to author Yxta Maya Murray, Professor of Law on the Loyola Law School Faculty and recipient of an Art Writer’s Grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation. I had previously interviewed her about her book of short stories: The World Doesn’t Work that Way, But it Could, (University of Nevada Press, 2020). A novelist and art critic, she has published nine books and won a 1999 Whiting Writer’s Award.
Listen to my New Books Network interview with the author! Her books are challenging, biting, and brilliant.
