S1 Episode 6: Dilemmas Are Not For the Dilettantes with Emily McDermott

When Maxwell Gladwell wrote about the "ten-thousand-hour-rule" in his book Outliers, he incorporated earlier research by Herbert Simon and William Chase, who claimed that "there are no instant experts in chess—certainly no instant masters or grandmasters. [...] We would estimate, very roughly, that a master has spent perhaps 10,000 to 50,000 hours staring at chess positions..."

Let that number sink in. Now, let's translate it in the number of gallery visits, works studied, and articles written to appreciate the job of an art critic, especially when that art critic happens to be Emily McDermott, the young American who left her native Ohio to study at New York University and who, at the age of 18, began her writing career. Quickly, Emily figured out how to explore her own taste and the topics she would like to write about, carved out her niche, and secured a full-time editor's position at Interview Magazine, the legendary publication founded by Andy Warhol in 1969. That's no small feat for an aspiring writer, let alone someone who just graduated from college--with Honors, of course!

Based in Berlin since 2016, Emily has been supporting young artists with her writing. But the desire to acquire a work that appealed to her grew stronger and stronger until she decided to splurge in Dilemma 2, 2021 by artist Conny Maier represented by König Gallery.

Listen to this episode to find out more about Emily's object of desire and get an insider's view on what it means to maintain a creative practice as a writer in the art industry.