In Artist's Statements, usually the essential components are:
- The purpose your work serves (what it does for you and/or the viewer)
- The processes you use to approach and make the work
- How the work developed (where you started and the direction in which you were guided or which you took)
- A description of materials and methods
- Influences by Artists or Artistic Movements
Guidelines:
- Avoid sounding pompous or arrogant. Using a "superior" tone leaves an audience cold. Use language that is friendly and easily understood.
- Be simple, clear and direct. Try to be brief. Give all of the information necessary for them to "get the picture", but leave your audience wanting more.
- Use a conversational tone, as if you were talking to the reader. Keep the language simple but interesting and friendly.
- Keep your tone positive and welcoming. You want the reader to feel welcome to view your art and want to meet and converse with you as well.
- Refer to yourself in the first person, not as "the artist." Remember this is a statement about who you are and what your artwork is about, so make it personal. Use "I" statements.
- Be specific--avoid being vague. If you describe your work as being based on the Principles of Design, explain which principles you are using, don't make the reader guess what you mean.
- Be honest. Do not attempt to impress anyone with statements that do not sound as if they belong to you or your work.
- Avoid name-dropping. The statement is about YOUR work, YOUR philosophy, YOUR feelings--not what someone else says about your work. Save that for brochures or press releases.
- Avoid comparing your work that the work of other famous artists. Instead of saying: "Like Monet, I paint..." say: "My paintings have been inspired by Monet's use of..."
- Avoid telling people how they should respond to your work. No one likes to be told how he should respond to a piece of artwork. Instead, tell the reader how you feel about your art, what you feel you are expressing through your art.
- Use spell check and review for grammatical errors. Use spell check, it is a wonderful tool. After using spell check, re-use it. Read your statement out loud. Chances are that if it reads smoothly for you, it will read smoothly for others. Have a friend, colleague, or editor look your statement over. Then, when you have completely checked the statement, run spell check again. Also, remember that spell check can't sense homonyms or other words that are spelled correctly but are the wrong words!
- Use only positive statements, avoid the negative. Avoid terms like "I try to....", "I wish I could...", "I'm not sure that...", etc.
- Use humor. Use of humor and a positive attitude can bridge gaps in any communication.
Questionnaire:
Purposes:
- What do you make?
- What are the purposes of your work?
- Why do you make it?
- How do you benefit from making the work? What does it do for you?
- What qualities does your work need to have in order to be satisfying to you?
- How do you know when a piece of work is finished or completed?
Processes:
- Do you work:
- According to a plan?
- By acting and responding?
- By using a combination of the two ?
- How do you begin a work of art? How do you get started? What is your first step?
- Describe your procedures after the first step.
- Describe the role of the following in your work:
- Thinking (left brain)
- Intuition (right brain)
- Describe yourself in each of the following roles when making Art:
- Creator
- Sensitive responder
- Editor
- Critic
Additional Questions:
- Which Artists inspire your work and why?
- Which Artists or Artistic movements opened the door for you in order for you to do the kind of work you do?
- What are your primary materials and methods?
- How do your materials and methods impact the kind of Art you make? Do they determine the kind of art you make, or does the kind of Art you make determine the materials you use?
- In your recent work, what do you do that is different from the way you used to make art or from the way you were taught to make Art? Why?
- When I work with ___ , I am reminded that ____________.
- When I was young I was fascinated with______ and that now appears in or influences my work through (describe the connection).
- Describe a little more about your current work. How has it grown through work or life experiences? What are you exploring, attempting, or challenging through your work?
