Your artist statement is about your art, not about you. Writing an artist statement cleveland institute of art. Write whatever thoughts come to mind about why you create your art. Sample artist statementsbios full page artist statement. Apr 15, 2010 image by emagic this is a guest post from artist hannah piper burns. May 12, 2014 so instead of a bio thats just fluff on the flyer, lets learn how to write an effective artist bio that will actually bring your potential fans into your world. Artist statement guidelines getting your sht together gystink. My work for the past 20 years has used revealing aspects of history, which have a profound impact on our contemporary culture today. Your artist statement is not a comprehensive description of your workinstead think of the statement as leading into the work. This is the process of writing your artists statement in a spontaneous or automatic manner without any hesitation. Maybe its because artists are such visual thinkers, or maybe because its literally impossible to translate between mediums. Writing an artist statement allows you to clarify ideas behind your work. Your statement should answer the most commonly asked questions about your art, not overwhelm readers with irrelevant facts and minute details. For being such great communicators, most artists have a really tough time communicating what their art is about.
More often than not, students become stuck on what to write, feeling like they might. Writing an artist s statement can be a good way to clarify your own ideas about your work. Dont wait until the night before and hope to dash off something brilliant. Therefore, the artist statement should be short, concise and well written in a. A s a professional artist, you need to have more than your work to get around in the art world. Writing an artist statement artist statements can take many forms depending on their intended use. How to write an artist statement, quick and effective tips. How to write an artist statement flying arts alliance. As an artist, do you know how to present your work with clarity, confidence and professional credibility. Jun 14, 2018 an artist statement takes time to develop. The brief verbal representation is for, and in support of, their own work to give the viewer understanding.
How to write an effective artist bio that wont be ignored. Whatever the reason, writing a new statement is enough to make anyone pull out their hair. For example, an artists statement that you write to a grant foundation will be more complex than the one you post on your website to a general audience. The artist statement is speaking to the viewer in the artists absence. Your artist statement is an introduction to your work, not an indepth analysis of it. Booker empowers her monumental sculptures with new life, shaped by the shearing and. Tips for writing a convincing artist statement who are you.
Part of my process before i begin painting is to read as much as i can about the specific set of ruins i am about to recreate on canvas. Many find that writing an artist statement reveals ideas in the work that need additional clarification and development. Most commonly, statements introduce a specific collection of art. Probably only when you buy one or it goes flat, bell writes in the exhibition catalog. Gyst submission policies, examples of artist statements, and writing tips are found below. Sam durant my artwork takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues. Your artist statement is a chance to make that connection. Most often placed on your website, but also included in portfolios and presentations to galleries and other art professionals, its the most direct way to clarify how you view your work. An artist statement is piece of writing by you that helps the audience access or understand your artistic work. Writing an artist statement feature gallery direct article. Your statement should include whatever is most important to you and your work. Guidelines for writing the artists statement should be at least three paragraphs in length one paragraph for each analytic method.
She has had solo exhibitions at the neuberger museum of art, the akron. As such it aims to inform, connect with an art context, and present the basis for the work. The guardian writes a wider range of female voices is finally being. Jul 18, 2017 to that end, an artist statement is an indispensable tool for laying out your art to the public. Jan, 2020 an artist s statement is a short document written by the artist which provides a window into the artist s world. A general introduction to your work, a body of work, or a specific project.
An artist statement is a brief statement which tells us about the art. Using discarded, trashed items, booker remade them into statements. Revealing the true spirit of your work guides artists, of all genres, on how to smoke out the relevant ideas they already possess about their art. At the gallery, there is posted a statement written by isaacs on bookers work.
A gallery dealer, curator, docent, or the public can have access to your description of your work, in your own words. Identify what you want the people to understand about your art. Artists should be very articulate, both verbally and in writing, about what makes them tick as artists. Sometimes mind mapping isnt enough because you can get trapped in. It may include your personal history, the symbolism you give your materials, or the issues you address. This should be written in first person and contain information about the current direction of your work. Jun, 2010 the artist statement is a document the grant agency uses to allow the artist to give voice to how the grant will help their career or work. Writing an artist statement home jewelry business guide. Give yourself a time limit, such as 515 minutes, and set a timer. In this mode, ignore spelling, grammar, punctuation, neatness and style. Londonbased artist celina teague explores the statement that people. It offers insight into a single piece or an entire body of work and by describing the artist s creative process, philosophy, vision, and passion.
How to write an artist statement in 7 steps format. Your artist statement should feel like its written by you, the artistnot by a critical theorist or an art history professor or a dealer or a curator. Writing your artist statement page by margaret maggie brezden artist statement an artist statement is not only an essential part of an artist portfolio but may be required to accompany a particular artpiece or body of work. Writing an artist statement can be a daunting task for middle school students. Repurposing discarded tires, booker slices, twists, weaves, and rivets them. Artist chakaia booker gives tires a powerful retread at the. For general purposes aim for an artists statement that is to 100200 words. How to write an amazing artist statement artsy shark.
Because the good news is, in spite of selfconscious objections about writing, artists can recover their own words. Write a threeparagraph statement about your work of art integrating the three methods of analysis. A guide to crafting a clear and compelling artist statement by sarah hotchkiss, with illustrations by beena mistry. How to write an artist statement the creative independent. Make it easy for them to fall in love with your work. Your artist s statement should be one to two paragraphs and no longer than a page. What is brilliant to you may be a morass of confused declarations that make no sense to others. Jan 28, 2018 the statement should also cover the artists inspirations and an overall view of previous work, inspiration and most important events of your career, to give a good sense of your story as an artist.
Revealing the true spirit of your work ariane goodwin on. First ask yourself these four questions academia is only one part of the art world, says daniel blight. Chakaia booker reveals recycled tires art exhibit in urbn the. Both pieces of text are part of a larger body of work the photographers portfolio.
Customize your artists statement for the individuals andor audience that will be reading it. Toril bookerfisher artwork now on display at driftless cafe wdrt. Dont you agree that writing an artist statement is one of the more intimidating tasks youre asked to do thats where your artist statement comes in. As an artist, i work hard to develop paintings that speak both to me and to others about the beauty that exists in the ruins of ancient societies.
As if writing music could begin by staring with a magnifying glass at natures elements. It is written in the first person, while artist bios are. A quick guide your artist statement is a written description of your work that gives your audience deeper insight into it. Creating artist statements art lessons elementary, art critique, art. Many artists resist writing a statement on the pretenses that their work should only need to visually speak for itself. Bookers artistic practice is a way for her to navigate the african american diaspora. To help you write an artist statement worthy of your art, we put together this stepbystep process. An artist statement is different to an artist biography. Ensure you write your artist statement in the first person. Nov 17, 2017 it is common to find biographies and photographers statements when visiting a photographers work. Writing an artist statement is one of the most important first things a home based jewelry business can do.
As a particularly unforgiving medium, an artist has endless creative opportunities to design for its unique properties the only limitations are their imagination and skill in working with the material. Your statement should be a brief section of writing that compels the reader to want to view your work and learn more about it. Think about and include details of a couple of these. To reach wider audiences, lets find an alternative to artspeak. When writing your art statement try to keep your text clean and use approachable and try to avoid too much, artsy talk or overflourishing. When asked for an artist statement, toril hesitates to write a formal statement about her work for fear of making frozen comments that potentially. A response to a specific inquiry by a gallery or collector a response to a particular grant proposal in conjunction with a curatorial statement or exhibition helps you talk intelligently talk about your work helps you articulate your influences, the sources for their imagery. Your artists statement can be a moving testament to your creativity and integrity. Artist statement how to write an artist statement advice.
May 11, 2014 this feature is not available right now. Useful in writing a proposal for an exhibition or project. Aug 26, 2014 great guidelines for anybody looking to write or rewrite their artist statement. Artist chakaia booker gives tires a powerful retread. Your artist statement and images help them connect with you and your art. The art of the artist statement ramona defelice long. As an artist, she addresses these issues through visual metaphor. Artist statement my work is often inspired by natures geometry, structure and textures.
Give yourself time to think about how you want to express the importance of family, environment, politics, time, space, material, color and anything else pertinent to your work. Have fun writing your artists statement professional. Briefly explain and express your connection to your art. This all sounds good, but for an 11 year old, the how, what and why questions are pretty abstract. An artist statement can be from 5001,000 words, or so. Im trying help my 11 year old daughter write an artist statement for a school art project that is going to be submitted to a contest. Jul 23, 2016 these valuable tips along with an infographic for quick reference will help you in writing and perfecting your artists statement. How to write a short artist statement tina dubinsky art writer. It is also common for people to confuse the biography with the statement, and some even confuse these texts with something like a cv, or an actual cv.
Artist statement guidelines getting your sht together. The expression of this commitment will vary, but the effectiveness of your artists statement stems from the authority with which you write it. Weve also included a handy dos and donts checklist to ensure you avoid common mistakes. How to write an artists statement that doesnt suck online. Sample artist statements getting your sht together. An artist s statement or artist statement is an artist s written description of their work. Its about the current direction of your work, not a history of how you got to this point an explanation of your style, approach, philosophy, subject andor theme a statement of your intention through yourread more. Along with your portfolio, you should have an artist statement available at a moments notice. Not only does it serve as a base for your jewelry brand, artist statements are used as part of the application process for juried craft shows, in your website, and on marketing materials.
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