WRITING YOUR ARTIST STATEMENT
© James A. Martin
Consider the function: is it for a permanent resume, or for a special purpose, such as the Open Studios catalog? Information can be spread out on a resume; a short blurb like Open Studios catalog must be condensed.
Consider the audience. A statement that will be read by experienced viewers will probably differ from one that will be read by less experienced viewers. Explanations of your processes are very helpful for experienced viewers but might be lost on less-experienced viewers. Examples: “I often use different-sized palette knifes to create greater variety in my paint layers.” “I love the way glaze X changes colors in response to how much oxygen there is in the kiln.” “I shoot with a digital camera rather than film so I can see the image right away. Then I manipulate the image with PhotoShop to lower the resolution so the pixilation creates a stippling effect.”
Leave yourself an out. Use qualifiers such as “In this body of work…” or “Sometimes;” “Often;” “Frequently,” etc. so your work will not be pigeonholed.
Avoid overly specific references to yourself. “I love the painting medium because it continues the centuries-old tradition of making beautiful things by hand” works better than “I love the painting medium because I love making beautiful things by hand.” The first statement is more difficult to dispute. The second statement can be disputed easily by anyone that does not think the things you make are beautiful.
Be careful with art historical references. “Inspired by…” or “interested in…” generally goes over better than “influenced by…” An influence may sound like you are not your own person, whereas inspirations and interests suggest you have synthesized a variety of sources and created your own style.
Leave interpretations up to your viewers. You might make broad statements such as “I generally work with landscape-based imagery,” but avoid assigning meanings. Viewers will likely interpret your work based on what you wrote about it and can easily dismiss it if they do not think it matches your words. Even if your words and your art generally correspond, your work can be pigeonholed by your interpretation. Leaving your work open to interpretation leaves open the possibility that anyone can appreciate it--and perhaps buy it.
A good example: Karen Schory, from Show & Tell: A Celebration of Art; An Expression of Words (Prairie Village, KS: Potpourri Publications Co., 2000), p. 76: “Karen Schory has been a working artist in the Kansas City area for over 20 years. Her newest work is in digital printmaking. Karen is working with photographs archived on photo-CD, creating the final images in PhotoShop and printing directly to a digital color printer.” The only change I would consider here is writing in 1st person instead of 3rd to make the statement more personal.
BASIC WRITING TIPS
Use a simple outline to predetermine three points that you want to get across. (For writing an artist statement, you might choose Biography; Process; Current Work.)
Write in the active voice rather than the passive voice. (“Color excites me” rather than “I am excited by color.”)
Choose verbs other than forms of “to be” (is, am, are) to quicken your prose. (“Lines energize my compositions” instead of “Lines are energetic elements of my compositions.”)
Writing in first person is generally acceptable despite what we learned in school. First person adds a personal touch that suits artist statements well.
If you need to cut length, adjectives can almost always be omitted. Be forewarned, however, that adjectives create excitement about your work and their absence can result in lifeless prose.
Read your finished prose aloud. If you end up breathless you probably need to double-check your punctuation.