WHY can't I write an Artist Statement?

[Flopka]

I can't be the only person who's had profound difficulty coming up with an artist statement.

Yes, I know the reasons why you have to have one. Especially for marketing. But I have such trouble understanding why it's so hard to write one. Am I a bad artist (or a non-artist, just a hobbyist) because I cannot come up with anything to say?

Does anyone else have this problem?

I mean, I actually write a LOT and most people who know me would say that's my particular creative gift. It's not like I'm uncomfortable with words. But "I paint things I want to see, because no one else is doing it, and I hope you want to see these things too" - that's not an artist statement, or at least, doesn't look like one to me.

I sat and thought about this for a while, because it's a serious problem preventing me from moving forward with all the stuff I'm supposed to be doing in the way of marketing. I managed to identify some of the problem, which is that I'm torn between essentially three styles of work. One style, I've managed to sell without any artist statements, but not in the way I want to sell them. I would say these might be the "crowd pleasers" of what I have painted. The second style, very different from the first, I haven't tried to sell because I think they would appeal to people who actually read artist statements... And I don't have a statement.

The third style, different from the other two again, I might actually have a statement to make about. But I do this kind of painting infrequently.

Has anyone else been in this situation where you have different styles and cannot choose between them, hence you can't come up with a statement? I would like to hear about your struggles...

[George924]

You do not necessarily need an artist statement, they are nice to have but you really do not need one to go forward with your sells. Most artists have a hard time writing a great AS...they think way to much. Tell them who are, what drives your work and then some up what you just told them.

Nobody really wants to hear a bunch of nonsense and most AS are way to long, give a paragraph and that should be enough.

[KrystalB333]

Flopka,

Yes, I've had the same problem. I feel that some artists are lucky in that they have one particular style or subject matter which enables them to have a single artist statement that encompasses all of their work. I'm not one of those artists...at least not yet.

Because artists statements are so important, I decided to just do different artist statements for different bodies of work. Sometimes I have done artist statements for single works if I feel it's necessary.

The writing of them can be somewhat torturous because just when I thought I had it just right, I would read it and think it was absolutely terrible (not unlike the process of actually creating the artwork - haha). I researched and researched. Finally, the book that has helped me the most is "Writing the Artist Statement: Revealing the true spirit of your work" by Ariane Goodwin (copyright 2002, Infinity Publishing, ISBN 0-7414-0843-0). It helped me gather and organize the information and create a much more effective statement than I did before reading it. It truly made a huge difference!

If you come up with a way to create an all-encompassing one, let me know! I will also be sure to keep up with this thread to find out how others solve this problem we're having! Thanks for posting this thread!

[timelady]

Have you gone through a practical lesson or exercise to write one? I highly recommend this one: http://www.artbizcoach.com/consulting/statement.html The ebook is only $24. I took a couple weeks using that and discovered a lot about my work that I didn't know how to verbalise before (and influences and reasons I hadn't quite realised clearly) and edited it down into a statement. This means not only do you have a short statement, but a lot more to talk about in conversation too.

As someone who has worked for galleries and in juried show - yes you DO need one. Yes yes yes yes yes. A gallery or agent really needs as much information about you and your work and the story behind it to try and sell it. Much of that comes from your artist statement, especially if the person showing your work has not known you very long. It only needs to be about a paragraph (if that) alongside a paragraph bio and a paragraph about your style/technique (ie. the practical side of it), that is a perfect combination.

[Greg Long]

There is another great article on writing the Artist's Statement here http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/250/539/

[Tattau]

There is some sort of block that occurs when some of us try to write about ourselves. I actually write a lot, but when it comes down to writing about myself or my artwork... nothing. I wonder how writers would feel if they were asked to paint a self-portrait.

If you have a friend or relative who has a talent for writing, sit down with them for a casual 'interview' and see what they can come up with. You'd be surprised how an objective perspective can bring out a lot of observations about yourself that otherwise, would never occur to you.

[ajparke]

I think there is sometimes a conflict of how we really 'speak/think' about our work in a very natural way, and how we perceive we should be speaking/thinking about our work to the larger artistic population. this conflict in language can sometime create a block. Absolute honesty and adherence to one's natural language is a plus.

[terrapin52]

Do you recall ever reading Rembrandt's, Sargent's, or Zorn's artist statement? I know I never have, or if they even exist. You could say, "I love to paint". Some painters can't even honestly say that, either. I will say that I have been put off by artists' statements if they discuss themselves in the third person or suggest their work is a good investment or heirloom. That's just my reaction, though. I think one of the nice things about being an artist is that you can get away with just being the eccentric artist and not worry about that crap.

[George924]

Like Tina said if you are trying to get into a gallery or some hooped-de-do you'll need one but I have not read one that has really impressed me. If you really want a good AS, hire somebody to do it...it'll cost about $185 and take up about an hour for the interview and then the revisions. I think we should post our AS if we have them and compare notes!!!

Here is a Bio with the AS coming in the last two paragraphs...

Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio and living in the southwestern area of Pennsylvania, my love for art had started early when I would look through all of the books my parents had in the book cases; I still have several of them books I so dearly cherish, Norman Rockwell, a Nature book and the picture Bible. Remembering back I would say my dad open my life to art, setting at the kitchen table he had shown me how to draw a jet airplane.

My schooling was the best in the region as far as junior and senior high schools go, they was ranked in the top ten. Every facet of learning I cherished, there had been many of my peers I looked up to and gained more knowledge than I can ever repay with gratitude. It was the year of 1977 I met the greatest influence in my life, a fellow classmate. He had introduced me to portraiture and I have never looked back.

Being a graduate of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh with an associate degree in visual communication in 1992; I then went to work for a plastic company in Toledo, Ohio as a Lead Designer for their point of purchase displays. Moving south to Corbin, Kentucky in 2000 I started to find my growth in commissioned portraiture. Changing from oil painting to the color pencil I found a love I would call home in the southeastern part of Kentucky.
…
Colored Pencil Portraits consist of a great part of the art work I create each year. Being able to capture more than a resemblance of a certain person, I tell a story of who they are with a glow to their smile and a deeper character of that exceptional person.

I am in a transition period...Tomorrow is the price for yesterday!!! Do I live to create? Or does my Art keep me alive? Looking back through my art I am able to see for the first time that I have not been anywhere I was not suppose to be, each of my paintings directed me to this exact time. So I say this, if I wanted to change what I thought the past should have been!!! I must start Today with the decisions of Today!!!

[RCharleston]

Best approach to writing artists statements is to go collect/cell phone photo a ton of em at trendy galleries, making sure they're done by hungry MFA candidates in thoroughly academia smooching environments. Then plagiarize the living hell out of em. Try to have lots and lots of variations of different artist statements arrived at in this manner on your computer's hard drive so you can print out statements to fit differing venues/collectors' demographics at will. If you're ever called on what someone perceives as pandering to each variance-of-audience, feign some sort of trendy "artistic" personality disorder and end the conversation with a quote from some foreign philosopher in the foreign philosopher's native language if you're reasonably sure your accuser doesn't understand the dialect in question. When recycling these theses to fit your own situation(s), try to set a wine-and-cheese friendly mood. I've found that visualizing the readership of artist statements as Gahan Wilson caricatures of rich tourists in plaid Bermuda shorts often helps.

[timelady]

I think the important thing here is to stay honest. Don't write academically and avoid jargon (sometimes you'll use some jargon day-to-day because it's part of your normal vocabulary, but if you don't, don't add it in). Your artist statement is there to get people to know a bit more about the work and then want to go look at the work again! It should be a link. The interview idea is a great one! Have them ask questions they genuinely have. The questions can be very simple. Look at what you paint and ask why? Then ask 'why' 4 more times? (this is a common business practice to drill down to important info - and no reason it can't work for art!) Why do I paint the sea? Because I love being by the water. Why? Because I get a sense of peace and space. Why? Because the sea is so large and overwhelming. Why? It's beyond the scale of just one person.... etc... Drill down to what *really* makes you passionate about your subject, your technique, your materials... (that's examples of how I questioned myself for an artist statement I used previously)

I'm actually having an exhibition right now where I had to write a response to an academic essay about my work. I'd talked to the writer about the theme a lot (the Sublime) and realised while we shared a lot of ideas, I disagreed on some. I don't have an art academic background and actually was able to address that in my response (for example, I explained how some of the words he used felt wrong to me and what words I used instead to actually mean the same thing). My response was 1 page, written very straight forward (same style as here or my blog!) and everyone said they found it really interesting and could then go look at the paintings again with more context.

Looking at the paintings - THAT'S the reason for a statement. Make that the goal, make them want to go look at the artwork.

My advice is find statements you like from other artists. You might not even know it's a statement. It could be the intro text on their website. A sentence on twitter. Whatever it is, think about what they've done to make you want to go look at their art?

[Tattau]

Originally Posted by RCharleston

Best approach to writing artists statements is to go collect/cell phone photo a ton of em at trendy galleries, making sure they're done by hungry MFA candidates in thoroughly academia smooching environments. Then plagiarize the living hell out of em. Try to have lots and lots of variations of different artist statements arrived at in this manner on your computer's hard drive so you can print out statements to fit differing venues/collectors' demographics at will. If you're ever called on what someone perceives as pandering to each variance-of-audience, feign some sort of trendy "artistic" personality disorder and end the conversation with a quote from some foreign philosopher in the foreign philosopher's native language if you're reasonably sure your accuser doesn't understand the dialect in question. When recycling these theses to fit your own situation(s), try to set a wine-and-cheese friendly mood. I've found that visualizing the readership of artist statements as Gahan Wilson caricatures of rich tourists in plaid Bermuda shorts often helps.

[jholdway]

This Thread is really old so check this out if you want to make an artists statement.

http://10gallon.com/statement2000/

[timelady]

really old? 6 days?

The link is to one of those silly random word artist statement generators, by the way, in case anyone is worried about clicking. It's fine.

Tina.

[Horsa]

Six days must be eternity in Internet time. The Arty Bollocks generator is good for a laugh, but I think most of us could do better for an artist statement.