Writing An Artists Statement
Most artists find it difficult to write about their work. “If I could write I’d be a poet or an author, not a visual artist.” But it is important that artists become comfortable writing about themselves and their work
It is important that you do your own writing and not leave it for others to interpret your ideas for you. Most artists will feel uncomfortable when trying to explain in words the things that they, as a visual artist find most personal, intuitive and the things that they want to communicate through your work . The first time that you write about yourself can be embarrassing, but believe me after a while you will become quite cool about it Most artists feel that their work should explain itself. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way – it is verbal communication that we use to explain ourselves to others. You may not want to explain your work verbally, but if you don’t, someone else might and they may put the wrong emphasis on what you are trying to do.
Before you put pen to paper think about who your audience is. Ask yourself who is it that you are talking to? What do you want them to know about you and your work? I have to say that I have always found that most people are genuinely interested in what artists have got to say. To most people the art world is a romantic world, an exciting world, a world that they would love to live and work in, but one that they only occasionally wander into. It is important to be uncomplicated, and not to use “art speak.” The majority of people are used to reading information on the internet so like short concise sentences, straight to the point.
Use bullet points to emphasise what you have to say.
Use double spaces between paragraphs and keep your paragraphs to only four or five sentences
The most important thing is, obviously, what you have to say. This will depend upon what kind of art work that you produce and who it is you are writing for. Who are your potential audience. Are you writing on your web site or your blog. Is it an artist’s statement for an exhibition, or a description of your work for a gallery? Most of what you have to say in all of these situations will be very similar, but you may feel that one situation warrants using a more formal style than the other. Write a few notes about what you want to say and you will find that once you begin to write everything is just common sense. You never know – you may learn to enjoy writing. After all it is just another creative method of communication.
Until you have experience of writing a few pieces about yourself you may find it a help to ask a friend or fellow artist to read your articles and give advice.
