“An artist statement is not art. It is not a full translation of a visual statement into a verbal statement. The writing does not need to encapsulate all of your creative striving and complexities.
It does not need to be entirely original or brilliant, and say everything you want to say to the world.”
-Excerpt from ART-WRITE: The Writing Guide for Visual Artists
Artists, this is good news for you! Ease up on yourself.
I believe some artists are frozen by the idea of writing about their work because they think their artist statement ‘should be’ a translation of image into language. Nonsense! Impossible!
I wrote a book – now you want me to make a sculpture that says what I meant? You see how absurd this concept is? Forget it.
The artist statement is an introduction to your work; a concise, clear, polite introduction. By polite, I mean considerate of your audience. Just like when you introduce two people you want to like each other, you make an effort to say things that might connect them.
Write in a way that makes an effort to connect your audience to your art.
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