Exercise 5.7: Prepare your artist’s statement

Having spent some time reading about how to write artist’s statements, it’s comforting to know that for many it’s their least favourite part of creating a piece of work. Below is a checklist of how to go about it and what to include.

• What? What have I created, what is the story and what am I trying to express? It might be worth thinking of what adjectives might be used to describe the work.

• Why? Why have I created these images?

• How? How have the images been created? Are there any unique processes used?

• Who? Who are the influences and inspiration behind the project?

Basic structure

1. Begin with a general statement describing the work. This provides an introduction to the work. This is concerned with the ‘what’ and could include statements on what type of piece is being presented, is it a typological series or an installation?
2. Explain how your ideas are reflected in the work and why you chose to present them in the way that you have. This is the ‘why’ and ‘how’
3. Cite the influences, experiences, theories/themes that shape the work. This is the ‘who’.
4. Conclude with an overview

Other things to consider

• Write in the first person.
• Keep things clear and concise
• Don’t ‘try’ or ‘hope’, the work should ‘do’ it.
• Be personal, enthusiastic and avoid too much jargon. The reader wants to hear your voice not that of a art critic or professor.
• Avoid the bullsh*t like extreme binaries: “blurring the boundaries between text and subtext” (How to write an artist statement, 2018)

References

Digital Photo Magazine. 2019. How To Write Your Artist Statement – Digital Photo Magazine. [online] Available at: <https://www.dpmag.com/blog/how-to-write-your-artist-statement/&gt; [Accessed 14 December 2020].

PDN Online. 2017. Conquering The Dreaded Artist Statement: Expert Advice For Writing About Art Photography | PDN Online. [online] Available at: <https://pdnonline.com/features/fine-art-photography/conquering-dreaded-artist-statement-expert-advice-writing-art-photography/&gt; [Accessed 14 December 2020].

Thecreativeindependent.com. 2018. How To Write An Artist Statement. [online] Available at: <https://thecreativeindependent.com/guides/how-to-write-an-artist-statement/&gt; [Accessed 14 December 2020].

Touchette, A., 2016. How To Write An Artist Statement And Why It’S So Important. [online] Photo & Video Envato Tuts+. Available at: <https://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/how-to-write-an-artist-statement-and-why-its-so-important–cms-27632&gt; [Accessed 14 December 2020].